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The Strokes 'Is This It' Named NME Album Of The Decade

• 17th Nov 2009

This week’s issue of NME, on sale nationwide Wednesday 18th November, reveals The Strokes’ debut album Is This It as the album of the decade. As the noughties comes to a close, NME – along with an impressive list of artists and music experts – have voted for the best albums from the past decade to produce a list of the top 50. Spanning from Arctic Monkeys to Jay-Z, the list sees The Strokes’ Is This It topping the bill to be crowned as NME’s Album Of The Decade.

The Strokes’ lead singer Julian Casablancas says of the title ‘It's totally crazy! I don't know what that means. Does it mean it's a good musical decade or a bad musical decade? I don't know, I'm such a bad judge of my own stuff. But I thought it was great when I heard. Recording the album was fun, it was stressing, it was exciting. I think if I was to know then that I'd be having this conversation now I couldn't be more pleased. I'm restraining myself now, I don't want to get carried away, but I'm pretty damn psyched with myself. Mental high five!’

The distinguished judging panel consisted of over a hundred key music industry figures including bands (Arctic Monkeys, Radiohead, Glasvegas, Paul Weller, Robert Smith, Vampire Weekend), producers (Stephen Street and Diplo), record label bosses (from Domino, Rough Trade, XL and Heavenly), festival bookers (Melvin Benn and Emily Eavis) and of course NME staff both past and present.

Following The Strokes, the top five is packed full of debut albums. Beating off stiff competition from some of the world’s most established artists are debuts from The Libertines’, with Up the Bracket in second place, Arctic Monkeys, with Whatever People Say I Am… in fourth and Yeah Yeah Yeahs, whose Fever To Tell comes in at number five. The Libertines along with Yeah Yeah Yeahs have also managed to swing not one, but two albums in the list, alongside White Stripes, Arcade Fire, Radiohead and The Streets.
It seems that 2002 was the most creative and musically influential year of the noughties, with an astonishing eight albums from the year appearing in the list. Artists including The Libertines, Interpol, The Streets and Queens Of The Stone Age all produced incredible albums, to ensure 2002 was the most musically significant year of the last decade.

The list is packed with UK homegrown talent, proving once again that the UK is still the home of great music, with a staggering 23 albums out of the 50 being British. The US is hot on the tails of the UK, with an impressive 21 albums, while both Canada and Sweden also have albums featured in the definitive NME Album Of The Decade list.

NME Editor Krissi Murison says ‘This is the definitive word on the greatest albums of the 00s – as voted for by everyone who helped make music brilliant this decade. Aside from the fact my choice only made it to number 5, I think you’ll agree it’s an incredible list of records.’

The Strokes released Is This It in 2001, to critical acclaim, and they have since been seen as the first millennium garage rock band to break into the mainstream and begin a revival, changing a whole generation of music fans and opening the doors to many more.

The Libertines closely followed up their debut album, Up The Bracket. Spearheading the garage rock scene in the UK, the band centred on the songwriting partnership of Carl Barât and Pete Doherty, who produced a passionate poetic album which has inspired a generation.
XTRMNTR is recognized as one of Primal Scream’s definitive albums. Their sixth studio album moved away from their earlier hedonistic recordings and saw the band take on a more political stance, culminating in a critically acclaimed album like no other they have produced.

NME’S TOP 50 ALBUMS OF THE DECADE:
1. The Strokes – Is This It
2. The Libertines – Up The Bracket
3. Primal Scream – xtrmntr
4. Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am…
5. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Fever To Tell
6. PJ Harvey – Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea
7. Arcade Fire – Funeral
8. Interpol – Turn On The Bright Lights
9. The Streets – Original Pirate Material
10. Radiohead – In Rainbows
11. LCD Soundsystem – The Sound Of Silver
12. At The Drive-In – Relationship Of Command
13. The Shins – Wincing The Night Away
14. Radiohead – Kid A
15. Queens Of The Stone Age – Songs For The Deaf
16. The Streets – A Grand Don’t Come For Free
17. Sufjan Stevens – Illinoise
18. White Stripes – Elephant
19. White Stripes – White Blood Cells
20. Blur – Think Tank
21. The Coral – The Coral
22. Jay Z – The Blueprint
23. Klaxons – Myths Of The Near Future
24. The Libertines – The Libertines
25. Rapture – Echoes
26. Dizzee Rascal – Boy in Da Corner
27. Amy Winehouse Back To Black
28. Johnny Cash – Man Comes Around
29. Super Furry Animals – Rings Around The World
30. Elbow – Asleep In The Back
31. Bright Eyes – I'm Wide Awake…
32. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Show Your Bones
33. Granddaddy – Sophtware Slump
34. Arcade Fire – Neon Bible
35. Babyshambles – Down In Albion
36. Spirtualized – Let it Come Down
37. The Knife – Silent Shout
38. Bloc Party – Silent Alarm
39. Crystal Castles – Crystal Castles
40. Ryan Adams – Gold
41. Wild Beasts – Two Dancers
42. Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend
43. Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
44. Outkast –Speakerboxxx / The Love Below
45. Avalanches – Since I Left You
46. Delgados – The Great Eastern
47. Brendan Benson – Lapalco
48. Walkmen – Bows and Arrows
49. Muse – Absolution
50. MIA – Arular