As 2010 comes to a close I can’t help but think about all the great things music has given us over the past decade. I know technically the decade is usually from 2000- 2009, but Id like to include 2010 in this list. I mean what would the 2000’s be without Brittney Spears? Eminem? Lady Gaga?? So I would like to list my top 25 albums of the decade. I will begin with #’s 25- 13
25. Sufjan Stevens: Illinoise: (2005) This “concept” album which has songs all relating to times, places, and events in the US had to make the list because of my love for the song Chicago, and because majority of the songs have such long names I don’t even have the time to write them out one by one! Good job Sufjan for filling our brains with non-memorable track names and folky pop catchy tunes.
24. Usher: Confessions: (2004) Yeah! was the anthem for my year in 2004. It was so catchy, had awesome guest starts (ie: Ludacris and Lil Jon) and was just so infectious and catchy. Where Usher shines in this album though is on sultry songs like Burn and Confessions Part II.
23. MGMT: Oracular Spectacular: (2008) MGMT are the rare rockers who leave you wondering, where in the world did they get that idea? They came out with this album and gave us hits like my personal favorite Kids and the awesome Time To Pretend. Supposedly Time To Pretend serves as a mission statement and sets the tone for the whole album, which many great albums do.
22. Ben Folds: Way To Normal: (2008) As you all know I love Ben Folds to death, and think he is fantastic ALWAYS. This album is no exception. Songs like Cologne, Hiroshima, and Effington are a refreshing throwback to some of the work he did when he was in Ben Folds Five. I personally love the melody throughout the interlude Before Cologne that travels on throughout Cologne and considered using it as a song in my wedding. Alas, I went with the old classic The Luckiest instead.
21. The Postal Service: Give Up: (2003) Where there is Ben Gibbard, there is a way. Ben (the lead singer of Death Cab) brought us what we needed the most, which was basically, death cab on speed (or electronica). They made a hit out of the song Such Great Heights that has been covered by The Shins and Iron and Wine, and made a fan out of me with goodies like The District Sleeps Alone and We Will Become Silhouettes.
20. Jay Z: The Black Album: (2003) Any album that gives me the songs 99 problems, Dirt off Your Shoulders, Encore, and Change Clothes, has to be good. Jay Z is a fun rapper who isn’t afraid to get dirty in his raps. Many people may have put The Blueprint on their list instead, but I chose The Black Album because of its intricacies and simplicity.
19. Rooney: Rooney: (2003) Robert Schwartzman (brother of Jason Schwartzman) sure knows his way with music. I happen to love every thing that Rooney produces, and yes, I have Josh Schwartz and the O.C to thank for featuring them. Or wait, was it The Princess Diaries who featured them first. Yes ladies, Robert is the suitor to Anne Hathaway’s Mia in that movie. Whatever the case, songs like I’m a Terrible Person, I’m Shakin, and That Girl Has Love will be forever imbedded in my memory as awesome.
18. Shinedown: The Sound of Madness: (2008) Another hit album for me courtesy of WMG. These hard rockers are more bark than bite which is why I loved this album. Not only did it have the hit single Second Chance which actually mainstreamed to Pop radio (albeit a MILLION months too late) but they also have hard/on the edge of hard rock songs like The Crow and the Butterfly and the titular track Sound of Madness (a personal favorite).
17. Vampire Weekend: Vampire Weekend: (2008) I mean, what is there to say bad about the Columbia indie rockers? Not much. I loved their debut albums with favorites like A Punk, M79, and Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa. I love their use of non conventional musical instruments and their cool hipster personas. I’m not gonna lie; I probably would have mocked their attempts while I was in college/ seeing them perform on the quad or something, but currently they are just so indie cool I cant help but love them.
16. Switchfoot: Beautiful Letdown: (2003) I was turned onto Switchfoot by the help of my good friends Mandy Moore and Shane West (in A Walk to Remember). What I didn’t know at the time was that Switchfoot could be considered in the “Inspirational” category of musicians. That’s right folks, before they mainstreamed, Switchfoot was a hardcore Christian Inspirational band. I mean it should make sense from songs like Meant To Live, and Dare You To Move or the more blatantly obvious numbers like Redemption or On Fire. Yet I still love this album as it did make me feel good (inspired even?) and made me super into the slow rock ballads of the 2000’s.
15. Keane: Hopes and Fears: (2004) I contribute a large love for this album to my friend Betsy who turned me on to Keane. I happen to continue to love Keane and purchase all of their albums (in their entirety), but this album is my favorite, which makes sense since it is also their debut album. In fact this album (like a few albums on this list) contains one of my all time favorite songs Everybody’s changing. It also contains the melancholy Sunshine and the frothy fun Somewhere Only We Know.
14. T.I. Paper Trail: (2008) When this album came out I was working at Warner Music Group, and my boss loved T.I. It was possibly her most anticipated album that came out in the Fall of 08, so naturally, I had to listen to it with an open mind. What I found out was that T.I was amazing. Not only is he an interesting rapper, who creates awesome tunes with great hooks, but he just played out this album so well. I know subsequently he went to jail, but still this album rocked my socks. Favorites off the album include Whatever You Like, Dead and Gone, Live Your Life, and No Matter What.
13. The Shins: Chutes Too Narrow: (2003) The Shins did something completely different to my musical repertoire at the time: it made me interested in non-mainstreamed/indie artists. Yes, Garden State popularized their songs, but Chutes Too Narrow is an album that shouldn’t be missed. Their album, in a sense, is a tonal progression that begins with the light soft (and my favorite) Kissing The Lipless and ends with the moving Those To Come. Each song is just as good as the one before and is my favorite Shins album to date.
25. Sufjan Stevens: Illinoise: (2005) This “concept” album which has songs all relating to times, places, and events in the US had to make the list because of my love for the song Chicago, and because majority of the songs have such long names I don’t even have the time to write them out one by one! Good job Sufjan for filling our brains with non-memorable track names and folky pop catchy tunes.
24. Usher: Confessions: (2004) Yeah! was the anthem for my year in 2004. It was so catchy, had awesome guest starts (ie: Ludacris and Lil Jon) and was just so infectious and catchy. Where Usher shines in this album though is on sultry songs like Burn and Confessions Part II.
23. MGMT: Oracular Spectacular: (2008) MGMT are the rare rockers who leave you wondering, where in the world did they get that idea? They came out with this album and gave us hits like my personal favorite Kids and the awesome Time To Pretend. Supposedly Time To Pretend serves as a mission statement and sets the tone for the whole album, which many great albums do.
22. Ben Folds: Way To Normal: (2008) As you all know I love Ben Folds to death, and think he is fantastic ALWAYS. This album is no exception. Songs like Cologne, Hiroshima, and Effington are a refreshing throwback to some of the work he did when he was in Ben Folds Five. I personally love the melody throughout the interlude Before Cologne that travels on throughout Cologne and considered using it as a song in my wedding. Alas, I went with the old classic The Luckiest instead.
21. The Postal Service: Give Up: (2003) Where there is Ben Gibbard, there is a way. Ben (the lead singer of Death Cab) brought us what we needed the most, which was basically, death cab on speed (or electronica). They made a hit out of the song Such Great Heights that has been covered by The Shins and Iron and Wine, and made a fan out of me with goodies like The District Sleeps Alone and We Will Become Silhouettes.
20. Jay Z: The Black Album: (2003) Any album that gives me the songs 99 problems, Dirt off Your Shoulders, Encore, and Change Clothes, has to be good. Jay Z is a fun rapper who isn’t afraid to get dirty in his raps. Many people may have put The Blueprint on their list instead, but I chose The Black Album because of its intricacies and simplicity.
19. Rooney: Rooney: (2003) Robert Schwartzman (brother of Jason Schwartzman) sure knows his way with music. I happen to love every thing that Rooney produces, and yes, I have Josh Schwartz and the O.C to thank for featuring them. Or wait, was it The Princess Diaries who featured them first. Yes ladies, Robert is the suitor to Anne Hathaway’s Mia in that movie. Whatever the case, songs like I’m a Terrible Person, I’m Shakin, and That Girl Has Love will be forever imbedded in my memory as awesome.
18. Shinedown: The Sound of Madness: (2008) Another hit album for me courtesy of WMG. These hard rockers are more bark than bite which is why I loved this album. Not only did it have the hit single Second Chance which actually mainstreamed to Pop radio (albeit a MILLION months too late) but they also have hard/on the edge of hard rock songs like The Crow and the Butterfly and the titular track Sound of Madness (a personal favorite).
17. Vampire Weekend: Vampire Weekend: (2008) I mean, what is there to say bad about the Columbia indie rockers? Not much. I loved their debut albums with favorites like A Punk, M79, and Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa. I love their use of non conventional musical instruments and their cool hipster personas. I’m not gonna lie; I probably would have mocked their attempts while I was in college/ seeing them perform on the quad or something, but currently they are just so indie cool I cant help but love them.
16. Switchfoot: Beautiful Letdown: (2003) I was turned onto Switchfoot by the help of my good friends Mandy Moore and Shane West (in A Walk to Remember). What I didn’t know at the time was that Switchfoot could be considered in the “Inspirational” category of musicians. That’s right folks, before they mainstreamed, Switchfoot was a hardcore Christian Inspirational band. I mean it should make sense from songs like Meant To Live, and Dare You To Move or the more blatantly obvious numbers like Redemption or On Fire. Yet I still love this album as it did make me feel good (inspired even?) and made me super into the slow rock ballads of the 2000’s.
15. Keane: Hopes and Fears: (2004) I contribute a large love for this album to my friend Betsy who turned me on to Keane. I happen to continue to love Keane and purchase all of their albums (in their entirety), but this album is my favorite, which makes sense since it is also their debut album. In fact this album (like a few albums on this list) contains one of my all time favorite songs Everybody’s changing. It also contains the melancholy Sunshine and the frothy fun Somewhere Only We Know.
14. T.I. Paper Trail: (2008) When this album came out I was working at Warner Music Group, and my boss loved T.I. It was possibly her most anticipated album that came out in the Fall of 08, so naturally, I had to listen to it with an open mind. What I found out was that T.I was amazing. Not only is he an interesting rapper, who creates awesome tunes with great hooks, but he just played out this album so well. I know subsequently he went to jail, but still this album rocked my socks. Favorites off the album include Whatever You Like, Dead and Gone, Live Your Life, and No Matter What.
13. The Shins: Chutes Too Narrow: (2003) The Shins did something completely different to my musical repertoire at the time: it made me interested in non-mainstreamed/indie artists. Yes, Garden State popularized their songs, but Chutes Too Narrow is an album that shouldn’t be missed. Their album, in a sense, is a tonal progression that begins with the light soft (and my favorite) Kissing The Lipless and ends with the moving Those To Come. Each song is just as good as the one before and is my favorite Shins album to date.
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