And the winner is...

1. Bob Dylan - Christmas in the heart (2009 - album of the all-time.) Truly a remarkable achievement. Anyone who can put out a more bizarre xmas album than Ringo's "I wanna be Santa Claus" is alright by me. Highlight: the whole damn thing. Mike rating: 47/10



1. Bob Dylan - "Love and theft" (2001 - album of the year and album of the decade).




It's the ony album that came out this decade that I can honestly say changed my life. Not the album specifically, but the fact that the album was good led me to 1) going to a show when he came to town in 2002, which led me to more shows. (Which maybe makes it the WORST album of the decade? Ha!) Nonetheless, I'm pretty sure I said something similar when I did my 'science experiment' a few years ago, but it doesn't quite reach the highs of Time out of mind, but it's more consistent. I think it sometimes loses some mojo because we're all tired of seeing the songs live, and because of the yakuza/uncle john's bongos stuff, but at its core...it's a brilliant, brilliant piece of work. I love it to bits (except when he played half the damn album at the roundhouse this year. Fuck off, Bob.) Highlight: Lonesome day blues. Mike rating: 10/10


Other "awards":

Band of the decade: Doves.


No competition: all 4 of their albums in my top 35, including 2 albums of the year, and one of the best shows I've seen in a while.


Man of the decade: Pete Doherty: the fact that he's still alive almost gets him the award by itself

Song of the decade: Quantum theory by Jarvis Cocker and The importance of being idle by oasis





Live albums of the decade: Familiar to millions by oasis, and Days of Speed, by Paul Weller














Archive thingy of the decade: Tell-tale signs by Bob Dylan








Reissue of the decade: The Beatlebox. Duh.



Shows of the decade: Bridge School Benefit 18 in 2004, featuring Paul McCartney, Tony Bennett & Neil Young, and Noel Gallagher solo in Toronto 2006





And for the fifth decade running, the album of all-time remains 'Revolver' by the Beatles.



Good night and soon it'll be a new decade....the radio plays the sounds we make.

5-2

5. Doves - Lost souls (2000 - album of the year).

This ended up replacing Ashcroft as my album of the first year of the decade. The opening 1-2 punch of the instrumental 'Firesuite' into far and away my favourite Doves song 'Here it comes' hasn't been topped by anyone this decade, sez I. And the rest of the tunes are up there with the greats. 'The Cedar room', 'sea song'...oh hell, the entire album...brilliant, just brilliant. Highlight: Here it comes. Mike rating: 9.5/10

4. Paul McCartney - Chaos & Creation in the Backyard (2005).

....who was written off as a has-been, and who suddenly shifted gears, releasing some of the strongest music of his career, beginning in the late 90s mid-2000s. Given the way his decade kicked off, namely the abomination that was Driving rain (a challenger to Knocked out loaded for the worst album ever released by a major artist), I had no expectations that Macca would ever come out with anything decent that wasn't a live album ever again. But then rumblings started appearing that he had drafted Nigel Godrich (of Radiohead fame) to produce his new album, and my ears perked up. Didn't get excited, but history has shown that when Paul changes things up, or challenges himself, good things tend to happen. Anyway, this album is like nothing he's ever done before. We knew he was capable of melancholy from the Beatles, but this is different. There are songs where he sounds pissed off, he sounds sad, he sounds...depressed in some cases. But then he throws out an off-the-cuff dittie like 'english tea', which sounds like the most Beatle-y thing since the Beatles. And then ending on a hopeful note with 'anyway' (in a dylanesque move, it sounds EXACTLY like 'people get ready', but he claims it as his own)...brilliant. To my ears, it might be his best album since The Beatles. And it's interesting, from watching the documentary that came with it, the key to the whole thing is Godrich. He was secure enough that he could say 'no, that's not good enough' to a Beatle, and that seemed to spur Macca into trying harder, and trying different things. It's also interesting that Godrich stopped him from using his touring band on the album, and Paul plays most of the instruments himself. It's a shame he didn't stick with him as producer going forward. Highlight: How kind of you. Mike rating: 9.5/10

3. Supergrass - Road to Rouen (2005 - album of the year).

There are certain albums that bring back memories of specific points in your life, and this is one. Specifically, my european vacation in 2007, when I had gone to the big ceremony at the Vimy Ridge monument in France. I was staying in...wait for it...Rouen that night, which was about a two-hour drive. So naturally, I'd brought this album with me. Played it three times on the drive and it just hit me in exactly the right way. I've actually gone so far as to say this would be one of my 10 desert island discs (which is odd, because neither of the next two would be there). Supergrass' other albums have a similar sound, kind of a witty, snarky rock sound...like they were the britpop teenagers to oasis' drunken 20-year old soccer hooligans & Blur's college students. But this one was where they grew up. A much quiter, more mature sound...including acoustic guitars and songs about Russian towns? Oh my. Their magnum opus. Highlight: St. Petersburg. Mike rating: 9.5/10

2. The White Stripes - Elephant (2003 - album of the year).

I debated endlessly between this and the next one for the winner, and frankly, I'm a bit surprised this didn't win. It's interesting that when the whole indie rock thing kicked off with the Strokes et al in 2001 or so, I felt the White Stripes were a weak cousin to the strokes and the hives, based mostly off of 'fell in love with a girl'. But then as I boarded a plane to England in early 2003, I had downloaded a copy of Elephant to listen to while I was there, and as luck would have it, the NME had a track-by-track review and a big interview with Jack that week. In any case, it blew me away. Basically a perfectly constructed rock album from beginning to end. Monster tracks, quiet little ditties, Holly Golightly and a Burt Bacharach song. Yes, please. Jack hasn't come close to matching this album since. Interesting tidbit: out of 70 albums on the list: this was the *only* one from 2003. Highlight: Black math. Mike rating: 10/10

The top ten (first half)

10. Doves - Kingdom of Rust (2009 - album of the year.)

Given that this is the third Doves album on the list, and there's still another one yet to come, I'm rapidly running out of things to say about them. This album took a few listens to get into, but then something just clicked. Great, great stuff, and their live show I saw at the Brixton Academy earlier this year, was the best concert I saw all year. So...chalk 2009 up as a good year for Doves. Highlight: House of mirrors. Mike rating: 9/10

9. The Hives - Tyrannosaurus Hives (2004 - album of the year).

There's not one standout track, but every song is at the least very good. I'm not sure what it is I like about this band, but whatever it is, it worked in spades on this album. Highlight: See-through head. Mike rating: 9/10

8. oasis - don't believe the truth (2005).

They're not winning, so stop complaining. Strangely, given that it's Noel's songs that highlight the follow-up album, this album's highlights are one song from each of the four songwriters. Weird. It's also the first time Noel tried to break out of the straight-ahead rock/beatle mold, with songs that sound like the Velvet Underground, The Kinks and The La's. And Gem comes up with a song that sounds like a Revolver outtake. Yay. And it'll always remind me of the first time I listened to it on a sunny day in May. Turn up the sun, indeed. Highlight: The importance of being idle. Mike rating: 9/10

7. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - BRMC (2001).

A very special album for me, for reasons I can't quite put my finger on. Yeah, the first time I saw them in a small club in Ottawa in 2002, I had a 20 minute conversation with their bass player about hanging out with Noel Gallagher, and his thoughts on Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones (and the show was good too), but it's more than that. The sound of the album really struck a chord with me. Dark, menacing, and yet uplifting. One of my faves (obviously.) Highlight: Rifles. Mike rating: 9.5/10

6. The Libertines - Up the bracket (2002 - album of the year).

The British answer to the Strokes, which, as usually happens, ends up being better than the american version. Shambolic, anthemic and pretty, often in the same song, the combination of Pete Doherty and Carl Barat put together some of the finest rock'n roll this decade had to offer. It's a shame the tabloid stupidity overshadowed the music in the end, because it was the music that made them what they were. Someone should make Kate Moss go away. Highlight: What a waster. Mike rating: 9.5/10

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20. George Harrison - Brainwashed (2002)

Maybe his best since All things must pass, but then he had 13 years since his last album, a cancer scare and the realization that he was going to die for things to write about. It's really a charming little album, from the opening "give me plenty of the guitar..." to the ukelele on 'devil and the deep blue sea' to the wry humour of 'brainwashed' and 'pisces fish', to the fadeout of him and Dhani reciting an indian prayer, it's truly a *George* album. And that's saying something, since from the moment I heard he'd left the album in JEFF LYNNE'S hands when he died, I was worried it would turn into an ELO album, like everything else Lynne produces. Luckily, the Lynne-isms are few and far between, and I think we have Dhani to thank for that. Wonderful effort, I'm just saddened we had to lose George to get him back. Highlight: Brainwashed. Mike rating: 9/10

19. Elbow - The seldom seen kid (2008).

This was probably the biggest grower of any album on the list. When I first got it last year, the only song that made an impact on me was 'grounds for divorce', but it's an album that's burrowed into my brain and I find my myself reaching for it regularly. They've almost become a pleasant version of Radiohead, if such a thing is possible. And the version of the album recorded at Abbey Road with the BBC orchestra? Massive. Absolutely massive. Highlight: Grounds for divorce. Mike rating: 9/10

18. Doves - The last broadcast (2002).

This was originally my pick for album of 2002, but it's fallen off on repeated listenings a little (and another one has grown, but more on that later.) The album that really broke them, with 'there goes the fear', 'pounding' and 'words', all of which are great, but...I don't know. It feels like it's missing something, but then I have it listed as my 18th favourite album of the decade, so there you go. Highlight: words. Mike rating: 9/10

17. Jarvis Cocker - Jarvis (2006 - album of the year).

I mean, it's basically a Pulp album without Pulp. Sounds like a Pulp album, feels like a Pulp album, but it's not. There's not a song on the album I don't like, but it got most of its publicity for the song 'cunts are still running the world', which is a shame, since there are far better tracks to be found here, including 'quantum theory', which is perhaps one of my five favourite songs by anyone ever. Highlight: Quantum theory. Mike rating: 9/10

16. Ian Brown - Solarized (2004)

In which King Monkey discovers trumpets and collaborates with Noel Gallagher. As much as I loved the Stone Roses, I wasn't at all interested in Brown's solo career until the announced collab with Noel. Bought the album, loved it, bought his other solo albums and liked them enough that I ended up flying to New York to see him in concert in early 2005. (Mainly because there were rumours Noel would be there too, but whatever.) Most of the songs are really good, and the collaboration with Noel is better than I could have hoped. Highlight: Keep what ya got. Mike rating: 9/10

15. Babyshambles - Shotter's nation (2007 - album of the year).

In which our hero Pete enlists a different producer from Mick Jones, and gets Stephen Street, who smoothes out the rough edges to produce something close to a Camden classic. From the Kinks-esque 'Delivery' to the quiet, shambolic 'unbilotitled', some of Pete Doherty's best work. And that's saying something, this decade. Highlight: side of the road. Mike rating: 9/10

14. oasis - dig out your soul (2008 - album of the year.)

Well, you knew it was coming at some point. At the time this came out last year, I was fully comfortable saying this was their 2nd best album ever, but strangely, since the split in August, it's gone down in my estimation. Noel's songs are still far and away the best thing on the album, and the run of the first three tracks is probably the best opening salvo since Be here now. Unfortunately, what kills it is the last four songs all being by people not named Noel Gallagher. Liam's 'ain't got nothing' is dreadful, and Andy Bell's 'the nature of reality' might be the worst song on an oasis album. Makes me wonder how bad the album by "Liam and the other three" will be. (And how good the album by Noel will be.) Highlight: The turning. Mike rating: 9/10

13. The Streets - A grand don't come for free. (2004).

Skinner does a concept album? Oh hell yes. Essentially, the story of the day in the life of a geezer and his relationships with his girl and his friends. But it's the songs themselves, and how they tie together in the larger story that makes this close to a masterpiece. From the opener 'it was supposed to be so easy' setting the scene to the closing 'empty cans', it always sucks me in, and the ending is just...perfect. An amazing achievement. And 'fit but you know it' might be the britpop song of the decade. Highlight: fit but you know it. Mike rating: 9/10

12. Kasabian - Kasabian (2004).

This was the first album I listened to on my epic journey of the last month, and for a very long time, it was at #1. It fell off a bit, obviously, but it still stands up as maybe the most stadium-ready album of the decade. They may actually have been hurt a bit by hanging out with oasis over the last few years, as this album has a unique sound that's been lost in their next two, almost closer to Primal Scream than oasis. And some of the best songs of the decade. Highlight: Processed beats. Mike rating: 9/10

11. Richard Ashcroft - Alone with everybody (2000).

Similar to Doves in 2002, this had been my album of the year for 2000 for a long time, but I realized this month that something had replaced it. That said, it's still great. I remember someone describing this as the out-takes from Urban Hymns, which was why it was still so good. (And then his next two albums were the out-takes of the out-takes, which is why they were so bad.) It still sounds like the Ashcroft Verve, with the strings and power anthems, and remains his best work out of the band. Highlight: A song for the lovers. Mike rating: 9/10

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25. The Streets - Original pirate material (2002).

A white rapper from Birmingham, England? Oh lord, where do I sign??? Surprisingly, it sounds infinitely better than it...uhh...sounds? Mike Skinner came up with one of the most original sounds of the decade, continuing the British tradition of observing life and commenting on what he sees, a la Jarvis or Morrissey, except in his case, via rapping. And what he sees is life as a geezer. Truly remarkable stuff, and all done in his bedroom. Highlight: Turn the page. Mike rating: 8.5/10

24. The Tragically Hip - world container (2006).

It's funny, this album doesn't *feel* like one of their best, but of 5 they've put out this decade, it's my favourite. And given that it already had a strike against it before it even came out (it was produced by Bob Rock), that's saying something. The production isn't great, but the songs are some of their best. And of course, most importantly with the Hip, the songs are great live. Oh, and there's a Dylan reference. Highlight: The drop-off. Mike rating: 8.5/10

23. Arctic Monkeys - whatever people say I am, that's what I'm not (2006).

I didn't really get this album for a long time, but after the tenth listen, it sunk in. The lyrics, the tunes, the observational points, all great. And yes, I'm running out of things to say. Odd, since I just saw them in concert last night...and they only did three songs off this album. Highlight: from the ritz to the rubble. Mike rating: 8.5/10

22. The Verve - Forth (2008).

Still hard to believe that they reunited out of nowhere in late 2007 for some concerts...and it wasn't just for the money, since they decided to release a new album to go with the shows. And the surprising thing was...it wasn't terrible. In fact, it fit in easily with their best work from the 90s. There were the big Ashcroft anthems, and there were the McCabe soundscapes, and happily, there were songs that mixed both. There's a bit of filler, but it's the Verve in 2008, and that ain't not bad. Highlight: Love is noise. Mike rating: 8.5/10

21. The Soundtrack of our lives - Communion (2009).

A Swedish psychedelic rock band fronted by a giant bearded fat guy named Ebbot who looks like a Viking, and they're releasing a double album? Hell yes. They've already appeared twice on this list, and this year's release was their best of the decade. Massive songs, acoustic lullabies, and...it's a double album! No one does double-albums anymore. Brilliant. They don't sound like any other band going, which is never a band thing. Highlight: Lost prophets in vain. Mike rating: 8.5/10