As we’ve watched others post their top 10′s of the decade, we’ve been a bit flummoxed. Other than the obvious Radiohead choice, we seem to disagree with the cool kids once again. We believe that faithful readers of this site will find our picks logical and a perfect fit for their own taste. There’s no politics in these picks, no succumbing to the arm-twisting of certain labels who are trying to grow the future of their brand…. I mean band. If you write great melodies and believe that emotion IS music, then you’re likely to find yourself on this list. And with that…. the top ten.

10) Black Rebel Motorcycle Club- BRMC (2001)
Recommend Track: Whatever Happened To My Rock n Roll?
Why We Love It: While we loved the 90′s, it was clearly time to shake off the Pavement/Nirvana indie plaid. IBRMC used their first album to reintroduce the world to songs that didn’t follow the “loud/soft/loud” formula that bands like Smashing Pumpkins had run into the ground. They challenged listeners without the Strokes-like tendency to worry about their “look” more than their sound. A classic.

9) Bloc Party- Silent Alarm (2005)
Recommended Track: Like Eating Glass
Why We Love It: While the sound of this decade frequently became homogenized, Bloc Party were one of the few bands who people couldn’t emulate. With one of the best drummers in rock and guitar riffs that veered from Gang of Four genius to a sound unlike any other, they made a record that will stand the test of time for decades to come.

8)The Boxer Rebellion- Exits (2005)
Recommended Track: Watermelon
Why We Love It: On their first self-released album, The Boxer Rebellion were able to create sounds and emotions that took U2 decades and millions of dollars to put on record. Any band that can draw comparisons to The Verve and U2 without hesitation is likely to create the kind of masterpiece that this record was.

To read our interview with TBR, click here.

No songs available on Lala.com (for shame!), so here’s the video for Watermelon:

7) Black Rebel Motorcycle Club- Baby 81 (2007)
Recommended Track: Lien On Your Dreams
Why We Love It: Is it politically incorrect to say that this is our favorite Black Rebel Motorcycle Club record? While their contemporaries were busy spewing out the same style of music for the umpteeth time, BRMC added and edge and immediacy to this record that threatened to reach through the speakers and tear you apart. While you can argue with some of our selections, there is no reason why this album shouldn’t be in the top 10 of every music critic in the world.

6) The Duke Spirit- Cuts Across The Land (2004)
Recommended Track:
Why We Love It: On their first record, they took the concept of a Kim Deal-only Pixies record and created an album so unique and so magnificent that they created their own genre. Whether they intended this path is doubtful, but they became the most interesting band of the decade by making a sound that seemed unconcerned with their references and left music critics to spend the decade running to catch up. Expect them to be the band of the decade in the 2020 wrap-ups, as Spin and Rolling Stone finally catch on.

5) Calla- Strength In Numbers (2007)
Recommended Track: Bronson
Why We Love It: Perhaps it was their classification as slo-core that scared people away. By the time they released Strength In Numbers, they’d moved away from their beautiful codeine-like pace (which we loved) and produced a record that was jarring, yet mesmerizing. Vocalist/ guitarist Aurelio Valle has always had a knack for writing beautiful vocal melodies that linger over the cacophony of sound that he creates with the band. On this record, they reached perfection and left the world gasping for more.

To read our interview with Calla, click here.

4) Alberta Cross- Broken Side of Time (2009)
Recommended Track: ATX
Why We Love It: The critics don’t have a clue. Whether classifying them as “southern rock” or just failing to recognize the majesty of this record, they do a disservice to music listeners around the world. When I first heard this record, it moved me in a way I hadn’t been moved since the first time I heard The Verve’s “A Storm In Heaven”. Like that record, there are layers and layers of music to peel away on this record. Guitars, vocals, keyboards and drum rhythms combine to create what is easily the most beautiful record of the decade.

To read our interview with Alberta Cross, click here.

3) Radiohead- Kid A (2000)
Recommended Track: National Anthem
Why We Love It: A genius record, borne from their hatred of being… Radiohead. Thom Yorke has said that he’d “completely had it with melody. I just wanted rhythm.” Eschewing guitars and aiming to create an electronic record, they took a risk that could have ended them. Instead it gave them the courage to set the course they sailed for the remainder of the decade. You can argue with us over it’s place as the “best” Radiohead record of the decade, but you can’t argue it’s significance in their career path.

2) The Duke Spirit- Neptune (2008)
Recommended Track: Step and the Walk
Why We Love It: Clearly one of the most under-rated bands in the world. The Duke Spirit’s second record showed no signs of a sophomore slump. Liela Moss earns her reputation as one of the greatest singers in rock, but it’s her ability to control the push and pull of a song that sets her apart. Impossible to categorize, they write rock songs that are pure and honest with every member of the band adding their own aural treat for their listeners.

1) Interpol- Turn On The Bright Lights (2002)
Recommended Track: PDA
Why We Love It: Our favorite record of the decade, if for no other reason than it’s track by track consistency. While they’ve never shaken the Joy Division comparisons, Paul Banks writes vocal melodies which were never a strength of Ian Curtis. To be compared favorably to one of the greatest bands in history is nothing to be ashamed of. Nor should they be punished for the plethora of bands that tried to follow them down the path. Daniel Kessler’s guitar work, coupled with the best rhythm section of the decade created perfect songs for a perfect record.

View our picks for #31-40 here
View our picks for #21-30 here.
View our picks for #11-20 here.

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As we progress down our path of the loveliest music of the decade, we’ll give you a bit more detail on the records we’ve chosen. While we were infatuated with numbers 31-40 (which you can read here), we’re ready to go to battle over every selection from 1 to 30. Not a bad song on any of these albums, if you ask us. You can listen to the entire album of each of these by registering with Lala.com…. but you knew that, right? While we don’t claim this to be a defining document of merit, we think you’ll find this list worthy of debate and perhaps will steer you to a record that you hadn’t heard before.

You can view our picks for 31 thru 40 here.

30) Fujiya & Miyagi- Transparent Things (2006)
Recommended Track: Sucker Punch
Why We Like It: Quite frankly, we’re not big fans of the kraut rock genre which many critics pigeon-hole this band into and think the reference does them a disservice. We think of this as electronic music for analog people. Coupled with the great vocals of David Best, this album has more soul than any other release of the decade.

29) Sarah Harmer- All of Our Names (2004)
Recommended Track: Greeting Card Aisle
Why We Like It: Every single element of this record is gorgeous. Categorized as Adult Alternative by people to stupid to hear its’ genius, it mixes Sarah’s beautiful vocals with guitar parts that harmonize so well, it’ll give you goosebumps. She plays guitars, bass and drums which account for the perfect syncopation of these beautifully complex songs.

28) Robbers On High Street- Tree City (2005)
Recommended Track: Japanese Girls
Why We Like It: An album filled with perfectly crafted pop songs will always make our top albums list. Erroneously lumped with bands like The Strokes and Interpol, this band is less concerned with looking cool and more concerned with making complex melodies that would make the Paul’s (McCartney and Weller) proud.

27) Interpol- Our Love To Admire (2007)
Recommended Track: The Heinrich Maneuver
Why We Like It: Interpol were a key part of the Joy Division revival in this decade. But to think of them merely in those terms, would be to do yourself a disservice. Sam Fogarino proved himself to be one of the most interesting drummers in rock in the 00′s. Rhythms that didn’t just follow the beat in traditional rock fashion, they pushed and pulled the music in ways that left you feeling out of balance and euphoric simultaneously. Couple that with Daniel Kessler’s incredible ability to write riffs that sound so simple, but are unlike any other guitarist in rock. This, their third album helped ease the pain of a sophomore slump and re-established them as one of the best bands of the decade.

26) Franz Ferdinand- S/T (2004)
Recommended Track: Take Me Out
Why We Like It: Another band who’s meteoric rise and fall tell you more about the hypocrisy of the music business, than about actual talent. As Interpol broke and it became unfashionable to be happy, FF reminded us that music can be fun and playful.

25) The Walkmen- Bows + Arrows (2004)
Recommended Track: The Rat
Why We Like It: Drunken, sloppy sounding music that helped re-establish the importance of emotion in music. Where the 90′s were largely a happy era, musically The Walkmen showed us that angst can be melodic and beautiful.

24) Nine Black Alps- Everything Is (2005)
Recommended Track: Get Your Guns
Why We Like It: When this album came out, we considered it a guilty pleasure. In retrospect, it stands up as a sole vote for the continuation of grunge in the new millennium. Equal parts Sub Pop circa Nirvana and Swervedriver, this group was great at what it did and were a welcome respite from the Creed, Train grunge-dreck that was contributing to the dumbing….
To read our interview with NBA, click here.

23) Grandaddy- The Sophtware Slump (2000)
Recommended Track: The Crystal Lake
Why We Like It: Had they not gotten in their own way, Grandaddy could have easily ruled the world throughout the decade. With keyboards that referenced Phillip Glass and vocal/guitar stylings that echoed a more stoned version of Pavement, they crafted beautiful songs that could reduce you to tears.

22) The Boxer Rebellion- Union (2009)
Recommended Track: Evacuate
Why We Like It: If U2 still had to live from paycheck to paycheck, this is how they’d sound. TBR has the ability to sound epic and fragile within the same song. Alternately blood-thirsty and dreamy, this second album for the group was self-released by the band on iTunes, where it promptly went to #1 on the Alternative charts in the U.S. and U.K.. The best band that nobody seems to know about.
To read our interview with TBR, click here.

21) Coldplay- Parachutes (2000)
Recommended Track: Shiver
Why We Like It: Because we wanted to draw a big bulls-eye on our back? In fact, we would argue that when The Verve broke up, Coldplay attempted to fill the void by using their dreamy soundscapes. The imagery on this record is dark and abrasive, far from the delusions of grandeur that they exhibited in future albums. A great example of a band that all the ‘cool kids’ embraced initially and now refuse to admit that they like them. We’re sticking to our guns and saying that this first album was brilliant. After that…

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Here’s the entire set, in order:

Fly As You Might

Unwind/ Girl On The Sporting News

Fun That We Have

Horse With No Name (America cover)

No Chance Survival

H

Madrid

On The Esplanade

Only If You Run

Skyscraper

Into The White (Pixies Cover)