my top 30 favorite albums of the decade

in the previous decade i dabbled in music. this decade i lived in it. i suppose that's the difference between being a fan and an addict.

live music, studio albums, a music blog (RIP patchchord and now this thing), trekked all around this country, made lifelong music friends in kansas city and every where else, built up a ridiculous collection of music... so, i'm a little biased here, but i'll call it my favorite decade of music. i know those will argue that the beatles and the early rolling stones era were far superior but i'll stick with the first decade in the 2000s. i imagine myself and most of my music snob peers would have turned our noses to the music coming out of the radio back then and gone out in search of something else. the same way we do now.

putting this list together was a ridiculous process. you hide in a dark room holed up with your favorite album of the moment playing on your headphones and try and think back on TEN years. you check play counts on iTunes. you dig through stacks of cds. you flip through some vinyl. you think back to the albums that changed your life. that might sound silly, but if you're reading this blog, you probably "get it", i hope you do.

all these things in mind, i give to you my favorite 30 albums of the 2000s.

30 bachelor no.2 aimee mann 2000
29 one cello x 16: natoma zoe keating 2006
28 our endless numbered days iron and wine 2004
27 underneath the stars kate rusby 2004
26 wolfgang amadeus phoenix phoenix 2009
25 the sunset tree the mountain goats 2005
24 soviet kitsch regina spektor 2004
23 get behind me satan the white stripes 2005
22 silent alarm bloc party 2005
21 guero beck 2005
20 oh my god charlie darwin the low anthem 2009
19 hymns for the hopeless william elliot whitmore 2003
18 if you want blood mark kozelek 2001
17 the earth is not a cold dead place explosions in the sky 2003
16 give up the postal service 2002
15 the midnight organ fight frightened rabbit 2008
14 carnavas silversun pickups 2007
13 details frou frou 2002
12 kid a radiohead 2000
11 time without consequences alexi murdoch 2006
10 since i left you the avalanches 2001
i can remember where i was when i first heard this and the first person i called and dropped a "dude, you're not going to believe this album i just picked up" on.

9 i’m wide awake, it’s morning bright eyes 2005
from the lyrics, to the lo-fi production, to the guests, i think it's his opus.

8 young mountain this will destroy you 2006
the band name speaks volumes here, this will destroy you! it's not a title as much as it is a warning. brace yourself.

7 solace xavier rudd 2004
this album is responsible for airfare all around this country. xavier took folky, jam rock and incorporated the didgeridoo into it and gained masses of fans worldwide.

6 boys and girls in america the hold steady 2006
i was late to this party, and what a crazy, killer party it is. sex, drugs, rock and roll being preached at you from pastor finn.

5 the animal years josh ritter 2006
some of the finest songwriting i've ever heard is on this album. paste magazine agreed and named him one of the best, living songwriters.

4 low level owl, vol. 1 the appleseed cast 2001
this album pushed me towards a genre of music i never knew about. produced by ed rose, i have him and the cast to thank for turning me onto so many bands.

3 boxer the national 2007
i hate when people have a song as their cell ringtone, but my ringtone comes from this album. that's as big a compliment as i could ever give a band.

2 O damien rice 2003
this album came a long at a crazy time in my life and filled some holes. i've been fortunate to tell him that and thank him for that in person.

1 ( ) sigur rós 2002
not everybody gets it, but who wants to be everybody. grab your headphones, fire up the iPod and forget about the world. this album is so good, it hardly feels real.