In my opinion?

The absolute best album of the decade is Johnny Cash's "American IV: When the Man Comes Around"

Even though Cash's health was failing and his voice was not as strong as it had been, the passion for his music rang out loudly. The first time I listened all the way through, I caught tears welling up many times. His covers of "Hurt", "Bridge Over Troubled Water", "Personal Jesus" and "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" brought new meaning to songs I've always enjoyed.

"When the Man Comes Around" - I'm agnostic and this song gave me chills. I was taken back to many of Johnny Cash's gospel songs and I would love to be able to sit and watch him convince me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9IfHDi-2EA

I'm a long-time fan of Guns & Roses but Axl really should have let the past stay buried. "Chinese Democracy" - Rose was reportedly "working on it" for 13 years - was such a letdown. All those years of production and so many songs left with the feeling of "incompleteness."

I know it's hard when the pinnacle is reached at such a young age, but the legend would have held..."November Rain" brought the best of the best of G & R front and center.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siBoLc9vxac&feature=related

The punchline is just too sad.

The best one is Sufjan Stevens's Illinois Kitty (2005)

This was truly a inspirational album because American Pride at the time was really low, with the Iraq Wae, the stagnating economy, and this album in its own way, rejuvenated a sense of pride in our nation and our own little communities.

QUOTE FROM PASTE BLOGS
"Stevens collected facts and anecdotes about the great state of Illinois, stringing them together in ambitious rhyme schemes and wrapping them in meticulous arrangements. “Decatur, or, Round Of Applause For Your Stepmother” is superficially a song about a city, but beneath the textbook trivia is Stevens’ story of reconciling with his father’s wife. The gut-wrenching “Casimir Pulaski Day” is about a friend dying of bone cancer, and “The Seer’s Tower” looks at idol worship from the perspective of Chicago’s tallest building. And then there’s “John Wayne Gacy, Jr.,” the hushed, nightmare-inducing acoustic song about the rapist and serial killer who preyed on teenaged boys, hiding their bodies under the floorboards in his Chicago home. “His father was a drinker and his mother cried in bed / Folding John Wayne’s T-shirts when the swing set hit his head,” Stevens sang, referencing a true story—at 11, Gacy was hit in the head by a swing. But the song’s conclusion is what got people talking: “And in my best behavior, I am really just like him,” Stevens half-whispered as the music quieted behind him. “Look beneath the floorboards for the secrets I have hid.” It was startlingly confessional, “a remark about potential more than anything else,” the songwriter says now. “We’re all capable of what he did.”
END QUOTE

The worst album in my opinion was Paris Hilton's album "Paris" given the fame of Paris Hilton, the album was a BIG FLOP, after this album we all learned that Paris can't sing or dance. Paris" is a smoldering smorgasbord of embarrassing, gimmicky pop schlock that could not be more painful to listen to. After the listening to the album I got nothing out of it besides hearing her say "That's hot." a bunch of times.

Worst: Katie Price & Peter Andre: 'A Whole New World' (2006) - The covers record by the attention-seeking, vacuous airhead Katie and Peter (we won't use such harsh words for Andre, he's actually a bloody nice bloke) is sheer musical genocide. Okay the ill-fated couple donated proceeds to charity, a very nice sentiment, but surely there's easier ways to raise funds that to inflict aural torture on the masses? Maybe even dig deep into their own pockets. Their soppy out-of-tune version of the title track is easily one of the worst songs ever recorded to boot.

Best: Oasis: 'Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants' (2000) - It may contain fan favourite 'Fuckin' In The Bushes', but even the most ardent of Oasis followers would struggle to argue that this is a good album. Painfully exposing Liam Gallagher's waning vocals, this record was the start of a rut for the Manchester band that many say continued until their split. This album also saw Liam Gallagher's first ever song released to the public and quite frankly, that's a big enough crime in itself.

Best Album: The White Stripes, "Elephant" (2003) - This album embodies the spirit of an individual with a very unique tone and creative lyrics. Seven Nation Army the first single and track from this album has already been covered by at least eleven different bands in the last six years. Spin, Rolling Stone, Allmusic, and The Guardian all gave the album five stars. It has won numerous accolades including Grammy's for best alternative music album and best rock song. This album being the major label debut of a band that had already been working together since 1997, worked hard, wrote creative songs could still get recognition in a world full of bands assemble by major labels to sell records. Elephant makes it listeners feel sadness, happiness, and about everything in between. Most of all the album is fun without being watered down and processed for the masses.

Brook, "Undiscovered" (2006) - The title of the album alone is despicable. Undiscovered? The only reason the album was even released was because she (Brooke Hogan) was on a reality TV show called Hogan Knows Best and was the daughter of Hulk Hogan. She had fourth months to record the album and it was terrible. No one including Brooke. She said in 2007 that she was very unhappy with the record, and she also felt it did not reflect her as an artist like her second album. The real travesty is that the record industry is so corrupt that if you have money you can put out an album and even with all the promotion and time in the world you put out one that sells just 127,000 copies and they let you make a second one. There was just no reason for this album being released and we are all dumber for having read the title much let alone listening to it.