I’m a 90’s boy (in the sense that it was the 90s when I really got into music). I’ve always looked back on it fondly and moaned that they don’t make them like they used to. I set myself the challenge of proving why the noughties had just as many quality records as the 90s. I came up with these ten ‘classics’ which I would put in a similar bracket to Loveless, Siamese Dream, Blue Lines, SAW1, Liquid Swords, etc. The artists are mostly those who had the major body of their best work in the 00s rather than artists who carried over from the 90s (hence no Radiohead).

Four Tet – Pause (2001) (start of ‘folktronica’, still pretty influential)
2 Many DJs – As Heard On Radio Soulwax (2001) (mash-ups becoming popular)
Coldplay – A Rush Of Blood To The Head (2002) (the blur/oasis of the 00s in terms of bringing indie the masses)
Broken Social Scene – You Forgot It In People (2003) (an ambitiously diverse record indicating that collectives could work)
Broadcast – Ha Ha Sound (2003) (retro futurist electronic pop, still quite unlike anything else and probably always will be)
Elliot Smith – Either/Or (2004) (one man and a guitar is the equal of any band)
Kanye West – Late Registration (2005) (cementing the reputation of a guy who gets a thread just for his production skills)
Tim Hecker – Harmony In Ultraviolet (2006) (as influential for me in terms of getting into drone as SAW1 was for electronica)
Interpol – Turn On The Bright Lights (2007) (serious alternative rock can be engaging not embarrassing, except for the lyrics)
Twilight Sad – Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters (2007) (serious alternative rock can be engaging and not have embarrassing lyrics)

Do you suffer from misplaced nostalgia?
Have you been harsh on the noughties?
And if so, which ten records define the noughties for you?

I appreciate that this is i) a list thread, ii) a ranking thread (90s vs 00s), iii) based on subjective opinion, and iv) pointless, but it’s Friday and I’m not that bothered about autotune