Added by the giraffe on 21 Aug 2011 04:50

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Best albums of 2000

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For my other Best albums lists for this decade, please visit my Best albums of the 00s list. All videos chosen for quality of sound, rather than visuals.

Relationship of Command - At the Drive-In

Relationship of Command kicks off with a big bang and powers through to a beautiful end. At the time it came out I hadn't heard anything like it, and the passion & intensity on display in every song remains palpable even now. I have no idea what the hell Cedric's on about lyrically, but it doesn't matter...the emotion he pours into his vocal delivery transcends understanding so that you can FEEL it even if you can't understand it.

So glad I got to see them once before they broke up.
Favorite song: "Non-Zero Possibility"

the giraffe's rating:

157

7.7

Stankonia - OutKast

Favorite song: "I'll Call Before I Come"

the giraffe's rating:

164

White Pony - Deftones

At one time, I thought Deftones couldn't possibly top Around the Fur. White Pony proved me wrong. It builds off the sound they created in their first 2 albums with electronics and experimentation that works every single time. They set the bar so high for themselves with White Pony that their subsequent albums have all been disappointments to varying degrees for a variety of reasons, but none of them have tarnished the Greatness of this album. Pure perfection.
Favorite song: "Rx Queen"

the giraffe's rating:

Holy Wood (In The Shadow Of The Valley Of Death)

177

7.5

Holy Wood (In The Shadow Of The Valley Of Death)... - Marilyn Manson

The album that won me back as a MM fan. Mr. Manson truly had a lot on his mind & many important things to say, all of which makes for a very compelling album. I love the way it intermingles the Columbine shooting with the Kennedy assassination, the Beatles, and religious themes. Add to that the fact that this album marked the first time since their debut that the music has its own identity as opposed to being buried underneath MM's influences.
Favorite song: "Lamb of God"

the giraffe's rating:

7.6

Haunted - Poe

Poe improves on her debut with an album partly influenced by her brother's brilliant novel House of Leaves, partly influenced by her father's death, and all connected by her unique sonic vision. Each song has a different feel and sound, with Poe's voice as the sole unifying force...and what a beautiful voice it is.
Favorite song: "5 1/2 Minute Hallway"

the giraffe's rating:

174

7.5

De Stijl - The White Stripes

Better by far than the more popular albums that followed.
Favorite song: All of them are Amazing, so I'll just choose one: "Hello Operator"

the giraffe's rating:

7.3

Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia - The Dandy Warhols

For a while this was my favorite album of 2000. For songs this diverse to flow so perfectly together still makes me happy every time I listen to it.
Favorite song: "Shakin'"

the giraffe's rating:

Frankenstein Girls Will Seem Strangely Sexy

7.8

Frankenstein Girls Will Seem Strangely Sexy - Mindless Self Indulgence

MSI is one of those bands either you love or you don't. This was my introduction to their music, an album I picked up after seeing some positive reviews. It remains my favorite of theirs, and how they managed to convince a major label to put it out I'm still not sure.
Favorite song: "I Hate Jimmy Page"

Note: Somehow this got left off the list when I first put it together. I partly blame my mp3 player which inexplicably lists its release year as 1999.

the giraffe's rating:

8.7

Three - Black Heart Procession

Beautifully depressing.
Favorite song: "Guess I'll Forget You"

the giraffe's rating:

8.2

L.D. 50 - Mudvayne

It took seeing these guys perform live 3 times before I finally got into them, and once I did I was a devoted fan for several years. I don't listen to them as much anymore, but this album still kicks my ass from start to finish.
Favorite song: "Cradle"

the giraffe's rating:

8.2

Jupiter - Cave in

Favorite song: "In the Stream of Commerce"

the giraffe's rating:

7.3

Young Bodies Heal Quickly, You Know - The Paper Chase

Throughout the 00s, the pAper chAse were the best band Dallas had to offer. Their debut album blew me away as much as their live performances, and it also began the long production career of bandleader John Congleton.
Favorite song: "when (and if) the big one hits, i'll just meet you there"

the giraffe's rating:

158

7.7

Rated R - Queens of the Stone Age

Favorite song: "In the Fade"

the giraffe's rating:

227

7.6

Mer de Noms - A Perfect Circle

Favorite song: "3 Libras" (it's extremely rare that a single is my favorite song, but I loved this song before it even WAS a single :P)

the giraffe's rating:

In Name and Blood - The Murder City Devils

Favorite song: "Somebody Else's Baby"

the giraffe's rating:

Gizmodgery - Self

Mostly noted for Self's use of toys & toy instruments to compose its sound, but the songwriting here is as good as any other Self album.
Favorite song: "Dead Man"

the giraffe's rating:

Luxury or Whether It Is Better To Be Loved Than Feared

Luxury or Whether It Is Better To Be Loved Than Feared... - Captain Audio

Another short-lived Dallas band. After this album 2/3 of the band took off for New York & formed The Secret Machines, whom you may have heard of. In my opinion, they should have taken the other 1/3 with them though.
Favorite song: "Star" ...which I couldn't find a video for. So instead you may enjoy this one:

the giraffe's rating:

A Few Possible Selections For The Soundtrack Of Your Life

A Few Possible Selections For The Soundtrack Of Your Life... - Chomsky

Chomsky were a short-lived Dallas band I got into via their live shows. Their guitarist would wander all over the stage and amps like a madman while never missing a note, which always made for an entertaining show.
Favorite song: "Mason"

the giraffe's rating:

7.1

Hooray for Boobies - Bloodhound Gang

Favorite song: "A Lap Dance Is So Much Better When the Stripper Is Crying"

the giraffe's rating:

7.8

Lounge Against The Machine - Richard Cheese

My introduction to Richard Cheese, and the only album where I like almost every song on it. You can tell he's having FUN on every track, turning a variety of hit singles into lounge songs.
Favorite song: "Closer" (the piano sounds like the old Sesame Street theme, yeah?)

the giraffe's rating:

Turntable Scientifics - Mr. Dibbs

New addition
Just heard this one over the Labor Day weekend at a friend's house & was completely blown away by it. It's a very rare mixtape full of guest appearances and some of the most impressive DJ work I've ever heard (and I'm not big on DJs).

Someone uploaded the first half of it to youtube, & I've provided that here. I don't expect anyone to listen to ALL of it, but you should at least listen to some of it (to be honest though, if you're like me you'll listen all the way to the end anyway haha).

the giraffe's rating:

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Runners-up

Looking back on 2000, a mixture of feelings stirs within me. Clearly a lot of great albums were released that year, and most of these I still listen to regularly to this day. On the other hand, a lot of these albums also wound up being the last release for the band that recorded them. At the Drive-In, Pantera, and Captain Audio all broke up after touring behind their albums listed here. Tripping Daisy was already broken up thanks to their guitarist's death in late 1999, so their self-titled release came after his death & remains a difficult album for me to enjoy. Add to that the fact that Self went on hiatus after Gizmodgery, and that Poe STILL hasn't released a follow-up to Haunted (due largely to legal battles with her record label), and you've got a lot of endings here.

But then there's a lot of new beginnings here too. Debut albums from A Perfect Circle, Richard Cheese, the pAper chAse, Mudvayne, and Chomsky all came out this year, and started my being a fan of each.

Interesting to me also is that 2000 marks the last time that several Dallas/Fort Worth area bands would hold spots on my Best albums lists. That's largely because of the break-ups mentioned above, plus some others that came in 2001/2002. As the 00s wore on, I wound up with only a couple of local bands I still was enthusiastic about, whereas in the 1990s I had many that kept me going.

Anyway, on with the list...