Each Note Secure points out that
Harp Magazine has listed what it deems to be the 50 "most essential" albums since 2001. Harp started in 2001 and is celebrating its 5th anniversary, hence the list. The worthy 50:
50) Gillian Welch - (Time) The Revelator
49) The Roots - Phrenology
48) Queens of the Stone Age - Songs for the Deaf
47) Silver Jews - Tanglewood Numbers
46) Guided by Voices - Isolation Drills
45) Neko Case - Blacklisted
44) Solomon Burke - Dont Give Up On Me
43) Kathleen Edwards - Failer
42) Mark Lanegan - Bubblegum
41) Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros - Streetcore
40) Lucinda Williams - World without tears
39) Missy Elliot - Miss E…So Addictive
38) Sparklehorse - Its a wonderful life
37) The Libertines - Up the Bracket
36) The Black Keys - Rubber Factory
35) Franz Ferdinand - S/T
34) Wolf Parade - Apologies to Queen Mary
33) Bob Dylan - Love and Theft
32) The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
31) Drive By Truckers - Decoration Day
30) Ryan Adams - Gold
29) Steve Earle - The Revolution Starts Now
28) Elvis Costello - The Delivery Man
27) The Strokes - Is This It?
26) The White Stripes - White Blood Cells
25) The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow
24) The White Stripes - Elephant
23) Cat Power - You Are Free
22) Loretta Lynn - Van Lear Rose
21) Devendra Banhart - Cripple Crow
20) My Morning Jacket - It Still Moves
19) Outkast - Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
18) Steve Earle - Jerusalem
17) Iron and Wine - Our Endless Numbered Days
16) Wilco - A Ghost is Born
15) PJ Harvey - Uh Huh Her
14) Kanye West - Late Registration
13) The New Pornographers - Electric Vision
12) The White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan
11) Sleater Kinney - The Woods
10) The Mars Volta - Frances the Mute
9) MIA - Arular
8) Anthony and the Johnsons - I Am A Bird Now
7) Tom Waits - Real Gone
6) My Morning Jacket - Z
5) Tom Waits - Alice
4) Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
3) Brian Wilson - Smile
2) The New Pornographers - Twin Cinema
1) The Arcade Fire - Funeral
Overall it's a pretty decent list, but there's several albums in there that I just don't agree with at all, including Franz Ferdinand, Devendra Banhart, Mars Volta, and, most of all, MIA.
Missing from the list? What about Bloc Party's
Silent Alarm? The National's
Alligator? The Hold Steady's
Separation Sunday? The Delgados'
Universal Audio?
I guess it's how you define "essential" - it might not necessarily mean "great" albums, but albums that have had an important impact on modern music in the last five years. If that's the standard, though, where's Clap Your Hands Say Yeah?
Memphis is a Canadian band featuring members of Stars (lead singer Torquil Campbell), Metric and the Sam Roberts Band. Apparently they've been together a couple of years already, however I didn't hear about them until this morning. Better late than never, I guess. The band recently released its second album, A Little Place in the Wilderness, and what I've heard so far is fantastic.
