20 BEST ALBUMS OF THE 21 CENTURY ST

The records that have defined the first 25 years of this century

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1 LEMONADE

BEYONCÉ

In all she'd accomplished, Beyoncé had yet to meet the world as vulnerably as she does here, laying bare the trauma of her husband's infidelity. Still, the shock and intrigue from that revelation end up trailing far behind the musical ethos Beyoncé builds from the despair - intricate songs spanning time and genre, gorgeous and haunting as canonical dramas; a matrix of generational heartbreak; and a hand-drawn map to the intersections of Black women's interpersonal and political lives. MANKAPRR CONTEH

2 KID A

RADIOHEAD

Radiohead's groundbreaking 2000 album - utilizing sequencers, drum machines, vintage synthesizers, strings, and a brass section - foresaw our dark 21st-century future, one marked by fear, loneliness, dislocation, and technological advancements that only divide us further. Fans were initially baffled by dense, abstract songs like "Everything in Its Right Place," “Idioteque” and “The National Anthem.” Within a few years, many were calling it their favorite Radiohead album. ANDY GREENE

3 BLONDE

FRANK OCEAN

Frank Ocean spent four years crafting this dreamlike trip tuning into the spirit of Brian Wilson and Marvin Gaye at their most experimental, in futuristic R&B songs that resisted conventional rhythms, pop hooks, or even drums. Instead, he went for a slow-burning abstract electro-pulse, with gentle guitars and wispy keyboards, brooding over pained romantic memories. Beyoncé and André 3000 appear as guests, but