100. B.B. King & Eric Clapton – Riding With the King

When you’re Riding with the King, there can be no wrong, and two greats of the blues joined forces here to prove it. In this superb blues record full of classic B.B. King, Eric Clapton’s style seamlessly compliments the King’s thick wailing vocals and old school down-home riffs. -Maria Murriel

99. OutKast – Speakerboxx/ The Love Below

With this double pseudo-solo album OutKast mutually and exclusively redefined the expectations of mainstream rap. Big Boi’s expansive, but still traditional, hip hop and André 3000’s retro afro-pop experimentation are an unlikely combo, but… “Hey Ya!”, “The Way You Move” — these hits don’t lie. -Cap Blackard

98. Andrew Bird – The Swimming Hour

I’d once heard The Swimming Hour called Andrew Bird’s jukebox album, and the way his now defunct band jumps between genres on each track, it really makes sense. The Bowl of Fire tries out classic R&B, Country Rock and indie pop, each successfully and without pretense. -Adam Kivel

97. Muse – Absolution

Muse delivered a third album full of pomp and power. The sound was more refined, rapidly transforming them into stadium titans and harnessing their creativity. “Stockholm Syndrome” and “Hysteria” were whirlwinds of aggression, but the best moments leant heavily on their musicality, whether performing with an 18 piece orchestra on “Blackout” or unleashing Bellamy on the ivories for “Apocalypse Please”. -Will Hines

96. Kittens Ablaze – The Monstrous Vanguard

It’s no secret that this website has had an undeniable love affair with these Brooklyn rockers for some time now. The demo album that arrived in our inbox back in early 2008 was what first caught our attention, but their recently released full-length debut was what made us realize that Kittens Ablaze are not your ordinary Brooklyn based indie outfit. No, The Monstrous Vanguard was 10 tracks of indie rock bliss, fusing together the enigmatic sounds of Arcade Fire with the lyrical melancholy of early Bright Eyes while still maintaining a one-of-a-kind passion, sound, and attitude. The album’s one negative? The fact that even now it has yet to propel Kittens Ablaze to the level of popularity and critical acclaim the band so undoubtedly deserves. -Alex Young

95. Talib Kweli & DJ Hi-Tek – Reflection Eternal

Blistering rhymes and lethal grooves propel this 20-song collection that culls from almost every corner of the history of Black music (blues, African drumming, improvisational jazz). “Move Somethin’” (featuring Kweli’s erstwhile Black Star partner Mos Def) should be mandatory listening for all hip-hop fans. The only question left by this album: where’s the sequel? -Gillian Rosheuvel

94. Kate Walsh – Tim’s House

Kate Walsh is arguably the brightest star to have emerged from a plethora of UK singer-songwriters in recent years. This, her second album, marks a real coming-of-age in both a musical and emotional sense, and was famously the first U.K. No 1 album on iTunes from an unsigned artiste. -Tony Hardy

93. The Gaslight Anthem – The ‘59 Sound

Bruce Springsteen joined this Jersey foursome onstage at Glastonbury to play the title track. Need I say more? -Joshua Kloke

92. Death Cab For Cutie – Narrow Stairs

Death Cab For Cutie instantly ventured outside its “safe” indie poprock box the very next album after the success of their major label debut Plans. The decision was perfectly right and Narrow Stairs proved to be a significant step forward for the band as well as an irreproachable new, fresh take on all their potentials. -Jesper Persson

91. Harvey Danger – Little by Little…

The last of three studio albums in Harvey Danger’s swift and underrated fifteen year career, Little by Little… defied, lyrically and beyond, this outfit’s typecast alt-rock persona.  From reflections of musical adolescence in “Little Round Mirrors” to the purist bildungsroman approach on “Diminishing Returns”, Sean Nelson and his northwestern comrades wove us a grand pop finale that even Joni Mitchell cannot hope to surpass. -David Buchanan

90. Lupe Fiasco- Food & Liquor

Chicago’s other rapper stepped into the spotlight. Backed by Jay-Z, Kanye West and Pharrell Williams, Wasalu Muhammad Jaco, aka Lupe Fiasco, arrived with a three time Grammy nominated debut album. Showcasing brilliant production and rhymes way beyond his years, Fiasco had a hit in “Kick, Push” and stuck to his roots, quoting the Qur’an on the album “Intro”. Wholly impressive. -Will Hines

89. Animal Collective – Strawberry Jam

Animal Collective doesn’t write songs per se. They salvage beauty from noise. With Strawberry Jam, the group proved that acid washed electronic blips can be crafted into glorious, naive pop music, and that screaming every once in a while only makes it better. -Drew Litowitz

88. Bruce Springsteen – Magic

Magic uses all of Bruce Springsteen’s classic aesthetics (layered guitars, R&B yelps, lots of dirty sax and crystal glockenspiel) to comment on topics that are completely modern, featuring songs that are just as much about politics as they are about relationships. Highlights include the Brian Wilson baroque pop of “Your Own Worst Enemy” and “Girls In Their Summer Clothes”, and most notably “Livin’ In The Future”, a tale of blood red doom and gloom at The Jersey Shore that is still one of the most energetic, celebratory things The Boss has ever recorded. -Dan Caffrey

87. The Strokes – Room on Fire

Hardly a sophomore slump here. In better ways than one, The Strokes expanded on their sound, tweaking and exploring new ways to do, realistically, the same thing they’d been doing all along. It’s just a shame “Repitilia” never took off like “Last Night” did. -Michael Roffman

86. The Killers – Hot Fuss

Dark-flavored dance-rock with a hint of soul, overplayed though it was, five years after its release, The Killers’ debut Hot Fuss remains endlessly danceable. Let’s face it: Everyone’s felt like “Mr. Brightside” at one time or another. -Megan Ritt

85. Blitzen Trapper – Furr

Blitzen Trapper’s 2008 album Furr is a lyrical accomplishment with simplistic, yet stunning lines such as, “And now my fur has turned to skin/And I’ve been quickly ushered in/To a world I must confess I do not know,” from the title track. The band’s use of the harmonica, an unfairly underrated instrument, fits the overall aesthetic and adds a folk punch, whereas the guitar work on “Gold for Bread” provides a slight southern rock vibe. -Becca James

84. My Morning Jacket – Z

Z, the joyous, stoner-rock record that it is, exists in its immediacy. Never harsh and overwhelming, Z is record that will have you passing your joints with a smile, though never too far as you’re always trying to soak up every last breath of this groovy masterpiece. -Joshua Kloke

83. She & Him – Vol. 1

Odd couple to some, M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel created an album of perfect symbiosis between the elements, a sense of harmony and well-being without becoming dull, predictable or cheesy. Most lovely indie folk pop record should be accredited to She & Him. -Jesper Persson

82. The Avett Brothers – I and Love and You

Just a folk group elevating to a whole other level with the aid of some guy named Rick Rubin, sans blips and bleeps. It also has sweet sincerity (“I and Love and You”, “Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise”) capped off by infectious sing-a-longs (“Kick Drum Heart”, “Slight Figure of Speech”). -Justin Gerber

81. Yusuf Islam – Roadsinger

Cat Stevens, ahem, Yusuf Islam is at his finest on his 2009 album Roadsinger. “Boots and Sand”, featuring Paul McCartney and Dolly Parton, is a must hear single, with its late ’70s feel and an added country kick; the lyrics aren’t too shabby either. -Becca James

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