The End Is Near -

Time to think about lists. The year and the decade are drawing to a close. So not only do we need to think in terms of the last 365 days, but also the last 3,650 days.

Right about now I'm kicking myself for not making a Best Of list every year because then this little escapade would have been so much easier. But no, I couldn't be bothered to blog out a list from 2000-04 because blogging wasn't really around then. I did it in 2005, got bored in 2006, made a list in 2007 and 2008 and then took the rest of the decade off.

And now, I'm staring down the barrel of a decade list. I don't like it, but I'm going to do it. So here goes. Time for lists.

Year end lists are tough enough, times it by ten and brains start to smoke. Not only that, but we can break the lists down into sublists and those sublists can then be broken down even further. Which begs the question: when it comes to lists, how far is too far? Running for the Mayor of Obscurist Wankerville every year like I do, it would be easy enough to make lists within lists within even tinier lists. Before long I'm composing matryoshka doll-esque lists that starts with the best albums from 2008 and ends with the top 3 indie rock albums released by New York bands in the month of March. I could do that, folks - flip a switch and I turn from mild mannered Randy Fresh Ocean to Fresh: Über-Music Nerd capable of name dropping obscure bands that you would only know about if you are super cool and live in Brooklyn or have no life. But I'm not going down that road. Mostly because I don't live in a certain hip burrough of a certain major metropalitan area. Also, I have other things to attend to so I'm just going to bang this out and let you parse the data as you please. Best of the Decade list to come later.

These aren't in any particular order.

2000

Radiohead - Kid A
Outkast - Stankonia
Dr. Dre - The Chronic 2001
Perfect Circle - Mer De Noms
BT - Movement in Still Life
St. Germain - Tourist
Jurassic 5 - Quality Control

2001

Orbital - The Altogether
Zero 7 - Simple Things
Basement Jaxx - Rooty
Groove Armada - Goodbye Country (Hello Nightclub)
Radiohead - Amnesiac
Radiohead - I Might Be Wrong
Royksopp - Melody A.M.
The Avalanches - Since I Left You
NERD - In Search Of . . .
Gorillaz - Gorillaz
Tool - Lateralus
The Strokes - Is This It?

2002

Chemical Brothers - Come With Us
Boards of Canada - Geogaddi
The Black Keys - The Big Come Up
The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots
Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights
The Streets - Original Pirate Material
Queens of the Stone Age - Songs for the Deaf
RJD2 - Deadringer
Underworld - A Hundred Days Off

2003

The Black Keys - Thickfreakness
Shins - Chutes To Narrow
The Darkness - Permission to Land
The Strokes - Room On Fire
White Stripes - Elephant
Postal Service - Give Up
Kings of Leon - Youth And Young Manhood
Zwan - Mary Star Of The Sea
Kenna - New Sacred Cow
Fischerspooner - #1
Ima Robot - Ima Robot

2004

Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand
Arcade Fire - Funeral
Kanye West - College Drop Out
The Streets - A Grand Don't Come For Free
Interpol - Antics
Modest Mouse - Good News For People Who Love Bad News
The Go! Team - Thunder Lightning Strike
Feist - Let It Die
Kings of Leon - Aha Shake Heartbreak
Danger Mouse - The Grey Album
Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - Shake The Sheets
Tough and Lovely - Born of the Stars
Erlend Øye - DJ Kicks Compilation
RJD2 - Since We Last Spoke
Ratatat - Ratatat
Handsome Boy Modeling School - White People
Diplo - Florida

2005

My Morning Jacket - Z
Kings of Leon - Aha Heart Shake Heartbreak
Beck - Guero
White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan
Clap Hands Say Yeah - Clap Hands Say Yeah
The Magic Numbers - The Magic Numbers
Bloc Party - Silent Alarm
Boards of Canada - Campfire Headphase
Kanye West - Late Registration
The Heartless Bastards - Stairs and Elevators
Spoon - Gimme Fiction
Brazilian Girls - Brazilian Girls
Something For Rockets - Something For Rockets
MIA - Arular
DangerDoom - The Mouse and The Mask
The Magic Numbers - The Magic Numbers
Brendan Benson - Alternative To Love

2006

Band of Horses - Everything All The Time
Spank Rock - YOYOYOYOYO
Jenny Lewis - Rabit Fur Coat
Cold War Kids - Robbers & Cowards
Built To Spill - You In Reverse
Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere
Cat Power - The Greatest
Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings The Flood
The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls In America
The Decemberists - The Crane Wife
Thom Yorke - The Eraser
Raconteurs - Broken Boy Solddiers
Grizzly Bear - Yellow House
Mastodon - Blood Mountain
Lupe Fiasco - Food & Liquor
The Strokes - First Impressions of Earth
Silversun Pickups - Carnavas
Tapes 'n Tapes - The Loon
Paul Simon - Surprise
My Morning Jacket - Okonokos

2007

Queens of the Stone Age - Era Vulgaris
The Shins - Wincing The Night Away
Menomena - Friend or Foe
Josh Ritter - The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter
Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
Radiohead - In Rainbows
Kanye West - Graduation
Band of Horses - Cease to Begin
Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Albert Hammond Jr. - Yours To Keep
The New Pornographers - Challengers
Dungen - Tio Bitar

2008

She and Him - Volume 1
Bon Iver - For Emma Forever Ago
Black Keys - Attack & Release
Cool Kids - Bake Sale
Santogold & Diplo - Top Ranking
Dr. Dog - Fate
Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid
Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue
Radiohead - In Rainbows
Hold Steady - Stay Positive
Girl Talk Feed - The Animals
Ratatat - LP 3
Dead Confederate - Wrecking Ball
MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
Cat Power - Juke Box
Kanye West - 808s and Heartbreak
Delta Spirit - Ode To Sunshine
Tobacco - F'd Up Friends

2009

The Avett Brothers - I And Love And You
Japandroids - Post-Nothing
Dan Auerbach - Keep It Hid
The Flaming Lips - Embryonic