Top 20 Albums of the 00s

Allow me, on behalf of the two of us at NMTM, to introduce the final installment of our own listomania. For the past couple of weeks, we've been taking a break from the usual reporting on our blog, I.E. music news, new releases, gossip, and above all, recaps of the radio show itself. Instead, we've been putting lists of our favorites (songs, albums) of 2009 and the decade as a whole. Lists are a lot of fun. Who doesn't like a list? Well this is it. Here are our 20 albums of the decade.

I want to make a controversial statement before I begin. In modern times, the album is a difficult thing to achieve. And I'm not saying that artists don't put out full-length LPs anymore, because they certainly do; but a true album, enjoyable from start to finish, is a rare breed. CDs will continue to exist for a while, but the album, now that's tough to come by. This list indeed ties into my decade's top song's list from last week. I also feel the need to reiterate that these are my favorite records of the decade; not saying these are the greatest records of all time, but all were ones that I was highly interested in and took control of me. Seriously, I listened to these albums so much it drove me to insanity (kind of, but not really).

2005 was year one for me, it's when I started to get serious about music. And since then, I've been moving in two directions in consideration to my music fan-hood: one venturing back to the roots of rock music in the early 00s and the other blazing into the future. I hope you enjoy the list. The final list.

Mike Pop's Top 20 Albums of the 00s:

20. Blink 182 – Blink 182 (2003)

Suggested Tracks: Not Now, Violence, Asthenia, and Always

19. Pinback – Blue Screen Life (2001)

Suggested Tracks: Offline P.K., Concrete Seconds, Penelope, and Seville

18. Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (2006)

Suggested Tracks: I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor, Fake Tales Of San Francisco, Mardy Bum, and When The Sun Goes Down

17. Sonic Youth – Murray Street (2002)

Suggested Tracks: The Empty Page, Disconnection Notice, Rain On Tin, and Karen Revisited

16. Big D & The Kids Table – Strictly Rude (2007)

Suggested Tracks: Steady Riot, Noise Complaint, Shining On, and She Knows Her Way

15. Tokyo Police Club – Elephant Shell (2008)

Suggested Tracks: In A Cave, Tessellate, Sixties Remake, and Your English Is Good

14. The Killers – Hot Fuss (2004)

Suggested Tracks: Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine, Mr. Brightside, Smile Like You Mean It, and All These Things That I've Done

13. Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend (2008)

Suggested Tracks: Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa, M79, One (Blake's Got A New Face), and The Kids Don't Stand A Chance

12. Bright Eyes – I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning (2005)

Suggested Tracks: At The Bottom Of Everything, We Are Nowhere, And It's Now, Lua, and First Day Of My Life

11. Say Anything – …Is A Real Boy (2004)

Suggested Tracks: Belt, Woe, An Orgy Of Critics, and Admit It!!!

10. Death Cab For Cutie – Plans (2005)

Suggested Tracks: Marching Bands Of Manhattan, Your Heart Is An Empty Room, Crooked Teeth, and What Sarah Said

9. Interpol – Antics (2004)

Suggested Tracks: Evil, Narc, Take You On A Cruise, and C'mere

8. Motion City Soundtrack – Commit This To Memory (2005)

Suggested Tracks: Everything Is Alright, Feel Like Rain, Time Turned Fragile, and Monsters Invisible

7. The Strokes – Room On Fire (2003)

Suggested Tracks: Reptilia, Automatic Stop, 12:51, and The End Has No End

6. Coheed & Cambria – In Keeping Secrets Of Silent Earth: 3 (2003)

Suggested Tracks: In Keeping Secrets Of Silent Earth: 3, Three Evils (Embodied In Love & Shadow), Blood Red Summer, and The Velourium Camper I: Faint Of Hearts

5. Daft Punk – Discovery (2001)

Suggested Tracks: One More Time, Digital Love, Something About Us, and Voyager

4. The Postal Service – Give Up (2003)

Suggested Tracks: The District Sleeps Alone Tonight, Sleeping In, We Will Become Silhouettes, and Brand New Colony

3. Bloc Party – Silent Alarm (2005)

Suggested Tracks: Helicopter, Blue Light, This Modern Love, and The Pioneers

2. Arcade Fire – Funeral (2004)

Suggested Tracks: Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels), Neighborhood #2 (Laika), Wake Up, and Rebellion (Lies)

1. Radiohead – Kid A (2000)

Suggested Tracks: Everything In Its Right Place, Kid A, Optimistic, and Idioteque

Who’s ready for the next decade?

Bloc Party - "The Pioneers"


Arcade Fire - "Rebellion (Lies)"


Reflections On Kid A (Thom Yorke)

Top 30 Songs of the 00s (Part 2)

Ten years is a long time. At the beginning of this decade I was 11 years old, still living in the great city of Philadelphia, and probably listening to a lot of Foo Fighters. Now I'm 21, live outside the city, and listen to much better music. I also have a beard. One thing that is important to note about every song on this list is that at one point or another, I was obsessed with every one of them. Every one of these songs became the only songs I would listen to for days on end, as I dissected the meaning, searched for live videos, and imagined myself in the band (I am a nerd).

The order in which these songs are listen is a bit strange. I'm not necessarily saying #7 is better than #9, or that #21 has less worth than #20, but this is the order that just seemed natural to me, and it's my list so I will do whatever I want. Also worth noting, all songs had to be released between 2000-2009, this explains the absence of my number one song of 2009, since it doesn't get full release until 2010. I let it slide on that list, but not on this one. Enjoy, and zip file coming soon.

Jim Adair's Top 30 Songs of the 00s:

30. Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova – Falling Slowly

29. Delta Spirit – People, Turn Around

28. The Antlers – Bear

27. Felice Brothers – Frankie's Gun

26. Tegan & Sara – The Con

25. The Shins – New Slang

24. Cold War Kids – Hospital Beds

23. The Mountain Goats – This Year

22. Wilco – I Am Trying To Break Your Heart

21. Beirut – A Sunday Smile

20. The Hold Steady – Killer Parties

19. Radiohead – Everything In Its Right Place

18. Fionn Regan – Put A Penny In The Slot

17. Iron & Wine – Jezebel

16. Rilo Kiley – Does He Love You?

15. Josh Ritter – The Temptation Of Adam

14. The Good Life – Album Of The Year

13. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Maps

12. Bon Iver – The Wolves (Act I & II)

11. The Avett Brothers – If Its The Beaches

10. Pela – Waiting On The Stairs

9. The Roots – The Seed 2.0

8. Death Cab For Cutie – Transatlanticism

7. Elliott Smith – In The Lost And Found

6. Colour Revolt – Mattresses Underwater

5. Sigur Rós – Hoppipolla

4. Ryan Adams – Oh My Sweet Carolina

3. Arcade Fire – Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)

2. The National – All The Wine

1. Sufjan Stevens – Majesty, Snowbird

Top 30 Songs of the 00s

The decade is coming to an end and it's time to unveil the list of my favorite songs of the past ten years. Trying to capture the essence and meaning of the 00s in a single paragraph will simply not work. Nor am I willing to write a complete, year-by-year recap of my life and times and how they correlate with my music selection. The decade was what it was. I've changed so much as a person since Y2K and still to this day. I mean, I pretty much grew up; I was an adolescent, teenager, and now, I'm a young adult. With those changes came a much needed, personal revolution in music taste. Trying to explain my predilection of songs in the early-goings of this decade is another thing that simply won’t work, so you’ll just have to take my word for it that each one of them holds a special place in my past. All these songs were carefully chosen and placed in this order. They have all meant something important to me, from my years in middle school, high school, and college; spanning the events in my life from experiences, relationships, and even athletics (and also faith, friendships, death, and other essentials of growing up). And let's not forget pop culture, including TV and film. That's pretty important.

However, I will elaborate just a bit on one choice. I feel I owe it to the reader. My number one selection was a clear choice. I heard that song in the summer of 2005 and it changed how I felt about music. From there on out, I discovered bands and sounds I had never heard of and they completely changed my outlook on the world. Music began to mold me; it still does and most likely always will. That's why I so passionately want to make a career out of my love for music. From a TRL fed novice, to a late Sunday night Subterranean addict, and finally to a college radio disc jockey and blogger, this is me and my decade list, for what it's worth. Enjoy.

Mike Pop's Top 30 Songs of the 00s:

*Note. Here are MY rules: Can't repeat a band or artist and all songs must have been released either on CD, as singles, or as free downloads from 2000-2009.

30. Matt Pond PA – Closest (Look Out)
29. Tegan & Sara – Nineteen
28. Cold War Kids – Hang Me Up To Dry
27. Wolfmother – Joker & The Thief
26. Tokyo Police Club – Your English Is Good
25. Coldplay – Speed Of Sound
24. Bright Eyes – First Day Of My Life
23. Arctic Monkeys – I Bet That You Look Good On The Dance Floor
22. Tool – Schism
21. dios (malos) – I Want It All
20. Pinback – Penelope
19. Red Hot Chili Peppers – Californication
18. The Killers – Smile Like You Mean It
17. The Postal Service – The District Sleeps Alone Tonight
16. Frou Frou – Let Go
15. Arcade Fire – Neighborhood #2 (Laika)
14. Blink 182 – Always
13. The Strokes – 12:51
12. Pearl Jam – Life Wasted
11. Modest Mouse – We've Got Everything
10. Bruce Springsteen – Life Itself
9. Coheed & Cambria – The Velourium Camper I: Faint Of Hearts
8. Secret Machines – Lightning Blue Eyes
7. Interpol – C'mere
6. Motion City Soundtrack – Time Turned Fragile
5. Death Cab For Cutie – A Movie Script Ending
4. Big D & The Kids Table – LAX
3. Radiohead – Videotape
2. Daft Punk – Digital Love
1. Bloc Party – Always New Depths

Albums of the 00s come next week.