23. Paul McCartney

"Looking through the backyard of my life/Time to sweep the fallen leaves away," sings Paul McCartney on his latest disc, and he means it: Gone are the throwaway rockers and wince-inducing ballads, replaced here by the former Beatle driving home his undeniable melodic mastery, overdubbing himself on everything but strings, brass and a few percussion bits. Alt-rock producer Nigel Godrich assists the maestro like he helped Beck on Sea Change, with somewhat lighter but no less gorgeous results that hearken back to Abbey Road. Chaos is the McCartney album for folks who swore they'd never take another chance on another McCartney album.

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