56. R. Kelly - Chocolate Factory
(Jive Records, 2003)
It’s funny to think that for a good year or two, it seemed likely that R. Kelly’s career was probably over, and then Chocolate Factory came along. ‘03 was just in general a great year for R., maybe one of the best years any hitmaker had this decade (also including “Laundromat,” “Busted,” and “Feelin’ Freaky” among its highlights), and this album is its crown jewel. “Step In The Name of Love,” “Ignition” and its remix (the way they’re meant to be heard here, as one continuous 6-minute suite), the title track, so much great stuff on here. And really, this was the last time he had the perfect balance of soulful and rowdy, sincere and silly, that he’s thrown off so much in the “Trapped In The Closet”-heavy years since then.

57. The Strokes - Is This It
(RCA Records, 2001)
I mostly stayed out of The Great “Rock Is Back” Debates Of 2001, rolling my damn eyes at the whole thing too much to pick a side. But when the smoke cleared, the Strokes’ album was the one out of all those that turned out to have 3 pretty great singles, and that I was never mad to hear when I friend put it on. But it really helps if you put all the bands they were compared to completely out of your mind (Television could swing, dammit), and just accept them as this weirdly colorless, dry, brittle version of new wave that somehow became the perfect format for their big pop hooks.

58. Styles P. - A Gangster And A Gentleman
(Ruff Ryders/Interscope Records, 2002)
Jadakiss is by far The Lox’s most respected MC and biggest star, but throughout the decade he had three tries at making a solid album and he struck out every time. Meanwhile, Styles had no trouble making one satisfying project after another, with lowered sales expectations, a greater commitment to the D-Block aesthetic, and frankly, a lot more to say beyond clever punchlines than Jada ever had. It’s kind of hard to believe this album came out and went gold in the middle of the Blueprint soul sample era, the year before Get Rich Or Die Trying, and is just as dark and nasty and gangsta as the stuff G-Unit supposedly brought back (even the helium chorus single, “Good Times,” goes kinda hard). “Ass Bags” is one of the decade’s funniest rap skits, “Nobody Believes Me” one of its weirdest and most clever high concept rap songs about personifying guns and other inanimate objects, and “My Brother” one of its most heartfelt R.I.P. dedications.



59. J Roddy Walston and the Business - Hail Mega Boys
(Morphius Records, 2007)
A few years ago, a group of old-fashioned rock’n’roll barnstormers migrated up to Baltimore from Tennessee, and I don’t know if their original hometown sufficiently appreciated them, but they’ve become kind of the toast of the town here. But the really remarkable thing is not just how ridiculously fun they are live, but that, unlike a lot of Baltimore’s best live bands, they actually were able to translate to record amazingly well on their first full-length.

60. Jaguar Love - Take Me To The Sea
(Matador Records, 2008)
As I mentioned in the lone Blood Brothers entry on this list, I got into them in kind of a backwards way from a more recent offshoot band, and I feel odd putting this album higher. Still, canon or not, this is a pretty awesome album regardless of who made it, and I like hearing that whole squealing vocal sound and amped up aesthetic filtered through something a little more jangly and traditionally indie.

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