The Libertines

Up the Bracket

2002

Alternative/Indie Rock

Following hot on the heels of The Strokes, this album felt somehow even more brash and bratty, incorporating elements of The Clash and The Kinks into their perfectly sloppy delivery. Guitars skronk and voices crack on this dangerous-feeling debut where the listener is knocked off-kilter, never knowing if the songs will successfully land, even two decades later.

- Zac Johnson

Mariah Carey

Glitter

September 11, 2001

Adult Contemporary R&B;

One of the most disastrous releases of the 2000s, Glitter deserves a revisit. After two decades of hindsight buffer and a contextualized reevaluation of how her sound (and voice) changed soon after, this set reveals itself as a true hidden gem of R&B-pop;, some of the final examples of Carey's peak vocal abilities and pop savvy. She just doesn't sound like this anymore and it's about time for a Justice for Glitter campaign.

- Neil Z. Yeung