Music Year 2000

Introduction

Most years I attempt to construct a year-end record list. (1999 was an exception, with the move hacking the year in half.) This year looks like a pretty good one, especially for rappers and saxophone players.

See Notes for some further listings (less rated, unrated, etc.) and background.

New Records:

  1. Jimmie Dale Gilmore: One Endless Night (Rounder).
  2. James Carter: Chasin' the Gypsy (Atlantic).
  3. Eminem: The Marshall Mathers LP (Interscope).
  4. Sonny Rollins: This Is What I Do (Milestone).
  5. OutKast: Stankonia (LaFace).
  6. Elastica: The Menace (Atlantic).
  7. Nelly: Country Grammar (Universal).
  8. Blackalicious: NIA (Quannum Projects).
  9. Everclear: Songs from an American Movie, Vol. 1: Learning How to Smile (Capitol).
  10. Chicks on Speed: Will Save Us All (EFA).
  11. Madonna: Music (Maverick).
  12. James Carter: Layin' in the Cut (Atlantic).
  13. Fatboy Slim: Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars (Astralwerks).
  14. David S. Ware: Surrendered (Columbia).
  15. D'Angelo: Voodoo (Virgin).
  16. Mystikal: Let's Get Ready (Jive).
  17. Kasey Chambers: The Captain (Asylum).
  18. Sonic Youth: NYC Ghosts and Flowers (Interscope).
  19. Tommy Smith: Blue Smith (Linn).
  20. Neil Young: Silver and Gold (Warner Brothers).
  21. Merle Haggard: If I Could Only Fly (Epitaph).
  22. Kwaito: South African Hip Hop (Earthworks).
  23. Guy Davis: Butt Naked Free (Red House).
  24. De La Soul: Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump (Tommy Boy).
  25. Shelby Lynne: I Am Shelby Lynne (Mercury).
  26. Lee Ann Womack: I Hope You Dance (MCA).
  27. Automator: A Much Better Tomorrow (75 Ark).
  28. The Apples in Stereo: The Discovery of a World Inside the Moone (Spin/Art).
  29. Modest Mouse: The Moon and Antarctica (Epic).
  30. Bebel Gilberto: Tanto Tempo (Six Degrees).
  31. Sway & King Tech: This or That (Interscope).
  32. Erykah Badu: Mama's Gun (Universal).
  33. The Handsome Family: Into the Air (Carrot Top).
  34. Amy Rigby: The Sugar Tree (Koch).
  35. Joshua Redman: Beyond (Warner Brothers).
  36. Roni Size / Reprazent: In the Mode (Talkin' Loud).
  37. David Murray: Octet Plays Trane (Justin Time).
  38. PJ Harvey: Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea (Island).
  39. The Beautiful South: Painting It Red (Ark 21).
  40. Billy Harper: Soul of an Angel (Metropolitan).
  41. Arthur Blythe: Spirits in the Field (Savant).
  42. Sue Foley: Love Comin' Down (Shanachie).
  43. Branford Marsalis: Contemporary Jazz (Columbia).
  44. Select Cuts from Blood and Fire (Select Cuts).
  45. Common: Like Water for Chocolate (MCA).
  46. Harry Allen: Plays Ellington Songs (RCA).
  47. Willie Nelson: Me and the Drummer (Luck).
  48. Lou Reed: Ecstasy (Warner Brothers).
  49. James Talley: Nashville City Blues (Cimarron).
  50. Steely Dan: Two Against Nature (Warner Brothers).

Reissues:

The prime years of CD reissues have slipped into the past. Most of the newer product recapitulates stuff that had been reissued on CD years ago; some merely repackages it. My sampling of such product tends to bypass reissues where I already own much of the material. The list below also skips some excellent discs where the reissue adds little to the original (e.g., Ornette Coleman's Dancing in Your Mind). I've also skipped the Ken Burns Jazz anthologies (except for the Best of -- I never got the box), which I intend to write more about elsewhere.

  1. Motown: The Classic Years (1960-72, UTV, 2CD).
  2. Louis Armstrong: Hot Fives and Sevens (1926-28, JSP, 4CD).
  3. Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music, Volume 4 (1928-40, Revenant, 2CD).
  4. The Best of Ken Burns Jazz (1926-92, Columbia / Legacy).
  5. Taj Mahal: The Best of Taj Mahal (1967-74, Columbia / Legacy).
  6. The Funk Box (1970-82, Hip-O, 4CD).
  7. Willie Nelson: In the Jailhouse Now / Brand on My Heart (1982-85, DCC).
  8. Ohio Players: The Millennium Collection: The Best of Ohio Players (1974-77, Polygram).
  9. Jimmy Reed: Blues Masters: The Very Best of Jimmy Reed (1953-63, Rhino).
  10. Smooth Grooves: The Essential Collection (1972-78, Rhino).
  11. Big Youth: Natty Universal Dread (1973-78, Blood & Fire, 3CD).
  12. KRS-One: A Retrospective (1987-97, Jive).
  13. The Original Carter Family: Can the Circle Be Unbroken? (1935-40, Columbia).
  14. Charlie Parker: The Complete Savoy and Dial Studio Recordings (1944-48, Atlantic, 8CD).
  15. Ragga Essentials: In a Dancehall Style (1986-97, Hip-O).
  16. Ice-T: Greatest Hits: The Evidence (1987-96, Atomic Pop).
  17. Ornette Coleman: The Complete Science Fiction Sessions (1971-72, Columbia / Legacy, 2CD).
  18. New Millennium Doo Wop Party (1954-61, Rhino).
  19. Fela Anikulapo Kuti: Original Sufferhead / I.T.T. (1980-81, MCA).
  20. Django Reinhardt: The Classic Early Recordings in Chronological Order (1934-37, JSP, 5CD).
  21. Fela Anikulapo Kuti: Confusion / Gentleman (1973-75, MCA).
  22. Big Bill Broonzy: Trouble in Mind (1956-57, Smithsonian / Folkways).
  23. Miles Davis and John Coltrane: The Complete Columbia Recordings (1955-61, Columbia / Legacy, 5CD).
  24. Fela Anikulapo Kuti: Shuffering and Shmiling / No Agreement (1977, MCA).
  25. Sleepy John Estes: Brownsville Blues: His 23 Greatest Songs (1929-41, Wolf).
  26. Johnny Cash: At San Quentin (The Complete 1969 Concert) (1969, Columbia / Legacy).
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