Best Albums of 2003
January 15, 2004
Researched and compiled by Mike Webb

Well, another year has passed and we at 2 Walls Webzine thought it was time to look back upon 2003 and present you with our version of the best music that pounded our eardrums. What we found was a wide array of diverse sounds that made for an excellent 'best of' list.

So without further delay – the winner is...

Well – it’s not that simple – because we came up with two winners.

Since we’re big fans of independent music we decided to split our list into major label and indie label best records. So the New Pornographers took top indie billing for their super-charged, quirky, power-popped Electric Version, while the OutKast got top major label honors for their, as writer Matthew Scrivner said, “sheer musical gonads and genre breaking experimentation” on Speakerboxxx/The Love Below.

There wasn’t a lot of love for the big, behemoth majors, so we only listed our top 10. But the indie list was more expansive with hardcore, soul, loungey balladeers, electronica, and all kinds of pop. The list is the result of a poll of all of the 2 Walls Webzine writers with a small measure of influence from other music magazines and sources.

We hope you enjoy the lists and will seek out the artists you may not be familiar with because once 2 Walls gives a record its stamp of approval, you can’t go wrong.

1.		The New Pornographers – Electric Version Listening to the Electric Version is akin to taking a drill and sinking these songs straight into your skull. These Canucks cooked up a catchy batch of songs and ate everyone else for dinner while Neko Case added icing to their cake. The Pornographers spend most of the album showing off their multi-instrumentalist talents and hyper pop sensibilities to prove how effortless it is to write a hook. And instead of offering cheesy love song lyrics, these guys make word play part of the fun with lines about stealing "a page from your book and a line from your page and flying into a lesbian rage." If listening to a CD is supposed to be a pleasurable experience, no one put more fun in the grooves than the New Pornographers. --Mike Webb
2.		Basement Jaxx – Kish Kash While 2003 wasn't a stellar year for dance and electronic records, Kish Kash was certainly a CD to get worked up about. Jaxx DJs Felix Buxton and Simon Ratcliffe brought in ringers like Me'Shell NdegeOcello and Siouxsie Sioux to lend their vocal talents to tight tracks. The energy is high, the beats are bouncing, and the dance floor is calling. --Mike Webb
3.		Calexico – Feast of Wire "Feast of Wire does indeed offer a tantalizing array of sounds new and old from Calexico, including more pop-oriented takes on their already eclectic style as well as some different sonic twists." AllMusic review>>>
4.		Mars Volta – De-loused in the Comatorium Fans of At The Drive-In were heartened when two of its members teamed up to form the even further forward thinking The Mars Volta. Produced by Rick Rubin, A&R'd by Nirvana A&R guy Gary Gersh, and helped out by Flea and John Frusciante of the Chilli Peppers, De-Loused in the Comatorium should have been a "hit" record in the alternative rock world. Instead, those in the know get to enjoy the psychedelic, choppy riffs while trying to figure out the concept behind this conceptual album. --Mike Webb
5.		Microphones – Mount Eerie "The Microphones' most demanding album, Mount Eerie, isn't exactly the follow-up to The Glow, Pt. 2 that one might expect. Instead of offering more expansive, kaleidoscopic pop, Phil Elvrum presents a concept album about life, death, and identity that spans five epic songs." AllMusic review>>>
6.		Flaming Sideburns – Save Rock’n’Roll This album has it all. Raucous guitars, attitude, cool lyrics, occasional piano and maracas, shoutin' & screamin', and a nod to the Stones' when they sing Jagger's chorus under the stolen chord progression from 'Empty Heart.' 2Walls review>>>
7.		Viktor Vaughn – Vaudevillian Villain Viktor Vaughn manages to stay bent like scoliosis, and his rhymes curve likewise as he plunges headlong into an equally misshapen, riveting debut. He steps from an ode to Raedawn Chong to a dark spot as a mysterious challenger entering an open-mic rap event ("I hope his mouth don't stink, his name is Viktor!", says the announcer). Vik never loses pace. It's obvious though, in the first few seconds of track two, that this is MF Doom in another of his disguises, and one becomes all the more anxious for his impending release with Madlib. --Jason Thornberry
8.		Lauren Fine – For the Breaking Fine has created and produced the best indie record these ears have heard all year. She is an artist of unlimited potential. The maturity of her lyrics, her thoughtful compositions and her top-notch production value all make For the Breaking a joy to listen to. 2Walls review>>>
9.		Death Cab For Cutie – Transatlanticism Gibbard sports the ability to read lyrics that could be coming from his diary, yet manages to avoid sounding like a sappy emo singer. Whether your tastes run toward electronic overtones or more straightforward indie rock, Ben Gibbard is eyeing a spot on your CD rack. 2Walls review>>>
10.		Spiritualized – Amazing Grace Anything from Spiritualized is worth hearing but Amazing Grace ups the ante a little. There are the expected beautiful, heart-rending soul-searching songs like "Hold On', "Oh Baby", and "Lord Let it Rain on Me" but there are also a few wonderfully sloppy rockers like "This Little Life of Mine." Not as coherently great as Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space but still a fantastic record. --Chris Orcutt
11.		MC Honky – I Am The Messiah According to the rather unbelievable story of MC Honky, he’s a reclusive 50-something boomer from Silverlake, California, that now enjoys mixing music after spending years as a janitor, a studio engineer, and even a potter. Sounds totally bogus, but the point is, who cares? 2Walls review>>>
12.		Julian Velard – Nitetime I am certain that Julian Velard one day will be a superstar. His songs are perfect and passionate with intelligent lyrics that paint vivid pictures of human nature and behavior. 2Walls review>>>
13.		Jean Grae – The Bootleg of the Bootleg EP Grae angrily throws all of the elements that were ever missing from hip-hop back into place, blasting the listener with sarcasm. "Rap's dead, rap sucks, and thanks to y'all for killin' it." The dominating femme emcee formerly of Natural Resource sings about missing the old days ("My Crew"), style biting and plastic rappers ("Haters Anthem"), shares "Swing Blades" with the imposing duo Cannibal Ox (her 2003 tour partners), and adds forty-five minutes of freestyles and random tracks, including her rhyming over the music to Jay-Z's "Excuse Me Miss". You'll be hearing more and more about her, guaranteed. --Jason Thornberry
14.		Garage a Trois – Emphasizer "...Garage a Trois is back with Emphasizer, the group's first full-length recording. For this one, Stanton Moore (drums), Skerik (sax, keys), and Charlie Hunter (eight-string guitar) have added percussionist Mike Dillon, and their sound has evolved... AllMusic review>>>
15.		Daniel Lanois – Shine A triumph in the less-is-more approach, these achingly melancholy songs are barely there; brittle guitars and sparse arrangements hover in a folky-blues dreamlike state. 2Walls Review>>>
16.		The Romantics – 61/49 This is not some retread or a dreaded "reunion" effort – it's 100% current and stands completely on it's own. It's a ton of fun, with great songs, great playing, and lots of rock & roll energy. 2Walls review>>>
17.		Carbonfour – A Matter of Physics This is guitar-driven power-pop with sensational keyboards, sometimes funky, sometimes smooth... Reminiscent of Tears for Fears, where the music is thick and powerful, the vocals swirling and layered, and the melodies dark and addictive. 2Walls review>>>
18.		The Virtues – Ruminate The Virtues have taken on the formula of music that made the Replacements, the Lemonheads, or Buffalo Tom college campus favorites. Catchy addictive melodies and simple repetitive hooks draw you in, while a 1960s pop sound keeps you singing along to the beautiful harmonies. 2Walls review>>>
19.		Armor For Sleep – Dream to Make Believe Not an emo release, as hinted at elsewhere, but actually a new(er) day in the post-hardcore resistance against typicality. While albums by The Get Up Kids might hint at a pop/hard-stuff merger in the indie world, they and their ilk only get halfway there. The blueprint gets photocopied enough that the original catharsis is lost, leaving the listener numb, until now. Armor For Sleep gives it all, and could be label Equal Vision's strongest signing yet, with metallic songs around hopeful lyrics and vocals that, for once, sound like every word is authentic. --Jason Thornberry
20.		The Shins – Chutes Too Narrow "On the strength of their debut, Oh, Inverted World, the Shins went from indie rock underdogs to one of the style's most beloved bands, and deservedly so: it sounded fresh and timeless, universal and uniquely personal." AllMusic review>>>

1.		OutKast – Speakerboxxx/Love Below While the OutKast are our #1 major label album, we disagreed on why. Andre 3000's The Love Below was the disc that stretched the boundaries of hip-hop into a kaleidoscope of contemporary music. Risk-taking and genre-bending, Andre stepped into the spotlight with the intention of showing off his skills on every musical style he could conjure up. But Big Boi's Speakerboxxx was much more than just another rap record. Speakerboxxx was simultaneously Southern, hard, funky, freaky and fun. Big didn't need to step out of the box like Andre did. Instead he slung it on his shoulder, took it on a ride and told it not to come back until it grew into a man. For those reasons, the OutKast achieved what no other band did in 2003 and took hip hop to another level. Suck on that 50 Cent. --Mike Webb
2.		White Stripes – Elephant With Elephant, the White Stripes have done what many bands have tried to do and failed at: follow-up their breakthrough album with just the right amount of innovation on their trademark sound. 2Walls review>>>
3.		Supergrass – Life on Other Planets A great album from one of the only bands around who truly sounds like they're having fun. From The Jam-meets-T Rex workout of "Rush Hour Soul" to a song about witches; from a goofy snipet of 'he's so stoned / maybe he should go lay down' to the absolute pop perfection of "Grace", Supergrass continues to prove that the are the best rock & roll band out there. --Chris Orcutt
4.		Radiohead – Hail to the Thief From the very first guitar lick on the first track, "2+2=5," through the buildup to the high-tempo techno roar of "Sit Down, Stand Up" and the sinister and sexy bang-a-drum of "There, There," it's clear this album is meant to be listened to carefully and taken quite seriously. 2Walls review>>>
5.		Ryan Adams – Rock and Roll Okay, so sometimes it's a little embarrassing and tiresome to watch Jacksonville, N.C.-born Ryan Adams put on his scuzzy East Village loser act. But it can also be fun. This record, Rock N Roll, is probably intended as a paean to the punkers and British progressive rockers who inspired him in high school. 2Walls review>>>
6.		Donnie – The Colored Section Arguably the best complete soul album in years. Rich with layered vocal harmonies and beautifully textured percussion...A most welcome and thankful alternative to insipid boy bands, slutty hip-hop whores, and accused child molesters all ooh baby, baby-ing themselves to death. 2Walls review>>>
7.		Matt Nathanson – Beneath These Fireworks What impressed me about Nathanson is his instinctive ability to write lyrically honest songs with some amazing pop hooks... Compound this with strong, natural vocals, fine musicianship and talented backing musicians – and Matt Nathanson is for real. 2Walls review>>>
8.		Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (Australian Bonus EP version) Tweedy may want to be an avant-garde rocker, but he's just too damn good a pop songwriter. No matter how deep it's buried, you can always hear the melody throbbing beneath the junk pile. 2Walls review>>>
9.		Fountains of Wayne – Welcome Interstate Managers "Fans waiting for Fountains of Wayne to finally quit goofing around and release a sonically experimental, brooding collection of "serious music" are just going to have to keep waiting." AllMusic review>>>
10.		Pete Yorn – Day I Forgot This is the follow up to Yorn's breakthrough Musicforthemorningafter. And how do you follow up a hit debut album, once the delerium of fame and fortune and wild sreaming female fans fades? How about more of the same! 2Walls review>>>