Top 10 songs & albums of the decade

Since everyone and their mommas have written Top 10 lists for this past decade - who am I not to write one?



Here (in no particular order) are my top 10 Songs & top 10 albums of the decade:

Songs:

1. When Your Mind's Made Up - Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova (aka The Swell Season) ...from the Once soundtrack ...a song that, for me, is ten times better than their Oscar winning Falling Slowly...
2. Yr Mangled Heart - The Gossip...Beth Ditto leads this punk-rock meets disco trio & their music always fires me up! this band is even better in concert if you can believe it...
3. Obstacle 1 - Interpol...from the band's debut album Turn on the Bright Lights, a perfect throwback to bands like Joy Division and Wire...
4. This Tornado Loves You - Neko Case ... no, this tornado loves YOU, neko...
5. Paranoid Android - Brad Mehldau (covering Radiohead)...his performance reminds listeners of the beauty and complexities of this song. almost better than the original recording off of Radiohead's OK Computer (which is saying a lot)...
6. Son of Sam - Elliott Smith...one of the best singer-songwriters, who we unfortunately lost this past decade, luckily left this song with us...
7. Trains - Ryan Adams & The Cardinals ...alt-country foot-stompin' goodness...
8. Big Exit - PJ Harvey ...the first track from her brilliant album Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea is yet another reason to love this rock goddess...
9. True Affection - The Blow ... The new incarnation of this band from Portland is called Yacht, but I still prefer The Blow...very understated Nintendo-ish indie pop, smart lyrics, great lead female singer...
10. Postcards from Italy - Beirut ...For when you feel like being musically whisked away to Europe...

Additional songs I loved: Since We Last Spoke - RJD2, Where and When - Hayden, Go it Alone - Beck, Sway - Heartless Bastards, Ship Out on the Sea - The Be Good Tanyas, Anthem for the Earnest - The Bad Plus, Good Old People - Bill Frisell, Gravity Rides Everything - Modest Mouse, Ghosts in my Machine - Annie Lennox, Mykonos - Fleet Foxes, Freedom Hangs Like Heaven - Iron & Wine, Yankee Bayonet - The Decemberists, Strange Overtones - David Byrne & Brian Eno

Albums:

1. Blacklisted - Neko Case
2. Turn on the Bright Lights - Interpol
3. In Rainbows - Radiohead
4. Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea - PJ Harvey
5. Insignificance - Jim O'Rourke
6. Suspicious Activity? - The Bad Plus
7. Standing in the Way of Control - The Gossip
8. Chinatown - The Be Good Tanyas
9. Riot on an Empty Street- Kings of Convenience
10. Paper Television - The Blow

Other incredible albums: The Bright Mississippi - Allen Toussaint, The Intercontinentals - Bill Frisell, The Greatest - Cat Power, Give - The Bad Plus, Gulag Orkestar - Beirut, The Third Hand - RJD2, That's Not What I Heard - The Gossip, Surprise - Paul Simon, The Mountain - Heartless Bastards, Middle Cyclone - Neko Case