Finally...the top ten. At this point I'd put these albums up against any album of any generation. There's no doubt I'll be blasting them all until the day I die. If you are jumping into the list here and want to enjoy from the beginning, the countdown starts here.
10. Plans - Death Cab For Cutie
Two Ben Gibbard albums in a row. That sincerely wasn't planed. It just happened that way. Much like this albums' ascent into the top 10 of the decade for me. When I was initially putting this list together back in August, this was the album that surprised me the most. I knew I really enjoyed it, but I didn't know just how much I learned to love it. Then, I went out an bought it on vinyl, put the needle on the record, and realized this is one for the ages.
It is an eternally optimistic record about growing old. Sure, the songs seem sad. "Summer Skin" looks back at the seasons past with nostalgia, but not regret. And "What Sara Said" is a vivid tale of dying in a hospital room, but ultimately has the line 'love is watching someone die', that tells you having love, even in the worst of circumstances is better than being alone. But my favorite song, and may be my favorite love song of the decade is "I Will Follow You Into The Dark". Again, on the surface it is a sad song about dying. But really, it is a wonderful call to understand love's undying power. In our world of superficial pleasure and 800 number divorce attorneys, very few talk about the bonds two souls have to travel past the now and into eternity together. And it's bold to say that is your intentions. Hell, that's even a stronger statement than the 'death do us part' vows I took on my wedding day. It's the vows in this song that I wake up each day trying to live up to.
9. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot - Wilco
More than any album I own, this one hits me from the moment I pull it out of the record crate and stare at those two Chicago condo high rises on the cover. That's because for two years, every single work day I walked by those buildings and stared up. I especially love that they used the kaki color background for the photo because most days, the sky wasn't blue. It was that dull gray color that fills the sky without one crack showing the beautiful sun hiding behind the wall of cloud. For 4 months of the year, that walked sucked. But I loved it because it meant I got to work to live in my favorite city in the world.
The music itself grew on me throughout the decade. For years after its 2001 release, I only liked every other song. The more accessible songs like "Heavy Metal Drummer" and "Pot Kettle Black" were the songs I gravitated to. The others were clearly good songs, but I got sick of the excess noise. Wow was I wrong. If we've learned anything in the past decade, it's our lives are only going to grow more noisy with plenty of dissonance and distraction. Read the tea leaves in this masterpiece back when it came out, and you'd be looking into the future.
On top of that, Wilco in the past couple of years have settled into the best American rock band of our generation. Jeff Tweedy continues to impress both on albums and live. Their shows are fantastic with virtuoso performances across the board from each band. And all these songs continue to be perfected live today, breathing new life in them. After each show, I always come back to this record and discover something new I didn't hear before. Could this be what The White Album was for my dad? Quite possibly.
8. The Blueprint - Jay-Z
Ah Jay. You saved hip hop for me. Back at the turn of the century, I was sick of the genre. Biggie and Tupac were gone, Dre started his decade long sabbatical, and the stuff on the radio was piss poor. The teeth had been taken out after the disastrous East Coast vs West Coast battle ended in blood. There was a vacuum, and only one man had the balls to step in and run this shit. So he literally wrote the blueprint forward.
First, he revived the dis track. "Takeover" just may be my favorite rap song ever. It destroys Nas much like a drill sergeant breaks down a young cadet so that he may be built back up. It is relentless with line after line landing squarly on the jaw while truly inspired Doors beat by Kanye (showing his promise) sets the tone. It leans into you. But my absolute favorite line is at the end where he spits, "...and all you other cats throwin' shots at Jigga, you only get half a bar - Fuck y'all ni**as." I love it because it ends showing a glimmer of respect for Nas. He at least is/was good enough for Jay to destroy for 5 min. The rest of the rappers out there? They only deserve two beats of time from the God MC. Now THATS how you do it.
From that point, the party's on for the next handful of tracks, again with Kanye providing the beats and Jay making you head nod while wishing you were sippin Cris with him. Then, rising above all the tracks is "U Don't Know". Jay still uses it today in his arena show because it sounds so good live. It's a big ass brag song, that outlines his takeover of the world. A profit showing you how it's done. The final section of the album is completely unexpected, as it's the best song cycle of personal reflection Jay has ever created. He may be J-Hova, but here he lets us know he is just a man. A man with the God given gift to take street poetry and turn it into an empire.
7. Boys And Girls Of America - The Hold Steady
If you don't already own and love this album, my advice is to send your significant other out for the night with some friends, go pick up a six pack of your favorite cheap beer, download this record, turn it up to 11, and play air guitar for the next 45 minutes. It's a fabulous straight-forward rock record that would have been huge 30 years ago. What's funny is a magazine like Rolling Stone spends the decade calling each Springsteen new release phenomenal while the band actually re-architecting that big barroom sound was all but ignored by them, radio, and fans.
The Jack Kerouac-inspired title tells you everything you need to know about what you are about to experience. Craig Finn and the boys are about to take you on a literary journey through your high school experience. It's gonna be a funny, messy, boring, adventurous, epic and tragic swirl of delights that only sounds better with a buzz. It's the kind of place where you and your friends watch from afar as the girl from down the street is 'gonna walk around and drink some more', and "Massive Nights" happen every weekend. The best story, though, on the album is "Chillout Tent". Every single music nerd dreams of meeting a girl at a show. This song takes it to a whole other level by placing the star-crossed lovers in the recovery area after both OD. Plus, they never see each other again past that perfect moment of adolescent lust. These are the kind of stories my friends and I tell each other at poker games now we are married with children. We don't miss being that stupid, but we sure as hell aren't going to let go of those memories.
6. Sound Of Silver - LCD SoundsystemThe other 49 albums on this list are obviously amazing. But of all of them, this is the one I wish I could have created. If a genie appeared to grant me a wish, the musical life and talents of James Murphy would be high on the list. Just listen to the Berlin parties he clearly frequents in "North American Scum". More than any album, it blends everything I love about music together. First, the beats are amazing. Combining disco, rock, emo, glam, house, Murphy wears his influences on his sleeve. What's great is so many of them were so underground when they were around (like Neu!) that in one swoop of a song, you're given both an education and a something completely fresh and new at the same time.
All nine songs are great, and sequenced in perfect order. That says a lot because there are so many styles. From the pure house track "Get Innocuous!" that kicks off the fun house, to the David Bowie-esqe "All Of My Friends", to the 70s electro-punk jam "Watch The Tapes", it's amazing just how much the album does settle into a cohesive groove. Throughout, there's a late '00s snarky side to the record that makes it clearly a product of this decade. Plus, there is more cowbell crammed in here than a Bruce Dickinson Blue Oyster Cult recording session.
As much fun as it is, it does have one of the great ballads of the decade hidden in a driving blip beat with "Someone Great". The words are ambiguous and gentle, but the beat grounds it and lends power and persistence. Then, right into "All Of My Friends" that flips the loss of a future with the loss of a past. As soon as it come on, the faces of all my boys fill my head, and memories rush back into crystal clear polaroids. Except after the song, you shake them, and they fade back to nothing until the next time the track plays.
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