Best British Albums of the 2000s

The album was dead, they tried to tell us this decade. Downloading and the microscopic attention span of music buyers meant there just wasn't a future in making albums like the days of old. People wanted hits, and they wanted them without the filler.

Well, here are 20 home-grown reasons to disapprove the skeptics. From the Super Furry Animals to Portishead, Dizzee Rascal to Badly Drawn Boy, here's a score of albums from the Noughties you really shouldn't be without.

20. Manic Street Preachers 'Journal For Plague Lovers' (2009)
The Manics -- one of the 90's most iconic bands -- ended the decade with an album that revitalised their sound, rifling through the sketches and fragments of the Richey Edwards lyric book. They hadn't sounded this good, or as vital, in a decade.
Crucial track: 'Me and Stephen Hawking'

19. Klaxons 'Myths of the Near Future' (2007)
In 'Golden Skans' the Klaxons had one of the surefire classic songs of the decade. Their debut album, a deserved Mercury winner, might have been tagged as "new rave" but was so much smarter than this clunky tag could ever describe. The Klaxons' sci-fi influenced space pop was a revelation.
Crucial track: 'Golden Skans'

18. Blur 'Think Tank' (2003)
Holed up in Morocco, with Fatboy Slim pushing up the faders, 'Think Tank' effectively rang the death knell for Blur, at least until this year's reunion. Despite that, it only cemented Blur's place in British music; they were so much more than barracking Britpop boys.
Crucial track: 'Out of Time'




17. The Delgados – 'Hate' (2002)
Dave Fridmann at the controls, Emma Pollock's icy voice, a band hitting their stride with lush, string-laden drama. What, exactly, was there not to like?
Crucial track: 'All You Need is Hate'

16. Richard Hawley – 'Cole's Corner' (2006)
He was once a member of the Longpigs. Remember them? Wait, come back! Hawley's post-'pigs career reached its peak with this slow-burning collection of gritty torch songs, full of warmth and unabashed romanticism.
Crucial track: 'The Ocean'

15. The Libertines 'The Libertines' (2002)
Frenzied fanbase, two albums, implosion. If the Libertines hadn't existed, someone would have had to invent them -- and for all their flaws, their eponymous second album came the closest to realising their live sound on record.
Crucial track: 'Can't Stand Me Now'



14. Amy Winehouse -- 'Back to Black' (2006)
And lo, a star was born. This is why the world took noticed of La Winehouse's shambling antics round Camden Town. Mark Ronson's steady hand at the tiller for her second album provided the classic-contemporary feel for a woman whose voice and presence outshone the tabloid spotlight.
Crucial track: 'Rehab'

13. Arctic Monkeys -- 'Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not' (2006)
T'Monkeys were the genuine teenage tearaway sensation of the Noughties – a band who exploded on MySpace and took to the top of the album charts with the kind of fervent following not seen since the heady days of Britpop and Beatlemania.
Crucial track: 'I Bet you Look Good on the Dancefloor'

12. Doves 'Lost Souls' (2000)
Lacking the Britpop bravado of Oasis, Doves were the first of a new breed of Manchester bands who swapped the bravado for a bruised melancholy. Their debut was an epic debut worthy enough to be considered in Manchester music's hall of fame.
Crucial track: 'The Cedar Room'



11. British Sea Power 'Do You Like Rock Music?' (2008)
This clutch of Brighton-based eccentrics had found a loyal following with their first two albums, but their third saw their angular-yet-melodic art rock find widescreen size, dealing subjects such as East European migration and light pollution. Clever chaps.
Crucial track: 'Waving Flags'



10. Badly Drawn Boy 'The Hour of Bewilderbeast' (2000)
Damon Gough's magpie eye for differing styles – from the soothing winter hymnal 'The Shining' through to the disco-inflected 'Disillusion' and the Springsteen-esque rumble of 'Everybody's Stalking', this was an ambitiously creative debut.
Crucial track: 'Disillusion'



9. Dizzee Rascal 'Boy in Da Corner' (2003)
Brattish, intense and manic, Dizzee Rascal's first album was the freshest new voice in British hip hop for years. He might have waited 'til 2009 to become the all-encompassing pop star he is now, but the journey started here.



8. Elbow 'The Seldom Seen Kid' (2008)
Long before their belated recognition at the 2008 Mercury Awards, Elbow were making heartfelt, heroic records filled with pathos. But they never seemed to get fitting attention until this, their fourth album, which finally gave their blue-eyed Northern Soul the audience it deserved.
Crucial track: 'The Fix'



7. PJ Harvey 'Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea' (2000)
Nearly a decade on from her wild-eyed debut, Harvey's fifth album showed just how mature an artist she had become, on an album filled with brooding menace and beautiful songs.
Crucial track: 'This Mess We're in'




6. Coldplay 'A Rush of Blood to the Head' (2002)
'Parachutes' was a hesitant debut; 'X&Y' a bland soundtrack to stadium intentions. But Coldplay's second album was a monumental leap forward, and testament to the finer points of Chris Martin's ambition. They've not bettered it.
Crucial track: 'Clocks'

5. Super Furry Animals 'Rings Around the World' (2001)
Welsh wizardry from a band that seemed to come up with gold every direction they turned. From the warped funk of 'Juxtaposed With U' to the Californian/Tex Mex/metal freakout of 'Receptacle for the Respectable', this was an odd but joyful record.
Crucial track: 'It's Not the End of the World'



4. Portishead 'Third' (2008)
It took over a decade for Portishead to come up with their third album. Most bands would have collapsed under the wait of expectation. Not Portishead, who came up with a dark, cohesive album every bit as good as their iconic debut.
Crucial track: 'Threads'

3. Primal Scream 'Xtrmntr' (2000)
Creation Records' Last Gang in Town saw off their old label in the best way possible. As the House That Oasis Built collapsed around their ears, they created a turbo-charged rant against the evils of the New World Order.
Crucial track: 'Swastika Eyes'



2. Franz Ferdinand 'Franz Ferdinand' (2004)
They came from Glasgow, and they came for your girlfriends. The Franz formula -- indie music that the ladies would want to dance to -- updated the likes of Gang of Four to a post-millennial world. Instantly classic.
Crucial track: 'Take Me Out'

1. Radiohead 'In Rainbows' (2007)
At once hailed and derided for its "pay what you like" release, 'In Rainbows' could have been a lifeless husk and it still wouldn't have made it less of a talking point. Happily, the band's first post-EMI album also happened to be their best record of the decade.
Crucial track: '15 Steps'