Kaplan Law's Best 25 Albums of 2000-2025
Music is one of the most important things in my life and it has helped me be the best lawyer I can. Rarely a day goes by in the office where I do not listen to an album or playlist while figuring out a legal problem. Hard rock stirs up legal arguments. Classical helps contemplate an opposing viewpoint. Ambient or nature sounds facilitate drafting.
As a lawyer called to the bar in 1999, my cohort is the first to complete every full year of practice entirely in the 21st Century. Each one of the 25 albums ranked below (plus the 25 honourable mentions) has impacted me professionally and personally, and also recalls particular moments over the past 25 years. To give one example, there are six albums from 2016, more than any other year. That was when I left my old firm and established Kaplan Law. It was also the year my Dad passed away. New music was key through those transformations (as was mindfulness, support, and therapy).
For your listening discovery, please enjoy Kaplan Law’s 25 most impactful popular music albums of the first quarter century, played in the office. (Albums link to Spotify; Songs open to YouTube.)
Best,
Ari
#1. Arcade Fire, Funeral (2004)
Genre: Rock. Art Rock. Post-Punk Revival. Chamber Pop.
Origins: Canada
Themes: Winter. Loss. Youth. Family. Grief. Suburbs. Memory.
Ari’s picks: Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels), In The Backseat, Une année sans lumière, Rebellion (Lies), Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)
#2. David Bowie, Blackstar ⭑ (2016)
Genre: Rock. Art Rock. Experimental Jazz.
Origins: UK
Themes: Mortality. Disguise. Illness. Transcendence. Legacy. Myth.
Ari’s picks: Lazarus, Girl Loves Me, Blackstar, Dollar Days, I Can’t Give Everything Away
#3. Beyoncé, Lemonade (2016)
Genre: Pop. R&B.
Origins: USA
Themes: Betrayal. Matrimony. Ancestry. Justice. Sensuality. Rage.
Ari’s picks: Formation, Hold Up, Pray You Catch Me, Daddy Lessons, Freedom (feat. Kendrick Lamar), Sandcastles, All Night, Sorry
#4. Tim Hecker, Virgins (2013)
Genre: Ambient. Drone. Chamber Classical. Glitch. Electroacoustic.
Origins: Canada
Themes: Ritual. Decay. Dissonance. Sacred/Profane. Abstraction.
Ari’s picks: Live Room, Incense at Abu Ghraib, Stigmata I/II, Black Refraction, Prism, Radiance
#5. LCD Soundsystem, This Is Happening (2010)
Genre: Rock. Dance-Punk. Synthpop.
Origins: USA
Themes: Nostalgia. Irony. Catharsis. Desire.
Ari’s picks: All I Want, Dance Yrself Clean, Drunk Girls, I Can Change, Home, You Wanted a Hit
#6. Kendrick Lamar, To Pimp a Butterfly (2015)
Genre: R&B. Hip-Hop. G-Funk. Neo-Soul. Spoken Word.
Origins: USA
Themes: Black America. Identity. Surveillance. Paradox. Redemption.
Ari’s picks: King Kunta, u, Alright, i, How Much a Dollar Cost, Momma
#7. Coldplay, X&Y (2005)
Genre: Rock. Pop-Rock. Post-Britpop. Art Pop.
Origins: UK
Themes: Duality. Existence. Hope. Loss. Love. Humanity. Ambiguity.
Ari’s picks: What If, Square One, Talk, X&Y, Low, White Shadows, Twisted Logic, Fix You, The Hardest Part, A Message
#8. Metric, Fantasies (2009)
Genre: Rock. Dance-Rock. New Wave Revival.
Origins: Canada
Themes: Desire. Fantasy. Dissociation. Autonomy. Performance.
Ari’s picks: Sick Muse, Blindness, Gold Guns Girls, Help I’m Alive, Gimme Sympathy, Stadium Love, Collect Call
#9. Taylor Swift, Folklore (2020)
Genre: Pop. Folk. Singer-Songwriter.
Origins: USA
Themes: Solitude. Longing. Youth. Aging. Story. Memory. Regret.
Ari’s picks: Cardigan, Exile (feat. Bon Iver), Betty, August, Mad Woman, Epiphany, Invisible String, This is Me Trying, Hoax
#10. Radiohead, A Moon Shaped Pool (2016)
Genre: Rock. Art Rock. Chamber Pop. Ambient. Electronic.
Origins: UK
Themes: Loss. Aging. Memory. Time. Anxiety. Nature. Disintegration.
Ari’s picks: Burn the Witch, True Love Waits, Ful Stop, Indentikit, Decks Dark, Desert Island Dark, Daydreaming
#11. Grimes, Miss Anthropocene (2020)
Genre: Pop. Art Pop. Darkwave. Industrial.
Origins: Canada
Themes: Climate. Dystopia. Avatar. Posthumanism. Myth. Fetish.
Ari’s picks: 4ÆM, Darkseid (feat. 潘PAN), Idoru, My Name is Dark, New Gods, Delete Forever, Violence
#12. Burial, Untrue (2007)
Genre: Ambient. Garage. Post-Dubstep.
Origins: UK
Themes: Memory. Echo. Ghost in the Machine. Yearning. Liminality.
Ari’s picks: Archangel, Ghost Hardware, Near Dark, Shell of Light, Homeless, Etched Headplate, Untrue, Raver, In McDonalds
#13. Eminem, The Marshall Mathers LP (2000)
Genre: Hip-Hop. Hardcore. Horrorcore. Pop Rap.
Origins: USA
Themes: Alter Ego. Obsession. Trauma. Phobia. Satire. Child.
Ari’s picks: Public Service Announcement, Stan (feat. Dido), The Real Slim Shady, The Way I Am, Kim, Kill You, Marshall Mathers
#14. Lana Del Rey, Born to Die (2012)
Genre: Pop. Baroque Pop. Dream Pop. Trip-Hop. Sadcore.
Origins: USA
Themes: America. Obsession. Youth. Lust. Persona. Glamour. Myth.
Ari’s picks: Off to the Races, Born to Die, National Anthem, Video Games, Lucky Ones, Summertime Sadness, Without You, Blue Jeans
#15. The Weeknd, Dawn FM (2022)
Genre: Pop. Alt-R&B. Post-Disco. New Wave Revival.
Origins: Canada
Themes: Purgatory. City Lights. Memory. Regret. Radio Metaphysics.
Ari’s picks: How Do I Make You Love Me?, Take My Breath, Out of Time, Gasoline, Less Than Zero, Phantom Regret by Jim
#16. Daft Punk, Discovery (2001)
Genre: Dance. Disco House. Funk. Electronic. Synthpop.
Origins: France
Themes: Joy. Nostalgia. Robots. Wonder. Longing.
Ari’s picks: Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger; Digital Love, One More Time, Veridis Quo, Aerodynamic, Something About Us
#17. Amy Winehouse, Back to Black (2006)
Genre: R&B. Neo-Soul. Doo-Wop.
Origins: UK
Themes: Heartbreak. Addiction. Defiance. Nostalgia. Confession.
Ari’s picks: You Know I’m No Good, Tears Dry on Their Own, Back to Black, Love Is a Losing Game, Rehab, Me & Mr Jones
#18. Billie Eilish, Hit Me Hard and Soft (2024)
Genre: Pop. Pop Rock. Alt-Pop. Art-Pop.
Origins: USA
Themes: Youth. Fame. Body Image. Queer Desire. Longing. Loss.
Ari’s picks: Blue, L’Armour de Ma Vie, Bittersuite, Wildflower, Lunch, Chihiro, The Diner, The Greatest, Birds of a Feather
#19. Tame Impala, Currents (2015)
Genre: Pop. Synthpop. Dream Pop. Nu-Disco.
Origins: Australia
Themes: Breakup. Beauty. Inner Monologue. Ego Death.
Ari’s picks: Let It Happen, The Less I Know the Better, Yes I’m Changing, Eventually, New Person Same Old Mistakes.
#20. Green Day, American Idiot (2004)
Genre: Rock. Pop Punk. Power Pop. Rock Opera.
Origins: USA
Themes: Youth. Disillusionment. Dissociation. Alienation. 9-11.
Ari’s picks: Holiday, American Idiot, Jesus of Suburbia, Boulevard of Broken Dreams, Wake Me Up When September Ends, Letterbomb
#21. The War on Drugs, Lost In the Dream (2014)
Genre: Rock. Soft Rock. Heartland Rock. Shoegaze.
Origins: USA
Themes: Night Road. Drift. Dislocation. Healing.
Ari’s picks: Red Eyes, Under the Pressure, An Ocean in Between the Waves, Eyes to the Wind, Disappearing, Lost in the Dream
#22. Portishead, Third (2008)
Genre: Rock. Experimental. Avant-Pop. Post-Industrial. Post-Punk.
Origins: UK
Themes: Fragmentation. Disconnection. Disruption. Dystopia.
Ari’s picks: Machine Gun, Magic Doors, Small, Silence, The Rip, We Carry On, Threads, Hunter, Nylon Smile
#23. The White Stripes, White Blood Cells (2001)
Genre: Rock. Garage Rock. Blues Punk. Lo Fi.
Origins: USA
Themes: Antifame. Obsession. Chaotic Love. Voice of the Child.
Ari’s picks: Hotel Yorba, Fell in Love with a Girl, The Union Forever, Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground, Little Room
#24. Leonard Cohen, You Want It Darker (2016)
Genre: Folk. Singer-Songwriter. Liturgical. Chamber Folk.
Origins: Canada
Themes: Grace. Faith. Sacred. Identity. Regret. Love. Goodbye.
Ari’s picks: You Want It Darker, Treaty, It Seemed the Better Way, Traveling Light, Steer Your Way, Leaving the Table, On the Level
#25. Drake, If You're Reading This It's Too Late (2015)
Genre: R&B. Hip-Hop. Trap. Ambient Rap. Toronto Sound.
Origins: Canada
Themes: Power. Alienation. Narcissism. Enemies. Fame. Legacy.
Ari’s picks: Know Yourself, Energy, 10 Bands, 6PM in New York, You & The 6, Jungle, Used To (feat. Lil Wayne), Legend, No Tellin’
HONOURABLE MENTIONS - Top 25
Air, Talkie Walkie (2004)
Notable: Alone in Kyoto, Cherry Blossom Girl
Animal Collective, Merriweather Post Pavilion (2009)
Notable: My Girls
Arcade Fire, The Suburbs (2010)
Notable: Ready to Start
Austra, Feel It Break (2011)
Notable: Darken Her Horse
Broken Social Scene, You Forgot It In People (2002)
The Chicks, Gaslighter (2020)
Notable: March March
Daft Punk, Random Access Memories (2013)
Notable: Give Life Back to Music, Get Lucky
Death Cab For Cutie, Transatlanticism (2003)
Notable: Transatlanticism, New Year
FKA Twigs, M3LL155X (2015)
Notable: In Time
Florence + The Machine, How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful (2015)
Notable: What Kind of Man
Flying Lotus, You’re Dead! (2014)
Franz Ferdinand, Franz Ferdinand (2004)
Notable: Take Me Out
Harry Styles, Fine Line (2019)
Notable: Golden
Karen O & Danger Mouse, Lux Prima (2019)
Notable: Ministry
Karl Zero, Songs for Cabriolets and Otros Tipos de Vehiculos (2000)
Notable: Io Mammate E Tu, El Bodeguero
Lady Gaga, Joanne (2016)
Notable: John Wayne, Diamond Heart
Last Shadow Puppets, The Age of the Understatement (2008)
Notable: My Mistakes Were Made for You
London Grammar, Californian Soil (2021)
Notable: Lord It’s a Feeling
The National, High Violet (2011)
Notable: Bloodbuzz Ohio
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Wild God (2024)
Notable: Wild God
Phoenix, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (2009)
Notable: Lisztomania
R.E.M., Reveal (2001)
Notable: Disappear, Imitation of Life
Rihanna, Anti (2016)
Notable: Consideration (ft. SZA), Work (ft. Drake)
Thievery Corporation, The Cosmic Game (2005)
Notable: Marching the Hate Machines (Into the Sun) ft. The Flaming Lips
The XX, xx (2009)
Notable: Crystalised, Intro