The 10 Most Underrated Albums of the Aughts

Be Your Own Pet - Get Awkward!
This one was pretty much dead before it hit the water. The members of the band, most of who couldn't even drink legally at the time, were at their breaking point with each other, and the best songs were cut due to content matter. That being said, it was the product of a great band that simply had to end.

Kerli - Love Is Dead

Between the creepy album cover, the fact that she came from Estonia and her creepy baby-doll look, Kerli didn't stand a chance. To be perfectly fair, while her tracks were fairly standard pop fair, she still had enough creativity and charm behind it to turn an otherwise ordinary album into something better than it should have been.

Kylie Minogue - X

Oddly enough, upon it's inital release in the Europe X was met with less than stellar reviews, the reason for which is beyond me. Sure, her voice tends to get lost in the production, but every track on the album had single potential, and she did it all after beating breast cancer. So suck on that one cancer.

Spinnerette - Spinnerette

Sad to say, but almost every song off Spinerrette's debut as pretty much a hit or miss. While they never really found stable ground, the strength of singles like Ghetto Love and Baptized By Fire more than made up for the lesser half of their first outing.

Stars - In Our Bedroom After The War

When someone mentions Stars, they'll usually talk about their earlier work (most likely the awe-inspiring Your Ex-Lover Is Dead.) While their last release didn't hold the same indie-movie charm as their previous albums did, it still had moments of equal emotional impact.

Wilco - Sky Blue Sky

At this point, Foxtrot Yankee Hotel has practically risen to the point of mythical standards in indie-circles, so it's natural to overlook anything that would even try to follow the act. Regardless, Sky Blue Sky might not have been well-received but it still had the same basic tone and feel of YFH.

Liz Phair - Liz Phair

Holy Christ...So much as mention Liz Phair's self-titled release in front of any music snob and they'll release the kind of vitriol usually reserved puppy murderers. While it was essentially the anti-thesis of her garage-rock magnum opus Exile in Guyville, it was a solid pop record that boasted tracks that were miles ahead of most other artists in the genre.

The New Pornographers - Challengers

Blame it on the fact that after two absolutely jaw-dropping releases (Mass Romantic and Twin Cinema), the Canadian supergroup couldn't release quite the hat-trick they were hoping for. Nevertheless, the title track was delicately beautiful, and Mutiny, I Promise You was twee at it's finest.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones

Another sophomore curse. To be fair though, Show Your Bones' unevenness can be contributed to the band coping with newfound fame while trying not to kill each other behind the scenes, a sentiment more than perfectly phrased in Cheated Hearts' mantra "Sometimes I think that I'm bigger than the sound."

Esthero - Wikked Lil' Grrrls

It still confuses me as to how exactly so many people could simply overlook this one. An absolutely flawless album that married jazz with electronica, every track is pure gold, and Bad Boy Clyde is still like a warm blanket on a cold dark night.