Pitchfork "Best of the Best": 9.1 Rated Albums

This is the continuation from Part 1: 9.0 Rated Albums, Part 2: 9.1 Rated Albums, of my Pitchfork "Best of the Best" new music feature series.  Click on the blurbs to read the full reviews of each album.

Starting with the most recent (2009) and working back to 2003, here are the Pitchfork 9.1 rated albums:

Girls - Album

[True Panther; 2009] “The canniness of Album's production choices and the scuzzy depression of the lyrics and the gut-level songwriting instincts, along with everything else about the record, add up to something elusive and fascinating-- maybe even heartbreaking.”

Hercules and Love Affair - Hercules and Love Affair

[DFA; 2008] “While most tracks could work on a forward-thinking dancefloor, what really works is the songwriting-- the album brims with hooks, choruses, bridges, strange twists, and turns.”

Battles - Mirrored

[Warp; 2007] “This foursome's first full-length is a mix of over-the-top whimsy, extreme rhythms, vise-tight musicianship, and a 21st century man-machine interface between live and laptop.”

Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury

[Jive; 2006] “ ...wordplay abounds but the punches are quick and devastating-- and musically, Malice and Pusha T have arguably snatched the best dozen Neptunes tracks in years.”

TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain

[4AD / Interscope; 2006] “… powerful art-rock in the best sense of the term.”

Danielson - Ships

[Secretly Canadian; 2006] “… a superdense wall of beautifully ramshackle orchestration that creaks and groans beneath its own enormous weight.”

Various Artists - Run the Road

[679; 2005] “… an indispensible document of the scene, and now the de facto entry point for anyone with even a passing interest in the music.”

The Streets - A Grand Don't Come for Free

[Atlantic / Vice; 2004] “…by focusing as much on the minutiae of life as on its grand gestures, the impact of Skinner's album transcends its seemingly simple tale.”

Les Savy Fav - Inches

[Frenchkiss; 2004] “…documents not only the best songs the band has ever written, but also brings together a full seven years of solid musicianship, deviously catchy songwriting, and explosive punk rock energy.”

Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand

[Domino; 2004] “Franz Ferdinand steps up to the plate and boldly bangs on the door to stardom. This one lives up to the hype.”

Basement Jaxx - Kish Kash

[Astralwerks; 2003] “…darker and less playful album that offers some of the most propulsive, ferocious music of the year.”

Viktor Vaughn - Vaudeville Villain

[Sound Ink; 2003] “ Easily among the freshest and most invigorating hip-hop records to see release this year”

Clearlake - Cedars

[Domino; 2003] “… one of the best British records you're likely to hear this year.”

Prefuse Word - Extinguisher“This is beauty through bombast - One, like the best of classic shoegaze, a sound so bursting and full that speakers seem hardly able to contain it.”

[Warp; 2003] 73

The Blood Brothers - Burn Piano Island, Burn!

[ArtistDirect; 2003] “…their albums have challenged hardcore from the very start, pushing its boundaries, bludgeoning it with its own rulebook to see what it can withstand before shattering into something entirely different… This will kill you."

Supersilent - 6

[Rune Grammofon; 2003] “Supersilent's finest record to date, and one that any fan of electronic, experimental, avant-garde, drone, ambient or jazz should be utterly consumed by.”