Correction: The 2009 Shakira album was mistakenly left out of the artist's average Metascore calculation. The Best Pop/R&B Artists table has been revised accordingly. [12/16]
Our top artists and albums from 2000-09, with a major caveat
As we celebrate ten years of collecting reviews for Metacritic with this look back at the best music of the decade (there will be more articles in the coming weeks about other entertainment genres), let's be clear about one thing from the start: we don't have every album from the decade in our database.
In fact, it's not even close. Although definitive figures are elusive, the number of album releases per year in the U.S. alone easily reaches into the thousands. If you include the most obscure labels and self-released titles, the number is upwards of 20,000 per year, and likely reaches several hundred thousand for the decade. Of course, only a tiny fraction of those albums actually get reviewed by major publications and critics.
On Metacritic, we list, on average, about 450-500 titles annually, although that number has been increasing in recent years, and we now list 700 or more albums per year. Which albums do we cover? Typically, the ones that get reviewed the most by the publications we use, which means a lot of indie and alternative rock, certainly, but also major releases in rap, pop, R&B, rock, electronic and country, among other genres. What don't we cover? Well, a lot of terrible albums, for one thing. (Although we did manage to list a Kevin Federline album.) But keep in mind that we are also missing some gems -- including a few releases by some of the artists you'll see mentioned below (and elsewhere on Metacritic). So our lists and picks below are meant to represent the best of what is listed on Metacritic, and are not intended to be all-inclusive of every album released during the decade. (Is your favorite release of the decade missing from our lists? Post your picks in the comments section.)
And one more thing before we get to the good stuff: we know the decade doesn't really end until the conclusion of 2010. We're just impatient, like the rest of the internet.
Our top overall artist of the decade: Spoon
Triumph of the underdogBefore we get to the top albums of the past ten years, let's take a look at the best artists of the decade. First, we decided to highlight the top overall artists of the past 10 years by picking the artists who met the following three criteria: (a) released at least 3 albums from 2000-09; (b) at least two of those albums must be "great" (with a Metascore of 81 or higher); and (c) the average (mean) Metascore for all of their releases from the decade must also be 81 or higher.
The top 35 artists meeting all three criteria are displayed below (sorted by number of great albums, then by Metascore average), and the band topping the list was a surprise to us as well, albeit a pleasant one. The Austin, Texas indie-rock band Spoon may not be the most prolific band of the decade, but they were the most consistently great. From 2001's stellar Girls Can Tell to 2007's, well, stellar Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, the Britt Daniel-led group received accolades from the music press and music fans for their impeccable songwriting and addictive songs.
Even less prolific than Spoon but almost more accomplished is the Atlanta rap duo OutKast, who scored two of the best-reviewed albums of the decade in Stankonia and Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. If they could have pulled off the trifecta, they would have finished with the decade's highest average Metascore; instead, OutKast's third and final release of the period, Idlewild, was merely good. So the highest average instead goes to defunct indie-rock band Sleater-Kinney, who went out on a high note with 2005's The Woods but fell one great album short of Spoon's total for the decade. Another top-scoring artist was Bob Dylan, whose 2003 release Love and Theft stands as another critical high point of the past ten years.
| Artist | # Releases | # Great | Average Metascore | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spoon | 4 | 4 | 85.3 |
| 2 | Sigur Rós | 4 | 4 | 83.5 |
| 3 | Super Furry Animals | 6 | 4 | 82.5 |
| The Welsh alt-rockers quietly had a terrific decade; side project Neon Neon shone as well | ||||
| 4 | Sleater-Kinney | 3 | 3 | 86.3 |
| 5 | White Stripes | 4 | 3 | 84.8 |
| Jack White even found time to produce one of the decade's best albums, for Loretta Lynn | ||||
| 6 | Animal Collective | 5 | 3 | 83.8 |
| Doesn't include 2003's well-reviewed Here Comes the Indian, as well as three earlier albums | ||||
| 7 | Drive-By Truckers | 4 | 3 | 83.8 |
| 8 | Lightning Bolt | 3 | 3 | 83.7 |
| One man's low-fi abrasiveness is another critic's gem | ||||
| 9 | Iron & Wine | 4 | 3 | 82.3 |
| 10 | The Hold Steady | 5 | 3 | 82.2 |
| 11 | The New Pornographers | 4 | 3 | 82.0 |
| 12 | Portastatic | 3 | 3 | 81.7 |
| 13 | Elbow | 4 | 3 | 81.5 |
| 14 | Low | 4 | 3 | 81.5 |
| With Metascores of 87-76-82-81, this slowcore band may have to re-think its name | ||||
| 15 | Bob Dylan | 3 | 2 | 86.0 |
| 16 | OutKast | 3 | 2 | 86.0 |
| 17 | TV On The Radio | 3 | 2 | 85.0 |
| 18 | Sufjan Stevens | 3 | 2 | 84.0 |
| 19 | Tom Waits | 3 | 2 | 84.0 |
| 20 | Four Tet | 3 | 2 | 83.7 |
| 21 | Dizzee Rascal | 4 | 2 | 83.0 |
| 22 | Richard Hawley | 3 | 2 | 82.0 |
| 23 | Okkervil River | 3 | 2 | 82.0 |
| 24 | Sam Phillips | 3 | 2 | 82.0 |
| 25 | Radiohead | 4 | 2 | 82.0 |
| A popular pick for band of the decade, but 2001's Amnesiac is holding them back here | ||||
| 26 | Yeah Yeah Yeahs | 3 | 2 | 82.0 |
| 27 | Kanye West | 4 | 2 | 81.8 |
| 28 | Andrew Bird | 3 | 2 | 81.7 |
| 29 | The National | 3 | 2 | 81.7 |
| 30 | The Go-Betweens | 3 | 2 | 81.3 |
| 31 | Neko Case | 4 | 2 | 81.3 |
| 32 | Blood Brothers | 3 | 2 | 81.0 |
| 33 | The Clientele | 4 | 2 | 81.0 |
| 34 | Modest Mouse | 3 | 2 | 81.0 |
| Made the leap from indie to (somewhat) mainstream without losing the critics | ||||
| 35 | Yo La Tengo | 4 | 2 | 81.0 |
Next, let's look at some of the top artists of the decade in various genres of music. The artists in these lists are simply listed in order by their average (mean) Metascores for the past ten years. Again, only artists with three or more releases are included, and the same notes in the tiny font above also apply to the tables below.
The top artists of the decade, by genre
| Artist | Average Metascore | Best-Reviewed Album | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sleater-Kinney | 86.3 | The Woods |
| 2 | Spoon | 85.3 | Kill The Moonlight |
| 3 | TV On The Radio | 85.0 | Dear Science, |
| 4 | White Stripes | 84.8 | Elephant |
| 5 | Sufjan Stevens | 84.0 | Illinois |
| 6 | Animal Collective | 83.8 | Merriweather Post Pavilion |
| 7 | Drive-By Truckers | 83.8 | Decoration Day |
| 8 | Lightning Bolt | 83.7 | Hypermagic Mountain |
| 9 | Sigur Rós | 83.5 | Ágætis Byrjun |
| 10 | Bjork | 83.0 | Vespertine |
| A sampling of other artists: | |||
| Destroyer | 81.7 | Destroyer's Rubies | |
| Pernice Brothers | 81.3 | Yours, Mine & Ours | |
| British Sea Power | 80.7 | The Decline of British Sea Power | |
| Queens of the Stone Age | 80.7 | Songs for the Deaf | |
| The Decemberists | 80.5 | The Crane Wife | |
| The Flaming Lips | 79.7 | Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots | |
| System of a Down | 78.3 | Mezmerize | |
| U2 | 77.0 | All That You Can't Leave Behind | |
| Beck | 76.8 | Sea Change | |
| Coldplay | 74.0 | A Rush of Blood to the Head | |
| Nine Inch Nails | 73.5 | The Slip | |
| Green Day | 72.3 | American Idiot | |
| R.E.M. | 70.3 | Accelerate | |
| Weezer | 63.6 | Weezer [Green Album] | |
| Artist | Average Metascore | Best-Reviewed Album | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | OutKast | 86.0 | Stankonia |
| 2 | Dizzee Rascal | 83.0 | Boy in Da Corner |
| 3 | Kanye West | 81.8 | College Dropout |
| Yo Kanye, we're really happy for you, but OutKast had one of the best decades of all time. | |||
| 4 | Missy Elliott | 80.8 | Miss E... So Addictive |
| 5 | The Roots | 80.5 | Phrenology |
| 6 | Murs | 79.3 | Murs 3:16 The 9th Edition |
| 7 | The Streets | 79.0 | A Grand Don't Come for Free |
| 8 | Nas | 76.4 | God's Son |
| 9 | Ghostface Killah | 76.0 | Fishscale |
| 10 | De La Soul | 75.8 | The Grind Date |
| A sampling of other artists: | |||
| Jay-Z | 75.0 | The Blueprint | |
| Although three of his albums scored well above 80, the other three were stuck in the 60's | |||
| Wu-Tang Clan | 74.3 | The "W" | |
| Atmosphere | 73.3 | You Can't Imagine How Much Fun We're Having | |
| T.I. | 70.7 | King | |
| The Game | 70.0 | Doctor's Advocate | |
| Eminem | 69.3 | The Marshall Mathers LP | |
| The overall top-selling artist of the decade, with over 32 million units sold | |||
| Snoop Dogg | 67.3 | Paid Tha Cost To Be Da Boss | |
| Nelly | 65.0 | Nellyville | |
| 50 Cent | 64.8 | Get Rich or Die Tryin' | |
| Black Eyed Peas | 62.0 | Bridging the Gap | |
| Artist | Average Metascore | Best-Reviewed Album | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Solomon Burke | 79.3 | Don't Give Up On Me |
| Not bad for a man whose age is close to his average Metascore | |||
| 2 | Me'Shell NdegéOcello | 78.7 | The World Has Made Me The Man Of My Dreams |
| Her stellar December '09 release is not included, since it had just 4 reviews at press time | |||
| 3 | Erykah Badu | 77.3 | New Amerykah: Part One (4th World War) |
| 4 | Al Green | 77.3 | Lay It Down |
| 5 | Mary J Blige | 75.5 | No More Drama |
| 6 | Norah Jones | 75.0 | Come Away With Me |
| Come Away With Me trailed only The Beatles and 'N Sync for top-selling album of the decade | |||
| 7 | Shakira | 74.7 | Fijacion Oral Vol. 1 |
| 8 | Ne-Yo | 74.0 | Year of the Gentleman |
| 9 | Alicia Keys | 71.7 | Songs in A Minor |
| 10 | Keyshia Cole | 71.3 | The Way It Is |
| A sampling of other artists: | |||
| Madonna | 71.3 | Music | |
| Pink | 70.5 | M!ssundaztood | |
| Macy Gray | 69.0 | The Trouble with Being Myself | |
| Usher | 67.3 | 8701 | |
| Avril Lavigne | 66.3 | Let Go | |
| Beyonce | 65.3 | B'Day | |
| Both she and Kelly Rowland scored higher for their solo discs than Destiny's Child did as a group | |||
| Kelly Clarkson | 65.3 | All I Ever Wanted | |
| R. Kelly | 64.7 | TP-2.com | |
| Britney Spears | 63.4 | Oops!... I Did It Again | |
| Oops, she couldn't do it again: only her first disc of the decade topped the 70 mark | |||
| Christina Aguilera | 60.0 | Back to Basics | |
| Mariah Carey | 59.6 | Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel | |
| Artist | Average Metascore | Best-Reviewed Album | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Four Tet | 83.7 | Rounds |
| His score reflects solo work only; albums with Fridge and Steve Reid failed to wow critics | |||
| 2 | Junior Boys | 81.3 | Last Exit |
| 3 | Matmos | 79.0 | The Rose Has Teeth in The Mouth of a Beast |
| 4 | Amon Tobin | 78.3 | Supermodified |
| 5 | M83 | 77.3 | Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts |
| 6 | Basement Jaxx | 77.3 | Kish Kash |
| 7 | Ladytron | 77.0 | 604 |
| 8 | Mouse on Mars | 76.3 | Idiology |
| 9 | Goldfrapp | 76.3 | Supernature |
| 10 | Autechre | 74.5 | Confield |
| A sampling of other artists: | |||
| Royksopp | 74.3 | Melody A.M. | |
| Chemical Brothers | 70.0 | Come With Us | |
| Air | 69.6 | Talkie Walkie | |
| Thievery Corporation | 68.0 | The Mirror Conspiracy | |
| Zero 7 | 65.7 | The Garden | |
| Moby | 59.0 | Wait For Me | |
| Artist | Average Metascore | Best-Reviewed Album | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bob Dylan | 86.0 | Love and Theft |
| 2 | Tom Waits | 84.0 | Alice |
| 3 | Sufjan Stevens | 84.0 | Illinois |
| 4 | Iron & Wine | 82.3 | The Creek Drank the Cradle |
| 5 | Sam Phillips | 82.0 | Don't Do Anything |
| 6 | Richard Hawley | 82.0 | Cole's Corner |
| A former member of Pulp, Hawley is one of the top British singer-songwriters working today | |||
| 7 | Andrew Bird | 81.7 | The Mysterious Production of Eggs |
| 8 | Neko Case | 81.3 | Fox Confessor Brings the Flood |
| 9 | Richard Thompson | 80.0 | Sweet Warrior |
| 10 | Rosanne Cash | 80.0 | Black Cadillac |
| A sampling of other artists: | |||
| Vic Chesnutt | 79.0 | Silver Lake | |
| Cat Power | 78.8 | You Are Free | |
| Ron Sexsmith | 78.4 | Cobblestone Runway | |
| Damien Jurado | 78.3 | Where Shall You Take Me | |
| Aimee Mann | 78.0 | Bachelor No. 2 (or, the last remains of the dodo) | |
| Lucinda Williams | 77.5 | World Without Tears | |
| Jolie Holland | 77.3 | Escondida | |
| Josh Rouse | 77.3 | 1972 | |
| Rickie Lee Jones | 76.3 | The Evening of My Best Day | |
| Rufus Wainwright | 76.0 | Poses | |
On the next page, we reveal the best-reviewed albums of the past ten years ...
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