Enjoy Your Rabbit (Asthmatic Kitty, 2001) introduced a completely different musician. A concept about the animals of the Chinese Zodiac, it sounded more like an experiment in electronic music than a bard's meditation. It was mood music, somewhat emotional but hardly narrative. Some of the vignettes of industrial and concrete music were successful at creating chaotic and quasi-symphonic clangor (Year of the Monkey, the 13-minute Year of the Horse). The minimalist repetition and dramatic crescendo of the eight-minute Year of the Rat, the steady pounding of Year of the Rooster, the alien raga of the nine-minute Year of the Dragon were the populist version of the avantgarde of three decades earlier. Despite being mostly childish and self-indulgent, this was Stevens' equivalent of Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music.

Seven Swans (Sounds Familyre, 2004), released only three years after being recorded, is a pensive album that returns to his debut's personal tone (All the Trees of the Field Will Clap Their Hands for banjo and polyphonic backing vocals, the jazzy shuffle Sister), slowly soaring in a gospel-like hymn) but mainly focuses on the religious themes that permeate his entire career (the bizarre crescendo of Seven Swans, the brief We Won't Need Legs to Stand for organ and breathless vocals, the upbeat march-like He Woke Me Up Again and The Transfiguration, the whispered, Saint Francis-inspired To Be Alone with You). Musically, the most daring track is In the Devil's Territory, propelled by rapid raga-like strumming and minimalist repetition.

The meticulously crafted concept album Michigan (Sounds Familyre, 2003 - Asthmatic Kitty, 2004), the first of a projected series of 50, introduced yet another musician: a sophisticated arranger that made Rufus Wainwright look like an amateur. He was still the painter of mood music, as evidence in the desolate Flint, the naive Holland, the tender Romulus, but the baroque undercurrent of All Good Naysayers Speak Up, Detroit Lift Up Your Weary Head and They Also Mourn the Dead Who Do Not Wear Black eventually overflew in the orchestral easy-listening of For the Widows in Paradise, Oh God Where Are You Now and Vito's Ordination Song.

Invites You To: Come on Feel the Illinoise (Asthmatic Kitty, 2005) is another monster of production and arrangement techniques, entirely scored and arranged by Stevens in person. The 22 tracks make up a song cycle that, even more than Michigan, reflects the post-9/11 mood of the country (The Black Hawk War, Come On Feel the Illinoise, The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts).

Avalanche (Asthmatic Kitty, 2006) collects rarities.

Songs for Christmas (2007) proved the fundamental mediocrity of the entire project.

Dopo aver suonato nei Marzuki, una band del Michigan (che ha pubblicato due dischi), il polistrumentista Sufjan Stevens si trasferisce a New York e registra il suo primo album solista, Sun Came (Asthmatic Kitty, 2000). I sovratoni esotici di A Winner Needs a Wand aprono una parata di intime vignette lo-fi (Demetrius, Dumb I Sound, Happy Birthday, A Loverless Bed) che suonano originali senza essere rivoluzionarie, sebbene alcuni esperimenti (SuperSexyWoman, Rice Pudding) lasciano intuire che Stevens sia più di un semplice storyteller.

Enjoy Your Rabbit (Asthmatic Kitty, 2001) presenta un musicista completamente diverso. Concept-album sugli animali dello Zodiaco cinese, sembra più un esperimento di musica elettronica che il mezzo di espressione qualsiasi di un poeta. È musica dell’animo, profondamente emotiva ma difficilmente narrativa.

Seven Swans (Sounds Familyre, 2004), pubblicato solo tre anni dopo essere stato registrato è un disco meditabondo che ritorna ai toni privati del suo debutto (All the Trees of the Field Will Clap Their Hands per banjo e vocalizzi polifonici di sottofondo, l’impasto jazz Sister, che si libra lentamente in un inno quasi gospel), ma soprattutto si focalizza sui temi religiosi che permeano tutta la sua carriera (il bizzarro crescendo di Seven Swans, la breve We Won't Need Legs to Stand per organo e voce ansante, le cadenzate marce He Woke Me Up Again e The Transfiguration, la bisbigliata To Be Alone with You, di ispirazione francescana). Musicalmente la traccia più ardita è In the Devil's Territori, propulsa da un veloce arpeggio raga e reiterazioni minimaliste.

Il meticoloso concept Michigan (Sounds Familyre, 2003 - Asthmatic Kitty, 2004), il primo di una serie di 50, propone un musicista ancora diverso: un arrangiatore così sofisticato da far sembrare Rufus Wainwright un dilettante. È ancora il pittore della musica umorale, come è evidente nella desolata Flint, l’ingenua Holland, la tenera Romulus, ma le correnti barocche di All Good Naysayers Speak Up, Detroit Lift Up Your Weary Head e They Also Mourn the Dead Who Do Not Wear Black alla fine straripano nell’easy-listening orchestrale di For the Widows in Paradise, Oh God Where Are You Now e Vito's Ordination Song.

Invites You To: Come on Feel the Illinoise (Asthmatic Kitty, 2005) è un altro mostro di produzione e di arrangiamento, interamente composto e arrangiato da Stevens in persona. Le 22 tracce erigono un ciclo di canzoni che, più che del Michigan, riflette appieno l’umore post-11 settembre del paese (The Black Hawk War, Come On Feel the Illinoise, The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts).