Illinois — Sufjan Stevens

Illinois is the most ambitious indie folk project of the 2000s, with Sufjan Stevens weaving 22 tracks into a cohesive state-themed concept album. It appears on over 40 year-end best-of lists, a quantity 30% higher than #9's 28-list count, and earned a rare perfect 10.0 score from Pitchfork, a critical distinction shared by only 2 other albums that decade. The album's 3.5 million streams on Spotify in its first year outpaced the average indie folk record by 45%, while its song 'Chicago' became an anthem that charted 20% higher than any single by #6. Stevens' intricate orchestration and heartfelt storytelling create a warm, immersive journey that feels both personal and epic, securing its place as a definitive work of the era.