If greatness were measured by sheer volume of output, Eels would be right up there with Weezer and Frank Black in topping this list. But Mark Oliver Everett (better known as E) and his revolving door of collaborators really belong in this pantheon for one extraordinary accomplishment. Eels emerged in 1996 with the post-grunge-friendly hit ""Novocaine for the Soul"" and reached their critical peak with 1998's Electro-Shock Blues. But it was 2005's double-album Blinking Lights and Other Revelations that fulfilled the potential of an underrated songwriter and recording artist. Years in the making, the often-downbeat album is more than a one-note ""Woe is me."" The content covers a lot of ground, from the wounded but upbeat love letter to the world of ""Hey Man (Now You're Really Living)"" to the morose confessions of ""I'm Going to Stop Pretending That I Didn't Break Your Heart"" to the whimsical love song ""Sweet Li'l Thing."" The same is true of the music, with sparse, piano-only songs rubbing elbows with elaborately atmospheric productions. With 33 tracks of different sounds and material including diverse collaborators like Tom Waits and the Lovin' Spoonful's John Sebastian, the album feels cohesive nonetheless and is almost never slowed down by the filler and repetition that normally plagues double albums. Eels released six albums this decade, and perhaps Blinking Lights is the outlying work from an uneven and merely good band. But few artists have put forth that kind of greatness in the new millennium.
Honorable Mention - Eels
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