With so many albums to choose from, it’s hard to pick the album of the year. It’s even harder to pick the album of the decade.
Don’t worry though, we narrowed down the list for you. Reveille staff members picked their favorite album of each decade from 1960 through 2010. From The Beatles to Harry Styles, we covered every era of music.
Today is 2000s day.
Will Nickel
“Kid A” by Radiohead
Yes, I know it’s cringe-inducing to say you like Radiohead. It’s a band and album that has become synonymous with, well, creeps. But the “heartbreaking, the worst person you know just made a good point” reaction image applies well here.
This album is great. Listen to “How to Disappear Completely” and try to say that it’s not.
Radiohead managed to make its experimental/art rock mainstream. Not a lot of bands can pull that off. There are not many popular albums from the 2000s that stand out from the pack quite as much as this one.
Jayden Nguyen
“From Under The Cork Tree” by Fall Out Boy
Will wouldn’t let me put the Black Eyed Peas on this, so I settled for another band that had a major influence on my music taste as a kid: Fall Out Boy.
This 2005 album is probably the best, most iconic early Fall Out Boy project, containing hits like “Sugar, We’re Goin Down,” “Dance, Dance” and “A Little Less Sixteen Candles, a Little More ‘Touch Me.’”
This album is a pop-punk classic, especially with Patrick Stump’s vocal intensity carrying each track. Pete Wentz’s lyricism on this album is also some of the strongest songwriting to come out of this decade.
Although the band has several hit 2000s albums, this one is Fall Out Boy’s most cohesive in terms of sound and lyrical theme, which makes it a classic in my books.
John Buzbee
“Room of Fire” by The Strokes
Maybe if I was cooler I’d recommend an album by The Pixies or The Orwells, but someone had to mention The Strokes, and I’m a little ashamed to admit I’m probably the most qualified.
The Stroke’s sophomore album is a slightly more mature continuation of “Is This It,” but that’s more good than bad to my ears. Like most songs from The Strokes, every song has a melody that’s chronically good – with some rifts lasting for longer than others.
My favorites for this album have found a firm place on my speeding playlist and are probably better screamed than sung, but I promise that for casual fans of alternative rock this album’s going to have something you like.
If you can only listen to four tracks, I recommend “Reptilia,” “You Talk Way Too Much,” “Meet Me in the Bathroom” and “Under Control.”
Alison Agena
“The Fame Monster” by Lady Gaga
When I was growing up, I was obsessed with Lady Gaga, and I still am. And although I love all of her work, this album will forever be my favorite. This album is quite possibly my number one favorite of all time.
With songs like “Bad Romance”, “Telephone”, “Just Dance”, “Paparazzi”, “Poker Face” and so many more, this album has some of the most iconic hits of all time.
I still find myself frequently listening to this album all the time when I am driving around. There are so many great songs which make it an easy pick when trying to find good music.
Nyx Crooks
“To Violate the Obvious” by Xasthur
The 2000s are inherently emo, but my lovely coworker Jayden has got that side of it covered. On the metal side, this era not only gives birth to nu metal (Limp Bizkit was famous for some reason – enough said), but also a much darker genre.
Whether called depressive suicidal black metal, ambient black metal, atmospheric black metal, or just straight up terrible music by most people, this genre was an entirely new take on metal. The genre was different from others because most of the time the “bands” were actually just single-man projects inspired by mental illness, mainly depression.
One person would play bass, guitar, synth, drums and vocals and virtually cut themselves off from the world to tap into negative emotions for their music. I’ve watched an interview with these guys before, and it’s truly depressing how they live and what inspired their music.
Xasthur has released an insane number of albums that you can see on Spotify, mainly due to the way they cut themselves off from the world. It’s sad, edgy, sometimes terrible, but it’s unique and good music to zone out or think to. This album is Xasthur’s most cohesive work and is immediately recognizable to any metalhead.
Ava Francis
“The Emancipation Of Mimi” by Mariah Carey
What’s better than a debut album? A comeback album. Mariah Carey made her return to music after a two-year hiatus gifting the world with her 2005 album “The Emancipation Of Mimi.”
This record became her highest selling album. Carey took home best contemporary R&B album at the 2006 Grammy’s.
Most of the world may know Carey for her iconic hits such as “Fantasy” “Emotions” and of course the Christmas song of all Christmas songs, “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” However, “The Emancipation of Mimi” is the perfect blend of club bangers and heartwarming ballads. The album is perfect from start to finish which makes it a go-to for road trips.
Some of my earliest memories consist of me and my family singing along to “We Belong Together,” “Mine Again” and “Fly Like a Bird” just to name a few.
If I could only listen to five albums for the rest of my life “The Emancipation of Mimi” would be on that list.
