My 250 Favorite Songs of the 2000s - #90-81

#90 - The Engine Driver - The Decemberists

Picaresque (2005)

#89 - Walcott - Vampire Weekend

Vampire Weekend (2008)

#88 - Since I Left You - The Avalanches

Since I Left You (2000)

#87 - Pyramid Song - Radiohead

Amnesiac (2001)

#86 - Cry Me a River - Justin Timberlake

Justified (2002)

#85 - Galang - M.I.A.

Arular (2005)

#84 - Knife - Grizzly Bear

Yellow House (2006)

#83 - Come Pick Me Up - Ryan Adams

Heartbreaker (2000)

#82 - Vanished - Crystal Castles

Crystal Castles (2008)

#81 - Archangel - Burial

Untrue (2007)

My 250 Favorite Songs of the 2000s - #170-161

#170 - Hey Ya! - Outkast

Speakerboxx/The Love Below (2003)

#169 - Nude - Radiohead

In Rainbows (2007)

#168 - Province - TV On the Radio

Return to Cookie Mountain (2006)

#167 - Accordion - Madvillain

Madvillainy (2004)

#166 - The Bachelor and the Bride - The Decemberists

Her Majesty..... (2003)

#165 - Just Abandoned My-Self - Boris

Pink (2005)

#164 - Jesus, Etc. - Wilco

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002)

#163 - Little Bit - Lykke Li

Youth Novels (2008)

#162 - Alan Is a Cowboy Killer - Mclusky

Mclusky Do Dallas (2002)

#161 - Losing My Edge - LCD Soundsystem

Losing My Edge (2002)

My 250 Favorite Songs of the 2000s - #190-181

#190 - The Orchids - Califone

Roots & Crowns (2006)

#189 - Wolf Like Me - TV On the Radio

Return to Cookie Mountain (2006)

#188 - Like Spinning Plates - Radiohead

Amnesiac (2001)

#187 - I'm a Pretender - The Exploding Hearts

Guitar Romantic (2003)

#186 - Gideon - My Morning Jacket

Z (2005)

#185 - Don't Leave the Light On Baby - Belle & Sebastian

Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant (2000)

#184 - Go! - Common

Be (2005)

#183 - Atlas - Battles

Mirrored (2007)

#182 - Go With the Flow - Queens of the Stone Age

Songs for the Deaf (2002)

#181 - Banquet - Bloc Party

Silent Alarm (2005)

My 250 Favorite Songs of the 2000s - #210-201

#210 - Around the Bay - Department of Eagles

In Ear Park (2008)

#209 - Seven Nation Army - The White Stripes

Elephant (2003)

#208 - I'll Believe In Anything - Wolf Parade

Apologies to the Queen Mary (2005)

#207 - Take Me Out - Franz Ferdinand

Franz Ferdinand (2004)

#206 - I Bet That You Look Good On the Dancefloor - Arctic Monkeys

Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (2006)

#205 - Trashing Days - The Notwist

Neon Golden (2002)

#204 - Pocketful of Money - Jens Lekman

Oh You're So Silent Jens (2005)

#203 - Elevator Love Letter - Stars

Heart (2003)

#202 - The National Anthem - Radiohead

Kid A (2000)

#201 - Nothing Ever Happened - Deerhunter

Microcastle (2008)

My 25 Favorite Artists of the 2000s - #1

#1 - Radiohead

Of course, if you know me this shouldn't come as any surprise at all. However, this pick wasn't made solely on the fact that Radiohead is my favorite band in the world. They were also easily the most consistently great band of the decade, and spent the last 10 years showing just how capable of greatness they really are. When OK Computer was released in 1997, many felt that it was clearly a peak for the band, and that they after conquering the musical universe, the only way they could go was down. When Kid A came out in 2000, however, Thom Yorke and company showed that there would be no let down, and this album was one of the greatest re-workings of a band's sound in music history. Instead of the Pink Floyd and David Bowie references of the previous album, Kid A went deep into the electronic world, bringing to light a whole new set of artists who had previously been under-appreciated, such as Boards of Canada and Aphex Twin. Throughout the remainder of the decade, Radiohead would go on to incorporate the rock elements of their past with their newfound mastery of the electronic sound, creating three more of the greatest albums of the decade. The 1990's set Radiohead apart as something great, but the 2000's cemented their legacy as one of the most creative, brilliant artists in the history of recorded music.

My Favorite Albums:

1. Kid A (2000)

2. In Rainbows (2007)

3. Amnesiac (2001)

4. Hail to the Thief (2003)

38. Radiohead - Climbing Up the Walls (1997)

For edition #2 of my songs that relate to the feeling of Halloween in some way, I've chosen by far the creepiest song by my favorite band, Radiohead. One of the latter tracks on their magnificent album OK Computer, this song just has such a sense of dread that lasts throughout it's entire length. The lyrics about 15 blows to the back of your head, locking kids up safe, shutting eyes in the cupboard, and climbing up skulls are simply terrifying when set to the eerie strings and almost demonic sounding drumbeats. Then all of this is topped by one of the most dread-inspiring guitar solos around, which itself is topped by Thom Yorke's screaming at the end of the song that still gives me chills every time I hear it, even 12 years later.

9. Radiohead - Videotape (2007)

As far as I'm concerned, the release of Radiohead's In Rainbows may be the last big release event of new music for an extremely long time. It already seems like ages ago that I would go to Vintage Vinyl to a midnight sale just waiting for a new album, what with the ease of obtaining music and the constant leakage of new music onto the internet. However, I'll never forget the night that I stayed up until 2AM just hoping to get the email saying that this album had been released for download, and then the idea of listening to it knowing that hundreds of thousands of others across the world were doing the exact same thing. This song itself is the perfect ending to this album. Like the album itself, just as you're waiting for the song to explode it almost wimpers to the finish. It's a perfect ending to one of the band's most elegantly perfect albums.