With over 99% of the decade behind us (my decade started in 2000, not 2001), I thought I’d take the time to do a few “best of” lists. Since school’s done for the semester, I hope to put these lists up pretty quick. I’m gonna start with my favorite albums. I will follow this up with a list of TV shows, motion pictures, and novels, but I’ll begin with the least-defensible list. I’d love to hear what your favorites are, too. For the purposes of this list, the albums must have a release date of January 1, 2000 or later.<\/p>\n
10. I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning <\/a>(Bright Eyes, 2005)<\/strong> 9. Brainwashed<\/a> (George Harrison, 2001)<\/strong> 8. Drunken Lullabies<\/a> (Flogging Molly, 2002)<\/strong> 7. Don’t Tread on Me<\/a> (311, 2006)<\/strong> 6. Use Your Voice<\/a> (Mason Jennings, 2004)<\/strong> 5. Surprise<\/a> (Paul Simon, 2006)<\/strong> 4. Songs of Bo ReDoubt<\/a> (Ryan Sutter, 2006)<\/strong> 3. All That You Can’t Leave Behind<\/a> (U2, 2000)<\/strong>
\nI first listened to this album when a co-worker said, “Here, you might like this.” And I did.<\/p>\n
\nHere’s someone who, I swear, never made a bad album. This was his final one, and it’s just as good as his previous albums. I guess there’s nothing on this album that totally blew me away, but each song, taken in and of itself, left me thinking, “that was a good song.”<\/p>\n
\nThis is like rock and roll meets the Renaissance Festival. I have three Flogging Molly albums, and they’re all pretty much the same (so I don’t think I’ll be getting more); but this one’s the best of the bunch. Probably best listened to in an Irish pub following a soocer game. Just a hunch.<\/p>\n
\nA fun band that, finally, appeared to have disposed of the rap. This album just seemed to come out at the right time for me. I listened to it in my car rides to and from work in ’05, and it made the car rides quicker. Maybe ’cause I was speeding.<\/p>\n
\nI didn’t even know Mason Jennings existed until a year before this album was released, but he’s gotta be my favorite musician of the decade. This is an enjoyable mix of solemn tunes and outright fun ditties. I could probably sing this album from cover-to-cover (does that even make sense?).<\/p>\n
\nOkay, so I liked You’re the One<\/em>, Paul’s 2001 effort, but it was kind of slow. I kept wondering if he even bothered to get out of bed to record the thing. I don’t know if he did, but he made up for it with Surprise, for my money, his best album since Graceland<\/em>. Amazing songs in a rich, sonic landscape (yeah, that’s what the liner notes call it) with, as should be expected from Paul, extremely infectious lines.<\/p>\n
\nI always had this idealized dream of the kind of music my friends could make if all the pieces ever fell together just right, and I think this album is it. When I first heard “Hue & Cry” I thought: “Wow, he actually did it – this is a one of those songs that’s actaully gonna be stuck in my head now!” I really liked it and I kept playing it. In fact, I just checked, and it’s the most played song on my iTunes (and, no, there’s not just 10 songs on there). Oh – the rest of the album is great, too. An eclectic mix harking back to Ryan’s early, weird stuff, plus some great tunes on a variety of deep topics. (Download the album for free at the link provided.)<\/p>\n
\nAfter waiting nearly a decade for some actual songs from U2 (as opposed to just experiments with electrical equipment), I was quite pleased when I first heard “Beautiful Day” on the radio for the first time, and I immediately went out and bought the album. Though the lead-off track is a great song, there are three or four on the album that are even better. Though the album kind of tapers off at the end, with more of a whimper than a satisfying denouement, it’s still a great album. Too bad they’ve been asleep at the wheel ever since.<\/p>\n