Rock's Best Albums of the Decade

25. Clutch
Strange Cousins from the West, 2009

This ninth full-length from Southern-swaggered stoner metal outfit Clutch is a deeper foray for the band into the history of the blues. With the absence of organs and the addition of slide guitar, Clutch's sonic progression is a clever revision of rock 'n' roll's roots, from the soulful delivery of "Motherless Child" to the storytelling boogie of "Sleestak Lightning." Other foot-tapping standouts include the infectious rhythm of lead single "50,000 Unstoppable Watts," the effortless groove of "Minotaur" and the high-energy gallop of "Freakonomics."





24. Susan Tedeschi
Back to the River, 2008

Susan Tedeschi is beautiful and sexy, yet she howls, grunts and wails as if she's missing half her teeth and spent her teenage years drifting in and out of family court. Tedeschi is known as a blues singer, but Back to the River is straight-up classic rock, as sweaty and righteous as Rod Stewart-era Jeff Beck, Delaney & Bonnie and early Humble Pie. Much like JJ Grey & Mofro, Tedeschi isn't afraid to go retro; dig the soulful horns and vintage guitar solo on the gutsy ballad "700 Houses."





23. Jack Johnson
Brushfire Fairytales, 2001

Not only was Brushfire Fairytales Jack Johnson's debut, it was also the first of five platinum albums for the surfer-turned-adult-alternative dude. At the time of its release, the record felt like a pleasant and engaging fusion of John Mayer, Dave Matthews and Ben Harper. But looking back, Brushfire Fairytales feels downright prophetic. Johnson has gone on to spawn an ever-growing army of finely tanned crooners, specializing in the kind of funky fresh folk-pop that he single-handedly pioneered.





22. Nickelback
All the Right Reasons, 2005

With 2005's All the Right Reasons, Nickelback hit on a perfect recipe of big guitars and even bigger pop moves. Maturing into a relevant modern rock act, the elder statesmen of "active rock" reached and then surpassed the zillion-seller status that Silver Side Up brought them in '01. The Southern rock-ish "Rockstar," surging heart-tugger "Far Away" and anthemic "Photograph" all made it into the Top 10 for good reason: they are infinitely sing-able and sound great coming out of a jukebox.





21. The Coydogs
The Coydogs, 2008

We hate to reduce a band to its influences, but exceptions do exist. Example: the Coydogs sound like Tom Petty fronting Crazy Horse circa "Stupid Girl" -- oh yeah, toss in a little Big Star/Teenage Fanclub. The thought of a band nailing the ultimate all-time awesome fusion of American power pop and California country-rock can be pondered for lifetimes. Of course, the Coydogs don't achieve perfection, but they go for it. Plus, the band has cultivated a better balance of brute force and song craft than most of its peers.





20. Mastodon
Leviathan, 2004

Voted 2004's Album of the Year in Kerrang!, Terrorizer and Revolver magazines, Leviathan is a concept album based on Herman Melville's Moby Dick. The Atlanta prog-metal band's critically acclaimed combination of sludge-metal punch and Thin Lizzy-harmonized guitar leads made just about every metal fan in America say "UHG2BFKM!" when the album appeared and promptly began embarrassing everyone else in '04. Its only failing is that you can't actually toss harpoons at sperm whales while listening to "Seabeast."





19. Brandi Carlile
Brandi Carlile, 2005

Brandi Carlile's expressive voice lilts to and fro before edging into a cavernous howl, sounding at times like a female Jeff Buckley. But Carlile's voice also glistens with an odd country sheen, and she manages to fit all these nuances in a neat puzzle; rather than disjointed, her songs sound supernatural. "Follow," a haunting ballad that borders on shoegaze, is the most beguiling song in her set.







18. Creepjoint
Kill the Head, 2005

Kill the Head is one of the early 21st century's best hard-rock albums, and few know it exists. The latest project from mad genius Tim Harrington, cofounder of Masters of Reality, Creepjoint play electroid death-rock bubbling with preternatural rage and a profound cynicism for humanity. Harrington is a master of art pop, as well as a producer well versed in warped sound effects. This is simply a stunning -- if often challenging -- chunk of freakery. Dig the title track's pummeling onslaught.





17. Amy Winehouse
Back to Black, 2006

Wildly talented but also just plain wild, Amy Winehouse has got pipes that are more R&B-drenched than Joss Stone's, and her lyrics are more autobiographical than Lily Allen's. Winehouse also leads the kind of tabloid-rich lifestyle that would make even Britney Spears blush. But Back to Black proves that her material is stronger than the hype. "Tears Dry On Their Own" proudly recalls Motown classics, while cuts like "Wake Up Alone," "Some Unholy War" and "Love Is a Losing Game" show what the English Winehouse can do when she stops cribbing a posed toughness from American hip-hop songs.




16. The Flaming Lips
At War with the Mystics, 2006

More heartfelt flamboyance from the consistently weird, constantly brilliant Flaming Lips. As usual, they disguise mind-blowing observations with seemingly simple lyrics, then hide those inside odd orchestras of electric strings, thumping drums, heavenly voices, things that go bzzzzt and anything else that happens to be lying around. Prepare to be moved.








15. Shinedown
The Sound of Madness, 2008

Shinedown's third album marks their natural progression from a band that once bore elements of Southern rock into a band confidently running that torch into the late '00s. "Heroes," off Us and Them, was one of the best rock songs of 2005, and here Shinedown far exceed the potential hinted at in that track. Accessible as the straightest pop music but harder and heavier than anything else on the radio and, most importantly, angry as all hell, "Devour," the title track, and the scream-along-worthy ballads "Second Chance" and "The Crow & the Butterfly" grab the listener by the throat and don't let go.




14. Los Lonely Boys
Los Lonely Boys, 2004

Substance and style come together with this Willie Nelson-endorsed Texas brother act. Los Lonely Boys sound the way bands used to sound: like they live for the joy of playing together. They've created border soul music, with Albert King, Jose Alfredo Jimenez and the Beatles as their patron saints.










13. High on Fire
Blessed Black Wings, 2005

Matt Pike proves himself a true auteur of all that is heavy with Blessed Black Wings -- if the first druid metal minute of "To Cross the Bridge" doesn't prove that, then the thrumming, volcanic pillaging that ensues should do the trick. This is heavy metal made by a man who rarely wears a shirt, and he plays that way. Just the beginnings of these songs are better than most albums. Other over-the-top statements that can be made here are that the guitar solos all rule, the vocals are bloodthirstily monumental and you can't play it loud enough.





12. The Hold Steady
Boys and Girls of America, 2006

The Hold Steady's first two records of bare-knuckled bangers were lauded as dissertations on underdog bar rock, coupling Craig Finn's scrappy narratives about getting high and chasing tail with riffs on the scale of vintage Thin Lizzy. On their third, Finn reins in the rambling for more concise tales of spiritual survival in strip-mall culture. When things get sentimental, as on the piano-driven "First Night," the songwriting is still commanding, but these guys are best with unrestrained rockers like "Stuck Between Stations" or "Hot Soft Light" -- with hearts on their sleeves and amps on 11.





11. TK Webb
Phantom Parade, 2006

The first couple spins produce, "Man, this guy sounds drunk." After that the response becomes, "George Thorogood on cough syrup?" But eventually Webb's genius crawls out of his own bluesy murk: this guy has stolen the most lo-fi/country blues aspects of the Stones' Exile on Main St. and alchemically shaped them into a brand-new universe. "Which Witch," for example, burns slowly like vintage bar rock, then slyly shape-shifts into a droning raga that confuses the Ganges and the Mississippi.





10. Wilco
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, 2002

The esoteric but alluring collage of sounds on this album earned them the No. 6 spot on our Best of 2002 poll. The songs traverse styles, from the bleak "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart" to the perky "Heavy Metal Drummer," all the while retaining Wilco's signature pawnshop-guitar-run-through-a-dozen-effects-pedals sound.








9. Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
100 Days, 100 Nights, 2007

Maybe there's something anachronistic about a band that plays funk music in the 21st century as if Parliament (let alone hip-hop) had never happened. It does sound like Sharon Jones could have cut her record in 1967, not 2007. But when the music's this good, those concerns fly out the window. Jones pours everything she's got into this album, and her gruff, passionate, brassy style grabs you by the collar and doesn't let go until the end. The Dap-Kings restrain themselves behind her, shuffling and jangling but leaving her plenty of space to maneuver on a clutch of good, if not great, songs.




8. White Stripes
White Blood Cells, 2001

The third proper White Stripes LP catches Jack and Meg at their finest: not yet bored with the simple alchemy that brought them international acclaim, but mature enough to make the most of it. Starting with "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground," the record opens with five of Jack White's most fully conceived tunes, the best being the seductive "I'm Finding It Harder to Be a Gentleman." Aside from the downright ungentlemanly snarl of "I Think I Smell a Rat," there's hardly a miss.






7. Radiohead
Kid A, 2000

After the whirlwind of acclaim for OK Computer, Radiohead tried to escape the hype by hitching a ride through the cosmos -- or at least that's what Kid A would have us believe. As Thom Yorke's wails sound like they're belted from the insular surface of the moon ("How to Disappear Completely"), opaque textures of twinkling music boxes ("Kid A"), bustling horns ("The National Anthem"), fanciful harp ("Motion Picture Soundtrack"), crystallized hums ("Treefingers"), dissonant reception ("Everything in Its Right Place") and plenty of unidentified flying clatter orbit this otherworldly masterpiece.




6. Drive-By Truckers
Southern Rock Opera, 2001

The alt-country reprobates enter three-guitar heaven on a what-it-says-it-is that gains power and bite as the fat lady's moment approaches. When Patterson Hood lets his bandmates write songs on the first disc, you can take a piss break, but Mike Cooley and Rob Malone both contribute winners on the second -- about alcoholism and Cassie Gaines easing her brother into Lynyrd Skynyrd, respectively. Although George Wallace is treated to a crucial cameo, Skynyrd are the tragic heroes throughout. The last three songs get them on the plane, up in the air and plummeting to their doom. Every detail and digression tells.



5. Coldplay
A Rush of Blood to the Head, 2002

On their sophomore release, Coldplay ace the difficult task of hanging onto their original fan base while proving wrong those who initially wrote the band off as Radiohead-lite. A Rush of Blood to the Head is a shimmering collection of confidently played life's-gone-wrong songs, highlighted by "Clocks" and "In My Place."








4. Bob Dylan
Love and Theft, 2001

Like 1997's comeback, Time Out of Mind, the sequel, Love and Theft, capitalizes on smoky production by Daniel Lanois, rambunctious performances and Dylan's tattered delivery. But with its rollicking spirit, Love and Theft deals more in revelry than remorse. Kicking open the saloon doors with the hard-strutting "Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum," the record is dually playful and powerful, butt-kicking and heart-rending. When on "Summer Days" Dylan is "standing on a table proposing a toast to the King," it's hard not to raise a glass right back to the enduring icon's continued rambles down Highway 61.




3. Green Day
American Idiot, 2004

Led by the killer title track, American Idiot finds Green Day sounding as vital as ever. Told through the character "Jesus of Suburbia," the concept album, released just prior to the 2004 presidential election, is nourished by the trio's vitriol against America's political climate and overall malaise. Rock-opera riffs complement instantly gratifying pop hooks that extend well beyond the band's punk roots. Even when they slow it down, they still pack a punch. The album won a Grammy for Best Rock Album and reignited Green Day's flagging career, all while spreading their message far and wide.




2. Andrew W.K.
I Get Wet, 2001

The rock music equivalent of Tony Robbins doing a keg stand, A.W.K. is smarter than the dunderheaded partycore I Get Wet appears to be on the surface. First, there hasn't been anything this catchy since "Surrender," and second, the music simultaneously references Obituary and '70s art rockers Sparks, whoever they are.








1. Queens of the Stone Age
Rated R, 2000

Fans expecting an album as heavy as Q.O.T.S.A.'s debut may have been a little disappointed in R, but the brute force of the band's heavy stoner rock still packed quite a wallop. "The Feel-Good Hit …" and the acid-tinged "In the Fade" (with Screaming Trees' Mark Lanegan on vocals) prove that while the musical atmosphere is thick, there's enough serrated melody to slice through.








Honorable Mentions:
My Chemical Romance, The Black Parade
Moviola, Dead Knowledge
Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Greendale
Buffalo Killers, Let It Ride
The Derek Trucks Band, Joyful Noise
Coldplay, Parachutes
Radiohead, In Rainbows
The Jayhawks, Rainy Day Music
Porcupine Tree, In Absentia
Beck, Sea Change
The White Stripes, Elephant
The Moondoggies, Don’t Be a Stranger
Ray LaMontagne, Till the Sun Turns Black
Bjork, Vespertine
Tift Merritt, Bramble Rose
Mark Lanegan, Bubblegum
Fall Out Boy, From Under the Cork Tree
The Felice Brothers, The Felice Brothers
The Avett Brothers, I and Love and You
Bruce Springsteen, The Rising
Ryan Adams, Heartbreaker
Dungen, Ta Det Lugnt
The Black Crowes, Lions
Bob Dylan, Modern Times
Heartless Bastards, The Mountain
Neil Young, Neil Young Archives Vol. 1
The Darkness, Permission to Land
The Killers, Hot Fuss
North Mississippi Allstars, Polaris
The Black Keys, Attack & Release
John Mayer, Room For Squares