okay, so what would you choose of your best abums each year for this decade? here's my picks, 2005 is a tie:

2000: radiohead - kidA
2001: ryan adams - gold
2002: doves - last broadcast
2003: outkast - speakerboxx/the love below
2004: the killers - hot fuss
2005 arcade fire/bloc party debuts'
2006: gnarls barkley - st elsewhere
2007 (so far) : the national - boxer

Noice! Here's mine.

2000: PJ Harvey-- Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea
2001: Gillian Welch-- Time (The Revelator)
2002: Beck-- Sea Change
2003: Radiohead-- Hail To The Thief
2004: Ted Leo and the Pharmacists-- Shake The Sheets
2005: Hot Hot Heat-- Elevator
2006: The Decemberists-- The Crane Wife
2007: Wilco-- Sky Blue Sky

My choices would be:

2000: O Brother Where Art Thou? soundtrack
2001: Tim McGraw--Set This Circus Down
2002: Johnny Cash--American IV: The Man Comes Around and Wilco--Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
2003: The Beatles--Let It Be. . .Naked
2004: U2--How to Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, Derek Webb--I See Things Upside Down and Relient K--Mmhmm
2005: Derek Webb--Mockingbird
2006: Bob Dylan--Modern Times
2007: None so far

P.S.: Sorry for my multiple choices some years but I just couldn't decide which cd I loved more.

Completely forgot about Tool's Lateralus, Dave Matthews Band's Everyday and Elton John's Songs from the West Coast from 2001, Peter Gabriel's Up from 2002, Incubus' A Crow Left of the Murder from 2004, The Rolling Stones' A Bigger Bang from 2005, Caedmon's Call's Long Line of Leavers and Share the Well from 2000 and 2004 respectively, not to mention Enya's A Day Without Rain and Amarantine from 2000 and 2005 (all of which are just as excellent as the other albums I've mentioned this decade). See I really do have a difficult time narrowing it down to just one album per year lol.

the coolest part of all this is that there's about 5 albums now i need to try from your lists!

becks' sea change is a great album, & any other year, would've been my choice too! the decemberists album & dylans' "modern times" are 2 albums i must get!

2000: Capone 'n' Noreaga - The Reunion
2001: Masta Ace - Disposable Arts
2002: Monsta Island Czars - Escape from Monsta Island
2003: King Geedorah - Take Me to Your Leader
2004: Viktor Vaughn - Vaudeville Villain
2005: AZ - AWOL
2006: Ghostface Killa - Fishscale
2007: Sean Price - Jesus Price Supastar

I don't remember the years of release, but John Legend's first two sat well with me.

Ok, to narrow it down to just one is impossible for me. Here is my list as small as humanly possible--these are the ones I keep coming back to over & over again

2000--Mark Knopfler: Sailing To Philidelphia
Rev Horton Heat: Spend a Night in the Box
The Jayhawks: Smile
Will Kimbrough: This
James Intveld: Somewhere Down the Road
Johnny Cash: American III

2001--Jeff Beck: You Had It Coming
Lucinda Williams: Essence
Whiskeytown: Pneumonia
Ben Folds: Rocking the Suburbs
No Doubt: Rock Steady
Nick Lowe: The Convincer
Rodney Crowell: The Houston Kid

2002--Bruce Springsteen: The Rising
Tom Petty: The Last DJ
Johnny Cash: American IV
The Donna's: Spend the Night
Will Kimbrough: Home Away
Hayes Carll: Flowers & Liquor
Hank III: Lovesick, Broke & Driftin'

2003--Joe Jackson: Volume 4
The Jayhawks: Rainy Day Music
Liz Phair: Liz Phair
Rodney Crowell: Fates Right Hand
Bottle Rockets: Blue Sky
Lucinda Williams: World W/O Tears
Rusty Truck: Broken Promises
Johnny Cash: Unearthed box

2004--Velvet Revolver: Contraband
Dave Alvin: Ashgrove
Rev Horton Heat: Revival
Jason Ringenberg: Empire Builders
John Fogerty: Deja Vu All Over Again
Alan Parsons: A Valid Path
Mark Knopfler: Shangri-La
Elton John: Peachtree Road
Todd Snider: East Nashville Skyline

2005--Garbage: Bleed Like Me
John Prine: Fair & Square
Ben Folds: Songs for Silverman
Rodney Crowell: The Outsider
Paul McCartney: Chaos & Creation in the Backyard
All American Rejects: Move Along
Neil Diamond: 12 (14) Songs
Daddy: Live at the Woman's Club
2006--Hank III: Straight to Hell (!!!! His best!!!)
Mark and Emmylou: All the Roadrunning
Johnny Cash: American V
Golden Smog: Another Fine Day
Todd Snider: The Devil You Know
Will Kimbrough: Americanitis
Kasey Chambers: Carnival
Elton John: The Captain & The Kid

2007--(so far) Lucinda Williams: West]
Son Volt: The Search
Shaw/Blades: Influence
Patti Smith: Twelve
Golden Smog: Blood on the Slacks
Todd Snider: Live at Grimey's, Nashville 10/20/06
--will probably add Wilco, Rush & McCartney when I get them as well

Rich, I'm surprised you didn't add the O Brother soundtrack to your list of great country albums released this decade since I personally feel it's one of the greatest and purest country albums ever made but to each his own I guess. Also I would have added Peachtree Road and The Captain and the Kid to my own list but out of all the albums Elton's released this decade that I've heard I feel that Songs from the West Coast is the one that holds up the best to repeat listens and is a modern day classic, but still his other two have great songs on them too.