# Best rock albums post-2000? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 23, 2007, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-albums-post-2000/405194 "2007-05-23T07:51:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2007, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-albums-post-2000/405194/1 "2007-05-23T07:51:06Z")
[This thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=421887) on the best rock album of all time got me thinking - what’s the best rock album of the '00’s so far? Some have said that rock is dead - what albums of the Bush Generation prove them wrong? Wilco’s **Yankee Hotel Foxtrot?** The New Pornographer’s **Mass Romantic?** Modest Mouse’s **Good News For People Who Love Bad News?** The White Stripes’ **Elephant?** Yo La Tengo’s **I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass?** Throw all suggestions out here. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Universe\_Lashes\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8797f3/32.png) [@The\_Universe\_Lashes\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Universe_Lashes_Out)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2007, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-albums-post-2000/405194/2 "2007-05-23T08:30:34Z")
Radiohead - **Kid A** should definitely be included. I second **Yankee Hotel Foxtrot**. I do love that Yo La Tengo album, but I’m not sure if it’s quite yet on my best of the decade list. I also nominate: The Arcade Fire - **Funeral** The Hold Steady - **Separation Sunday** Sleater-Kinney - **The Woods** My Morning Jacket - **Z** …And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead - **Source Tags and Codes** ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2007, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-albums-post-2000/405194/3 "2007-05-23T09:25:34Z")
Until this thread, I hadn’t noticed how few new (post 2000) rock albums I own! Red Hot Chili Peppers’ **Stadium Arcadium** deserves some consideration. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2007, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-albums-post-2000/405194/4 "2007-05-23T09:41:19Z")
No, I take that back. **Stadium Arcadium** has some great songs, but it also has about thirty wasted cuts. The best rock album of the last 8 years is Lily Allen’s **Alright Still**. Every song on that one is killer. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2007, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-albums-post-2000/405194/5 "2007-05-23T10:04:09Z")
Post 2000 stuff I own and still play: _Armchair Apocrypha_ by Andrew Bird _The Crane Wife_ by The Decemberists _St. Elsewhere_ by Gnarls Barkley _Gulag Orkestar_ by Beirut _Am A Bird Now_ by Antony And The Johnsons _The Mysterious Production Of Eggs_ by Andrew Bird _The Woods_ by Sleater-Kinney _Howl_ by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club _Abattoir Blues / The Lyre Of Orpheus_ by Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds _Cee-Lo Green Is The Soul Machine_ by Cee-Lo _Chutes Too Narrow_ by The Shins _American Idiot_ by Green Day _Streetcore_ by Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros _Welcome Interstate Managers_ by Fountains Of Wayne _The Eminem Show_ by Eminem _A Rush Of Blood To The Head_ by Coldplay _When I Was Cruel_ by Elvis Costello \*Gorillaz \* by Gorillaz _Transcendental Blues_ by Steve Earle _Lift Your Skinny Fists like Antennas to Heaven_ by Godspeed You Black Emperor! ---
**Author:** ![Busy\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@Busy\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Busy_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2007, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-albums-post-2000/405194/6 "2007-05-23T10:11:18Z")
Queens of the Stone Age - **Songs for the Deaf** is the ‘best’ for me, really high quality that endures. Their two albums before were epic, but not sure if they qualify for 2000 and onwards. RaTM ‘Battle for Los Angeles’ just misses the 00 cut as well. [QUOTE=Krokodil] No, I take that back. **Stadium Arcadium** has some great songs, but it also has about thirty wasted cuts. The best rock album of the last 8 years is Lily Allen’s **Alright Still**. Every song on that one is killer. [/QUOTE] C’mon man, Lily Allen? I know rock is a broad church and all but it surely disnae include Lily’s musical nursury rhymes. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2007, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-albums-post-2000/405194/7 "2007-05-23T11:16:37Z")
[QUOTE=The Cocky Watchman] C’mon man, Lily Allen? I know rock is a broad church and all but it surely disnae include Lily’s musical nursury rhymes. [/QUOTE] You don’t bat an eye at Cee-Lo and Steve Earl described as “rock,” but Lily Allen is somehow outside the gate? Yeah, we draw the line in different places. ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2007, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-albums-post-2000/405194/8 "2007-05-23T12:12:37Z")
Talking about straight-up rock, some contenders (in no order): Wilco, _Yankee Hotel Foxtrot_ all three Hold Steady albums New Pornographers, _Electric Version_ The White Stripes, _White Blood Cells_ or _Elephant_ Spoon, _Kill the Moonlight_ Death Cab for Cutie, _Transatlanticism_ Fountains of Wayne, _Welcome Interstate Managers_ (in a pure summertime confection sort of way) Slightly more out there: The Arcade Fire, _Funeral_ Radiohead, _Kid A_ If we’re expanding it enough to include Lily Allen, I’d have to throw in: Sufjan Stevens, _Illinois_ Flaming Lips, _Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots_ ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2007, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-albums-post-2000/405194/9 "2007-05-23T13:39:43Z")
Strictly from a rock perspective: **The Black Parade** , My Chemical Romance **In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3** , Coheed and Cambria **Cities** , Anberlin **We, the Vehicles** Maritime I’d like to second FoW and Modest Mouse, too. There’s a bunch of other stuff I’d add, too, although they’re qualified thru emo, pop, and/or techno rather than thru their rock chops alone: **Hopes and Fears** Keane **Building a Better \_\_\_\_** , Park. **Give Up** , The Postal Service **A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out** , Panic! at the Disco ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2007, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-albums-post-2000/405194/10 "2007-05-23T13:52:04Z")
Either **In Absentia** or **Deadwing** , by Porcupine Tree. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2007, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-albums-post-2000/405194/11 "2007-05-23T14:11:23Z")
I’ll second **Yoshimi** by _The Flaming Lips_ and **American Idiot** by _Green Day_ I’ll add **Wolfmother** by _Wolfmother_. **Audioslave** by _Audioslave_ and a nagging feeling that I’m leaving off something obvious. . . ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2007, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-albums-post-2000/405194/12 "2007-05-23T14:14:26Z")
I’ll toss in **All That You Can’t Leave Behind** by _U2_. MUCH better than **How to dismantle. . .** ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2007, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-albums-post-2000/405194/13 "2007-05-23T15:03:03Z")
No Franz Ferdinand, “Franz Ferdinand” love? ---
**Author:** ![PlasticCloud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbe5ce/32.png) [@PlasticCloud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlasticCloud)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2007, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-albums-post-2000/405194/14 "2007-05-23T15:30:29Z")
Three that occur to me are: **Dungen** :\* Ta Det Lugnt \* **Hot Snakes** : _Audit in Progress_ **Broadcast** : _Tender Buttons_ ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2007, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-albums-post-2000/405194/15 "2007-05-23T15:43:56Z")
[QUOTE=Krokodil] The best rock album of the last 8 years is Lily Allen’s **Alright Still**. Every song on that one is killer. [/QUOTE] I don’t mean to derail this thread, but is Lily Allen really all that? I loved “Smile,” but I’m having a hard time believing the whole album delivers that much. And yet, I remain intrigued… ---
**Author:** ![Autumn\_Almanac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d26b3c/32.png) [@Autumn\_Almanac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autumn_Almanac)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2007, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-albums-post-2000/405194/16 "2007-05-23T15:44:27Z")
My top two are pretty firm: 1. Sleater-Kinney: _The Woods_ 2. Radiohead: _Kid A_ After that, it’s hard to rank them, but the rest of my top ten would probably consist of: Arctic Monkeys: _Favourite Worst Nightmare_ The Futureheads: _News and Tributes_ The Libertines: _The Libertines_ Maxïmo Park: _A Certain Trigger_ Oasis: _Don’t Believe the Truth_ Radiohead: _Hail to the Thief_ The Shins: _Chutes Too Narrow_ Wilco: _a ghost is born_ ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2007, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-albums-post-2000/405194/17 "2007-05-23T15:47:48Z")
And as for me, I’ll vote for: Belle and Sebastian: _Dear Catastrophe Waitress_ New Pornographers: _Electric Version_ Rilo Kiley: _More Adventurous_ The Shins: _Chutes Too Narrow_ White Stripes: _White Blood Cells_ The Decemberists: _Picaresque_ and/or _The Crane Wife_ Dresden Dolls: Self-titled Tom Waits: _Real Gone_ ---
**Author:** ![MichaelQReilly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@MichaelQReilly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelQReilly)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2007, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-albums-post-2000/405194/18 "2007-05-23T15:56:13Z")
Without listing albums anything by the Arctic Monkeys, White Stripes, Franz Ferdinand, Coldplay, Raconteurs, Fallout Boy or Radiohead is what comes to my mind. ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2007, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-albums-post-2000/405194/19 "2007-05-23T16:00:23Z")
> [@](#): > > I don’t mean to derail this thread, but is Lily Allen really all that? I loved “Smile,” but I’m having a hard time believing the whole album delivers that much. And yet, I remain intrigued… I think “Smile” is one of the weakest songs on the album. “LDN” and “Knock 'Em Out” are the real winners. It’s one of the best albums of this year, no doubt, but I wouldn’t call it a rock album. Oh, and add Sleater-Kinney to my list above–definitely _The Woods_, and _All Hands on the Bad One_ if we’re counting albums released _in_ 2000. ---
**Author:** ![recessiveMeme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/46a35a/32.png) [@recessiveMeme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/recessiveMeme)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2007, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-albums-post-2000/405194/20 "2007-05-23T16:33:36Z")
[QUOTE=John DiFool] Either In Absentia or Deadwing, by Porcupine Tree. [/quote] Couldn’t agree more. Don’t forget _Fear of a Blank Planet_! (Just saw the tour for that one! ;)) I’ll second: _American Idiot_ - Greenday _Give Up_ - The Postal Service And add: _In Your Honor_ - Foo Fighters _Demon Days_ - Gorillaz Anything by _[Falconer](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falconer_%28band%29)_ _Haughty Melodic_ - Mike Doughty _With Teeth_ - NiN _Steal This Album!_ - System of a Down _Lateralus_ - Tool [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-albums-post-2000/405194.md?page=2)