Best albums of 2003?

dean martinez said:One more thing for my mid-year favorites:

ps.
Calexico and Jayhawks are alright...

Fair enough.
I’d throw Cat Power and The Postal Service on my list too.
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs didn't really grab me at first, and the album sat on the shelf for a bit; but all things considered, I ended up listening to it quite a lot...

The Beatles - Abbey Road
Placebo - Sleeping with Ghosts

I Liam Lynch - Short stories collection 😁 👍

I Lilium - Short stories collection 🙏

The slab was born this year...

The Clash
Keith Jarrett live in Cologne
Timar

It’s not exactly perfect, but I suppose...

top 20
king creosote - kenny and beth's musakal boat rides
the blood brothers - burn piano island, burn
meanwhile back in the old USSR - my elixir; my poison
sufjan stevens - greetings from michigan
mars volta - de-loused in the comatorium
the stills - logic will break your heart
stars - heart
new pornographers - electric version
cursive - the ugly organ
shack - here's tom with the weather
the jealous sound - kill them with kindness
radio dept. - lesser matters
turin brakes - ether song
richard hawley - lowedges
exploding hearts - guitar romantic
free french - it's not me, it's you
rooney - rooney
pernice brothers - yours, mine & ours
matthew sweet - kimi ga suki
the clientele - violet hour

haha, hey there Brenda Gomez62... looks like Josh has really leaned into the extravagance lately 😉 😁

I totally blanked on those The Go-Betweens albums—you know, the ones with the bright yellow and bright orange covers.

It’s just like that reissue of their 16 Lovers Lane...

Zoot Woman

Iron Maiden - Dream Theater
Dream Theater - Porcupine Tree
Dream Theater - Porcupine Tree.

Metallica - St. Anger

Yeah, one really great one came out--

DUB TRACTOR - more or less mono

I'm sure there are plenty of others, I just haven't kept up much this past year...

ps grandpa dudu Sea&Salt one bedroom is from 2002...caught me off guard too!

shadowgardener12 said:Man, I remember when Grandpa Dudu first played me Sea & Salt's one-bedroom album back in 2002... that record absolutely floored me!

Hmm, Here It says 2003, just like before. Sub Pop Records.

My copy (p) 2002... Beat Che Guevara to the beginning of Zisel.

Besides, what does Sub Pop Records even know about release dates anyway..😁 😁
Nothing, pretty much just Mono vibes... minimal glitches, lots of hazy melodies.. shame there isn't any bass dub though😢

A bit of a tricky situation here! 😁

Darkness... permission to land? I haven't actually spun this one much, but hey, if they nailed tracks like "I Believe in a Thing Called Love," it’s probably worth a shot...

White Stripes—Elephant. This thing is an absolute masterpiece. Seriously. In twenty years, people are still gonna be talking about this like it changed the game, right up there with those legendary albums that basically defined rock and roll... and honestly, I don't think we'll see anything quite like it again anytime soon. Not unless the White Stripes decide to step back into the studio... 😁 Man, I could listen to this on loop a million times and never get sick of it. 🙏 🙏 🙏🙏🙏

Dream Theater - Train of Thought. Really solid record. You can totally hear Petrucci's genius all over it, and Mike is just showing off his virtuosity like usual... but what's interesting is how James's vocals really step into the spotlight here compared to the earlier stuff. It kind of defines who Dream Theater actually is...

Also, that Led Zeppelin DVD. Haven't had a chance to sit down and watch it yet, but even though money is tight right now, I'm pretty sure I'm gonna spring for the original...

shadowgardener12 said:Oh yeah, and there's this one killer track—

DUB TRACTOR - more or less mono

Preach!

[And honestly? It barely even counts as dub. Which just makes it even better! 🙂]

Look, if Sea & Salt's 1 bedroom '03 is the standard, then it's easily my album of the year... just based on that opening track alone.👍

mhm, honestly, I’m surprised nobody else has brought them up yet, so I’ll kick things off:
Explosions in the Sky: The Earth is NOT a cold dead place

...though, man, there are still so many absolute gems from this year, it's just that I am feeling way too lazy to type out a whole list right now😉

urbannomad30 said:The White Stripes - Elephant. Man, this album is an absolute masterpiece. Seriously—twenty years from now, people are still going to be vibing to this just as hard as they do today. It’s one of those legendary records that basically defines what rock and roll should sound like, you know? And let's be real—we might not see anything this special again for a long, long time... at least not until The White Stripes decide to step back into the studio. Honestly? I could listen to this thing a million times over and never get sick of it!

You should really try to track down the Bauhaus, The White Stripes, and White Stripes albums by The White Stripes—personally, I actually dig those way more than Elephant (which, if I'm being honest, I haven't even given a fair shake yet)!

Radiohead's Hail to the Thief has been brought up plenty of times in this thread already, but man, it truly is fantastic!