Sinéad O’Connor peaked in 1990 with the smash album I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got, her beautiful crying face in the ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ video becoming an iconic image of the early 90s indie scene.
She followed that album two years later with a disc of covers titled Am I Not Your Girl? and released a decent but unspectacular album of original material — Universal Mother — in 1994.
#6 – Lonely Avenue – Ben Folds
Ben Folds’ collaboration with novelist Nick Hornby was my favorite album of 2010, and it hasn’t faded a bit in my estimation since.
I love the challenge Folds took on in morphing Hornby’s very literate lyrics into pop songs. As a follow-up to his disappointing solo album Way To Normal, this record was a refreshing return to form.
#7 – Fox Confessor Brings the Flood – Neko Case
2006 was a strong year, placing four titles in this top ten list. Neko Case’s Fox Confessor Brings the Flood placed fourth at the time and the seven years since have seen it rise up a notch.
More than any record on this list, Fox Confessor typifies the idea of an album as a unified statement, not just a collection of songs.
#8 – Continuum – John Mayer
John Mayer usually goes over about as well as Milli Vanilli on this blog, but that won’t keep me from putting him out there.
Mayer’s third album, 2006’s Continuum, is particularly praiseworthy, and a record I have returned to again and again in the seven years since its release.
#9 – See You On the Moon – Tift Merritt
I ranked Tift Merritt’s fourth album, See You On the Moon, at #3 on my 2009 year-end list, and now it’s one of two albums from that year to make this list.
The album it leap-frogged is Elvis Costello’s National Ransom, a fine record indeed but not one I find myself returning to often.
