Jeff Tweedy and his band Wilco have put out 13 studio albums, 18 if you count the collaboration albums, three of which were recorded with folk legend Billy Bragg. Of those 18 albums, four reached the top ten of the Billboard 200 chart. Remarkably, Wilco's most influential album, though it was their first to break the top 20, did not reach the top ten of the Billboard 200 albums chart. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot peaked at number 13 on the Billboard 200, with neither of the album's singles reaching the Billboard Hot 100 at all.

Despite its lack of commercial success, relative to their later works, at the time of its release, Wilco's fourth album blew up over time, becoming their most influential album. Wilco initially self-released the album on their website, having left their record label after a disagreement over Yankee Hotel Foxtrot itself. They eventually signed on with a new label and released the album properly, solidifying the eleven-track album's spot in music history. A no-skip rock album if I've ever heard one, there's a reason Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is the quintessential Wilco album.

11 Kamera

Track 2

Even when ranking a flawless album, something has to grace the bottom of the list, and unfortunately, "Kamera" is it. While still a great song, it just doesn't hold up in comparison to some of the rest of the tracks on this album. It's catchy, with a fun, upbeat sound, but towards the beginning of the album, especially after the soul-crushing opener, "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart," it sets a relatively inaccurate expectation of what's to come.

That said, the upbeat sound absolutely holds some weight, and the lyrics are peak Jeff Tweedy. The chorus changes slightly each time, except for the ending, which remains the same: "Phone my family / Tell them I'm lost on the sidewalk / And, no, it's not okay." The music matches up perfectly with Tweedy's vocals, making for a very satisfying listening experience.

10 War On War

Track 4

The second single from the album, this is another great song that just doesn't reach the same level of greatness that is exhibited on this album. It does blend nicely into the ethereal trips of some of these other tracks; the sound effects present, specifically in the intro, bridge that gap, helping elevate the song to fit in a little better on the album as a whole. Along with the sound effects, the acoustic guitar kicks things off and remains a gorgeous constant throughout the song.

Where this song is really lacking, surprisingly, is in the lyrics. Jeff Tweedy is a known poet within the context of his lyricism, but there is really only one example of that greatness throughout the entire track, and that is the closest thing to a refrain that the song has: "You have to learn how to die / If you want to want to be alive." A great line, no doubt, but the rest of the lyrics simply don't compare.

9 Ashes Of American Flags

Track 6

There is a clear shift here, as "Ashes of American Flags" is an incredible song which contributes a fair amount to this album's legendary status. The music's slow build during the verses flawlessly culminates with the two-line chorus each time: "All my lies are always wishes / I know I would die if I could come back new." The eclectic chimes and other sound effects in the introduction lead us into that slow build, with a slightly faded guitar riff introducing Tweedy's initial vocals.

The music's slow build during the verses flawlessly culminates with the two-line chorus each time.

The lyrics are a commentary on economic struggles, particularly in relation to artists. Tweedy's words are a plea for a simple, satisfactory life; he doesn't want big, superficial expenses, rather muses on the cost of a Diet Coca-Cola. While Wilco aren't exactly strangers to political commentary in their songs, this song certainly exhibits a higher concentration of it than others.

8 Pot Kettle Black

Track 9

The acoustic guitar-driven "Pot Kettle Black" is perfectly accented by the sound effects between verses and into the chorus, giving the song a unique build with Jeff Tweedy's subtle vocals laid atop. The lyrics have a staccato quality, each line of the verses no more than five or six syllables long. Because the verses are so short, the refrain and the chorus stick out like a sore thumb in the context of the song.

The chorus itself is catchy, slightly uptempo but still relatively subtle. Tweedy harps on the last line, "Every moment's a little bit later," pretty hard, especially at the song's close, when he repeats it a few times before singing the chorus one last time as the song fades out. There's a distinct focus on the lyrics, as well as the piercing high-pitched riff between the verses, drawing attention to the song's unique yet subtle nuances.

7 Poor Places

Track 10

The first line of "Poor Places" is perfectly ironic, as Jeff Tweedy's vocals slowly build, singing the words, "It's my father's voice trailing off / Sailors sailing off in the morning." For the first almost two full minutes of the song, there are no instruments really accompanying the vocals; it's just Tweedy singing over layers of sound effects and synthesizers. At first, it feels eerie and unsettling, especially given how unsettling the lyrics are, but as he continues to sing, it starts to become strangely comforting.

After the 1:50 mark, the keys start to kick in alongside the sound effects and synthesizers, but they're still pretty subtle in that they are simply there to frame the vocals, and don't really add anything beyond that. At about the 2:30 mark, there's a beautiful moment where the chaos abruptly ends, the keys take on a more traditional sound, and the guitar kicks in for the first time halfway into the song.

6 I'm The Man Who Loves You

Track 8

The 20-second intro to "I'm the Man Who Loves You" is a tension-filled, discomforting jumble of and sound effects that changes its tune on a dime the moment the lyrics start. Jeff Tweedy sings in a relative stream-of-consciousness manner, where each line flows almost immediately into the next, until each chorus he finally takes a breath before singing, "I'm the Man Who Loves You."

Jeff Tweedy sings in a relative stream-of-consciousness manner, where each line flows almost immediately into the next.

Between each chorus and the verse that follows, there are also these brief guitar riffs that add a bit of twangy flare to the song as a whole. I'm hesitant to call them solos, because they each only last for a few measures at the most, but they provide an additional layer to the song which, when you really listen to it, has quite a bit going on, even beyond the vocals.

5 Reservations

Track 11

This is the last track on Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, and it fulfills the pseudo-stereotype of a deep, melodic slow jam to close out the album. Despite being nearly seven and a half minutes long, making it the longest song on the album, the lyrics are fairly limited. The song consists of just three short verses, and two choruses, one of which extends with the repeated line "Not about you" until Tweedy is done singing before the song even reaches the three-minute mark.

The entire second half of the song, sans lyrics or any semblance of organization in the music, puts the listener in a meditative state.

The bulk of this track is ambient noise with accents of sound effects and instruments on occasion. The entire second half of the song, sans lyrics or any semblance of organization in the music, puts the listener in a meditative state. It allows us to really think not only about the first half of the song, but in an almost forced - but very much welcome - reflection of the album as a whole.

4 Radio Cure

Track 3

When I first started listening to this album on a regular basis, "Radio Cure" was the song that really ingrained itself throughout my entire conscious mind. In a lot of ways, this song is the perfect representation of everything that Wilco touches on in this album. The beginning of the track is weird, creepy almost, with overwhelming discomfort before Jeff Tweedy sings, "Cheer up, honey, I hope you can," in a way that just adds to the song's opening tension.

The song maintains its uncomfortable tension until about halfway through the song, when things start to ease up with an upbeat percussive fill that sounds like a xylophone. Then, at the end of the song, Tweedy starts to sing the line, "Oh, distance has no way / Of making love understandable," over and over to the point where it starts to sound like a plea. The sum of each of these parts is a beautiful track, and a huge part of what makes this album so special.

3 I Am Trying To Break Your Heart

Track 1

Jeff Tweedy is a poet just as much as he is a lyricist, and the first line of the first track on this album is a shining example of why: "I am an American aquarium drinker / I assassin down the avenue." There are a ton of great shows of lyricism throughout this album, but if there had to be just one, "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart" would surely be it. The first line stands out because it is the first line of the whole album, but every line of this track is pure lyrical genius.

The opening track begins with a similar jumble of sound effects and instruments as has become a staple of many of the songs on this album, but it does not at all have the same overarching tension. In fact, the first minute or so of "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart" includes more traditional instruments on top of the sound effects, giving it a more positive sound than, say, "Radio Cure."

2 Jesus, Etc.

Track 5

"Jesus, Etc." remains Wilco's most-streamed song on Spotify by a pretty wide margin, and for good reason. With one of the most iconic intros on the album, the song kicks off with a classical string arrangement which flows directly into Jeff Tweedy's soft opening line, "Jesus don't cry / You can rely on me, honey."

"Jesus, Etc." remains Wilco's most-streamed song on Spotify by a pretty wide margin, and for good reason.

The album was supposed to be released on September 11, 2001, but was delayed due to troubles with the band's record label. In the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, "Jesus, Etc." provided musical solace to many Americans, with Tweedy's chilling words at the helm:

Tall building shake

Voices escape, singing sad, sad songs

Tuned to chords

Strung down your cheeks

Bitter melodies turning your orbit around

Unlike much of the rest of the album, this song does not really experiment with sound effects and synthesizers as much as it experiments with other instruments. The classical string instruments are a driving force in this song, just as much as Tweedy's particularly timely vocals.