I’ve agonized over the order of my top three albums of 2003, because each of the albums is wonderful and fully worthy of the top spot. I guess that’s a good problem to have.
Belle and Sebastian’s sixth studio album, Dear Catastrophe Waitress, was a sonic departure from their lo-fi indie output. The band enlisted pop producer Trevor Horn, who gave a bright polish to the music and pushed the band into more upbeat, pop-rock territory.
My #4 album of 2003 is Brad Paisley’s third studio album, Mud on the Tires. This was one of the first Paisley records I bought after discovering him through 2009’s American Saturday Night, and it remains my second favorite of his (again, after American Saturday Night).
This was the album where Paisley fully embraced his unique oddball persona. He serves up a few earnest love songs, a few traditional country ballads, a few joke songs, and a few complex instrumental tracks, and somehow makes it all fit together in one package so it makes sense.
This is the 20th John Mayer song I’ve featured on the blog, yet the first from his 2003 album Heavier Things (my #5 album from that year).
I’m actually surprised by both of those stats. Mayer has occupied a huge place in my personal listening time, in no small part because he is one of the very few artists beloved by multiple members of my family, and yet he has made up less than one half of one percent of my posts here. And among those 20 songs, I’m shocked that I didn’t find room for anything from the excellent Heavier Things.
Oddly, my #6 album of 2003 might be even higher on this list if it were a few songs shorter. Fountains of Wayne’s Welcome Interstate Managers starts off with a bang but ends up fizzling out.
But, oh, what a beginning! The first six tracks (‘Mexican Wine,’ ‘Bright Future in Sales,’ ‘Stacy’s Mom,’ ‘Hackensack,’ ‘No Better Place’ and ‘Valley Winter Song’) make up one of the greatest runs I’ve ever heard. Smart, hooky power pop peppered with a couple of melancholy ballads, that stretch is a display of pure songwriting genius by Chris Collingwood and Adam Schlesinger.
Keep It Together is the fourth studio album by Boston-based alternative band Guster, and my #7 album of 2003.
After three records on which the band stuck to its signature sound of two acoustic guitars and a set of bongo drums, this album saw the trio introduce traditional drums and bass to the mix. While the move was met with skepticism by some fans, it resulted in their best album.
Meet Me In Montauk 