Sufjan Stevens - Illinois

Illinois, released in 2005 on Asthmatic Kitty, was the second entry in Sufjan Stevens' announced ambition to create an album for every U.S. state, following Michigan in 2003. Stevens later acknowledged he abandoned the project, admitting the concept was more of a promotional conceit than a serious plan. No third state album has been released.

Key tracks include 'Chicago,' which became Stevens' most widely recognized song, 'Casimir Pulaski Day,' and 'John Wayne Gacy, Jr.' The album contains over 20 tracks referencing real Illinois figures and places, from Abraham Lincoln to the city of Metropolis. The album's full subtitle references 'Come On! Feel the Illinoise!'

Illinois features an unusually broad instrumentation including banjo, guitar, oboe, flute, trumpet, strings, and choral arrangements, much of it performed by Stevens himself. The orchestral layering on songs like 'Chicago' marked a significant expansion from the sparser sound of his earlier album Michigan. Collaborators on the album included trombonist Craig Montoro and singer Katrina Kerns.

Illinois was released in 2005 on Asthmatic Kitty, the independent label co-founded by Sufjan Stevens and his stepfather Lowell Brams. The album was distributed through Secretly Canadian. It received near-universal critical acclaim and frequently appears on best-of-decade lists for the 2000s.