FAVORITE ALBUMS OF THE 00'S: 75-51

BACK TO 100-76

(HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THIS POST FOR SOME REASON...HOPE ITS READABLE...)

#75. Veckatimest

by Grizzly Bear (2009)

Baroque-space folk-pop (?) Still new-ish, but its inching up the decade list.

#74. Renegades

by Rage Against the Machine (2000)

The great Rage's last one. This is how a cover's album should be done.

#73. Silent Alarm

by Bloc Party (2005)

A promising group that sorta fizzled out after this. Boy what a fabulous punk-funk debut, though.

#72. Moon Over the Freeway

by The Ditty Bops (2006)

Dang these alt-vaudeville gals are fun. Great live show, too. Too bad they're lesbians. Or not.

#71. Discovery

by Daft Punk (2001)

I only barely heard this whole album for the first time this year. Still "discovering" its brilliance.

#70. Tyrannosaurus Hives

by The Hives (2004)

Retro punk deliciousness.The audio equivalent of caffeine. And just as addicting.

#69. The Mouse and the Mask

by DangerDoom (2006)

Cartoon Network's Adult Swim+One of the best producers (Danger Mouse)+One of the best rappers (MF Doom) = I like.

#68. Weezer (Green Album)

by Weezer (2001)

The last album I cherished before I went on the mission. The last summer album of adolescence.

#67. Message

by Mongol 800 (2001)

Extremely talented and fun pop-punk guitar chugg-chuggery. Great for a drive on the town.

#66. X&Y

by Coldplay (2005)

My least fav of their's, but it is Coldplay after all. Don't be a hater.

#65. Keep It Together

by Guster (2003)

Guster's best working of harmonious melody and folk rock grooviness.

#64. Fleet Foxes

by Fleet Foxes (2008)

Bringing back the four-part harmony folk to the masses. And its even better live.

#63. Dear Science

by TV On the Radio (2008)

This is exactly why more black dudes should take part in the "indie" avant-garde.

#62. The Shepherd's Dog

by Iron & Wine (2007)

Lots of Twilight fans have heard this album by now. Sam Beam should have a full band with him at all times.

#61. III

by Love Psychedelico (2004)

The group's third album of electro-country-rock goodness. Representing some of Japan's best.

#60. Unrest

by Erlend Oye (2003)

This half of Kings of Convenience is obviously the fun half. Fantastic dance album.

#59. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

by Phoenix (2009)

Instant '09 classic, still marinating. If The Strokes had a baby with Kelly Clarkson, it would be this band.

#58. Viva La Vida Or Death and All His Friends

by Coldplay (2008)

Probably the most eclectic of Coldplay's albums. Beautiful and emotional.

#57. Puzzle

by Tahiti 80 (2000)

Them Frenchies sure do know how to make great dance pop. (See also: Daft Punk, Phoenix, Justice)

#56. Relationship of Command

by At the Drive-In (2000)

Before the split into Sparta/Mars Volta, these guys rocked to perfection on their final effort.

#55. Is This It?

by The Strokes (2001)

The slightly overrated but still brilliant debut of the garage rock revivalists.

#54. Get Born

by JET (2003)

Not nearly as unique or genre defining as Is This It?, but it's twice as fun.

#53. Nickel Creek

by Nickel Creek (2000)

First major label debut with Alison Krauss producing. And what a beautiful one it is.

#52. Evolver

by 311 (2003)

Not the mega-fan I once was, but Evolver is definitely one of their more adventurous and sincere albums

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#51. Happy Songs For Happy People

by Mogwai (2003)

Winner for most sarcastic title. Brooding and epic post-rock instrumentals.

FAVORITE ALBUMS OF THE 00'S: 100-76

Well, here begins my list of favorite albums of the decade. Bare with me while I pontificate a sec...(or just skip to the list).

KEEP NOTE: its not a presumptious "BEST OF" list, it is simply MY favorites. Who can even determine what is the "best?" You can't in art. Its impossible. The closest you can get to logically assuming such a thing is a vote on popular critical consensus (for such a list, check Metacritic's critic compilaion here ), but thats still just critic "opinion." Some might even suggest looking superficially at what sold the most, but that never works, especially in this digital age. (For that info, look here if you want to...)

Speaking of that, isn't it incredible how the music climate has changed this decade? I read something interesting in Rolling Stone. The record for most units sold in a week ever is held by Nsync's No Strings Attatched back in 2000 (2.4 million). In a recent week in 2009, that 2.4 million is more than the entire top 200 combined. It went from its peak to rock bottom this decade. Yet, despite the industry's downfall, more music (and BETTER music) has been coming out than ever before. It has been an insane decade: politically, culturally, economically, and artistically. Our music continued to mirror the world around us, and the results were anywhere from terrifying to blissfully hopeful.

A lot of amazing stuff. And as usual, it's ranking ends up being opinion. Like I said with the songs, these are the ones that I kept coming back to. The albums that defined me in the 00's. I don't care what they did to culture, or what elitist websites, magazines or friends think about them. Hence the absence of Arcade Fire's Funeral, or anything Animal Collective, for example. Everyone seemed to love these groups this decade, and while I did enjoy them, they just didn't click with me.

Fun Fact: I'm proud to say this list is pretty international. Nations with featured artists: (order of quantity per nation)

USA

ENGLAND

JAPAN

AUSTRALIA

FRANCE

SCOTLAND

NORWAY

SWEDEN

ICELAND

& CANADA

Three different languages show up (English, Japanese, Icelandic) and even a couple albums in complete gibberish. Obviously a Euro-centric mentality when you speak English. But at least I got Asia in there. Although the USA has the most artists on the list, not a single album in my top ten is from the US. Kinda interesting breakdown.

Anyway, lets get to it. I hope you'll be intrigued enough to check some of these out that you didn't know. They are all great, in my humble opinion.

I decided to have the 100 spot be a three way tie between a few albums that all had a significant impact on me upon their initial release, but I haven't really listened to them much since. Still, the impact was big enough I thought they should be mentioned.

#100. Lateralus

by Tool (2001)

#100. Morning View

by Incubus (2001)

#100. No Name Face

by Lifehouse (2000)

I loved all these back in the day, and now and then I still enjoy them. Still fun to listen to.

#99. Com Lag (2Plus2IsFive) E.P.

by Radiohead (2004)

Only a short E.P. of b-sides and remixes, but they happen to be some of my very favorites.

#98. deftones

by deftones (2003)

Shoegaze metal is so cool. I don't care what you say. Deftones rule.

#97. Carnavas

by Silversun Pickups (2006)

Even a mere shadow of the 90's Pumpkins is good enough these days.

#96. Some Loud Thunder

by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (2007)

A sinfully underrated sophmore album. Quirky in all the right places.

#95. Let Love In

by The Goo Goo Dolls (2006)

Always a soft spot for the Goo. To the point and great pop songs.

#94. Cross

by Justice (2007)

Acid electro-dance that you can head bang to. Go France!

#93. Death Magnetic

by Metallica (2008)

The boys bring back a little bit of that rifftastic glory of yester-decade.

#92. Raising Sand

by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss (2007)

Most unlikely couple & one of the most surprising albums of the decade.

#91. This Side

by Nickel Creek (2002)

Dem Nickel Creek kids do me right every time. Das da troof.

#90. A Certain Trigger

by Maximo Park (2005)

High energy new wave punksters with epic melodies and beats to spare on this'n.

#89. Thunder, Lightening, Strike

by The Go! Team (2005)

This album really makes me wish I was a jump-roping cartoon. In the 70's.

#88. Hopes and Fears

by Keane (2004)

Probably the best voice in the myriad of Thom Yorke impersonators. Including Thom.

#87. The Ditty Bops

by The Ditty Bops (2004)

This album makes me wish I was a vaudeville cartoon. In the 30's.

#86. ぽ (Po)

by B-Dash (2002)

Gibberish lyrics = fun for everyone. One of the funnest/funniest albums all decade.

#85. Speak For Yourself

by Imogen Heap (2005)

Sometimes cheesy, but always catchy and fun. A Chris & Cass road trip fav.

#84. Sea Change

by Beck (2002)

(sniff) Poor, sad Beck. You've done made us all cry now.

#83. LOVE

by Mika Nakashima (2003)

On the shortlist for sexiest album of the decade. Smokey Japanese jazz-pop.

#82. Howl Howl Gaff Gaff

by Shout Out Louds (2005)

When you think "slightly emo Strokes," it doesn't sound so good, but oh it sure is.

#81. Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?

by of Montreal (2007)

Amazing how an album can sound so insane and fun at the same time. Brilliant.

#80. The Life Pursuit

by Belle and Sebastian (2006)

I really should like this album more than I do. Cuz its so friggin poptastic.

#79. Breakaway

by Kelly Clarkson (2004)

I really shouldn't like this album as much as I do. But its so friggin poptastic.

#78. Neon Bible

by Arcade Fire (2007)

Such pure emotive intensity is a rare treat these days. (I should like this more, too.)

#77. Serena-Maneesh

by Serena-Maneesh (2006)

I swear I have dreams that sound like this album. Very surrealistic rock.

#76. The Garden

by Zero 7 (2006)

Electro jazzy goodness. Another sexiest album contender. Good for those cold nights.

100 FAVORITE SONGS OF THE 00's: 10-1

back to 100-76

back to 75-51

back to 50-31

back to 30-11

And here you have it, the TOP TEN songs of the decade, as opinioned by yours truly. Let me know if the links are troublesome...I have no clue why it decided to double space everything either.

Top Albums to come soon! I was gonna do it next week, but its probably gonna be a busy one, so perhaps the week after.

#10. Careful

by Guster (2003)

This is one of the rare tracks on this list (especially being so high up) that was actually discovered on the radio. I've never heard it there since, so I must have just been in the right place at the right time. I waited long enough to find out who it was, and went right out to buy the album it came on. Since then its become one of my favorite songs to sing along to. I actually can't help it. If its on, I'm singing right along. Doesn't matter where or with whom.

#9. 12:51

by The Strokes (2003)

Like many a tune on this grand list, this song converted me (hard core) to a band I didn't like. I can't quite remember if it was the Tron music video or the Nintendo guitar work that first snagged me. Maybe it was the super catchy pop song disguised as a hipster hook-up track. The impeccable melody? Or perhaps it was the start of the 80's becoming cool again. Could it have been their ever-present New York swagger and ultra-Italiano names? Well, no, cuz one is named Albert Hammond, Jr. It must have been that awesome misheard lyrics Youtube video. No...I made that years later. Hm...perhaps it's not that good after all?

#8. Come On! Feel the Illinoise!

by Sufjan Stevens (2005)

When it starts with a lil' bit o' Charlie Brown piano, you know its gonna be a good one. Following the quiet prelude opener and Legend of Zelda-style build up introduction of the first two tracks, Suf's massive Illinoise album officially kicks off with this genre-blurred extravaganza. I feel it, Suf. I feel it. If you haven't heard this man before, here is a great place to start. There's only one other tune this decade that left me with such an overwhelmingly positive first impression of an artist. Which brings me to #7...

#7. Yellow

by Coldplay (2000)

Buddy Blair and I were chillin' late one night, watchin' a little VH1 or MTV like we did on occasion (at least they still played videos at night back then), and out of nowhere comes this odd video of some goofball walking on the beach... singing a wonderful little pop nugget. I remember both of us being completely floored by it, wondering where the heck it came from. It had been such a long time since we'd heard such a great, straightforward, and sincere tune (If you look up what was ruling the charts at the time, its no surprise.) We didn't know who they were, but we waited patiently until their album came out so we could support these unknown Brits. Turns out they really didn't need our help.

#6. Across the Night

by Silverchair (2002)

My buddy Lee once said this song was "magical." (If you know Lee, that fact should have a little more power to it.) When I think "orchestral rock" this is the first thing that comes to mind and the explosive opening says it all. Dan-o has some pretty impressive bragging rights when it comes to vocals, but never has he laid it down better than he does right here. The idea of the Diorama album was to encourage escapism. With this opening, the door to another world is blown wide open. Magical indeed.

#5. The Lighthouse's Tale

by Nickel Creek (2000)

It almost doesn't seem fair that three of the most brilliantly talented musicians around also have an incredible knack for melody as well. Not that I'm complaining, cuz then we get wonderful alterna-grass (I think I made that up) tunes like this to grace our eager ears. Few songs become "favorites" instantly, most have to marinate over time. But I knew this beautifully sad tune would end up high on this here list the first time I heard it.

#4. Glosoli

by Sigur Ros (2005)

I first heard this while watching its accompanying video. There is such an incredible innocence to this song about a boy on a journey to find the sun, and it's captured perfectly by the video. (And by the looks of things, Iceland has quite the collection of beautiful pixie children.) Its kind of embarrassing to admit but I was nearly overcome with emotion by the end of it. So pure, epic and amazing. And few, if any, do that better than Sigur Ros.

#3. Everything In Its Right Place

by Radiohead (2000)

While it doesn't quite top the list, it's safe to say this song had a bigger influence on me than any other this decade. It quite literally changed who I was. I walked into Graywhale one afternoon, (probably looking for some nu-metal or something), and the clerk began this song as if the gods of awesomeness told him I needed to be purified. I went in a Radiohater, and came out a full on disciple. I had never heard anything like it in my life, before or since. I was amazed at how Thom's voice, sampled and resampled to perfection, could carry so much pure, emotive tension. Many weeped at the guitar's absence. But to me, the title says it all.

#2. Everything's Not Lost

by Coldplay (2000)

It was a toss up between this and #3, but the one thing that puts this higher is its uncanny ability to give me hope in the grimmest of situations. While Yellow was the instigator, it was this song (and its secret song) that eventually convinced me these guys were going somewhere. It possesses that tried-and-tested Coldplay formula that's made them your mom's favorite band over the years. But, there is one thing that sets it apart from their later monster hits; They're not famous yet. As the final track on their first album, it marked the last time Chris Martin sounded timid. No expectations, nothing to prove, nothing to lose. The last time they were brilliant, without knowing it.

#1. The Greatest View

by Silverchair (2002)

As I was going through my large list of decade decadence, I started to wonder what it was about this song that really makes it better than the others. Its not the most original one here, and it doesn't necessarily even have a meaningful personal experience linked to it. Its just always good. It never gets old for some reason. I think a lot of that has to do with the melody itself. It truly is one of my very favorite melodies ever. There's just something about it that I truly connect with. Its meaningful, somewhat nonsensical, it rocks pretty hard, and has a grand sense of spirituality. Silverchair have always managed to capture the soundtrack to my life with each album, and this one song captures the "bursting from your shell" stage so perfectly to me. It kind of became my anthem after the mission. It makes me wanna stand on top of some huge mountain (or perhaps the Titanic?) and just spread my arms.