Best albums of the decade

1. The White Stripes, 'Elephant' (2003)

Jack White reached for the rock ‘n’ roll heavens on the White Stripes’ fourth LP, upping the guitar pyrotechnics and writing songs that—while still messy, weird and anchored by Meg White’s cartoonishly primitive percussion—were also hooky enough to turn the band into superstars. With its primal bass riff, “Seven Nation Army” was the obvious instant classic, but White’s massive riffs on “Black Math,” “The Hardest Button to Button” and “Girl, You Have No Faith in Medicine” were equally exhilarating, while the fiery, ferocious slide guitar on “Ball and Biscuit” banished once and for all any lingering notions that the Stripes were in the same class as the decade’s other garage-rock upstarts. It was an audacious, simultaneous play for commercial success and artistic achievement, on par with “Purple Rain” or “Born to Run”—and the Stripes pulled it off, making their reality every bit as fully realized, seductive and flat-out fun as Bruce’s or Prince’s. – Andy Hermann

Related items:

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• Best albums of 2009: our critics' year-end lists
• Top 50 movies of the decade, part one
• Best albums of 2008: our critics' year-end lists
• Best albums of 2007
• Best songs of the decade
• Best songs of 2009