#146: Merriweather Post Pavilion

Ranking The “250 Greatest Albums of the 21st Century So Far” (2025)

In 2025, Rolling Stone released their list of “250 Greatest Albums of the 21st Century So Far.” I am working my way though the list, from #250 to #1, reviewing each. It’s a fascinating opportunity to revisit old favourites, and maybe discover new ones.

Animal Collective, 2009

When Rolling Stone released their “500 Greatest Albums of All Time” issue in October of 2020, I noticed that there were a few omissions that were fairly egregious, in my mind, while others perhaps were more personal. As I went through the list and listened to all of the albums, I began to add to that list, especially with the twenty-three compilations that were included; surely there were twenty-three other albums that deserved attention over the likes of Back to Mono (1958-1969) (#489), not to mention the albums that don’t have the quality to be on the list despite the fame surrounding it; they’re just not as good as others left off.

My informal list became, in part, my list of The Next 500 albums, like Run The Jewels, Superunknown, Kick, or A Ghost is Born. And there are others that won a reprieve with an inclusion on the “250 Greatest Albums of the 21^st Century So Far,” such as Illinois (#133) and Merriweather Post Pavilion. While less well-known, it is absolutely among the greatest albums of all time.

I have been stuck on this album for a few days now. How do I describe this album? It’s indie pop but it’s also EDM, art-rock without guitars, dance music without the hooks, experimental pop but with harmonizing vocals. That’s the challenge of Animal Collective: individually, Avey Tare and Panda Bear are unique indie rock stalwarts, but together they blur genres. On this album, they use samplers and synthesizers exclusively, and the repetitive nature of each track channels house music dj sets. The loops and repetition creates a base for the vocals, which also loop and repeat throughout. The harmony between the two lead vocalists is magical, sending the songs into another sphere, above mere club hits or rave tracks. But to describe it?

It’s one of my all-time favourites, an album I can listen to any time, and there’s a song on here for any occasion. “Summertime Clothes” and “My Girls” have been running playlist constants, while “Taste” and “Lion in a Coma” are regular listens. And then there’s “Brother Sport,” the closer, which packs a whole lot into six minutes. It seems to go on forever, and probably could without diminishing.

The sheer joy I feel when playing these songs is overwhelming at times. This week, I had to purposely stop playing it as I would have happily hit repeat for a few more weeks; however, I have other albums ahead and need to listen to other music. Is that a subjective measure? Absolutely. The other thing about sharing your favourite albums or bands is that you can’t control how everyone else experiences it. You want to share this music with everyone and want them to love it as much as you do; but that’s just not how music works, and not how people work. This album hits me deep to the core. It will affect others differently, something I can’t predict. What I can do is suggest that people give it a listen if they’re not familiar with it and let it go.

The hardest thing one can do is avoid the follow up conversation once you’ve recommended a band - it could be good, but it could also be not as good, and you’ve got to have the confidence in your recommendations. They’ve got to be put out there for someone else to receive as they may, and if it develops into a shared experience because at least one other person feels the way you do, that’s a bonus. They’ll keep coming back to you for more recommendations and there may be more success stories, someone liking a band or album thanks to your recommendation. There will be misses - I’ve learned the hard way not to recommend Radiohead to anyone, as that’s a band best discovered organically, independently. Some you can just put out there in a neutral way and let it drift into whatever comes of it, and some you’ve got to insist on, at least pushing for someone to keep an open mind to new things, but it’s risky. Better to throw it out there and walk away, your extreme confidence being the best argument.

Animal Collective has released 12 studio albums and this is their magnum opus. I can’t vouch for the entire Animal Collective catalogue, as there are some definitely more experimental ventures, but this album is always perfect to me, in any situation, at any time.