Showing posts with label norah jones. Show all posts
Showing posts with label norah jones. Show all posts

Saturday, February 28, 2026

Traditional Pop/Vocal Jazz: Top 25 Albums

Traditional Pop/Vocal Jazz:

The Top 25 Albums

While traditional pop and vocal jazz aren’t quite the same thing, they share a lot of commonalities. Traditional pop is considered a genre of music that generally pre-dates rock and roll in the 1950s and generally consists of artists performing standards from the American songbook. Crooners such as Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, and Perry Como are popular singers of the genre. Musically, the singers were frequently backed by swing bands.

Vocal jazz is a sub-genre of jazz in which a singer’s voice is used as an instrument, which includes techniques such as vocal improvisations and scatting in which the singer imitates the instruments. It emerged out of the New Orleans jazz tradition which was built on the field hollers and work songs of African-American slaves. Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and Sarah Vaughan are some of the genre’s most notable performers. Like traditional pop, it often leans on standards.

18 sources focused on the best traditional pop, vocal jazz, and standards albums were aggregtated to create this exclusive Dave’s Music Database list.

Check out other best-of-genre/category lists here.

1. Norah Jones Come Away with Me (2002)
2. Frank Sinatra Songs for Swingin’ Lovers! (1956)
3. Frank Sinatra In the Wee Small Hours (1955)
4. Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Songbook (1956)
5. Natalie Cole Unforgettable…With Love (1991)

6. Billie Holiday Lady in Satin (1958)
7. Judy Garland Judy at Carnegie Hall (live, 1961)
8. Ray Charles The Genius of Ray Charles (1959)
9. Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely (1958)
10. Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. Handy (1954)

11. Frank Sinatra Come Dance with Me (1959)
12. Frank Sinatra Come Fly with Me (1957)
13. Frank Sinatra September of My Years (1965)
14. Frank Sinatra A Swingin’ Affair (1957)
15. Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong Ella & Louis (1957)

16. John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman (1963)
17. Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Songbook (box set: recorded 1959)
18. Chet Baker Chet Baker Sings (1954)
19. Frank Sinatra and Antonio Carlos Jobim Francis Albert Sinatra and Antonio Carlos Jobim (1967)
20. Frank Sinatra Songs for Young Lovers (1953)

21. Billie Holiday Lady Sings the Blues (1956)
22. Nina Simone Pastel Blues (1965)
23. Nina Simone Wild Is the Wind (1966)
24. Billie Holiday Songs for Distingué Lovers (1957)
25. Sarah Vaughan & Clifford Brown Sarah Vaughan with Clifford Brown (1955)

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First posted 9/15/2024; last updated 2/28/2026.

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Wednesday, February 4, 2026

Top 100 Albums of the 21st Century

2000-2025:

The Top 100 Albums

The book Top 100 Albums of All Time was published by Dave’s Music Database in 2014. It aggregated more than 150 best-of lists from all manner of music publications and entities and crunching those figures into a database along with sales figures, chart results, critical ratings, and various awards. (Click links to see detailed sources).

The book only featured one album from the 21st century (Eminem’s The Marshall Mathers LP) and, frankly, if I were to revise the book I’d re-focus it just on the 20th century. Either way, this book serves as a sequel, keying in on the top 100 albums of the 21st century. Here are the results:

Also, check out annual picks for album of the year.

1. Adele 21 (2011)
2. The Strokes Is This It (2001)
3. Eminem The Marshall Mathers LP (2000)
4. Amy Winehouse Back to Black (2006)
5. Coldplay A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002)
6. The White Stripes Elephant (2003)
7. Taylor Swift 1989 (2014)
8. Green Day American Idiot (2004)
9. Radiohead Kid A (2000)
10. Arctic Monkeys Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not (2006)

11. Norah Jones Come Away with Me (2002)
12. Kendrick Lamar To Pimp a Butterfly (2015)
13. Arcade Fire Funeral (2004)
14. Eminem The Eminem Show (2002)
15. Kendrick Lamar Damn. (2017)
16. Beyoncé Lemonade (2016)
17. Kanye West My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010)
18. Kendrick Lamar Good Kid m.A.A.d. City (2012)
19. Adele 25 (2015)
20. OutKast Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (2003)

21. Usher Confessions (2004)
22. Taylor Swift Fearless (2008)
23. Frank Ocean Channel Orange (2012)
24. Ed Sheeran ÷ (Divide) (2017)
25. Radiohead In Rainbows (2007)
26. Lady Gaga The Fame (2008)
27. The White Stripes White Blood Cells (2001)
28. U2 All That You Can’t Leave Behind (2000)
29. Kanye West The College Dropout (2004)
30. Wilco Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2001)

31. Linkin Park Hybrid Theory (2000)
32. OutKast Stankonia (2000)
33. Alicia Keys Songs in A Minor (2001)
34. Coldplay Parachutes (2000)
35. Taylor Swift Red (2012)
36. Arcade Fire The Suburbs (2010)
37. Franz Ferdinand Franz Ferdinand (2004)
38. O Brother Where Art Thou (soundtrack, 2000)
39. Kacey Musgraves Golden Hour (2018)
40. Bilie Eilish When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? (2019)

41. Chris Stapleton Traveller (2015)
42. Jay-Z The Blueprint (2001)
43. Sufjan Stevens Illinois (2005)
44. David Bowie Blackstar (2016)
45. 50 Cent Get Rich or Die Tryin’ (2003)
46. Coldplay X & Y (2005)
47. Eminem Recovery (2010)
48. Katy Perry Teenage Dream (2010)
49. Beyoncé Dangerously in Love (2003)
50. The Killers Hot Fuss (2004)

51. Frozen (soundtrack, 2013)
52. Lin-Manuel Miranda (composer) Hamilton (musical, 2015)
53. Drake Views (2016)
54. Olivia Rodrigo Sour (2021)
55. Beyoncé Beyoncé (2013)
56. Brian Wilson Smile (2004)
57. Taylor Swift Midnights (2022)
58. Kings of Leon Only by the Night (2008)
59. Justin Timberlake FutureSex/LoveSounds (2006)
60. Justin Timberlake Justified (2002)

61. Frank Ocean Blond (2016)
62. Bruce Springsteen The Rising (2002)
63. LCD Soundsystem Sound of Silver (2007)
64. Drake Take Care (2011)
65. Nickelback All the Right Reasons (2005)
66. SZA SOS (2022)
67. Coldplay Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends (2008)
68. Bruno Mars Doo Wops & Hooligans (2010)
69. Rihanna Anti (2016)
70. Kanye West Late Registration (2005)

71. Beck Sea Change (2002)
72. Mumford & Sons Sigh No More (2009)
73. Ed Sheeran X (Multiply) (2014)
74. The Libertines Up the Bracket (2002)
75. Morgan Wallen One Thing at a Time (2023)
76. U2 How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (2004)
77. Mariah Carey The Emancipation of Mimi (2005)
78. Mumford & Sons Babel (2012)
79. Post Malone Hollywood’s Bleeding (2019)
80. Lana Del Rey Born to Die (2012)

81. D’Angelo Voodoo (2000)
82. Taylor Swift Folklore (2020)
83. Evanescence Fallen (2003)
84. PJ Harvey Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea (2000)
85. Bob Dylan Love and Theft (2001)
86. D’Angelo & the Vanguard Black Messiah (2014)
87. Avril Lavigne Let Go (2002)
88. Taylor Swift Speak Now (2010)
89. Ariana Grande Thank U, Next (2019)
90. James Blunt Back to Bedlam (2004)

91. Lady Gaga Born This Way (2011)
92. Keane Hopes and Fears (2004)
93. Kanye West Graduation (2007)
94. Drake Scorpion (2018)
95. Vampire Weekend Modern Vampires of the City (2013)
96. Lorde Melodrama (2017)
97. Robert Plant & Alison Krauss Raising Sand (2007)
98. Fleet Foxes Fleet Foxes (2008)
99. Morgan Wallen Dangerous: The Double Album (2021)
100. Sam Smith In the Lonely Hour (2014)

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First posted 12/13/2020; last updated 2/4/2026.

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Friday, March 15, 2024

The Top 50 Jazz Albums of All Time

Jazz:

The Top 50 Albums

24 lists focused on jazz albums were aggregated to create this list. Those albums featured on 2 or more lists were then sorted by overall points in Dave’s Music Database. Other jazz albums not appearing on the lists were factored in as well.

Check out other best-of-genre/category lists here.

1. Miles Davis Kind of Blue (1959)
2. Norah Jones Come Away with Me (2002)
3. John Coltrane A Love Supreme (1965)
4. Miles Davis Bitches Brew (1970)
5. George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, & Dubose Heyward Porgy and Bess (1935)
6. Frank Sinatra Songs for Swingin’ Lovers! (1956)
7. Bessie Smith The Essential (compilation: 1923-33, released 1997)
8. Louis Armstrong The Complete Hot Five and Hot Seven Recordings (box set, recorded 1925-28, released 2000)
9. Glenn Miller Glenn Miller (aka “Glenn Miller & His Orchestra”) (compilation: 1939-42, released 1945)
10. Dave Brubeck Time Out (1959)

11. Norah Jones Feels Like Home (2004)
12. Stan Getz & João Gilberto Getz/Gilberto (recorded 1963, released 1964)
13. Henry Mancini The Music from Peter Gunn (soundtrack, 1959)
14. Duke Ellington The Blanton-Webster Band (box set: 1939-42, released 1990)
15. Benny Goodman The Complete Legendary Carnegie Hall Concert (live, recorded 1938)
16. Ornette Coleman The Shape of Jazz to Come (1959)
17. Herbie Hancock Head Hunters (1973)
18. Miles Davis & Gil Evans Sketches of Spain (1960)
19. Miles Davis Birth of the Cool (recorded 1949-50, released 1957)
20. Charles Mingus Ah Um (1959)

21. Sonny Rollins Saxophone Colossus (1956)
22. Eric Dolphy Out to Lunch! (1964)
23. Bill Evans Trio Sunday at the Village Vanguard (1961)
24. Miles Davis In a Silent Way (1969)
25. John Coltrane Giant Steps (recorded 1959, released 1960)
26. Duke Ellington At Newport (live, 1956)
27. Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Songbook (1956)
28. Henry Mancini Breakfast at Tiffany’s (soundtrack, 1961)
29. Bill Evans Trio Waltz for Debbie (live, 1961)
30. Charlie Parker The Complete Savoy & Dial Studio Recordings (box: 1944-48, released 2000)

31. Weather Report Heavy Weather (1977)
32. Charles Mingus The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady (1963)
33. Erroll Garner Concert by the Sea (live, 1955)
34. Thelonious Monk Genius of Modern Music, Vol. 1 (recorded 1947, released 1951)
35. Mahavishnu Orchestra The Inner Mounting Flame (1971)
36. Thelonious Monk Brilliant Corners (1956)
37. The Quintet (Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, Charles Mingus, & Max Roach) Jazz at Massey Hall (live, 1953)
38. Jamiroquai Travelling Without Moving (1996)
39. Miles Davis & Gil Evans Miles Ahead (1957)
40. Louis Armstrong & Earl Hines Louis Armstrong and Earl Hines (compilation: 1928-29, released 1989)

41. Oliver Nelson Blues and the Abstract Truth (1961)
42. George Benson Breezin’ (1976)
43. Norah Jones Not Too Late (2007)
44. Duke Ellington Far East Suite (1966)
45. Ornette Coleman Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation (1960)
46. John Coltrane Blue Train (1957)
47. Herbie Hancock Maiden Voyage (1964)
48. Keith Jarrett The Köln Concert (live, 1975)
49. Wayne Shorter <9>Speak No Evil (1964)
50. Dizzy Gillespie The Complete RCA Victor Recordings (compilation: 1937-49, released 1995)

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First posted 4/13/2011; last updated 3/15/2024.

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Saturday, May 22, 2021

Dave's Music Database Hall of Fame: Albums (May 2021)

Originally posted 5/22/2021.

January 22, 2019 marked the 10-year anniversary of the DMDB blog. To honor that, Dave’s Music Database announced its own Hall of Fame. This month marks the tenth group of album inductees. These are the among the top twenty jazz albums of all time, excluding previous inductees Miles Davis’ A Kind of Blue, Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, Bessie Smith’s The Essential, Louis Armstrong’s Complete Hot Five and Hot Seven Recordings, Glenn Miller’s Glenn Miller, Henry Mancini’s Music from Peter Gunn, Duke Ellington’s The Blanton Webster Band 1939-1942, and Benny Goodman’s Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert.

See the full list of album inductees here.

Frank Sinatra Songs for Swingin’ Lovers (1956)

Inducted May 2021 as “Top Jazz Albums.”

“Sinatra’s albums for Capitol introduced the singer’s album, the concept album and the grown-up album all at once.” RC On this album, the focus from Ol’ Blue Eyes and conductor/arranger Nelson Riddle was “on churning out up-tempo dance versions of standards.” SHS Read more.

Duke Ellington At Newport (1956)

Inducted May 2021 as “Top Jazz Albums.”

After an unsuccessful stint at Capitol Records, Duke Ellington re-established himself “as a vitally popular jazz artist” AMG with At Newport, a recorded of his appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1956. The original album release was “almost fully manufactured, recorded in a studio with crowd madness dubbed in” AB but four decades later, a tape of the original Newport set saw the light of day, reviving the “set in its organic glory.” AB Read more.

Charles Mingus Ah Um (1959)

Inducted May 2021 as “Top Jazz Albums.”

Ah Um “is a stunning summation of the bassist’s talents and probably the best reference point for beginners…Mingus’ compositions and arrangements were always extremely focused, assimilating individual spontaneity into a firm consistency of mood, and that approach reaches an ultra-tight zenith” AMG on Mingus’ debut for Columbia, a Grammy Hall of Fame and National Recording Registry inductee. Read more.

Ornette Coleman The Shape of Jazz to Come (1959)

Inducted May 2021 as “Top Jazz Albums.”

This “was a watershed event in the genesis of avant-garde jazz, profoundly steering its future course and throwing down a gauntlet that some still haven’t come to grips with. The record shattered traditional concepts of harmony in jazz, getting rid of not only the piano player but the whole idea of concretely outlined chord changes.” AMG The album was Coleman’s debut with Atlantic and has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and National Recording Registry. Read more.

Dave Brubeck Time Out (1959)

Inducted May 2021 as “Top Jazz Albums.”

“Dave Brubeck’s defining masterpiece, Time Out is one of the most rhythmically innovative albums in jazz history…Brubeck’s record company wasn’t keen on releasing such an arty project, and many critics initially roasted him for tampering with jazz’s rhythmic foundation. But for once, public taste was more advanced than that of the critics.” SH Read more.

Stan Getz with João Gilberto Getz/Gilberto (1963)

Inducted May 2021 as “Top Jazz Albums.”

“One of the biggest-selling jazz albums of all time, not to mention bossa nova’s finest moment.” AMG “It’s one of those rare jazz records about which the purist elite and the buying public are in total agreement.” AMG Getz/Gilberto brought “two of bossa nova’s greatest innovators – guitarist/ singer João Gilberto and composer/ pianist Antonio Carlos Jobim – to New York to record with Stan Getz. The results were magic.” AMG The Grammy winner for Album of the Year featured The Girl from Ipanema, “one of the biggest smash hit singles in jazz history.” AMG Read more.

John Coltrane A Love Supreme (1965)

Inducted May 2021 as “Top Jazz Albums.”

John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme is “widely considered his masterpiece.” WK Jazz critic Tom Hull called it “the most perfectly plotted single piece of jazz ever recorded.” WK It is also “easily one of the most important records ever made” JI in any genre. Techno-DJ Moby said it “is probably oe of the most beautiful and sublime recordings of the twentieth century.” AK-xvi Read more.

Miles Davis Bitches Brew (1970)

Inducted May 2021 as “Top Jazz Albums.”

“Inspired by the visionary work of James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, and Sly Stone, Miles Davis began incorporating funk grooves and electronic instruments into his music – first with the languid, contemplative In a Silent Way…and then on…Bitches Brew.” TL The latter is “thought by many to be the most revolutionary album in jazz history, having virtually created the genre known as jazz-rock fusion.” TJ Read more.

Herbie Hancock Head Hunters (1973)

Inducted May 2021 as “Top Jazz Albums.”

“Perhaps the defining moment of the jazz-fusion movement (or perhaps even the spearhead of the Jazz-funk style of the fusion genre), the album made jazz listeners out of rhythm and blues fans, and vice versa.” WK “Hancock had pushed avant-garde boundaries on his own albums and with Miles Davis, but he had never devoted himself to the groove as he did on Head Hunters,” STE an inductee into the Grammy Hall of Fame and National Recording Registry. Read more.

Norah Jones Come Away with Me (2002)

Inducted May 2021 as “Top Jazz Albums.”

In 2003, Norah Jones won Grammys for Best New Artist, Album of the Year for Come Away with Me, and Record and Song of the Year for the album’s lead single, “Don’t Know Why.” The album topped the Billboard album chart and sold 27 million worldwide. “Though its surprising success…overwhelmed it, this seductively modest little record is a marvel of mood and invention. The songwriting and arrangements are sophisticated, often jazzy, yet full of catchy hooks. And Jones’ vocals are silken and perfectly turned, setting a seamless mood that could soundtrack high-end restaurants and low-rent make-out sessions alike.” RS’11 Read more.
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Thursday, December 31, 2015

Amber Books: Best-Selling Albums

Amber Books:

Best-Selling Albums: From Vinyl Records to Digital Downloads

This book ranks the top albums of each decade from the 1950s through the 2010s, based on certifications from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The lists for the 1960s through the 2000s are top 20 lists, the 1950s is a top-10 ranking, and the half-decade of 2010-2015 is just a top-5 ranking.

While the RIAA offers official certifications for the United States, they don’t accurately capture real sales worldwide. Unfortunately, there isn’t any official source that certifies worldwide albums sales. As such, Dave’s Music Database offers its list of “The World’s All-Time Best-Selling Albums.” This list compiles sales estimates from multiple sources. While that makes these figures less accurate than certified sales records, it offers a closer picture of the actual best-selling albums.

Check out other album lists based on charts and sales.

Check out other publications and organizations’ best-of album lists here.

1950-1959: Top 10

    1. 16 million: Elvis Presley Elvis’ Christmas Album (1957)
    2. 5 million: Miles Davis Kind of Blue (1959)
    3. 3 million: Alan Jay Lerner & Frederick Loewe (composers) My Fair Lady (cast album, 1956)
    4. 2 million: Richard Rodgers/Oscar Hammerstein II (composers) Oklahoma! (soundtrack, 1955)
    5. 2 million: Johnny Mathis Merry Christmas (1958)
    6. 2 million: Marty Robbins Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs (1959)
    7. 2 million: Johnny Mathis Heavenly (1959)
    8. 1 million: Nat “King” Cole Love Is the Thing (1959)
    9. 1 million: Tennessee Ernie Ford Hymns (1957)
    10. 1 million: Meredith Willson (composer) The Music Man (cast album, 1957)

1960-1969: Top 20

* Book identifies this as released in December 1969, but sources typically identify it as a January 1970 release.

1970-1979: Top 20

1980-1989: Top 20

1990-1999: Top 20

2000-2009: Top 20

2010-2015: Top 5

    1. 14.8 million: Adele 21 (2011)
    2. 6.2 million: Michael Bublé Christmas (2011)
    3. 5.4 million: Eminem Recovery (2010)
    4. 4.9 million: Various Artists Frozen (soundtrack, 2013)
    5. 4.5 million: Taylor Swift Speak Now (2010)

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First posted 11/26/2024.

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Sunday, January 31, 2010

And the Grammy Goes to..Steve?

And the Grammy for Best Album goes to…Steve? Wait a minute. Let’s do a quick perusal of the nominee list. Beyoncé’s I Am…Sasha Fierce, The Black Eyed Peas’ The E.N.D., Lady Gaga’s The Fame, Dave Matthews Band’s Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King, and Taylor Swift’s Fearless. Hmm…not a Steve amongst the batch. Oh wait – there’s a question mark on the end of that sentence. What does that mean?

In my highly scientific study of previous Best Album Grammy winners, I’ve found that the best determinant is which album Steve owns, or is most likely to own. Steve and I have been buddies more than 25 years, going back to high school. Now in his early ‘40s, he’s appropriately settled into his musical demographic. He buys less than a handful of new albums each year, listens to something in between adult alternative and adult contemporary radio, and won’t be picking up Lil’ Wayne albums any time soon.

Before this disintegrates into a Steve trashfest, I assure you he has positively influenced my tastes over the years. His love of Dire Straits and the Moody Blues has much to do with their presence in my collection and our mutual affection for the Alan Parsons Project has always given us common musical ground. You can count on both of us to prick up our ears at the mention of a quality singer/songwriter with ‘80s roots.

However, in the last decade I’ve continued to add new and upcoming bands to my collection – stuff like the White Stripes, the Strokes, the Killers, and the Arctic Monkeys. In that same span, Steve has picked up Norah Jones and Alison Krauss. In a nutshell, I’m still looking for guitar solos in the middle of songs while Steve is grabbing up…well, Grammy fare.

Norah Jones’ Come Away with Me and Alison Krauss and Robert Plant’s Raising Sand are two Best Album Grammy winners that I know are part of Steve’s collection. More importantly, he didn’t buy them in the after-Grammy hype or even because of nominations, but long before either. Hence my theory that Steve’s musical taste makes for the best determinant of the Grammy winner-to-be. However, Steve didn’t buy any of this year’s crop so as we flipped through stacks of albums (yes, ACTUAL albums) at Streetside Records last week, I asked him which he’d buy if he had to. “Well,” he finally decided, “if I had to go with one, I guess it would be Taylor Swift.” There you go. You can bank on that as tonight’s winner.
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Thursday, December 31, 2009

The Top 100 Albums of the 2000s

2000-2009:

The Top 100 Albums

These are the top albums from 2000-2009 according to Dave’s Music Database, which factors in sales, chart data, awards, album ratings, and appearances on best-of lists. Compilations, archival recordings, and reissues are not factored into this list.

You can check out the top albums of all time or for other decades by clicking here.

1. The Strokes Is This It (2001)
2. Eminem The Marshall Mathers LP (2000)
3. Amy Winehouse Back to Black (2006)
4. Coldplay A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002)
5. The White Stripes Elephant (2003)
6. Green Day American Idiot (2004)
7. Radiohead Kid A (2000)
8. Arctic Monkeys Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not (2006)
9. Norah Jones Come Away with Me (2002)
10. Arcade Fire Funeral (2004)

11. Eminem The Eminem Show (2002)
12. OutKast Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (2003)
13. Usher Confessions (2004)
14. Taylor Swift Fearless (2008)
15. Radiohead In Rainbows (2007)
16. Lady Gaga The Fame (2008)
17. The White Stripes White Blood Cells (2001)
18. U2 All That You Can’t Leave Behind (2000)
19. Kanye West The College Dropout (2004)
20. Wilco Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2001)

21. Linkin Park Hybrid Theory (2000)
22. OutKast Stankonia (2000)
23. Alicia Keys Songs in A Minor (2001)
24. Coldplay Parachutes (2000)
25. Franz Ferdinand Franz Ferdinand (2004)
26. O Brother Where Art Thou (soundtrack, 2000)
27. Jay-Z The Blueprint (2001)
28. Sufjan Stevens Illinois (2005)
29. 50 Cent Get Rich or Die Tryin’ (2003)
30. Coldplay X & Y (2005)

31. Beyoncé Dangerously in Love (2003)
32. The Killers Hot Fuss (2004)
33. Brian Wilson Smile (2004)
34. Kings of Leon Only by the Night (2008)
35. Justin Timberlake FutureSex/LoveSounds (2006)
36. Justin Timberlake Justified (2002)
37. Bruce Springsteen The Rising (2002)
38. LCD Soundsystem Sound of Silver (2007)
39. Nickelback All the Right Reasons (2005)
40. Coldplay Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends (2008)

41. Kanye West Late Registration (2005)
42. Beck Sea Change (2002)
43. Mumford & Sons Sigh No More (2009)
44. The Libertines Up the Bracket (2002)
45. U2 How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (2004)
46. Mariah Carey The Emancipation of Mimi (2005)
47. D’Angelo Voodoo (2000)
48. Evanescence Fallen (2003)
49. PJ Harvey Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea (2000)
50. Bob Dylan Love and Theft (2001)

51. Avril Lavigne Let Go (2002)
52. James Blunt Back to Bedlam (2004)
53. Keane Hopes and Fears (2004)
54. Kanye West Graduation (2007)
55. Robert Plant & Alison Krauss Raising Sand (2007)
56. Fleet Foxes Fleet Foxes (2008)
57. Dixie Chicks Home (2002)
58. Queens of the Stone Age Songs for the Deaf (2002)
59. Interpol Turn on the Bright Lights (2002)
60. Bon Iver For Emma, Forever Ago (2007)

61. Carrie Underwood Some Hearts (2005)
62. High School Musical (TV soundtrack, 2006)
63. Rihanna Good Girl Gone Bad (2007)
64. N Sync No Strings Attached (2000)
65. Lady Gaga The Fame Monster (2009) 66. Kelly Clarkson Breakaway (2004)
67. Shania Twain Up! (2002)
68. Bob Dylan Modern Times (2006)
69. Flaming Lips Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (2002)
70. Loretta Lynn Van Lear Rose (2004)

71. Red Hot Chili Peppers Stadium Arcadium (2006)
72. Black Eyed Peas The E.N.D. (Energy Never Dies) (2009)
73. Red Hot Chili Peppers By the Way (2002)
74. Eminem Encore (2004)
75. Streets Original Pirate Material (2002)
76. System of a Down Toxicity (2001)
77. Various Artists (Eminem et al) 8 Mile (soundtrack, 2002)
78. Yeah Yeah Yeahs Fever to Tell (2003)
79. Joanna Newsom Ys (2006)
80. Animal Collective Merriweather Post Pavilion (2009)

81. Arctic Monkeys Favourite Worst Nightmare (2007)
82. Maroon 5 Songs About Jane (2002)
83. Pink M!ssundaztood (2001)
84. Norah Jones Feels Like Home (2004)
85. TV on the Radio Return to Cookie Mountain (2006)
86. Dixie Chicks Taking the Long Way (2006)
87. Daft Punk Discovery (2001)
88. U2 No Line on the Horizon (2009)
89. Johnny Cash American IV: The Man Comes Around (2002)
90. Modest Mouse Good News for People Who Love Bad News (2004)

91. David Gray White Ladder (2000)
92. Streets A Grand Don’t Come for Free (2004)
93. Lil Wayne Tha Carter III (2008)
94. Linkin Park Meteora (2003)
95. Jay-Z The Black Album (2003)
96. Destiny’s Child Survivor (2001)
97. Radiohead Hail to the Thief (2003)
98. Gorillaz Demon Days (2005)
99. Vampire Weekend Vampire Weekend (2008)
100. Bloc Party Silent Alarm (2005)

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First posted 11/6/2011; last updated 2/5/2026.

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Sunday, February 23, 2003

Norah Jones “Don’t Know Why” wins 3 Grammys

Don’t Know Why

Norah Jones

Writer(s): Jesse Harris (see lyrics here)

Released: January 28, 2002

First Charted: May 25, 2002

Peak: 30 BB, 35 RR, 4 AC, 8 A40, 5 AA, 59 UK, 5 AU, 8 DF (Click for codes to charts.)

Sales (in millions): 3.0 US, 0.4 UK, 3.71 world (includes US + UK)

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 0.40 radio, 127.81 video, 679.38 streaming

Awards:

Click on award for more details.

About the Song:

Singer/songwriter Geethali Norah Jones Shankar was born in 1979 in New York City. She was the daughter of Indian musician Ravi Shankar and American concert producer Sue Jones. She grew up with her mother in Texas after her parents separated in 1986. She had an affinity for the music of Billie Holiday and Bill Evans. In high school, she won Down Beat’s Student Music Award for Best Jazz Vocalist twice. She went to the University of North Texas to major in jazz piano. She met Jesse Harris when he and a group of musicians put on a cliic at the school. He later urged her to move to New York City to pursue music. SF

She did so in 1999. She started performing with Harris, including the song “Don’t Know Why,” which he’d recorded for his own Jesse Harris & the Ferdinandos album in 1999. He “changed the key to fit her voice, added a drum beat, then recorded a demo of the song with Harris in October 2000.” SF The demo caught the attention of the jazz label Blue Note and they signed her to a record deal.

Jones released her debut album, Come Away with Me, in 2002. The album’s blend of acoustic pop with soul and jazz became a surprise, slow-burning hit, reaching #1 on the Billboard album chart and racking up sales of more than 12 million in the U.S. alone. It won Grammys for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album. Its lead single, “Don’t Know Why,” won Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Jones also won Best New Artist.

As stated at Songfacts.com, “Many have enjoyed a latte at a coffee shop or filled in a crossword puzzle while…[‘Don’t Know Why’] plays as a mellow backdrop, but the lyric is anything but soothing. The singer is left catching teardrops in her hand when her lover is a no-show. According to…Harris, it's not autobiographical - he often writes songs about loss that have nothing to do with his personal life.” SF

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First posted 1/24/2026.

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Saturday, January 25, 2003

Norah Jones’ Come Away with Me hit #1

Come Away with Me

Norah Jones

Released: February 26, 2002

Peak: 14 US, 14 UK, 15 CN, 13 AU

Sales (in millions): 2.0 US, 2.56 UK, 27.0 world (includes US and UK)

Genre: adult contemporary/jazz

Tracks:

Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to charts.

  1. Don’t Know Why (5/28/02, 29a US, 4 AC, 5 AA, 8 A40, 59 UK, 5 AU)
  2. Seven Years
  3. Cold, Cold Heart
  4. Feelin’ the Same Way (8/2/02, –)
  5. Come Away with Me (10/8/02, 12 AA, 21 A40, 80 UK)
  6. Shoot the Moon
  7. Turn Me On
  8. Lonestar
  9. I’ve Got to See You Again
  10. Painter Song
  11. One Flight Down
  12. Nightingale
  13. The Long Day Is Over
  14. The Nearness of You

Total Running Time: 45:03

Rating:

4.004 out of 5.00 (average of 16 ratings)

Awards:

(Click on award to learn more).

About the Album:

Nearly a year after its release, Norah Jones’ Come Away with Me nabbed the #1 spot on the Billboard album chart. A month later, Norah Jones won eight Grammys, including Album of the Year and Record and Song of the Year for the lead single, Don’t Know Why. That pushed the album to 10 million in sales domestically and a total of 27 million worldwide.

“Though its surprising success…overwhelmed it, this seductively modest little record is a marvel of mood and invention. The songwriting and arrangements are sophisticated, often jazzy, yet full of catchy hooks. And Jones’ vocals are silken and perfectly turned, setting a seamless mood that could soundtrack high-end restaurants and low-rent make-out sessions alike. And the sexy double entendre of the hit ‘Don’t Know Why’ (‘…I didn’t come’) still sounds sly as hell.” RS’11

Her voice, which “is mature beyond her 22 years,” AZ has “a touch of Rickie Lee Jones” AMG while the arrangements suggest a touch of Bonnie Raitt. AMG “Her youth and her piano skills could lead one to call her an Alicia Keys for grown-ups.” AMG “Her assured phrasing and precise time are more often found in older singers as well. She is instantly recognizable, blending shades of Billie Holiday and Nina Simone without sounding like anyone but herself. Any way you slice it, she is a singer to be reckoned with.” AZ

Her “debut on Blue Note is a mellow, acoustic pop affair with soul and country overtones, immaculately produced by the great Arif Mardin.” AMG “Jones is not quite a jazz singer, but she is joined by some highly regarded jazz talent: guitarists Adam Levy, Adam Rogers, Tony Scherr, Bill Frisell, and Kevin Breit; drummers Brian Blade, Dan Rieser, and Kenny Wolleson; organist Sam Yahel; accordionist Rob Burger; and violinist Jenny Scheinman.” AMG

Jones does “convincing readings of Hank Williams’ Cold Cold Heart, J.D. Loudermilk’s Turn Me On, and Hoagy Carmichael’s The Nearness of You.” AMG “Heart” and “Nearness” alone “are worth the price of the CD.” AZ

“Her regular guitarist and bassist, Jesse Harris and Lee Alexander, respectively, play on every track and also serve as the chief songwriters. Both have a gift for melody, simple yet elegant progressions, and evocative lyrics.” AMG

“Jones, for her part, wrote the title track and the pretty but slightly restless Nightingale.” AMG Her material, “while not bad, pales a bit next to such masterpieces. They might have fared better had she…opted for some livelier arrangements” AZ “or if the tunes had simply been given less laconic performances.” AZ Still, “while the mood of this record stagnates after a few songs, it does give a strong indication of Jones’ alluring talents.” AMG She “has all the tools; what will come with experience and some careful listening to artists like J.J. Cale and Shirley Horn is the knack of remaining low-key without sounding sleepy – sometimes less is not, in fact, more.” AZ

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First posted 3/28/2008; last updated 3/15/2024.

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