Each year we look forward by looking back and noticing which albums two decades ago will hit their anniversaries.
Sometimes artists will do something special like play those now-classic records in their entireties, which often surfaces songs they haven't performed live since the record debuted.
Other times, expanded box sets will emerge with remixes, live tracks from back in the day, or bonus tracks that have been sitting on a hard drive somewhere.
So here are a few great records by current artists who might be able to do something with their past... in the future.
Christina Aguilera, Back To Basics
In 2006 Xtina had turned 25, was celebrated her wedding’s first anniversary with Jordan Bratman, was splitting time between Los Angeles and New York, speaking openly about working through past family trauma, and was no longer that bad girl in 2002's Stripped because married life had brought her a sense of stability.
By releasing the double album Back To Basics she took on a new look and style adopting elements of 1920s, '30s, and '40s instead of the hip-hop sexiness of her previous record. And it paid off.
The album debuted at #1, she won a Grammy for Best Female Vocal for "Ain't No Other Man" and the project ended up moving over 5 million units. Now that she looks a lot how she used to look then, why not tour with Back To Basics as the centerpiece?
Christina is promoting the 25th anniversary of her first Christmas album with new recordings of the chestnuts, and a film. She has selected live dates for 2026. Get tix via her website.
Beyoncé, B'Day
Beyoncé also turned 25 in 2006. B'Day was her second solo record she made with many collaborators including Rodney Jerkins, Swizz Beatz, and The Neptunes. She had also just wrapped acting in Dreamgirls alongside Jennifer Hudson (who won an Oscar from it) and Eddie Murphy. Bey did get a Golden Globe nom for the song “Listen,” but Prince won for his tune for Happy Feet.
She told Billboard in 2006 that the year had been “the most intense period of my career so far.”
The album was intensely successful debuting at #1 and the singles “Déjà Vu” went to #4, “Ring the Alarm” peaked at #11, and “Irreplaceable” went to #1 and stayed there for 10 weeks surpassing her personal record from “Baby Boy,” which had spent nine weeks at #1 in 2003.
While it would be great for Beyoncé to make a big deal of this anniversary, by now we do know 'bout her, and will keep our expectations low. But it sure would be cool if she just popped out and did that whole record from front to back at a place like Radio City when no one expected.
Bob Dylan, Modern Times
Wanna feel young? 20 years ago Bob Dylan released his 32nd album, the third in a trio of albums beginning with Time Out of Mind (1997) and Love and Theft (2001), that had listeners wonder "how is he still this great"?
The Bard said some of the credit had to do with his touring band who he brought into the studio.
"This is the best band I've ever been in, I've ever had, man for man. When you play with guys a hundred times a year, you know what you can and can't do, what they're good at, whether you want 'em there. It takes a long time to find a band of individual players," he said.
"Most bands are gangs. Whether it's a metal group or pop rock, whatever, you get that gang mentality. But for those of us who went back further, gangs were the mob. The gang was not what anybody aspired to. On this record (Modern Times) I didn't have anybody to teach. I got guys now in my band, they can whip up anything, they surprise even me," he said.
In 2006 he and that gang knocked out 99 gigs as part of the Never Ending Tour.
But like Bey, don't expect any hoo-haw from Dylan with this anniversary, although if he really wanted to blow our minds he would do something focused on those three "late career" studio albums, because rarely do artists have such a solid third act, let along a vibrant fourth.
Now at 84, Dylan announced this week that he will hit the road next spring for about two dozen shows around the US. Tix available on his website.
Cat Power, The Greatest
2006 was a super trying time for Cat Power. She was turning 34 and the period leading up to the record's release in January was riddled with troubling alcohol dependence, insomnia, and episodes of panic. After the album came out things got so bad she had to cancel tour dates due to what she called a “psychotic break” which resulted in hospitalization in Miami.
The singer was haunted by hallucinations and suicidal thoughts in the days leading up to the collapse and now says becoming sober in '06 saved her life.
Later that year she was able to sing the songs from the beautiful record, first in intimate venues and then with the Memphis Rhythm Band she hand picked that appear on the LP. We're talking bassist Leroy Hodges (Al Green), guitarist Teenie Hodges (Al Green), drummer Steve Potts (Booker T. and the M.G.’s), and arranger Jonathan Kirkscey (Memphis Symphony Orchestra).
The album peaked at #34 on Billboard and the title track became her most performed tune live.
We don't have to hope for a 20th anniversary tour, she's already got it planned out for the US, the EU and the UK. And she will be performing the whole thing.
Grab your tickets off her website.
The Format, Dog Problems
After parting ways from Atlantic Records in '06, the Arizona-based The Format released Dog Problems on their own, chock full of catchy, fun singles like The Compromise,” “Time Bomb,” and “She Doesn’t Get It.”
The son of a gun peaked at #84 on the Billboard 200 thanks to the smart songwriting and Nate Ruess' beautiful voice which was later embraced by millions when he started fun.
Now that they are back after a very long break, and they have tour lined up in the books to support their forthcoming LP, Boycott Heaven, it would sure be swell if they played Dog Problems in its entirety since that was a very good boi. Get tickets on The Format website.
Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift
Twenty years ago a 16 year-old blonde singer songwriter was signed by a PR exec who had worked at MCA, DreamWorks, and Universal before founding Big Machine Records. Her self-titled debut was one of the first records on the label and it did ok: "Our Song" and "Should've Said No" went to #1 on the Hot Country Songs chart while "Teardrops on My Guitar" peaked at #10 on the Pop Songs chart.
The album was #1 for 24 weeks on the Top Country Albums chart where it was became the longest-charting LP of the '00s.
Taylor Swift went 8x platinum, meaning Taylor was the first female country artist to write or co-write every tune on a platinum selling debut.
Which begs the question: what ever happened to her? Maybe she would be interested in doing a few shows bringing back the banjo and fiddle and playing those songs for the people? If you have her number, ask!
Red Hot Chili Peppers, Stadium Arcadium
After having great success with Rick Rubin producing platinum selling albums Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991), Californication (1999), and By the Way (2002), when it was time for the Chili Peppers to make Stadium Arcadium, they returned to his haunted Mansion in the Hollywood Hills.
The results were tremendous. The record debuted at #1, two of its singles, “Dani California” and “Snow (Hey Oh),” became staples in their sets, and they pulled in two Grammys including Best Rock Album while "Dani" won Best Rock Song.
That success is both good and bad. Twenty years later none of their subsequent LPs fared that well either commercially or critically, despite the fact that on the touring circuit they can sell out any venue in the world.
So maybe they should rediscover their last huge monster album with some dates that focus solely on whatever magic was in that bad boy.
Joanna Newsom, Ys
In 2006, Joanna Newsom was beginning a streak that has never been repeated on the modern pop charts. Over nine years she released three harp-centered albums that charted better and better in the Billboard 200 culminating in 2015's Divers that peaked at #30.
But it started in '06 with Ys which she collaborated with the legendary arranger/conductor Van Dyke Parks, and punk rock engineer Steve Albini. It was the first of her albums to chart at #134 and the tour that supported it featured a 29-piece orchestra.
Next year would be a great time for her to bring it all back. If ever there was a time the people needed a harp-based night at the concert hall it's now.
The Killers Sam's Town
While many bands experience the Sophomore Slump, imagine having to follow-up a debut starring "Mr. Brightside?" Miraculously The Killers did it with Sam's Town that was led by "When You Were Young."
The record was recorded at the Palms casino & resort in the band's hometown of Vegas. It debuted at #2 on the US album chart and went to #1 in the UK, eventually going 5x platinum thanks to the lead single that went to #14, as well as “Bones,” “Read My Mind,” and “For Reasons Unknown" that all charted.
Would the kids come out to hear the second-best album a band made if it was played in its entirety? Probably not. But maybe if it was performed at the Palms in its infamous theater which hosted the controversial 2007 MTV VMAs.
The Killers only have a few dates on their calendar for 2026, let's make this happen. Tix available via their website.
Dixie Chicks, Taking the Long Way
Protest songs are nothing new in pop music, but 20 years ago when it was delivered by a country trio of women and directed at a post-9/11 Republican president, it could be taken as straight up punk rock.
It began in 2003 when singer Natalie Maines told a British audience she was embarrassed the then POTUS was from her home state of Texas. Almost immediately country radio stations stopped playing Dixie Chicks music, fans burned their cds, and some record stores in the south refused to stock their albums. Instead of capitulating, the trio's first single was not an apology. It was just the opposite.
"Not Ready To Make Nice," produced by Rick Rubin (who oversaw the entire album) won both Record of the Year and Song of the Year and the LP, Taking the Long Way, won the Grammy for Album of the Year. And despite the outlets that wouldn't sell it, somehow 2 million copies found eager buyers.
Speaking truth to power is a big part of what intertwines music into our culture sometimes, especially during trying times, be they the '60s, '70s, 2006 or 2026. The Chicks, as they go by now, didn't play any shows this year and last year only appeared once, at the Democratic National Convention where they performed the National Anthem.
Some might say if ever there was a good time to revisit an Album of the Year with the message that one has, it would be now. The Chicks have a few dates for 2026, get those tix off their website, because who knows, they may surprise you.
Ten more albums turning 20 next year:
Belle and Sebastian, The Life Pursuit
Justin Timberlake, FutureSex/LoveSounds
Arctic Monkeys, Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not
TV on the Radio, Return to Cookie Mountain
The Flaming Lips, At War with the Mystics
Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins, Rabbit Fur Coat
The Decemberists, The Crane Wife
Mastodon, Blood Mountain
Yo La Tengo, I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass
Gnarls Barkley, St. Elsewhere
