The culminaton of a story and a goodbye session: My favorite albums of the decade from hell.

It's all too convenient to say that the '00s was the weakest decade for rock music. As someone who operates a blog dedicated to the sounds of the good 'ol twentieth century it makes such a claim all the more viable and tempting. I will say this however. Back in December of 1999, eons before this page sprouted up, I put together a list of my 100 favorite albums of the '90s, purely to disseminate among my friends and peers. In that decade, and ditto for the 1980s, there were roughly 200-300 quality albums that could have realistically vied for one of those coveted top-100 spots. This time out, I absolutely struggled to come up with 100 worthy titles. Ultimately I didn't, but I'll come back to this dilemma in a few moments.

The aughts were not about trends, at least as far as I was concerned. Though many were represented, to this set of ears this was the first decade of my existence that was devoid of any bona fide genre-breaking. Just as it's convenient to proclaim the music of the past ten years was comparatively inferior, another wholesale realization was that virtually everything dispelled in the post-Y2K era entailed: a) an obvious throwback; b) a rehash; c) a nifty melange of multiple genres of yore, or perhaps more overarching, technological advancements applied to any of the three variations I just rattled off.

For me, the appeal of music in the past decade often pivoted on what struck my fancy during the '70s, '80s, and '90s. This was also the scenario for a lot of people I'm acquainted with, but unfortunately, many of them took the lazy way out and subconsciously (or not) ceased exposing themselves to new artists, rather almost exclusively supporting established acts from the century past. The truth is, there was a lot of commendable music being churned out during this rather miserable ten-year span, but given the noticeable dearth of innovation, the bulk of it went in one ear and out the other...or was dismissed entirely. And as much as I'm loathe to admit it, I'm as guilty as anyone else I'm referring to out there.

After you take a gander at my 90 or so picks, I know what a lot of you are bound to be scratching your head over. Saves the Day? Dashboard Confessional? Owl City? The Juliana Theory? No less than all three Motion City Soundtrack albums? Even a Fall Out Boy disk? All these out-of-place monikers on a best-of the decade list from a chap that fancies utter obscurities from the golden age of college radio? Yet some, if not all of the aforementioned and their associated ilk outlined in the list below bestowed some of the finest pop songs and albums of this decade that will resonate with me for many more to come. These were hardly guilty pleasures (though at first they certainly felt like it). In fact the aforementioned were the lifeblood of my soundtrack over recent years.

As to why I cut the cord at 95 albums instead of 100, I believe that over the next couple of years (perhaps beyond) I'll find another five albums at least from the '00s that I haven't stumbled upon yet. Instead of "dropping" albums from this list as more preferable ones make it into my stereo and MP3 player, leaving things open-ended with built-in placeholders seems pretty logical - something I failed to do with my 1990s album list, but I digress. Anal and self-indulgent as hell, I know...

In parting, I thought it would be appropriate to provide a little critique and backgrounder for my number one pick of the decade. Around 2005 or so, a lot of you may have caught wind of an intercontinental, slightly raunchy blues/folk duo known as The Kills. Additionally, even more of you are probably familiar with The Dead Weather, a side endeavor of Jack White. The link between these two groups is one Alison Mosshart (who opts for the assumed name of VV when in Kills-mode). As it turns out, I have been following Allison since the mid-90s when as a teen/early-twenty something she was fronting a fledgling indie pop-punk crew based in Vero Beach, Florida called Discount. By the time they got to their third and final album, Crash Diagnostic, they weren't merely "fledgling" anymore - in fact, they had wholeheartedly arrived. Diagnostic was an OK Computer-savvy kiss goodbye and simultaneous kiss-off to the emo/punk scene that bore Discount, soon to be watered down for the masses over the course of the forthcoming decade. Bristling with 13 raw, exposed nerves (i.e. songs), seeped in oblique lyrics, arresting dynamics, not to mention more Fugazi worship than you could shake a stick at, Crash Diagnostic was something of a grower at first, but would soon become an inseparable part of my life. While the facets I laid out in that last sentence comprised the meat and potatoes of the album's aesthetic, the glue stringing all of it together was of course Alison Mosshart's frenzied, about-to-careen-off-the-track vocal aplomb that she has yet to employ in her post-Discount ventures (but I'd say masterminding the album of the decade is enough of an accomplishment). Incidentally, Crash Diagnostic was literally the first release of the year 2000 to fall into my hands, and I would be dumbstruck if you told me at the time that nothing coming down the pike in the next nine years and eleven months would top it. You can listen to the whole thing here. Enjoy, and remember, it's only a list.

01. Discount – Crash Diagnostic (2000, New American Dream)
02. My Vitriol – Finelines (2001, Sony)
03. Passion Pit – Manners (French Kiss, 2009)
04. Mike Viola – Hang on Mike (2003, Sony)
05. The Stereo – Rewind + Record (2002, Fueled By Ramen)
06. The National – Boxer (2007, Beggars Banquet)
07. Local Rabbits – This is It, Here We Go (2001, Brobdingnagian)
08. Element 101 – Future Plans Undecided (2000, Tooth & Nail)
09. Panic! At the Disco – A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out (2005, Fueled By Ramen)
10. Sig Transit Gloria – s/t (2000, Johann’s Face)

11. Exploding Hearts – Guitar Romantic (2003, Dirtnap)
12. The Lives of Famous Men – three eps: Rehearsal/Modern Love/Sunshine (2007-09, self released)
13. The Strokes – Is This It? (2001, RCA)
14. Dashboard Confessional – The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most (2001, Vagrant)
15. Motion City Soundtrack - Commit this to Memory (2005, Epitaph)
16. Saves the Day – Stay What You Are (2001, Vagrant
17. Amusement Parks on Fire – Out of the Angeles (2006, V2)
18. The Braves – Love and Mercy (2005, Johann’s Face)
19. Fall Out Boy – Take This to Your Grave (2003, Fueled By Ramen)
20. The Anniversary – Designing a Nervous Breakdown (2000, Vagrant)

21. The Doleful Lions – Song Cyclops Vol. I (2000, Parasol)
22. Ben Kweller – Sha Sha (2002, ATO)
23. Paul Westerberg – Stereo/Mono (2002, Vagrant)
24. Rooney – s/t (2003, Interscope)
25. The Mary Onettes – s/t (2007, Labrador)
26. Nada Surf – Let Go (2002, Barsuk)
27. Hey Mercedes – Everynight Fire Works (2001, Vagrant)
28. Ben Folds – Songs for Silverman (2005, Sony)
29. Stew – Guest Host (2000, Telegraph)
30. Taking Back Sunday – Where You Want to Be (2004, Victory)

31. The Lillingtons – The Backchannel Broadcast (2001, Panic Button)
32. Kings of Leon – Only By the Night (2008, RCA)
33. Phantom Planet – The Guest (2002, Sony)
34. Motion City Soundtrack – I Am the Movie (2003, Epitaph)
35. Mike Viola – Just After Dark (2005, Good Morning Monkey)
36. Jack’s Mannequin – Everything In Transit (2005, Maverick)
37. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – s/t (2009, Slumberland)
38. Elliott – False Cathedrals (2000, Revelation)
39. Damien Jurado – Ghost of David (2000, Sub Pop)
40. FM Knives – Useless and Modern (Empty, 2003)

41. Motion City Soundtrack – Even if it Kills Me (2007, Epitaph)
42. Ben Folds – Rockin’ the Suburbs (2001, Sony)
43. Tugboat Annie – The Space Around You (2000, Big Top)
44. Emm Gryner – The Summer of High Hopes (2006, Dead Daisy)
45. The Juliana Theory – Emotion is Dead (2000, Tooth & Nail)
46. This Is Me Smiling – s/t (2005, The Vinyl Summer)
47. Mew – …and the Glass Handed Kites (2005, Sony)
48. Owl City – Ocean Eyes (2009, Universal)
49. The Braves – That’s the Hot Part (2002, Arms Reach)
50. Taking Back Sunday – Tell All Your Friends (2002, Victory)

51. Fiona Apple – Extraordinary Machine (2005, Sony)
52. The Marked Men – s/t (2003, Dirtnap)
53. Dashboard Confessional – The Swiss Army Romance (2000, Drive-Thru)
54. Cockeyed Ghost – Ludlow 6:18 (2001, Karma Frog)
55. Cruiserweight – Sweet Weaponry (2005, Doghouse)
56. Bad Astronaut – Houston, We Have a Drinking Problem (2002, Honest Don’s)
57. Lightweight Holiday – s/t (2003, Porterhouse)
58. Amusement Parks on Fire – s/t (2005, Filter/BMG)
59. Pedro the Lion – Control (2002, Jade Tree)
60. Lifetime – s/t (Fueled By Ramen, 2007)

61. Hot Hot Heat – Elevator (2005, Warner Bros.)
62. The Straylight Run – s/t (2004, Victory)
63. Pete Yorn – Day I Forgot (2003, Sony)
64. Jets to Brazil – Four Cornered Night (2000, Jade Tree)
65. Rhett Miller – The Instigator (2002, Elektra)
66. The Stryder – Masquerade in the Key of Crime (2000, Equal Vision)
67. Reeve Oliver – s/t (2004, Militia Group)
68. Something Corporate – North (2003, Drive-Thru)
69. Blake Babies – God Save the Blake Babies ( 2001, Rounder)
70. Graig Markel – Hard Grammar (2001, Mag Wheel)

71. Saves the Day – Under the Boards (2007, Vagrant)
72. The 101 – Green Street (2005, Limekiln)
73. Hellogoodbye – Zombies!, Aliens!, Vampires!, Dinosaurs! (2006, Drive-Thru)
74. The Bon Mots – Le Main Drag (2003, Mellifluid)
75. Kevin Tihista’s Red Terror – Don’t Breathe a Word (2001, Parasol)
76. Chamberlain – Exit 232 (2001)
77. Jon Auer – Songs from the Year of Our Demise (2006, Pattern 25)
78. Maritime – Heresy & the Hotel Choir (2007, Flameshovel)
79. Band of Horses – Everything All the Time (2007, Sub Pop)
80. High Speed Scene - s/t (2005, Star Trak/Interscope)

81. Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin – Pershing (2008, Polyvinyl)
82. All Systems Go! – s/t (2001, Cold Front)
83. Turin Brakes – The Optimist (2001, Astralwerks)
84. Two Tongues – s/t (2009, Vagrant)
85. Daysleepers – Drowned in a Sea of Sound (2008, Clairecords)
86. Mark Kleiner Power Trio – Love To Night (2002, Mint)
87. DrugMoney – Mtn Cty Jnk (2004, Hybrid)
88. Young Sportsmen – Death to Palaces (2007)
89. Interpol – Antics (2004, Matador)
90. Red Fox Grey Fox – From the Land of Bears, Ice and Rock (2007, Afternoon)

91. Schatzi – 50 Reasons to Explode (2002, Mammoth)
92. House & Parish – One, One-thousand ep (2007 Arena Rock)
93. Steven Mark-Wright – Pop Motel (2006, Not Lame)
94. Drag the River – Closed (2002, Upland/Suburban Home)
95. Broadfield Marchers – When the Lifted Connive (2006, St. Ives)

96-100 ?????