80: Elvis Costello & The Imposters - The Delivery Man (2004)
Elvis Costello has come a long way from his classic debut album My Aim Is True in 1977. But like wine, Costtello simply gets better with age. In 2004 he teamed up with The Imposters and cranked out a set of delta blues rock mixed in with some country and folk throwbacks. While Costello is remembered for his more avant-garde experiments in pop, The Delivery Man is the man's most down to earth album he ever made. Top Tunes: (Monkey To Man, Button My Lip, Heart Shaped Blues)
79: U2 - How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb (2004)
Bono went through a mid life crisis. Sure his band reclaimed their glory on All That You Can't Leave Behind in 2000, but when Bono's father passed away, a rocky past and unresolved feelings came rushing back to a man with the unbreakable ego. Atomic Bomb is Bono turning human for a brief 50 minutes. He's Paul Hewson who writes some of his most personal material for some of the most personal reasons. Top Tunes: (Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Miracle Drug, Vertigo)
78: The Raconteurs - Broken Boy Soldiers (2006)
Jack White got back to his straight forward rock roots with the Raconteurs in 2006 after releasing The White Stripes' most experimental album Get Behind Me Satan the previous year. A super group also consisting of the Greenhorns, this foursome showed how down to earth a group of pre-established rock stars could be. Top Tunes: (Steady As She Goes, Level, Together)
77: Coheed & Cambria - Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV Volume 1: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness (2005)
A modern prog rock masterpiece written by a band who wants to be Rush and Iron Maiden at the same time. All of Coheed's albums are part of a grander rock opera set in space which might make this album a bit fragmented - but who cares? Sure singer Claudio Sanchez is the only one who knows what he's singing about. But when an emo band writes arena ready rock this ear shattering, you just get lost in the moment and go back to your game of dungeons and dragons. Top Tunes: (Welcome Home, The Suffering, The Willing Well II: From Fear Through The Eyes of Madness)
76: Foo Fighters - In Your Honor (2005)
Drummer Taylor Hawkins was pilled out, everyone hated each other and Dave Grohl went to go play drums for Queens of the Stone Age in 2002. So when the Foos tried to get back on their feet in 2005 they decided to... release a double album? A lofty idea indeed. One album of classic crunchy Foo Fighters tunes, another disc of soft log cabin songs that go perfectly with a bottle of Jack. Some might think 20 songs a bit too much to swallow. I think it's a healthy serving of solid comeback. Top Tunes: (Best Of You, On The Mend, Virginia Moon)
75: Fountains of Wayne - Traffic And Weather (2007)
The best pop act of the last ten years hasn't been a boy band or a teen princess. That title belongs to a group of scrawny white guys from the Jersey shore. Fountain of Wayne have always had a knack for catchy tunes and simple, yet memorable, story telling. Traffic And weather is the most refined album of the band's career. Sure there may not be a stand out "Stacy's Mom" single, but you can't deny the quality of the songs offered. Top Tunes: (Someone To Love, Fire In The Canyon, I-95)
74: The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (2002)
A truly beautiful album. Wayne Coyne and company made a record that pleased acid heads, rock fans and pop purists alike. A loose concept album based around a young girl defeating evil self aware machinery, Yoshimi isn't as straight forward as you would think. It's not about humans waging war on computers. The Lips question how the rise of the Internet and technology in general is making all of us a little more like a walking talking television screen. But the music wins the day on this album. Makes you want to see colors. Top Tunes: (Fight Test, In The Morning of the Magicians, Do You Realize)
73: Garbage - Beautiful Garbage (2001)
Forget Gwen Stefani. Garbage's Shirley Manson was the ultimate front woman during the 90s. Sure Stefaini and No Doubt sold more records, but Garbage stayed true to their rock roots and never made a crumby reggae record. Beautiful Garbage is the band's most polished album and features some of Manson's strongest vocals of her career. Released at the dawn of a new millennium, the band shed their grunge past and threw a party. Top Tunes: (Can't Cry These Tears, Silence Is Golden, So Like A Rose)
72: Jay-Z - The Black Album (2003)
Labeled Jay-Z's "farewell album" in 2003, HOVA decided to go out with a bang. Working with producers such as Kanye West, Eminem, Timbaland and Rick Rubin, The Black Album is the heaviest album this MC has ever released. While "99 Problems" may have been the only real single that made an impact, the entire record as a whole packs a hell of a punch. The last great album Jay has prodcud. Top Tunes: (99 Problems, Moment of Clarity, What More Can I Say)
71: R.E.M. - Accelerate (2008)
When drummer Bill Berry left the band in 1997, R.E.M. vocalist Michael Stipe claimed the music would not suffer and the band would keep up the rockin' tunes. Long story short, Stipe lied. It took 11 years for the band to keep their promise when they released Accelerate. 11 blistering songs running a scant 38 minutes recalls the glory days for the band when Stipe still had hair and MTV still played music videos. Top Tunes: (Living Well Is The Best Revenge, Hollow Man, Horse To Water)
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