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Shoe's Music: Top 11 Albums of the Shotgun Reviews Era

Shawn Delaney rocks the house.  He and I have been friends since 1983.  As I've always said, I'm an only child, but I know what it's like to have brothers.  Shawn's one of the reasons why.  Since the early days, one thing has held certain: Shawn's got excellent taste in music.  When I got Shotgun rolling, Shawn wasn't only the original webmaster; he wrote the Shoe's Music column, covering everything outside the middle.  Here, he opines on the Top 11 albums from 1999 to now, the Shotgun Reviews era.

1.      1.  Idlewild – 100 Broken Windows
-A tour-de-force of mind-bendingly great songwriting elevates this angry and furiously catchy Scottish rock band’s greatest effort.

2.       2. My Vitriol – Finelines
-Best of the neo-shoegaze from the early 00’s. All the better (and tragic) for being the only album from this band. Find the double disk if you can, which includes a terrific batch of b-sides.

3.       3. Bloc Party – Silent Alarm

-Somehow simultaneously raw and polished, Bloc Party’s debut record demands a thousand spins.

4.       4. Coldplay – Parachutes

-Although a bit “been there” now, in 2000 Coldplay was just what the doctor ordered. Fresh and earnest, Parachutes is still their best.

5.       5. Mew – Frengers
-Featuring rock’s greatest opening three tracks, this is Danish art/noise-pop masters Mew at their finest.

6.       6. Phoenix – It’s Never Been Like That
-Relentlessly catchy, this is Phoenix’s most compelling and consistent record.

7.       7. Longwave – The Strangest Things
-The high-point of American neo-shoegaze.

8.       8. Interpol – Turn On the Bright Lights
-They are cooler than you, and prove it time and time again on their dark, brooding and rewarding debut.

9.       9. The Strokes – Is This It
-Seminal and effortlessly groovy indie-rock. You know em, you love(d) em.

10.   10 Keane – Hopes and Fears
-Exceptionally well-written piano-based pop tunes, every song is a sing-along worthy anthem.

11.  11.  Nada Surf – Let Go
-This is the shining example of what guitar-based indie-pop should aspire to be.

Honorable Mentions:
Super Furry Animals – Rings Around the World
The Cinematics – A Strange Education
Doves – Lost Souls
The Stills – Logic Will Break Your Heart
The National – Boxer / Alligator
Band of Horses – Everything All the Time