What modern music should you share with your family 鈥� or escape from your family with 鈥� over the holiday weekend?
Looking for some music for your journey home, to share with your family when you get there, or just to curl up with and listen to on your own? Here are two classic albums from every year since 2000 to get you started.
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蜜桃视频app/Noah Frank
2000The Classic: Coldplay 鈥� Parachutes
You can rightfully blame Coldplay for their latter-day sins, but their debut album remains not only their best, but a triumph of small sound before the band outgrew it. Sure, you know 鈥淵ellow鈥� and 鈥淭rouble,鈥� but tracks like 鈥淪parks,鈥� 鈥淲e Never Change鈥� and 鈥淓verything鈥檚 Not Lost鈥� have stood the test of time.
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2000The Late Discovery: Modest Mouse 鈥� The Moon & Antarctica
I was not an early Modest Mouse adopter, but once I jumped on board, this record stood out as their best. Sure, most people probably think of 鈥淔loat On鈥� as their quintessential song, but for me it will always be 鈥淕ravity Rides Everything.鈥�
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2001The Classic: Daft Punk 鈥� Discovery
It kills me that some people had never heard 鈥淗arder Better Faster Stronger鈥� until Kanye West sampled it in 2007. This remains Daft Punk鈥檚 defining work, always worth spinning one more time.
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2001The Late Discovery: Pinback 鈥� Blue Screen Life
Do you know Pinback? You should know Pinback, and if you only know them for 鈥淔ortress,鈥� you should really give “Blue Screen Life” a listen. I didn鈥檛 discover it until 2004, but the intertwined melodies of songs like 鈥淧enelope,鈥� 鈥淪eville鈥� and 鈥淭res鈥� have never left my brain.
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2002The Classic: Wilco 鈥� Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
I first discovered this album in a strange way 鈥� the front cover is a photo of my favorite buildings in Chicago, the flower petal-like Marina Towers. That turned out to be a welcome stroke of fortune, introducing me to Wilco through what I still consider to be their best and most influential album.
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2002The Late Discovery: Spoon 鈥� Kill the Moonlight
Spoon continues to be the most indispensable American rock band that I鈥檓 always blown away by how many people don鈥檛 know. 鈥淭he Way We Get By鈥� probably remains their most popular single to this day, despite having released five (really good!) studio albums since. Honorable mention to both Beck鈥檚 “Sea Change” and The Flaming Lips鈥� “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots” for making this the toughest decision on this list.
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2003The Classic: The Postal Service 鈥� Give Up
It鈥檚 hard not to include Ben Gibbard鈥檚 other 2003 masterpiece 鈥� Death Cab for Cutie鈥檚 “Transatlanticism” here 鈥� but if we鈥檙e being honest, I only spun one CD so many times it developed bumps and scratches and wouldn鈥檛 play anymore. 鈥淪uch Great Heights鈥� endures, but this heartbreak album delivers from start to finish.
(蜜桃视频app/Noah Frank)
2003The Late Discovery: Jose Gonzalez 鈥� Veneer
Most people have probably heard some variation of Gonzalez鈥檚 鈥淗eartbeats鈥� by now. If you haven鈥檛 heard his particular version, rectify that now. If you have, get ready to be even more blown away by both his musicianship and songwriting on 鈥淐rosses.鈥�
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2004The Classic: The Killers 鈥� Hot Fuss
I thought about going with Arcade Fire鈥檚 debut “Funeral” here, but the depth of this record really holds up better a dozen years later. Each of the first five tracks enjoyed their time in the sun, but 鈥淎ndy You鈥檙e a Star鈥� and 鈥淓verything Will Be Alright鈥� have stuck with me as favorites over the years.
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2004The Late Discovery: Muse 鈥� Absolution
It took a year before this release started making waves in the states, and a little longer before I really appreciated its depth as something of a concept album, often reduced to the popularity of its singles. Its ominous revolutionary, anti-authoritarianism themes might have hit me even harder than most, as I was reading “1984” at the time, but it worked then and it still does today.
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2005The Classic: Bloc Party 鈥� Silent Alarm
It says something about a debut album when it is so good that you can remix the entire thing and have it be your second-best album. While 鈥淏anquet鈥� ruled the day, tracks like 鈥淭his Modern Love鈥� and 鈥淪o Here We Are鈥� have endured the test of time.
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2005The Late Discovery: Tapes 鈥榥 Tapes 鈥� The Loon
Probably the least recognizable album on this list, I鈥檝e given it more spins than a lot of the others here. Often more muted than contemporaries like The Shins, the Minneapolis group鈥檚 debut nevertheless delivers a quiet, driving intensity great for wrapping yourself in on a cold day.
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2006The Classic: Yeah Yeah Yeahs 鈥� Show Your Bones
Those who forgot about the Yeah Yeah Yeahs after 鈥淢aps鈥� missed out on their follow-up album. Gone is the longing from their most popular single, replaced by punchier, crisper melodies more evocative of The White Stripes鈥� 鈥淓lephant鈥� era. If 鈥淢aps鈥� is your only reference point, the tone of “Show Your Bones” is less 鈥渨ait,鈥� and more 鈥渢hey don鈥檛 love you like I love you.鈥�
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2006The Late Discovery: Alexi Murdoch 鈥� Time Without Consequence
Murdoch鈥檚 Nick Drake-esque debut LP opens and closes with its strongest and most well-known songs, but his soothing melodies and heavy baritone permeate throughout, providing easy-to-listen-to tracks that stick with you.
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2007The Classic: The National 鈥� Boxer
For a group that has churned out quality albums for 15 years, “Boxer” stands above as their best work. An album-long dabble into the struggles of early adulthood, it sweeps you into another world with its introspective melancholy.
(蜜桃视频app/Noah Frank)
2007The Late Discovery: A.A. Bondy 鈥� American Hearts
The first and still the best offering from Auguste Arthur Bondy drips with the southern folk rock influence of his Birmingham roots. His music feels like the band you saw in some dive bar one night long ago and swore it was the best show you鈥檇 ever saw, wondering every few years what ever happened to them.
(蜜桃视频app/Noah Frank)
2008The Classic: Bon Iver 鈥� For Emma, Forever Ago
If you鈥檙e going somewhere cold and snowy for Thanksgiving, wrap up and hide from the world with this album.
(蜜桃视频app/Noah Frank)
2008The Late Discovery: Jenny Lewis 鈥� Acid Tongue
Rilo Kiley left an impression on a generation of music listeners, but I didn鈥檛 really get into Jenny Lewis until recently, and I enjoy her solo stuff more. “Rabbit Fur Coat” drew the critical praise, but “Acid Tongue” feels less the collaboration its predecessor was and more of a distilled channeling of Lewis鈥� energy. The title track is timeless.
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2009The Classic: Phoenix 鈥� Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Phoenix had been cranking out records for nearly a decade before their fifth studio album thrust the French rockers into the American mainstream. Even seven years later, you鈥檒l be hard-pressed to find a stronger 1-2 punch to open an album than 鈥淟isztomania鈥� and 鈥�1901.鈥�
(蜜桃视频app/Noah Frank)
2009The Late Discovery: Dan Deacon 鈥� Bromst
The first of three Baltimore artists on the list, Deacon鈥檚 experimental style has been pushing the boundaries of complex sound for some time. That his tunes retain their infectiousness despite their many layers and even after all these years might be their most impressive quality.
(蜜桃视频app/Noah Frank)
2010The Classic: LCD Soundsystem 鈥� This Is Happening
We didn鈥檛 know that this would be James Murphy鈥檚 last (true) studio album when he recorded it, but perhaps the signs were there and we just missed them. The nearly 17 minutes of combined run time from the record鈥檚 epic opener 鈥淒ance Yrself Clean鈥� and finisher 鈥淗ome鈥� bookend a classic and fitting final statement.
(蜜桃视频app/Noah Frank)
2010The Late Discovery: Band of Horses 鈥� Infinite Arms
You can make the argument for “Cease to Begin” or “Everything All the Time” being better albums, but this is the album where the band grew up into its major label clothes and corresponding sound. If there鈥檚 one track that demonstrates that in particular here, it鈥檚 鈥淥lder,鈥� a simple, catchy repetition that could easily be sung in a cannon and has all the stickiness of any mainstream pop tune.
(蜜桃视频app/Noah Frank)
2011The Classic: M83 鈥� Hurry Up We鈥檙e Dreaming
An electronic masterpiece, this booming, soaring double album spans nearly an hour and a quarter over 22 sprawling tracks. And while the sounds can envelop you and swallow you whole, transporting you to another place and time entirely, the album doesn鈥檛 lack for lyrical strength: 鈥淪end your dreams where nobody hides / Give your tears to tide.鈥�
(蜜桃视频app/Noah Frank)
2011The Late Discovery: Ben Howard 鈥� Every Kingdom
I was only about a year late to Ben Howard鈥檚 debut album, a collection of stripped down modern folk songs that showcase his fragile, breathy voice. There鈥檚 an urgency of youth in the beats that drive tracks like 鈥淥nly Love鈥� and 鈥淭he Fear鈥� which deliver an angsty edge different from most in his genre.
(蜜桃视频app/Noah Frank)
2012The Classic: Lord Huron 鈥� Lonesome Dreams
Even before 2015鈥檚 “Strange Trails,” Lord Huron captured some sense of the open American West, right from the intro to 鈥淓nds of the Earth.鈥� The tracks almost feel like campfire tunes played under the desert stars that have been beefed up with studio backing. It鈥檚 great music for the drive home.
(蜜桃视频app/Noah Frank)
2012The Late Discovery: Conner Youngblood 鈥� Sketches
I didn鈥檛 stumble upon this album until the second half of this year (thanks, Discover Weekly!), but was instantly enthralled. The Dallas singer-songwriter demands your attention right from the get-go with 鈥淎ustralia,鈥� but the tracks continue to deliver surprises from the syncopated rhythms of “A Summer Song” to聽the electronic anthem “Gold.”
(蜜桃视频app/Noah Frank)
2013The Classic: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. 鈥� The Speed of Things
This relentlessly optimistic and whimsical electronic dance pop record comes straight from, of all places, Detroit. Unlike some of the quiet, introspective artists from the upper Midwest on this list, DEJJ keep things bright even when their lyrics are dark in this truly cohesive effort that feels natural to keep rolling back to the beginning over and over.
(蜜桃视频app/Noah Frank)
2013The Late Discovery: Chvrches 鈥� The Bones of What You Believe
It wasn鈥檛 until I saw Chvrches live that I really appreciated the energy and power of their music. You鈥檇 think Lauren Mayberry鈥檚 fragile soprano might get lost under the heavy power pop synths behind her, but it soars over the top. Chvrches’ anthems drive forward and bounce around your skull long after the last note is played.
(蜜桃视频app/Noah Frank)
2014The Classic: The Antlers 鈥� Familiars
Two records removed from their tragic concept album “Hospice,” The Antlers鈥� most recent effort brings much of the same ambient airiness to its methodic pace. Layers of sound float under a naked guitar riff on 鈥淒irector鈥� while horns deliver almost a second vocal track on 鈥淧arade.鈥� It鈥檚 a work that flows through and past you, like a cool autumn breeze.
(蜜桃视频app/Noah Frank)
2014The Late Discovery: Future Islands 鈥� Singles
It鈥檚 not exactly that I was late to discover this album as much as I was late to fully appreciate it. If you just need to move, if you just need the musical spark to drive your body to dance, “Singles” grabs you by the hand from the opening bars of 鈥淪easons鈥� and never lets go.
(蜜桃视频app/Noah Frank)
2015The Classic: Beach House 鈥� Depression Cherry
As you could guess by the album鈥檚 title, this is not an upbeat record. But the distillation of the Baltimore band鈥檚 style, stripped down to its studs then built delicately back up, produces wonders like 鈥淪pace Song,鈥� an alternate reality for you to let your mind wander.
(蜜桃视频app/Noah Frank)
2015The Late Discovery: Shakey Graves 鈥� And the War Came
One-man bands are capable of creating intricate layers of sound (see Jose Gonzalez above), but rarely will you find so many different musical styles and influences in the same track. Austin鈥檚 own Alejandro Rose-Garcia blends a swirl of electro-alt-country-pop-Americana into something unlike anything I鈥檝e ever heard, and never does so better than on the addictive 鈥淔amily and Genus.鈥�
(蜜桃视频app/Noah Frank)
WASHINGTON 鈥� If our country can agree on anything right now, it鈥檚 that we鈥檙e having trouble agreeing on anything at all.
A seemingly endless and unprecedentedly negative presidential campaign has left many people angry, distrustful and fearful heading into holidays that are supposed to celebrate uniting in peace.
As a sports writer, I know very well the role sports play in helping communities come together in setting aside differences and finding common ground. But I also know sports can feel like an unwelcome and petty distraction in the face of real anxiety. One thing I鈥檝e always found that helps, no matter how I鈥檓 feeling, is music.
We鈥檙e not quite ready for year-end lists and all that yet, but no matter your mood these days, we could all use some really good music to help us get through the days. That鈥檚 why I鈥檝e compiled a list of music released since 2000, including both the album from each year that has resonated with me the most since its release as well as one that I didn鈥檛 discover until later on.
Hopefully this list will both remind you of some great music you鈥檝e forgotten and introduce you to some fantastic stuff you have yet to hear. Share it with your family this week, or throw on some headphones and escape when you need to. If you鈥檝e got some great tunes you鈥檝e been rocking the last couple weeks, feel free to share them in the comments as well.
Note: A couple of the songs in the Spotify playlist below are different tracks from the ones listed in the gallery above.
