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I am continuously frustrated by claims that today’s new music sucks or that rock and roll is dead. Such proclamations are often spouted by people so stuck on their favorites from 25 years ago that they are afraid to let anything new seep through. In response to a recent Facebook post from a friend who said he “quit following any kind of new artists in the late ‘90s,” I put together this list of 50 reasons to still listen to “new” music (i.e. albums released by acts who formed since 2000):
1. Ryan Adams “Heartbreaker” (2000)
2. Adele “21” (2011)
3. Alabama Shakes “Sound & Color” (2015)
4. Animal Collective “Merriweather Post Pavilion” (2009)
5. Arcade Fire “Funeral” (2004)
6. Arctic Monkeys “Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not” (2006)
7. The Black Keys “Brothers” (2010)
8. Bloc Party “Silent Alarm” (2005)
9. Bon Iver “For Emma, Forever Ago” (2008)
10. Bright Eyes “I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning” (2005)
11. Coldplay “A Rush of Blood to the Head” (2002)
12. Lana Del Rey “Born to Die” (2012)
13. Duffy “Rockferry” (2008)
14. Florence + the Machine “Lungs” (2009)
15. Fleet Foxes “Fleet Foxes” (2008)
16. Franz Ferdinand “Franz Ferdinand” (2004)
17. Gorillaz “Demon Days” (2005)
18. Interpol “Turn on the Bright Lights” (2002)
19. Keane “Hopes and Fears” (2004)
20. Alicia Keys “Songs in A Minor” (2001)
21. The Killers “Hot Fuss” (2004)
22. Kings of Leon “Only by the Night” (2008)
23. Lady Gaga “The Fame” (2008)
24. Kaiser Chiefs “Employment” (2005)
25. Kendrick Lamar “To Pimp a Butterfly” (2015)
26. LCD Soundsystem “Sound of Silver” (2007)
27. The Libertines “Up the Bracket” (2002)
28. Linkin Park “Hybrid Theory” (2000)
29. M.I.A. “Kala” (2007)
30. Mika “Life in Cartoon Motion” (2007)
31. Mumford & Sons “Babel” 2012)
32. Kacey Musgraves “Same Trailer Different Park” (2013)
33. My Morning Jacket “Z” (2005)
34. The National “High Violet” (2010)
35. Frank Ocean “Channel Orange” (2012)
36. Pink “M!ssundaztood” (2001)
37. Scissor Sisters “Scissor Sisters” (2004)
38. The Shins “Chutes Too Narrow” (2003)
39. Sam Smith “In the Lonely Hour” (2014)
40. Streets “A Grand Don’t Come for Free” (2004)
41. The Strokes “Is This It” (2001)
42. Sufjan Stevens “Illiois” (2005)
43. TV on the Radio “Dear Science” (2008)
44. Vampire Weekend “Vampire Weekend” (2008)
45. The Vines “Highly Evolved” (2002)
46. The War on Drugs “Lost in the Dream” (2014)
47. Kanye West “The College Dropout” (2004)
48. Amy Winehouse “Back to Black” (2006)
49. The XX “XX” (2009)
50. Yeah Yeah Yeahs “Fever to Tell” (2003)
