Top 100 Records of the 21st Century (So Far) [2000-2024]: 90-81

90. 40 Miler by Tim Barry (2012)
40 Miler is Tim Barry’s best album, front to back. The Richmond, VA singer-songwriter has had a long and storied career going back to the 1990s and his melodic hardcore punk band Avail. As a solo artist, he has produced some of the best punk-gone-folk songs across nine albums, but for a top to bottom listening experience, 40 Miler is the standout. The album contains all-time classics like the title track, “Wezeltown,” and the hilariously brilliant “Fine Foods Market” but what makes this record so good is the deep cuts. Tracks like “Adele and Hell” and “Bankers Dilemma” may not make into most live setlists but are really should. I saw Barry in the mid- to late-2010s and it was something special. I’d recommend his two live albums 2014’s Raising Hell & Living Cheap: Live in Richmond and 2020’s Live 2018 because not only do they capture the essence of his performance but they also serve as good “best of” collections.

89. Sweet Saint Me by Two Cow Garage (2010)
Two Cow Garage’s fifth album Sweet Saint Me opens with one of the band’s best songs “Sally, I’ve Been Shot,” a ridiculously catchy number that pulls as much from the college rock of Dramarama and the indie rock of Archers of Loaf as it does the alt country of Uncle Tupelo. This band has always been more than just an alt country band and this album highlights this fact. Another standout moment is the thoughtful remembrance of “Jackson, Don’t You Worry,” a song that makes me think of my long-time friend Steve.

88. Augustines by Augustines (2014)
I discovered Augustines when reading up on The Big Music and was immediately drawn to their sweeping and soaring anthems. It’s kind of amazing that songs as big as those on the band’s self-titled sophomore album were made by a power trio. If you doubt me, give “Nothing To Lose But Your Head” a listen and report back to me.

87. Your New Norman Rockwell by Micah Schnabel (2017)
Micah Schnabel’s third solo album, Your New Norman Rockwell, contains two of the best songs he's ever written in “Hello, My Name Is Henry” and “Jazz and Cinnamon Toast Crunch.” If you are a fan of the band Schnabel leads with Shane Sweeney, Two Cow Garage, but have never heard his solo material, this album is a great place to start.

86. Rebel Songs by The Iron Roses (2021)
Originally released as Nat Gray’s (then going by Nathan) third solo album, Rebel Songs is a moment of change for the Boysetsfire singer. As Gray toured promoting the album, their backing band became the band and The Iron Roses was born. I never got into (or even heard for that matter) Boysetsfire, so my first exposure to Gray’s music was their 2020 album Working Title, a record of thoughtful, socially conscious anthems that mixed the heart of bands like 7 Seconds and U2 with the scrappiness of The Replacements and the bombast of the best of Bruce Springsteen. That was the foundation on which Rebel Songs and The Iron Roses were laid. There is a palpable earnestness to these songs proving that Gray is a true believer. Right from the start, I knew that Gray’s music fell into the U2 side of my “a band is either a U2 or a Replacement” categorization. Since then I’ve realized that the band that The Iron Roses reminds me of most is The Alarm. The Welsh act was part of a group of bands (a movement…scene?) that were, as uDiscoverMusic’s Jim Allen described it, a “loose agglomeration of mid-’80s bands with an epic vibe and an unabashed belief in the redemptive power of larger-than-life rock,” collectively known as The Big Music. Of those band’s, The Alarm were the most earnest. It drips from every word, every note, and every soaring chorus and it is that same earnest passion and conviction that drives Rebel Songs.

85. Awake Is the New Sleep by Ben Lee (2005)
Ben Lee had always been a good songwriter going back to his days in Noise Addict in the early 1990s, but on Awake Is the New Sleep, he took things to an entirely new level. Released in 2005, Lee’s fifth solo album is expertly crafted indie pop rock and includes some of the catchiest songs of the century.

84. American Slang by The Gaslight Anthem (2010)
American Slang was my introduction to The Gaslight Anthem. The record was profiled by NPR and I liked what I heard so I picked up the CD and have been a fan ever since. What grabbed me about this record were the hints of and nods to Motown and 60s soul music (“The Diamond Church Street Choir,” “Bring It On,” and “Boxer”). The soul influence wouldn’t be as obviously prominent on the band’s later records, which is something that I do miss.

83. Love Is The Great Rebellion by Ben Lee (2015)
After two experimental concept albums and a mixtape of collaborations, Ben Lee released Love Is The Great Rebellion in 2015. A phrase that is often misused and overused in music criticism is “return to form.” That’s unfortunate because Love Is The Great Rebellion is an actual return to form for Ben Lee. From top to bottom, this is an outstanding indie pop record. It is also an album with an excellent message of love, compassion, and community. If you only pick one song from this record to check out, I suggest “Big Love” but seriously, the entire thing is excellent.

82. How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb by U2 (2004)
After the success of their return to form album All That You Can’t Believe Behind, U2 followed it with the even more rockin’ How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb. In a lot of ways, it was shocking that All You Can’t Leave Behind and How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb were as good as they were. There seems to be a general consensus that U2 produced three all-time great albums: The Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby, and All That You Can’t Leave Behind. Here are my hot takes: 1) Achtung Baby is great but vastly overrated, and 2) How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb is just as good, if not better, than All That You Can’t Leave Behind. Even if the song “Vertigo” turns you off, give the entire album a shot or at the very least listen to “City Of Blinding Lights.” It’s incredible.

81. We Are The Pipettes by The Pipettes (2006)
The Pipettes were a throwback to the classic Phil Spector produced girl groups of the early 1960s, with a 21st century indie pop spin. The band’s greatest strength was the vocals. Rose Elinor Dougall, Gwenno Saunders (aka Gwenno), and Rebecca Stephens (aka RiotBecki) voices mixed beautifully, creating harmonies that could stand up next to any of those groups from the ‘60s. We Are The Pipettes was the band’s full-length debut and their magnum opus. They did release a couple EPs, singles, and a second full-length, 2010’s Earth Vs The Pipettes, all of which were good but due to a lineup change, the specific mix that made the first album magic was gone. Thankfully, we still have We Are The Pipettes.