Best Albums Of 2003

by Andy Battaglia, Josh Modell, Noel Murray, Keith Phipps, Nathan Rabin, Stephen Thompson
December 17th, 2003

The Internet continued to affect the music world in 2003, from declining sales to the proliferation of bonus DVDs to the rise of industry-sanctioned services selling downloads at 99 cents a song. Long-term side effects of this evolution could include more than just different means of acquiring music: If fans only buy music by the song, then what becomes of albums? But in the meantime, great long-form releases abounded in 2003, as evidenced by the amazing work celebrated by The Onion A.V. Club's six music writers. Several common critical favorites—The White Stripes, OutKast, Fountains Of Wayne, and more—landed on multiple lists, but a whopping 45 different albums made someone's Top 10 here, while the year's most notable songs and trends sparked a broad assortment of commentary.

Andy Battaglia

1. Basement Jaxx, Kish Kash (Astralwerks)