OUCH... my head hurts. I've been trying to turn 10 years' worth of music into a concise list - replaying albums, thinking about their impact, how the fans and critics raved. At the heart of it, I've tried to lay personal feelings aside and think objectively about the albums that shaped the Double-Os - the ones that shaped music, culture and really affected people. There's a couple of albums here I don't even like but can't ignore. But we all know deep down that musical taste is pretty subjective... oh well. Also I've limited each band to one entry only on the list so it doesn't fill up with Radiohead, Muse and Gomez albums.
71. The Overture & The Underscore - Sarah Blasko (2004)
BLASKO'S voice - so real and so vulnerable - coasts over this album, drawing effortless and angelic melodies from refreshing pop songs with tantalising easily-missed hints of electronica flourishes. Along with musical partner Robert Cranny, Blasko summons up a near-perfect collection of songs filled with hope, remorse and wisdom. Don't You Eva is the strident centrepiece, but every song is a treat.
72. Scissor Sisters - Scissor Sisters (2004)
GLAM-POP never sounded so good as when it came from these guys and gals who knew their Goodbye Yellow Brick Road from their Velvet Goldmine. But the songs were more than just Elton-Bowie references - Take Your Mama was pure good times, Mary was heart-filled and Laura had a killer chorus to go with its masses of hooks. And then there's their cover of Pink Floyd's Comfortably Numb - bold, stunning and amazingly fun.
73. Sea Change - Beck (2002)
APT title that. Once a wise-ass, sample-happy, indie loser, Beck got introspective in the wake of split from his long-time girlfriend and ending up penning the break-up album of the decade. He rarely shifts his voice out of first gear as it crackles with honesty over the top of country-esque ballads and down-tempo pop numbers. Nigel Godrich's production adds tasty dressing and sombre touches to the straight-ahead arrangements, but listen to his previous sex-funk album Midnight Vultures and then this and you'd never know it was the same guy - who knew Beck had it in him?
74. Snowman - Snowman (2006)
A CRACKING live band, this multi-national Perth band mixed sounds as intriguingly diverse as their backgrounds on their debut long-player. Opener The Black Tide is big on atmosphere and croon, followed by faux-surf rocker You Are A Casino, and jaunty punk-pop on Bloodmoney, then they spectacularly cram those different elements together for the rest of the album or replace the surf with the spaghetti western on Smoke & Mirrors. The common theme is a gothic darkness lurking in even the most spritely of tunes, which, by the way, are great songs - menace and genre-hopping aside.
75. Face The Truth - Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks (2005)
MALKMUS' third post-Pavement album is a brain-boggling collection of indie-pop filled with his trademark non-sequiturs and charmingly ramshackle guitar and vocal lines. Highlights include some of his sweetest melodies to date (It Kills), great axe-wielding (No More Shoes) and a near-youthful exuberance (Baby C'mon), with the whole thing anchored around Malkmus' magnetic presence.
76. An Eye For An Eye, A Tooth For A Pick - Ground Components (2006)
PINNING a convenient label on these Melbourne lads is near impossible thanks to boundlessly inventive debut. The swirling keys and groovy bass hint at soul-funk, Joe McGuigan's impossibly ragged vocals are pure punk, and yet on Coming In From All Angles they embrace hip-hop (thanks to rapper Macromantics) and on Fistful Of Dallas they cook up a spaghetti western. On top of that, there's their revelatory cover of Dylan's It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding). Few Aussie debuts are bolder or ballsier.
77. Elevator - Hot Hot Heat (2005)
CALL it new new-wave or post post-punk, but these XTC-loving Canadians had something that elevated them (sorry) above mere revivalists - impossibly catchy pop songs to go with their vaguely agitated dance-punk sound. Middle Of Nowhere is the golden melody at the centre of this album but its framed by a row of instantly memorable hooks - the relentlessly driving Goodnight Goodnight, the very British You Owe Me An IOU, the slinky Shame On You and the excellent single Island Of An Honest Man.
78. BigBigLove - Little Birdy (2003)
PERTH newbies Little Birdy covered a lot of territory in their wide-ranging debut, which remains their most honest and fresh album to date. From darkly sexy opener Excited to the country-tinged cute-as-a-button ballad Beautiful To Me, from the slick pop of Tonight's The Night to the more alternative Losing You, the only constant (aside from good solid songwriting) is that incredible voice - not only does Katy Steele have a great ear for catchy melodies but she's got the vocal range to follow them wherever they need to go. Just check out Excited - Steele starts at a low purr, but by the end of the song she's reached a climatic ecstasy somewhere in the upper stratosphere.
79. Hand Built By Robots - Newton Faulkner (2007)
DISMISSED by many as that "Dream Catch Me guy" (although that is a nifty pop song), it turned out this guy is a mercurial guitarist. His solo version of Massive Attack's Teardrop, complete with mid-strum guitar percussion is amazing, but the album is about more than just flashy guitarwork. There's a wide range of human experiences here, from the infectious joy-of-dreaming Gone In The Morning and the ambitiously optimistic People Should Smile More to the refreshingly silly (UFO, Full Fat).
80. Everything Is - Nine Black Alps (2005)
GIVEN music's cyclical nature, it was inevitable that new grunge would poke its powerchords out this decade. And of the bunch, none did it better than Nine Black Alps (who were more rock than grunge anyway, despite what the British music press said). NBA offered short sharp bursts (most were under three minutes) of mosh-worthy riffs and more hook-heavy melodies than you can count.
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