What are the best records of the last 15 years? Or more interestingly what are they according to the musicians responsible for some of the best records of the last 15 years?
The latest edition of men’s monthly GQ features a listicle that provides some fodder for both of those questions, complete with a little focus aimed at their readership; ‘The 21 Albums from the 21st Century Every Man Should Hear’ celebrates the achievements of artists who “created fully immersive musical journeys of the highest order,” but don’t just take GQ‘s word for it.
The publication also asked may of the music-makers that made their own Top 21 list for their nominations for the best albums of the 21st century, as Consequence Of Sound reports.
So, the manliest man-sterpiece of our time? Topping GQ’s list is Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, fitting given it’s an album that contains all the testosterone hallmarks (ego, anger, more than a hint of misogyny) but also its sahre of humbling self-doubts and insecurities.
Following behind Yeezy in the Top 5 rankings is The Strokes’ deathless debut Is This It, recent Splendour headliners Outkast’s Stankonia, Daft Punk’s blockbuster second LP Discovery, and LCD Soundsystem’s Sound Of Silver.
[include_post id=”366624″]
Other gentlemanly selections include Frank Ocean’s Channel ORANGE (#7), The White Stripes’ Elephant (#8), Jay Z’s The Blueprint (#12), and J Dilla’s Donuts (#19). It’s not all male-dominated music-makers however, there’s also selections from Amy Winehouse, PJ Harvey, Beyoncé, Fiona Apple, and the Karen O-fronted Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
As for the artists’ picks, Daft Punk also championed The Strokes’ Is This It, Justin Timberlake (in at #9 with FutureSex/LoveSounds) throws plugs D’Angelo’s Voodoo (in at #6) and Kid A by Radiohead (who are notably absent from GQ‘s rankings), while Karen O selects the “gnarly absurdist hooks” fellow New Yorkers’ Liars for They Threw Us All In A Trench and Stuck A Monument On Top.
Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend (at #17 with Modern Vampires of the City) says that “besides Stankonia” his favourite is Dirty Projectors’ the Glad Fact, Beck (scoring #13 for Sea Change) chooses “raconteur” M.I.A.’s Arular, and Jamie xx (at #15 for his Gil-Scott-Heron re-work We’re New Here) loves him some Original Pirate Material by The Streets.
You can view the artists’ full commentary along with GQ’s Top 21 below or check out the full feature here.
Daft Punk nominates The Strokes – Is This It
“Julian [Casablancas] and his bandmates followed in the footsteps of the Velvet Underground, Television, Suicide, the Ramones, and Blondie, creating the fresh, distinctive sound we’d been waiting for for over a decade.”
Justin Timberlake nominates D’Angelo – Voodoo & Radiohead – Kid A
“It may seem ironic that I’d pick two albums released in the first year of the twenty-first century, with all the great music that has come since then. But I was 19. I was ready to listen to music in a different way. Not only were they filled with great songs, but the sound of them really affected me. They were complete pieces of work—progressive and retro at the same time. They transformed whatever world I was in at the time. And eventually led to my desire to make my first solo record. I’ll always reference them as the inspiration that got me off of my ass. I always go back to them, and they still do (get me off of my ass).”
Beck nominates M.I.A. – Arular
“You could feel that album in the air a few years before she did it—just these incredible kaleidoscopic filters of different cultures coming together in a pure and innocent way. The record had a political feeling of early Public Enemy but a sense of fun and energy. She’s just a raconteur.”
Jamie xx nominates The Streets – Original Pirate Material
“It was one of the first things I heard when I decided to make music using a computer. Although I could play some instruments, I wasn’t good enough to be original. With electronic music, it was different. Each song is basically a sample, a bass line and a beat to give Mike Skinner the space to do his thing. He just speaks and tells stories. It’s set around the area I grew up in—Brixton, in southwest London. Everybody my age was listening to it. Everybody got it.”
Karen O (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) nominates Liars – They Threw Us All In A Trench and Stuck A Monument On Top.
“With gnarly absurdist hooks, it was for me the jewel in the crown of the New York music scene at the turn of the century. We questioned it then, but now I’m certain we were having an honest-to-God moment.”
Ezra Koenig (Vampire Weekend) nominates Dirty Projectors – The Glad Fact
“It came at this moment when people were really wondering where alt-rock was gonna head. Dave Longstreth had this uniqueness of voice—and I don’t just mean his singing voice, which is unique, but the perspective. Also: It was my one and only published music review. Ha.”
GQ’s 21 Best Albums From the 21st Century Every Man Should Hear
01. Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
02. The Strokes – Is This It
03. OutKast – Stankonia
04. Daft Punk – Discovery
05. LCD Soundsystem – Sound of Silver
06. D’Angelo – Voodoo
07. Frank Ocean – Channel ORANGE
08. The White Stripes – Elephant
09. Justin Timberlake – FutureSex/LoveSounds
10. Ghostface Killah – Supreme Clientele
11. Amy Winehouse – Back to Black
12. Jay Z – The Blueprint
13. Beck – Sea Change
14. PJ Harvey – Let England Shake
15. Gil Scott-Heron & Jamie xx – We’re New Here
16. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Fever to Tell
17. Vampire Weekend – Modern Vampires of the City
18. Beyoncé – Beyoncé
19. J Dilla – Donuts
20. The Libertines – Up the Bracket
21. Fiona Apple – Extraordinary Machine
