35. Queens Of The Stone Age – Songs For The Deaf (2002)

By the time 2002 had rolled around, the Queens were already in their ascendancy. Having progressed from the out and out stoner rock of their self-titled debut to the tighter, harder riffs of Rated R at the turn of the millennium, Songs For The Deaf was the natural progression; bigger, louder, faster, harder, more metal yet more pop. It’s the aural equivalent of a punch in the face from the off, with opening track ‘You Think I Ain’t Worth A Dollar But I Feel Like A Millionaire’ eliciting the feeling of wanting to quit your job, chainsmoke, drink liquor, hang around with tough guys and make rock ‘n’ roll all day long. With the loose concept of a radio show playing the best rock songs you’d never heard (at that point), Songs For The Deaf was an absolute revelation. While core members Josh Homme and Nick Oliveri stepped up their game it was the inclusion of Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters on drum duties that bolted the rhythm section into supernatural territory. Grohl gives the performance of his life. The album’s ultimate denouement comes in the form of ‘The Mosquito Song’ a Led-Zeppelin ‘Stairway to Heaven’-esque bookend with flamenco guitar, piano, strings, horns and accordion which plays out like Ennio Morricone-soundtracked closing credits, the bad guys safe in the knowledge that they have left your ears tender and your heart in need of a breather. (Niall Byrne)

34. The Knife – Deep Cuts (2004)

Before they went all techno on us, brother-sister duo Karin and Olof Dreijer created this, their second album, a synth-heavy work of pop where shimmery melodies stood to the fore. Most famous for the original version of ‘Heartbeats’, which went on to be covered by José Gonzalez on his debut Veneer, Deep Cuts managed to be both light and dark, funny and sad, with the feminist and anti-corporate ideals of the Swedish siblings shining through on repeated listenings. Never ones to create works of throwaway pop, the Dreijers ensured that the songs on Deep Cuts were unforgettable, thanks to unexpected moments like the tinkle of Carribean drums. (Aoife Barry)

33. Stephen Malkmus – Stephen Malkmus (2001)

Before the tickertape parade for Pavement’s imminent return begins let’s take a moment to doff our caps to the delightful solo output of Sir Stephen Malkmus. He created a debut album that delivered dabs of bubblegum thrills and the lyrical bounciness of a bona fide Scrabble champ. Breezy, knockabout treats featuring odes to Yul Brynner and Dire Straits loving couples, it was an effortless melody crammed journey through the mind of indie-pop’s very own David Foster Wallace. (Jennifer Gannon)

32. Death From Above 1979 – You’re a Woman, I’m A Machine (2004)

Considering they declared Jihad on James Murphy, it would only be fair to expect nothing less than an exhilarating blend of arrogance and aggression from Death From Above 1979. You’re a Woman, I’m A Machine is a musical embodiment of that old adage ‘less is more’; the songs, inherently gripping, are underpinned by simple but forceful drumlines, a bass that bores unremittingly through every track drenched in distortion and strangely beguiling vocals which are redolent of both anguish and fury in equal measures. Added to this holy trinity a smattering of synths, and Death From Above 1979 laid bare the dysfunctional but successful marriage of electro and punk, two seemingly mismatched but ultimately compatible partners in an indispensable and relentlessly re-listenable album dripping with ferocious sex, petulance and indestructible rage. (Sophie Elizabeth Smith)

31. Burial – Untrue (2007)

Shrugging off the praise heaped on his debut the year before, Burial once again transcended dubstep’s insular underground with a perfectly rendered urban soundtrack. The enigmatic Londoner’s delicate two-step beats and smudged sub-bass offer a portal into a drizzly sodium-lit trudge home with your hood up, as the night seeps into dawn. More than a post-rave comedown blanket, Untrue rounds up distant slivers of angelic vocals, scuffed footsteps and impressionist synth motifs to craft a piece that sounds like a misty-eyed hymn to dance music itself. (Conor McCaffrey)

Pages: 1 2

Related

• State’s albums of the decade – 30 to 21
• Oxegen Sunday – Hudson Mohawke, Fever Ray
• Glastonbury Photos 2009
• Fever Ray – Fever Ray
• Pet Shop Boys, Nine Inch Nails, Jane’s Addiction & more for Oxegen