Hey folks!

#1 Wilco, YANKEE HOTEL FOXTROT defeated #3 The White Stripes, WHITE BLOOD CELLS, 247-201-8.

The White Stripes, WHITE BLOOD CELLS, is the 2nd Best Album of 2001.

And with that, we bring the Best Album of 2001 tournament to a close. A huge thank you to everyone who voted in the matches, voted for the seeds, made a nomination list, and did their 2001 prep. This funny little thing simply doesn't happen without you. A further huge thank you to @nanette.bsky.social and @putnam39.bsky.social, who, for the third tournament year running, wrote about a quarter of a million words on the entire tournament, a blog post for every single match. I have no idea how you can do that, but it's fantastic.

There will be more from me soon, including more info about our Prediction Contest winner(s), and the eventual next tournament, but I will probably be radio silent for the weekend. I am exhausted. (and if I'm exhausted, I can't imagine how @nanette.bsky.social and @putnam39.bsky.social feel.)

That said, we have two bonus fun things happening. First, we have a bonus poll from @otherdavemoore.com, about your favorite new-to-you discoveries in the 2001 tournament. Hope you fill this out -- I'm curious to see the results!

Second, this Sunday, at 3pm Eastern, it's the Best Album of 1995 Virtual Karaoke event! If you attend, you'll see me assay one of that year's classic hiphop tracks, in a... different style. Here is the signup sheet. Hope to see you there!

Thank you again for all of your support!

Kent