My Favorite Albums of the Decade, #100-51

The first thing you should know, should already know, is that I probably have bad taste. Party because, though indie rocker's rock is what speaks to me the deepest, I like a wide range of songs. Everyone I know hates a different half of the music I like.

This is not an intellectual "best of 00's" list. This list has no narrative. It is both rational and irrational. This list is me having to admit to myself what I really listened to, what music really mattered to me. It was a painful process to make this list. I promised myself that it would be embarrassing, that it would have to be embarrassing if it was going to be truthful. Oh believe you me, it is embarrassing.

You know what bands don't make a single appearance on my list? Radiohead, Wilco, and The Flaming Lips. The sad truth is, I just didn't care about those bands. I admire them (well, the last two) but they never spoke to me like they did everyone else. If I were to make an all-time 00's list, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots would be on here.

But this list is about the stuff I sang along to on midnight drives when nobody else was listening. Abandon hope all ye who enter here...


100. Gnarls Barkley – St. Elsewhere
99. The Black Keys – Rubber Factory
98. Editors – The Back Room
97. Gogol Bordello – Super Taranta!
96. Darker My Love - 2
95. Nick Cave – Dig, Lazarus Dig!!!
94. Double Dagger – More

93. Klaxons – Myths of the Near Future - Lots of people loved this record when it came out, then backed-off when it became clear what the "typical Klaxon fan" was like. It's still a pretty impressive... thing.

92. Nada Surf – The Weight Is A Gift - Everyone forgets about this record. It was great when it came out.

91. Modest Mouse – We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank - I'm a terrible Modest Mouse fan because I like the sell-out radio friendly version of the band better than the influential indie version.

90. Light FM – This is the Beginning of My Golden Age
89. Muse - Absolution
88. M83 – Saturdays = Youth

87. The Ataris – So Long, Astoria - One thing you have to know about me is that I am about four years behind my peers, emotionally. If I had been 17 when this record came out, it'd be forgivable. Sadly, I was almost 21. But the truth is that I listened to this album a lot and I'd be lying to myself if I didn't put it on here. Their version of "Girls of Summer" is better than Don Henley's, though. That's right, I said it.

86. Divisadero - Lefty
85. The Happy Hollows – Imaginary EP
84. Gram Rabbit – Radio Angel and the Robot Beat
83. Muse – Black Holes and Revelations

82. Batboy the Musical – Soundtrack - "Another dead cow and the rent is overdue..."

81. The Arcade Fire – Neon Bible

80. Further Seems Forever – The Moon is Down - Look, I was a really depressed early 20-something. I'm sorry. This might be the last "emo" record that actually sounded like real emo, though. If you can look past the sad bastard lyrical content, it's still a pretty listen.

79. Johnny Cash – American IV: When the Man Comes Around
78. No Age - Nouns

77. Green Day – American Idiot - I think every end of decade list needs to have this album. I don't care who you are or what you like, American Idiot was one of the great popular records of the decade. It was Capital-I Important. Everybody under the age of 30 who wasn't a hipster snob bought it. I still like it, almost exclusively because I like Broadway musicals.

76. Ben Folds – Songs for Silverman
75. Ben Folds – Sunny 16 EP
74. Jimmy Eat World - Futures
73. Manhattan Murder Mystery – Skull EP
72. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Fever to Tell

71. Fountains of Wayne – Welcome Interstate Managers - Like Weezer, Fountains of Wayne were stollen from the geeks. For the everyman or hipster, "Stacy's Mom" come to mind. (Followed by vomit) But for the nerdy rock kids, this was a triumphant return of an underdog 90's alt rock band. (That Fountains of Wayne self-titled disc is on my all-time favorite list) What's really impressive about this album is the diverse range of sounds it covers.

70. Franz Ferdinand – Franz Ferdinand
69. The Hives – Tyrannosaurus Hives

68. Great Northern – Trading Twilight for Daylight - Newer Great Northern releases are too pretentious for me. This was such a pretty record. I miss this version of the band something terrible.

67. Silversun Pickups - Swoon
66. The Thermals – Now We Can See
65. Radars to the Sky – Big Bang EP
64. Pizza! – Pizza!
63. No Age – Weirdo Rippers
62. The Health Club - Rarities and Outtakes
61. Girls – Album

60. Gogol Bordello – Gypsy Punks: Underdog World Strike - "Dogs Were Barking" alone puts this album on my list. It's a song about the best fucking wedding ever. I'm such a sucker for "insert-ethnicity punk".

59. Death to Anders – Fictitious Business - If I were asked "What's the most under-appreciated LA local record?" this would be my answer.

58. Kanye West - Graduation - This is the "wrong" Kanye record to have on my list, but it's my favorite one.

57. Regina Spektor – Begin to Hope
56. Thailand – The Remote Controller…
55. The White Stripes – Get Behind Me Satan
54. Vivian Girls – Vivian Girls
53. The Happy Hollows – Spells
52. The Mezzanine Owls – Mezzanine Owls EP

51. Something Corporate – Leaving Through the Window - Ugh. Of all the embarassing picks on my list, this was the hardest one to leave on. I tried to listen to it again earlier this year -- probably the first time in five years -- and I almost killed myself. It's a terrible record.

Of all the awful post-emo kiddie bands that came out in the 00's, at least Something Corporate could hide behind the "piano rock" genre. As a lifelong Ben Folds fan, that's the hook that got me listening. I also found this record the week of a rather emotionally traumatizing event. It was bitter, bitter cold outside. I was weak. I regret it. In the interest of a historical record of my decade of music, I'm leaving it on. Commenters, unleash yourselves.