Yeah, that is a good one. Will Oldham is such a big part of it that it seems almost like a collaboration. Funny that there's also a Slint thread on the page right now too. As you probably know, Pajo also usually has various duties on some of Will Oldham's albums too. Ease Down The Road, was very similar to what he and Pajo did on Whatever, Mortal, both in the sound and also in that I think it is mostly covers and traditional songs.

I'm sure most people here could probably name hundreds of overlooked and/or underrated and/or just plain unknown albums and artists. Another favorite of mine from around 1997 is Paul K & The Weathermen Love Is A Gas. Intelligent, witty, bluesy and rootsy rock. It's a shame how overlooked this guy is, even though he has string of extremely good records to his credit. If you don't know the name, read up on him and then keep an eye out in the used bins.....you just might run across a copy of one of his albums someday and then you'll be amply rewarded for your trouble.

Definitely agree with all the Joe Henry supporters, although he never seemed that overlooked and underated to me. Perspective, I guess. Same with Cat Power. But I never got totally into Tiny Voices. Loved Scar and Fuse especially, and the alt-country albums before that, but never quite clicked with Tiny Voices.

I mean, The International Noise Conspiracy's Armed Love is technically out (according to AMG) though I'm not sure it was ever released. I mean, there;s a copy at my house and all, but........ It would have been a top 10 record for me last year......

Oh, And Two Dollar Pistol's You Ruined Everything is good stuff. John Howie is a damn god.

The defining folk album of the decade? Wow. I mean, I don't listen to a lot of current folk, but that's quite a statement (and I like Whatever, Mortal well enough, btw).

KPH

I was pretty surprised when I read that statement myself. Obviously, I dig the album. And it's probably in my top 5 of the first half of the 00's, but the writer from AMG who wrote that apparently really really really likes David Pajo.

It's still a great album.

count me in on this one. i got it and loved it after the billy g raves a while back. i really need to pull this out again...it's been too long.

I'd have to go with GBV's Isolation Drills.

That record is emotionally and musically crushing--just running the gamut. But I dunno, it seems to kinda get lost in the shuffle of record talk over the last 5 years. Easily in the top 5 in the GBV canon, and one of the finest records since 2000.

Somebody finally gets around to mentioning an album I've heard of...good job Kurtz. An album that gets lots of spins by me, but not many people mention is Kathleen Edwards' Failer. I looked for the new one today at Best Buy, but *SURPRISE*they didn't have it.

finally, someone who's actually heard clann zu

David Grubbs – Ricketts and Scurvy

thoughtful, friendly, melodic, intelligent post-rock pop with a supermarket of guitar textures and rocknroll allusions.

philadelphia freeway
roots - phrenology
sage francis - personal journals
masta ace - long hot summer
brother ali - champion ep

hey jewels freeway drops couppla short sick verses here

Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros - Streetcore.

The album after-death. It's beautiful. His best non-Clash work. It like fell off the radar somehow. I don't get it.

I love that song Good Woman from that album.

The Natural History - Beat Beat Heartbeat

I don't know if I've ever seen anyone else mention this album on obner or CMJ BB, so it would definitely qualify. Oh, and it's GREAT!

This is a good choice.

I'd agree with the Kathleen Edwards above and throw in Tim Easton - Break Your Mother's Heart.

Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine

unwound - leaves turn inside you

Jay-Z - The Blueprint 2

Everyone either hated this or only liked some of the tracks. To me, it was what I originally wanted The Blueprint to sound like. Also, it does everything The Black Album wanted to do but better and for a longer period of time.

Saul Stokes - Fields

One of the best electronic albums of the decade, yet virtually no one knows about it. He makes his own synths, which has the interesting feature of making his music sound totally unique. Think The Orb, except Stokes tends to focus more on tight, focused songs instead of frequent jam sessions. You can hear sound samples here.

Joe Pisapia is the newest, fourth member of Guster, is he not? I have his "river, river..." song downloaded but I never bothered to look further, I guess.

It looks like the general consensus for the top album would be 'You Are Free' as I'll throw in another vote for that.

I've also got to second the Weakerthans and Kathleen Edwards and maybe put up for suggestion.. hmm..


The Snitches' Star Witness

I don't blame it for being underrated. I'm sure nobody outside of southern Ontario has heard of them but this album is solid rock music back to back.

Augie March - Sunset Studies

This was released way back in '99 here but i don't think you guys got it 'till recently, if at all, after the critical acclaim/success of its followup, Strange Bird. This album is far superior and every song is brilliant. Check it out. Or else.

Agreed.

finally something in this thread pays off.. excellent stuff