Best 50 Songs of the Aughts, Part One

So yes, I realize releasing this in February 2010 is ridiculously late, but whatever. We just went through one hell of a musical decade, and if you read pretty much anyone's opinion, none of it would have been possible without the Godsend of Radiohead and, specifically, the release of 2000's Kid A. So.....since it's already been said elsewhere, I don't need to repeat it here. On top of that......I kind of disagree. I'm not knocking the concept of Kid A, or its impact on a lot of artists, but as an isolated album, it's just never really spoken to me. On top of that, I think it's folly to believe that Radiohead was the only band doing something truly interesting for the last ten years, as...well, I don't want to spoil the fun. Disagree if you must (and I'm sure some of you will), but it's my list, so I can compose it the way (or however late) I want to. So there. On with the show:

50. Arctic Monkeys - "From the Ritz to the Rubble" from Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (2006)

These guys paint pictures of strained, suburban youth in '00s England the way Nirvana painted pictures of strained, suburban youth in '90s America. And nowhere is the band's brush more vivid than on their debut LP's ode to a Saturday night gone very wrong. Over the span of a handful of albums (including side projects), Alex Turner established himself as one of the decade's cleverest wordsmiths, but here, when he allows the band's rage to slowly creep up & overtake his lyrics, he achieves full liftoff.


49. Kings of Leon - "King of the Rodeo" from Aha Shake Heartbreak (2005)

By the end of the decade, the rural Kentucky boys had become arena-rocking megastars with sweet threads and snappy haircuts. But listening to this, you can't help but yearn for when they were just....rural Kentucky boys. PS: I watched this with the onscreen lyrics option on Vevo (if you tell me you knew he was saying "good time to roll on" before now, you're lying), and I'm just as confused as I've ever been with this song, ella ella.

48. Architecture in Helsinki - "Heart it Races" from Places Like This (2007)

One of the most bizarre songs of the aughts was this little Australian ditty, which starts whimsically and seems ready to segue straight to quirkster hell, before making a left turn and going somewhere very dark and imminently danceable instead. Who knew the cheerful koala-folk had it in them?

47. Justice - "Waters of Nazareth" from Cross (2007)

I wandered into the Echoplex one night, just to check out the new space, and was wholly unprepared for the French asskicking I was about to receive from the evening's surprise guests. Closer resembling a scene from the golden era Sunset Strip than a dj set, Justice proceeded to make noises I had never heard before, but promptly fell in love with. "D.A.N.C.E." was the only taste I'd had before, but on meatier tracks like "Nazareth", the duo proved that dance music's maturing into something else these days. Not sure what that is, exactly, but if this song's any clue, it's going to kick ass.

46. The National - "Secret Meeting" from Alligator (2005)

Boxer finally established The National as breakout stars, but Alligator's opening track is the one that displays all the crossover promise later fulfilled. The bitter lyrics, echoing chords and sing-a-long chorus established a killer trifecta that the subsequent album made mined on practically every song.

45. M83 - "Don't Save Us From the Flames" from Before the Dawn Heals Us (2005)

Much like "Secret Meeting" informed the direction of Boxer, "Don't Save Us From the Flames" served as a bridge to Saturdays = Youth, and looking back, contains all of that album's promise in a mere four minutes, taking M83's symphonic brand of electronica & slowly pushing it into John Hughes-era nostalgia territory.


44. Grizzly Bear - "Two Weeks" from Veckatimest(2009)

This track just about topped my 2008 list of best songs on the strength of one televised live performance alone. By the time it had been put through the studio ringer and released on the band's 2009 album, it carried the weight of added percussion and cleaner vocals, and resembled the sort of cheery Phil Spector-era pop that we've been craving for a while - minus Phil Spector, of course. PS: definitely a nominee for creepiest and best video of the decade.

43. Lykke Li - "A Little Bit" (2008)


Best lovelorn ballad of the decade? Didn't think of it that way until I realized it's the only one I put on here. Fair enough.

42. Hot Chip - "Boy From School" from iTunes' Live Session EP (2006)

Pretty sure this is the only track on the list I recommend listening to outside of its original context, but if you can plunk down 99 cents for the iTunes studio version, it's worth it, as the result is richer and, well, sadder than the original. Good sad. (And on that note, I finally understand "emo")

41. Radiohead - "Kid A" from Kid A (2000)

Again, I'm gonna catch a lot of flack for putting these guys so low, but honestly.....here's the deal: I respect Radiohead. I really do. I just don't think we really needed them last decade the way everyone and their mother seems to think we did. It was novel to back away from rocking arenas and instead go on an epic quest to re-invent rock music, but they weren't the only band playing that game. They just did it in the most obvious way. Remove bridge here, muffle sound there, etc. After the nu-metal nightmare culminated in 2000, the deconstruction of rock was inevitable; it didn't take Radiohead to lead the way. Now with THAT said....Kid A's title track is actually pretty brilliant, and unlike some other stuff on the album, is something I'm always in the mood to listen to.

40. Gorillaz feat Bootie Brown- "Dirty Harry" (2005) from Demon Days


Who knew Damon Albarn had this kinda thing in him? The Gorillaz' first album was a fun side-project, but with Demon Days, the Blur frontman began blazing new trails for himself: dark, creepy, dark, spooky, DARK trails. And this one was the album's crown jewel...or its smoldering crater, depending on how you look at it. Oh yeah....and Bootie from the fucking PHARCYDE's on it.

39. Coldplay - "Amsterdam" from A Rush of Blood to the Head(2002)

Best late-song guitar kick in ever. It's enough to make you realize there's more to this band than Chris Martin.

38. Bloc Party - "Like Eating Glass" from Silent Alarm (2005)

And like that, the Gang of Four-channeling, hard-to-define rockers exploded onto the scene. Nothing Bloc Party attempted after this rush of an entrance could live up to such early promise, but then again, they aren't exactly pushing elderly yet. And if nothing else, they've earned unlimited patience from listeners like me.

37. Cold War Kids - "Hospital Beds" from Robbers & Cowards (2006)

The controversial Long Beach rockers are good when they go hard, but as proven on their debut's stand-out track, are often even better when they slow down. I've got a rather unique (and unpopular) interpretation of this one, so I won't share it, but listen closely, and draw your own conclusions...

36. The Darkness - "Love is Only a Feeling" from Permission to Land (2004)

Come 2010, you can look back and laugh at the Darkness all you want, but six years ago, I defy you to say that you weren't laughing with them, except on this track, which injects a bizarre earnestness into an otherwise tongue-in-cheek album. If only the guys had gotten the balls to recapture this tone for One Way Ticket, they coulda been contendahs.

35. Andrew WK - "She is Beautiful" from I Get Wet(2002)

Speaking of totally earnest, I give you Mr. Andrew WK. And just a warning: this song is crack.

34. Band of Horses - "Funeral" from Everything All the Time (2006)


If you're gonna make a depressing song, at least make it incredibly epic.

33. Electric Six - "Danger! High Voltage" from Fire (2003)

The ultimate pregaming song is the stuff of ironic masterpiece.


32. The Killers - "Mr. Brightside" from Hot Fuss (2004)

In one album, the gritty glamor passed from the Velvet Underground to Depeche Mode was passed down again, and placed in very capable hands. "Mr. Brightside" has probably remained the most prominent of Hot Fuss' impressive hits, and the accompanying video was probably one of the most stylistically influential videos of the decade, considering it made straight dudes everywhere reach for the guyliner to crib Brandon Flowers (I only did it once, and for an 80s party, I promise).

31. The Streets - "Fit But You Know It" from A Grand Don't Come for Free (2004)

Mike Skinner never gained the US success that some predicted, but it's easy to see why: not for any lack of talent, but for things lost in translation. As a result, a song like this isn't everyone's cup of tea, but if it is, you're in luck.

30. Dirty Projectors - "Stillness is the Move" from Bitte Orce (2009)

It took ten years, but indie rock finally bridged the gap to R&B.

29. Hercules and Love Affair - "Blind" from Hercules and Love Affair (2008)

In 2008, proper disco returned to hipster clubs with this barn-burner of a tune from the makeshift band. Anchored by Antony Hegarty's unmistakable voice, it's a song that takes disco from the 70s, and turns it into something timeless. And to those not in love with it, hear it on a dancefloor, then come back to me.

28. MGMT - "Electric Feel" from Oracular Spectacular (2008)

And if disco was never your 70s relic of choice, MGMT was also on hand in '08 to single-handedly revive plastic soul.

27. Franz Ferdinand - "Take Me Out" from Franz Ferdinand (2004)

Clever Scottish bastards: with a wink and a nod, the boys begin their trademark staple sounding like the umpteenth Strokes clone band, before throwing up a middle finger and letting loose one minute in, trumpeting themselves for all the things they're not before showing you all the things they are. While their third LP fell short of standards, anything they release from here on out will still be met with fervor.

26. Eminem feat Dido - "Stan" from The Marshall Mathers LP (2000)

Eminem achieved superstardom on the strength of his pump-up jams and pop-friendly joke songs, but on "Stan", he made something truly iconic. No one's tried to top what he did here since, and for good reason: no one would be capable of doing it better.


25. Kanye West - "Stronger" from Graduation (2007)

While his track record is actually spottier than he'd have you believe, it's tough to deny Kanye's influence on mainstream hip hop in the aughts. Most notably came this tipping point, where he finally retired his sped-up soul samples in favor of re-tooled Daft Punk. This would quickly pave the way for Europop's American hip-hop invasion (see: producer David Guetta), but don't hold that against this.