Top 10: Sophomore Releases of the Decade

In the last few weeks we have been treated to a couple of brilliant sophomore releases. Both St. Vincent and the White Rabbits managed to trump their previous efforts with albums that are better in every possible way. The two albums got me wondering about some of the best sophomore albums of all-time, suffice it to say narrowing those down to a top 10 would have taken ages with albums like Nevermind, Fun House, and It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back all ranking up there just to name a few. Instead I turned my focus to this decade and the wonderful music we have been given over the last ten years and since we are in the last year of the decade I guess it makes sense to start to think about what ranks where for the '00s. You may have guessed this but neither St. Vincent nor the White Rabbits were able to scratch the top 10 on this list and I'm sure I left out a host of other terrific albums as well. What would be your top 10?

10. Interpol Antics; Most good sophomore records find the band at a more confident level. Maybe they don't play with the sound much or reinvent the wheel, but after months (years) of touring behind successful debuts the band is better, tighter, and much more suited to coax the right sounds from their instruments. Antics is an album that perfectly showcases that type of sophomore effort. The sounds are very similar to what they did on Turn on the Bright Lights, but it comes across a thousand times smoother.
Interpol - "Slow Hands"

9. Antony & the Johnsons I'm A Bird Now; Few sophomore records come from out of nowhere, but every once in a while there are surprises no one can predict. After a largely underrated self-titled debut, Antony & the Johnsons rode Antony Hegarty's heartbreaking voice to the highest levels of critical acclaim. The record landed in practically every year end list you could imagine, won the Mercury Prize, and even charted in the UK and Australia. Quite a shocker considering so few people heard the debut when it was released in 1998.
Antony & the Johnsons - "For Today I Am A Boy"

8. Daft Punk Discovery; It may have taken Daft Punk 4-years to get their sophomore record out but most people agree that it was well worth the wait, especially when you consider the poorer third record that followed and the lack of a studio album since that one. The dynamic duo were able to convert dance floor anthems into pop landmarks that have since been used in ridiculous amounts of samples to further the reach of the duo. Their debut is still a stronger record, but that doesn't mean this one isn't great itself.
Daft Punk - "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger"

7. The Shins Chutes Too Narrow; I'm sure some of you will debate whether this is the sophomore record from The Shins or if it is actually Oh, Inverted World, but since the first record was recorded as The Flakes I am declaring this as The Shins official sophomore release. It too preceded changing Zach Braff's life, but it seems as if more people will remember them for soundtracking Garden State then for anything else. Too bad to because this is a tremendous record filled with absolute indie pop gems.
The Shins - "Kissing the Lipless"

6. Broken Social Scene You Forgot It In People; When Broken Social Scene released the follow-up to their debut they were a completely different band. Their size had expanded exponentially and the addition of Emily Haines and Leslie Feist brought vocals to the fold for practically the first time. Basically the band took their original sound and threw a billion different sounds on top of it to create something deeper, more intricate, and wholly better then what they had done the first time out. This is probably the main catalyst behind the whole Canadian indie rock craze that has dotted our decade.
Broken Social Scene - "Cause=Time"

5. The Hold Steady Separation Sunday; Over the last few years The Hold Steady have been transformed from one of America's best bar bands to one of America's best and biggest bands period. They have also changed their sound quite a bit though, moving from the spoken word delivery of Craig Finn to a more standard singing on the last two records. That shift has probably driven away a few fans, but has brought more then enough to the party. Separation Sunday was a great album though, despite the fact that Craig couldn't sing. I just wish some of their new fans would realize that.
The Hold Steady - "How a Resurrection Really Feels"

4. Kanye West Late Registration; There are few artists that have had as good a decade as Kanye West has. It didn't start off so well with the whole car crash, wired jaw, not getting props deal, but as the decade progressed the spotlight shining down on West got brighter and brighter. Some people would probably argue that this is Kanye's finest moment, with some of his biggest hits and best tunes you would be hard pressed to disagree. Late Registration basically pumped out hit after hit after hit; "Gold Digger", "Diamonds from Sierra Leone", "Touch the Sky", "Heard 'Em Say", and "Drive Slow". Shit that alone bests most of the music makers of the decade, but Kanye has three other great albums too.
Kanye West - "Hey Mama"

3. M.I.A. Kala; People may have gone ape shit for M.I.A.'s debut Arular but it paled in comparison to what happened when she dropped Kala on us in 2007. The album was immediately hailed as one of the year's best by just about everyone that took notice, and then really took off in 2008 when the album's best track wound up on the trailed of Pineapple Express. It was then that it hit the mainstream, but for more then a year the album had soundtracked most music venues and clubs across the world while pop radio listeners went on without knowing about this brilliance. Shame it took them so long, but glad it finally hit everyone's ears.
M.I.A. - "Paper Planes"

2. LCD Soundsystem Sound of Silver; When the final tallies are counted for the entire decade I expect Sound of Silver to be at or near the top of almost every list. Sure, some people will go for some of the slightly older albums but this record spoke to so many different types of people that it is really hard to argue against it. At some point on this album you are going to find something you like, something that will make you dance, something to make you feel, and that's only if the whole album doesn't do it for you. There are few records out there with this much universal appeal, but somehow LCD Soundsystem was able to craft something almost everyone could love.
LCD Soundsystem - "New York I Love You, But You're Bringing Me Down"

1. The Fiery Furnaces Blueberry Boat; The Fiery Furnaces third album EP may be a bit more appealing to casual listeners with its rich pop structures, but for most Fiery Furnaces fans Blueberry Boat stands as the band's ultimate achievement so far. The album is loaded with brilliantly layered and composed pieces of music, interesting lyrics, and amazing sounds that weren't confined by any sort of restrictions whatsoever. The album bristles from the loads of instruments piled on top and the alternating guy/girl vocals provided by Elanor and Matthew Friedberger. It's an awesome record and definitely one of the finest of the decade.
The Fiery Furnaces - "1917"