1. Sufjan Stevens: Illinois

2. Modest Mouse: The Moon & Antarctica

3. Radiohead: In Rainbows

4. Wilco: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

5. The National: Boxer

6. Animal Collective: Merriweather Post ...

7. Wolf Parade: Apologies to the Queen Mary

8. Radiohead: Kid A

9. Spoon: Kill the Moonlight

10. The Strokes: Is This It

11. Interpol: Turn on the Bright Lights

12. Arcade Fire: Funeral

13. Death Cab for Cutie: Transatlanticism

14. The Mountain Goats: The Sunset Tree

15. Bloc Party: Silent Alarm

16. Ryan Adams: Heartbreaker

17. Joanna Newsom: The Milk-Eyed Mender

18. Fleet Foxes: Fleet Foxes

19. Panda Bear: Person Pitch

20. Iron & Wine: Our Endless Numbered Days

01. Animal Collective: Merriweather Post ...
02. DM Stith: Heavy Ghost
03. The Antlers: Hospice
04. P.O.S.: Never Better
05. Dirty Proejctors: Bitte Orca
06. St. Vincent: Actor
07. Yeah Yeah Yeahs: It’s Blitz
08. Sunset Rubdown: Dragonslayer
09. Wildbirds & Peacedrums: The Snake
10. Grizzly Bear: Veckatimest
11. Ramona Falls: Intuit
12. Neko Case: Middle Cyclone
13. Mos Def: The Ecstatic
14. Phoenix: Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
15. Will Stratton: No Wonder

01. Fleet Foxes: Fleet Foxes
02. TV on the Radio: Dear Science
03. Larsen & Furious Jane: Zen Sucker
04. Vampire Weekend: Vampire Weekend
05. Sigur Rós: Med sud i eyrum vid spilum ...
06. Amadou & Mariam: Welcome to Mali
07. Wolf Parade: At Mount Zoomer
08. Marching Band: Spark Large
09. The Dodos: Visiter
10. Drive-by Truckers: Brighter Than ...
11. Frightened Rabbit: Midnight Organ Fight
12. Peter Adams: I Woke With Planets In My Face
13. Conor Oberst: Conor Oberst
14. Johnny Flynn: A Larum
15. Shearwater: Rook

01. Radiohead: In Rainbows
02. The National: Boxer
03. Panda Bear: Person Pitch
04. Bon Iver: For Emma, Forever Ago
05. Spoon: Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
06. Jens Lekman: Night Falls Over Kortedala
07. Patty Griffin: Children Running Through
08. LCD Soundsystem: Sound of Silver
09. Kings of Leon: Because of the Times
10. Of Montreal: Hissing Fauna, Are You the ...
11. Animal Collective: Strawberry Jam
12. Iron & Wine: The Shepherd’s Dog
13. Josh Ritter: The Historical Conquests of ...
14. Beirut: The Flying Club Cup
15. Andrew Bird: Armchair Apocrypha

01. Band of Horses: Everything All the Time
02. Neko Case: Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
03. M. Ward: Post-War
04. Final Fantasy: He Poos Clouds
05. Grizzly Bear: Yellow House
06. TV on the Radio: Return to Cookie Mountain
07. Destroyer: Destroyer’s Rubies
08. Phoenix: It’s Never Been Like That
09. Josh Ritter: The Animal Years
10. The Decemberists: The Crane Wife
11. Gnarls Barkley: St. Elsewhere
12. Joanna Newsom: Ys
13. Bonnie “Prince” Billy: The Letting Go
14. The Format: Dog Problems
15. Sunset Rubdown: Shut Up I Am Dreaming

01. Sufjan Stevens: Illinois
02. Wolf Parade: Apologies to the Queen Mary
03. The Mountain Goats: The Sunset Tree
04. Bloc Party: Silent Alarm
05. The National: Alligator
06. Andrew Bird: The Mysterious Production ...
07. Okkervil River: Black Sheep Boy
08. My Morning Jacket: Z
09. Bright Eyes: I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning
10. The Decemberists: Picaresque
11. Animal Collective: Feels
12. The Constantines: Tournament of Hearts
13. Sleater-Kinney: The Woods
14. Sigur Rós: Takk…

15. Cloud Cult: Advice from the Happy Hippo

01. The Arcade Fire: Funeral
02. Iron & Wine: Our Endless Numbered Days
03. Joanna Newsom: The Milk-Eyed Mender
04. Franz Ferdinand: Franz Ferdinand
05. The Walkmen: Bows + Arrows
06. The Black Keys: Rubber Factory
07. Devendra Banhart: Rejoicing in the Hands
08. Interpol: Antics
09. Ray LaMontagne: Trouble
10. Sufjan Stevens: Seven Swans
11. Drive-by Truckers: The Dirty South
12. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds: Abattoir Blues ...
13. Elliott Smith: From a Basement on the Hill
14. Annie: Anniemal
15. Animal Collective: Sung Tongs

01. Death Cab for Cutie: Transatlanticism
02. The Shins: Chutes Too Narrow
03. The White Stripes: Elephant
04. The Constantines: Shine a Light
05. Fountains of Wayne: Welcome Interstate ...
06. Josh Ritter: Hello Starling
07. Sufjan Stevens: Greetings from Michigan
08. The Wrens: The Meadowlands
09. Cat Power: You Are Free
10. Sun Kil Moon: Ghosts of the Great Highway
11. The Books: The Lemon of Pink
12. M. Ward: Transfiguration of Vincent
13. Elbow: Cast of Thousands
14. Hot Hot Heat: Make Up the Breakdown
15. The New Pornographers: Electric Version

01. Wilco: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
02. Spoon: Kill the Moonlight
03. Interpol: Turn on the Bright Lights
04. …Trail of Dead: Source Tags & Codes
05. The Postal Service: Give Up
06. The Flaming Lips: Yoshimi Battles the Pink ...
07. The Notwist: Neon Golden
08. Damien Rice: O
09. Beck: Sea Change
10. The Whiet Stripes: White Blood Cells
11. Bright Eyes: Lifted or the Story Is in the Soil ...
12. Sonic Youth: Murray Street
13. Red Hot Chili Peppers: By the Way
14. Neko Case: Blacklisted
15. Nada Surf: Let Go

01. The Strokes: Is This It
02. Les Savy Fav: Go Forth
03. Daft Punk: Discovery
04. The Dismemberment Plan: Change
05. Ted Leo & the Pharmacists: The Tyranny ...
06. Super Furry Animals: Rings Around the ...
07. Radiohead: Amnesiac
08. Life Without Buildings: Any Other City
09. Circulatory System: Circulatory System
10. Ryan Adams: Gold
11. Spoon: Girls Can Tell
12. Low: Things We Lost in the Fire
13. The Frames: For the Birds
14. Jim O’Rourke: Insignificance
15. The Shins: Oh Inverted World

01. Modest Mouse: The Moon & Antarctica
02. Radiohead: Kid A
03. Ryan Adams: Heartbreaker
04. Badly Drawn Boy: The Hour of Bewilderbeast
05. The Clientele: Suburban Light
06. The New Pornographers: Mass Romantic
07. Crooked Fingers: Crooked Fingers
08. The Avalanches: Since I Left You
09. Elliott Smith: Figure 8
10. Yo La Tengo: And Then Nothing Turned ...
11. Sigur Rós: Ágætis Byrjun
12. Boredums: Vision Creation Newsun
13. Múm: Yesterday Was Dramatic, Today is OK
14. Les Savy Fav: ROME (Upside Down) EP
15. Bright Eyes: Fevers and Mirrors

1.   Music Yearbook - Jordan Cronk
   

2.   Music Yearbook - Chris Nowling
   

3.   Music Yearbook - Gavin Breeden
   

4.   Music Yearbook - Mitchell Kissack

In effort to maintain some continuity, albums have been categorized by their US release date. If an album has never seen release in the US, it’s given a ‘Five Year Buffer Period’ before it becomes eligible the year of its earliest release anywhere in the world.