[Johnny Brown]

a bland decade lacking in originality or real creativity as far as "popular" music is concerned.

Maybe, but the revival/ rehash of the folk and 80's electro genres has been great, particularly when the two have overlapped.

Damien Rice - O
Hot Chip - The Warning
Ian Brown - Music of the Spheres
Chris Thile - How to grow a woman from the ground
Explosions in the sky - The Earth is not a cold dead place
Jack Rose - Kensington Blues
Neon Neon - Stainless Style
Godspeed you black emperor! - Lift yr. skinny fists like antennas to heaven!
The Postal Service - Give Up
Richard Hawley - Lowedges

[andy popp]

Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Wilco - A Ghost is Born (am trying to resist also including Kicking Television, Sky Blue Shy and Wilco (the album)
Either/both of the Dinosaur Jr comebacks - probably Farm on balance
Dirty Three - Whatever You Love, You Are

Would also include Bon Iver, Burial and may be Grizzly Bear. Not sure of the balance.
 

[cofe]

a bland decade lacking in originality or real creativity as far as "popular" music is concerned.

Maybe, but the revival/ rehash of the folk and 80's electro genres has been great, particularly when the two have overlapped.

Damien Rice - O
Hot Chip - The Warning
Ian Brown - Music of the Spheres
Chris Thile - How to grow a woman from the ground
Explosions in the sky - The Earth is not a cold dead place
Jack Rose - Kensington Blues
Neon Neon - Stainless Style
Godspeed you black emperor! - Lift yr. skinny fists like antennas to heaven!
The Postal Service - Give Up
Richard Hawley - Lowedges

I'd second many of those, particularly chris thile

[Eddies]

Kasabian - West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum
Easy Star All Stars - Dub Side of the Moon
The Streets - Original Pirate Material

[north_country_boy]

Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
DJ Shadow - The Private Press
Roots - Phrenology
Strokes - Is This It
Radiohead - In Rainbows
The Streets – Original Pirate Material
The Coral - The Coral
Arcade Fire - Funeral
Bloc Party - Silent Alarm
Foals - Antidotes

Thinking about this has really made me realise how much music i used to buy, and no longer do....and just how long ago 1999 was!! 

[zemike]

some of the most impessive albums of the 0-s (subjective selection on different levels of sonic perception):
ornette coleman - sound grammar
steel pole bath tub - unlistenable
lightning bolt - hypermagicmountain
wevie stonder - the bucket
... anything else just vanished into background noise...;-)

[Falling Down]

I've been reading this thread over the last few days thinking about my list and was getting nowhere so as I'm housebound I took a pen and paper around the CD racks, vinyl and my iTunes library and made a list.

In no particular order, here's my albums of the noughties:

Bonnie Prince Billy - Ease down the road & Master and Everyone
Moodymann - Forevernevermore
Boards of Canada - Geogaddi
Jack Rose - Kensington Blues
Wilco - A ghost is born
Susumu Yokota - The boy and the tree
Electralane - Axes
Sleater Kinney - The Woods
Dinosaur Jr - Beyond
Prefuse 73 - Vocal Studies and Upfront Narratives
Tortoise - Standards
Fennesz - Endless Summer
Four Tet - Rounds
Jesu - Jesu
James Yorkston and the Athletes - Moving up country
Adem - Adem
The Sea and Cake - Everybody
DJ Food - Kaleidescope
Burial - Untrue
Six Organs Of Admittance - The manifestation
The Early Years - The early years
Moloko - Statues
Fridge - Happiness
West Coast - Studio
Theo Parrish - Parallel Dimensions
The Libertines - The libertines
Stephen R Smith - Kohl
Roisin Murphy - Overpowered

Special mentions for re-issues:

Bill Fay - Time of the last persecution
Fairport Convention - Liege and Liefe
Neu! - Neu!, Neu!2, Neu!75
The Watersons - Mighty river of song

Poptastic album of the decade:
Girls Aloud - Tangled Up

I'm sure I've missed some    Looking back, it was a better decade for music than I thought.

[butters]

A few good recommendations there chaps - I am almost certainly missing a fair few "classics" from my collection as I am at work but inspired in part by those listed by others and working from memory here is my first Top Ten Eleven Twelve Thirteen Fourteen Fifteen...

Royksopp - Melody AM
Four Tet - Rounds
Grandaddy - The Sophtware Slump
Godspeed You Black Emperor - Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennae to Heaven (Was this really released in 2003?)
The Streets - Original Pirate Material
Susumu Yokota - Grinning Cat
Tortoise - Standards
Boards of Canada - Geogaddi
Stars of the Lid - Tired Sounds of the Stars of the Lid
Fisk Industries - Isle of Wight EP
Kristin Hersh - Sunny Border Blue
Stray Ghost - Stray Ghost
Radiohead - Amnesiac
Spiritulized - Ladies and Gentleman We Are Floating in Space (just re-released so I can get away with it)
Portishead - Three

[Dr T]

erm...
just checked release dates so have to add a 13th to my top ten 

100 broken windows - Idlewild

[Tom J]

Like Hearts Swelling (2003) - Polmo Polpo
Emotionalism (2007) - Avett Brothers
Chulahoma: The Songs of Junior Kimbrough (2005) - The Black Keys
Empty The Bones of You (2003) - Chris Clark
Tin Type EP (2003) - Elliot Brood
The Midnight Organ Fight (2008) - Frightened Rabbit
Boys and Girls in America (2006) - The Hold Steady
Strike (2005) - Job Karma
The National (2001), Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers (2003), Cherry Tree EP (2004), Alligator (2005), Boxer (2007), White Session (2007) - The National
Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down (2008) - Noah and the Whale
Greetings From Wawa (2000) - Old Crow Medicine Show
Checkmate Savage (2009) - Phantom Band
A River 'ain't Too Much To Love (2005), 'Neath the Puke Tree EP (2000) - (Smog)

Also, a second vote for 'Whatever You Love, You Are' by Dirty Three - phenomenal stuff.

[andy popp]

Would probably have voted Ocean Songs but its too early.

More contenders:

Gillian Welch - Time (the revelator)
Teitur - The Singer
Neil Young - Sugar Mountain: Liver at Canterbury House (OK, recorded in the 60s but only recently released for first time and unmissable for Out of My Mind and Clancy Can't Sing alone)
British Sea Power - Man of Aran
Bonnie Prince Billy - Is it the Sea?

Lots of suggestions to follow up from others' list.

[Stubbs]

Boys and Girls in America (2006) - The Hold Steady

YES!  his and the Godspeed album are probably the two I've seen on other lists that would be on mine

[cowboyhat]

a bland decade lacking in originality or real creativity as far as "popular" music is concerned.

Maybe, but the revival/ rehash of the folk and 80's electro genres has been great, particularly when the two have overlapped.

Damien Rice - O
Hot Chip - The Warning
Ian Brown - Music of the Spheres
Chris Thile - How to grow a woman from the ground
Explosions in the sky - The Earth is not a cold dead place
Jack Rose - Kensington Blues
Neon Neon - Stainless Style
Godspeed you black emperor! - Lift yr. skinny fists like antennas to heaven!
The Postal Service - Give Up
Richard Hawley - Lowedges

What a great sentence, followed by a moment of madness. Damien Rice? I assume you're sleeping on a plastic sheet? Classic indie landfill.

Apart from that some good choices. 

[Falling Down]

There's loads of things I've never heard cropping up on lists that I'll be listening to before the year is out.

Nice work everyone. 

[butters]

Like Hearts Swelling (2003) - Polmo Polpo

Add that one to my list as well - one of the best releases on Constellation.

Stubbs - anything by Godspeed You Black Emperor is a joy to own - would struggle to pick one album out of the their releases to recommend though my personal favourite has to be F# A# (Infinity) just for Dead Flag Blues which features a spoken word voice over by Lee Marvin!!   

[DaveC]

There's loads of things I've never heard cropping up on lists that I'll be listening to before the year is out.

Nice work everyone. 

[andy_e]

Boards of Canada - The Campfire Headphase
Bop - Clear your Mind
Consequence - Live for Never
Isis - Panopticon
Tool - Lateralus
D Bridge - The Gemini Principle
Architects - Hollow Crown
Quantic - The Fifth Exotic
Fanu - Homefree
Current Value - 2012 The day of Silence

I could think of more, but that's my ten... I'll probably think of more important ones later but for the moment I've forgotten!

[andy popp]

There's loads of things I've never heard cropping up on lists that I'll be listening to before the year is out.

Nice work everyone. 

Definitely, took a punt on the Polmo Polpo this morning and was richly rewarded.

[Pantontino]

Like Hearts Swelling (2003) - Polmo Polpo

Add that one to my list as well - one of the best releases on Constellation.

Stubbs - anything by Godspeed You Black Emperor is a joy to own - would struggle to pick one album out of the their releases to recommend though my personal favourite has to be F# A# (Infinity) just for Dead Flag Blues which features a spoken word voice over by Lee Marvin!! 

Good call on dead Flag Blues - very memorable.

here's my list which i struggled to edit down to anywhere near 10:

Wilco - A Ghost is Born
Arcade Fire - Funeral
Ryan Adams – Heartbreaker or Gold
Radiohead – In Rainbows
Lambchop – Nixon
Sufjan Stevens – Illinois
Richmond Fontaine – Post to Wire
Nick Cave – No More Shall We Part
Drive by Truckers – The Dirty South
Grandaddy – Sophtware Slump
Jim O’Rourke – Insignificance
At the Drive in – Relationship of Command
Bonnie Prince Billy – Ease on Down the Road
LCD Sound System – Sound of Silver
Chris Wood - Trespasser
...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - Source Tags & Codes
My Computer - Vulnerabilia
PJ Harvey – Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea
Super Furry Animals – Rings Around The World

And a couple of recent releases which I love, but haven’t lived with long enough to know if they qualify:

TV on the Radio – Dear Science
Phantom Band – Checkmate Savage

[butters]

Lambchop - Is a woman
PJ Harvey - Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea
Calexico - Hot Rail

Well that's another three to add to what I think is now 18 nominations from myself...

[Pantontino]

I almost put Feast of Wire by Calexico - a great band!

[butters]

I almost put Feast of Wire by Calexico - a great band!

You are not wrong there - has to be Hot Rail for me though as it has their sound distilled to perfection and it has the added bonus of one of the best album covers that I can think of.

[Pantontino]

Somebody mentioned Toxicity by System of a Down - I dug this out again from the cupboard last night and was blown away by how powerful and intense it is. A definite contender!

Lots of stuff that I've yet to check out or return to from the lists you've all given (e.g. I haven't listened to Jimmy Eat World for years) - there's no such thing as too much music!

[JonI]

a few off the top of my head...

Dizzee Rascal - Boy in Da Corner (this blew my mind at the time... shame about his more recent stuff)
Vincent Gallo - When
PJ Harvey - White Chalk
Venetian Snares - Find Candace
J Dilla - Donuts

There have been some great compilations and re-issues too, something which seems to have been an increasing trend this decade, especially in folk/blues and world music.  I've discovered a lot of music this way in the past few years, although it does make you feel like a bit of a consumer!

London is the Place for Me: Trinidadian Calypso in London
American Primitive 1 + 2
Anything by Smithsonian Folkways
Guinee - African Pearls Vol.2
Sun Ra - Nuclear War

[dm]

I thought that, but Amazon says there was a version released in 2001, might have been a re-issue though.

1996

http://www.discogs.com/artist/DJ+Shadow