My top four albums of 2001 are so good that I really could have presented them in any order. I settled on the lineup I did based on a quick dive into each album right here and now, so these rankings reflect my current mood as much as anything.

At #4 is Ben Folds’ first solo album, Rockin’ the Suburbs. Ben Folds Five had split up a year earlier following the release of their third studio album, and this record marked Folds’ shift into what would become a fascinating and successful solo career.

Of course, Folds was the lone songwriter on the vast majority of BFF songs, so it was no surprise that he had the chops to succeed as a solo artist. It was more a question of what direction he’d take without the propulsive and creative contributions of drummer Darren Jessee and bassist Robert Sledge.

On Rockin’ the Suburbs, the answer was that he wouldn’t stray too far from the band’s sound. This could easily be a Ben Folds Five album if you changed out the players. The introduction of an electric guitar on the title track is the only choice that runs counter to the Ben Folds Five aesthetic.

Here, Folds delivers a series of short vignettes about life’s losers. A woman stood up by a prospective boyfriend, a couple making a scene while shopping for guitars, a guy who trips on acid and winds up in a tree at a party, a laid off worker on his last day with the company that has already forgotten him. These sketches are often poignant, sometimes humorous, and always executed with Folds’ signature musical and lyrical dexterity.

I give a little more weight to Songs For Silverman and Lonely Avenue in my ranking of Folds’ solo work, but that should take nothing away from how excellent this album remains.