Best Albums of 2001

Forget the Grammys -- Choler points you to 20 albums from 2001 that should never stray far from your stereo.

By Sean Flinn and Joseph McCombs | February 27, 2002 THE PAST IS PROLOGUE Joseph McCombs -- Senior Staff Writer For me, 2001 was definitely more a year for singles than for albums. I would hear something wonderful like Linus of Hollywood's "Building a Ship" and then find that the rest of the album didn't hold such a steady mark, or I'd hear a pleasant bit of ephemera like Mikaila's "So in Love With Two" and find that no followup single was in the cards, or an act like Outkast would toss off something as marvelous as "The Whole World" on an otherwise unnecessary greatest hits album. Having said that, I hope everyone found the opportunity to hear those three songs, the Grammy-approved "Video" from India.Arie, and as much as possible of the following 10 albums: Bran Van 3000 -- Discosis   [buy] Alicia Keys -- Songs in A Minor   [buy] Pete Yorn -- Music for the Morning After   [buy] Bob Dylan -- Love and Theft   [buy] Elton John -- Songs from the West Coast   [buy] Coldplay -- Parachutes   [buy] Macy Gray -- The Id   [buy] The Strokes -- Is This It   [buy] Barry Manilow -- Here at the Mayflower   [buy] Creeper Lagoon -- Take Back the Universe and Give Me Yesterday   [buy] Yes, you read that right. Barry Manilow stands alongside the ever-bedheaded Creeper Lagoon and the ever-orange Macy Gray. Although no one heard his independently released Here at the Mayflower, it was a surprisingly inspired effort for someone who's done minimal songwriting in the past 20 years. A collection of vignettes about imaginary personalities in an imaginary hotel, ... Mayflower revisited some of Manilow's manipulative string-washed ballads of the '70s, his jazz and mambo leanings of the late '80s, and some unexpectedly honest looks at the brave new world of today. The frequently-facelifted and much-maligned Manilow gave me something to smile about in December 2001. But when I didn't want to smile, Pete Yorn produced one of the most perfect albums designed for simmering in melancholia. I haven't heard anyone turn a petit mort into such a grand mort in a very, very long time; I hope he's got more up his upturned sleeves in 2002. And I'm relieved that so many music industry veterans are still passionate about their craft. Neil Young proved his continuing relevance and need for topicality, Bob Dylan and Elton John produced two of their most solid albums in recent years, and Carole King gave the kids a lesson in DIY ethos. Her new album, Love Makes the World, while musically uneven (her attempts to modernize her sound are her biggest missteps), was *hers* from start to finish: she recorded it herself, built up her street team via e-mail, released and distributed it independently, and in her usual elegant style, did it her way. By now you've perhaps noticed that I've made no mention of the omnipresent 9/11 disaster. That's a conscious effort on my part. The music that was most exciting, most adept, most touching, was so irrespective of national and world disasters. If, as the president-select urged, we should be carrying on with our lives, then I can pick the gleeful chaos of Bran Van 3000's overwhelming Discosis over any more "patriotic" homilies. Touting that Canadian export is my service to this nation. And in closing, please don't take my list too seriously. It's impacted by my failure to fully hear albums from Lovage, De La Soul, Echo and the Bunnymen, Paul McCartney, Grant-Lee Phillips, Weezer, Jill Scott, Angie Stone, and Pink (and countless others); while Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, which I *have* heard, would be on this list if it had received proper release. Previous |