This is the first part (the group stage) in Obner's efforts to pick the best album released in the 2000s. In the group stage, there will be 64 groups of 5 albums. The top vote-getter in each group will advance to the 64-album tournament.

Please vote for the album that you feel deserves to be in the tournament. The deadline for this group is Monday, August 3 at 1:00PM Eastern Time.

Arcade Fire, but I really, really like that Doves album.

way to knock Boxer out by putting it with Arcade Fire instead of the million other albums no one has heard of grouped together in other rounds.

king of the shenanigans

Don't like the couple I've heard here. abstain.

Agree, at least three of these albums would most likely dominate group 43.

Take Me To Your Leader

I actually really like this Arcade Fire album.

Arcade Fire's best vs The National's best in the play-in round? Have mercy...

It's a toss-up, but I've been listening to Boxer way too much recently not to pick that album over just about anything else from the past 9 years...

Fuck. The Rising was a good album, as was Funeral, and what I've heard of The National was good.


wtf OPA? Don't gimme this "it's all random" shit. Un-random it then.

Arcade Fire, but Boxer was my #1 of 2007.

edit: dammit, OPA, I've already changed my mind like three times. Now I kind of wish I had voted for the National.

KING GEEDORAH TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADER

Not my favorite album from The Arcade Fire, but more interesting than the rest of the group, that's for damn sure.

"Interesting" is an interesting word choice.

doves.

like that national album a lot though.

i thought i kinda hated arcade fire for a while now until i saw them on ACL recently. seems like a really good live show, and the songs off funeral are really strong. still don't really like neon bible though.

AF

I really like that National, and there are a few good songs on the Rising and Funeral, but I'm going with Doves here.

Fuck, four great records in this slot, Funeral wins over Bruce thanks to Mary's Place...

Boxer in what i deem now an invalid tournament.

I still like Funeral. Me and Rod need to form our own sub-Hive splinter group, like Black September but more fey.

Come on up for The Rising!

I may ban OPA and his IP and start this whole tournament over from scratch...seriously dude, you could fuck up a one car funeral (not Funeral)

Sgt. Shenanigan strikes again.

As much as I've listened to "Lost Souls", "The Boxer", and "Funeral", I haven't pulled them out half as much as The Rising.

Come on Bruce. I'm countin on a miracle......

Three of my favorite albums of the decade in this group--gonna agree with the suspect pairings, but went with AF.

I could have voted for 3 of these but went with Doves because i nominated it and i remember the day i bought it (i think).

Drove 40 miles to Boise in November 2000 and picked up this album (along with Coldplay's Parachutes - which i still like) and came home and kept repeating Lost Souls while drinking white russians waiting for a group of co-workers to come pick me up for my first ever office christmas party.

I walked into the Christmas party (the old November Christmas party that was organized too late so you had to settle for some Italian joint that had a saturday opening) and started drinking bourbon on the rocks (first time ever) and made a fool of myself to half of the office (and endeared myself to the other half).

I really like the album as well.