A decade ago, I wrote a series of entries ranking my favorite albums from 1985 to 2004. My collection has expanded greatly since then, particularly in the last five years. So I wanted to see what has changed in 10 years.
As much as I loved the ’80s, I can’t say the ’90s holds as much sentiment. I feel more affinity for the Aughts than I do the ’90s. That said, 1998 has proven to be rich with favorites, and I would consider it the pinnacle year in the decade. This list has gone through extensive revision from the original.
Neutral Milk Hotel, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
Madonna, Ray of Light
Lauryn Hill, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Lucinda Williams, Car Wheels on a Gravel Road
Fastball, All the Pain Money Can Buy
Patty Griffin, Flaming Red
SUPERCAR, Three Out Change
Various Artists, For the Masses: A Tribute to Depeche Mode
Bruce Robison, Wrapped
Cocco, Kumuiuta
Other favorites from the year:
Shakira, ¿Dónde Están Los Ladrones?
Wendy and Lisa, Girl Bros.
Midnight Oil, Redneck Wonderland
8 1/2 Souvenirs, Happy Feet
UA, Ametora
Kronos Quartet, Alfred Schnittke: The Complete String Quartets
the brilliant green, the brilliant green
Bang on a Can All-Stars, Music for Airports
Craig Armstrong, The Space Between Us
Julieta Venegas, Aquí
Aterciopelados, Caribe Atómico
Macha, Macha
Idlewild, Hope Is Important
Pansy Division, Absurd Pop Song Romance
Orgy, Candyass
A number of titles that held positions in the Favorite 10 switched places with ones in the extended list.
I didn’t give Fastball much credit 10 years ago because the album had been all over Austin at the time of its release. I got caught up in that hype, then dismissed it as such later. I was wrong. All the Pain Money Can Buy needs to be in the Favorite 10.
For the Masses actually turned me into a Depeche Mode fan. Some of the covers on the tribute album rival the originals. In the case of “Shake the Disease” and “Everything Counts”, they straight up improve them.
Madonna dominated the top position of this list for 10 years before Neutral Milk Hotel nudged her down a notch. SUPERCAR makes another revisionist ranking, pushing 8 1/2 Souvenirs off.
Idlewild makes an appearance with a debut album that’s at times bratty and tuneful. It’s a mess compared to its follow-up, 1000 Broken Windows. But it’s a riveting mess.
A decade ago, I wrote a series of entries ranking my favorite albums from 1985 to 2004. My collection has expanded greatly since then, particularly in the last five years. So I wanted to see what has changed in 10 years.
As I mentioned in the original entry for the 2001 list, 75 percent of the year was actually really decent, especially where music was concerned. The Favorite 10 from that year remains unchanged.
AJICO, Fukamidori
fra-foa, Chuu no Fuchi
Quruli, Team Rock
eX-Girl, Back to the Mono Kero
ACO, Material
the brilliant green, Los Angeles
Cocco, Sangrose
Res, How I Do
Utada Hikaru, Distance
Onitsuka Chihiro, Insomnia
Other favorites from the year:
Hajime Chitose, Kotonoha
MONO, Under the Pipal Tree
Fugazi, The Argument
Low, Things We Lost in the Fire
Death Cab for Cutie, The Photo Album
bloodthirsty butchers, Yamane
Kicell, Yume
Shea Seger, The May Street Project
Rufus Wainwright, Poses
Semisonic, All About Chemistry
Missy Elliott, Miss E … So Addictive
Gillian Welch, Time (The Revelator)
The Shins, Oh, Inverted World!
soulsberry, The end of vacation
Sigur Rós, Agætis Byrjun
Guided By Voices, Isolation Drills
Like 2002 and 2003, the extended list for 2001 overruns with quality stuff, and I’ve only added to it.
I got Gillian Welch’s Hell Among the Yearlings as part of a gift bag from a Waterloo Records holiday party. I didn’t get around to listening to it till about 15 years later, and I had to play catch-up.
I’ve known about Low for years, but I didn’t hear them till MONO shared a bill with them in concert.
The annual Friends of the Library Book Sale hooked me up with Fugazi’s End Hits for $1, so I sought out The Argument to round out my collection. I vaguely remember the news of Fugazi’s hiatus upsetting my Waterloo coworkers. I hadn’t yet jumped on the bandwagon.
![[Soundtrack - Brokeback Mountain]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/VariousArtistsBrokebackMo31052_f.jpg)
![[Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/NeutralMilkHotelIntheAe48874_f-293x300.jpg)
![[Fugazi - The Argument]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/FugaziTheArgument2001185734_f-300x300.jpg)