Top Tens of the 00's and 2009

Happy New Year.
Here are my year ending lists. First the Top Tens for the past year, 2009. Followed by my selections for the past decade. Interestingly, one of my favorite acts of the decade, Franz Ferdinand, fell short of the best of the 00's, but dominated year-ending lists in '04, '05 and '09. And Prince's 3121 was probably in 11th place on the decade best lists. Huh? Don't ask me.

Top 10 LPs of 2009:
10. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
9. Bruce Springsteen - Working On A Dream
8. Hockey - Mind Chaos
7. downhere - How Many Kings: Songs for Christmas
6. Noisettes - Wild Young Hearts
5. Dave Matthews Band - Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King
4. Adam Marsland - Go West
3. Arctic Monkeys - Humbug
2. Franz Ferdinand - Tonight: Franz Ferdinand
1. Maxwell - BLACKsummers'night. Imagine if Prince had done an album of slowjams only in 1987. There you go, there you go.

Top Singles of 2009:
10. Arctic Monkeys - Cornerstone
9. Phoenix - Lisztomania
8. U2 - Magnificent
7. Dave Matthews Band - Funny The Way It Is
6. Dizzee Rascal w. Calvin Harris - Dance Wiv Me
5. Ne-Yo - Never Knew I Needed
4. Maxwell - Pretty Wings
3. Friendly Fires - Skeleton Boy
2. Noisettes - Wild Young Hearts
1. Franz Ferdinand - No You Girls. FF strikes back!

TOP TEN'S FOR THE 00's

After some internal debate and revisiting of tunes from the past ten years, here are my top 10 recordings (i.e. singles and tracks) for the 00's. Who knows how I'll feel about these songs in another decade? I reserve the right to change this list eventually. In ascending order:

10. Fill My Little World - The Feeling
9. Last Nite - The Strokes
8. Crazy - Gnarls Barkley
7. 99 Problems - Jay-Z
6. SexyBack - Justin Timberlake
5. Valerie - Mark Ronson feat. Amy Winehouse
4. Everything My Heart Desires - Norman Kelsey
3. Hey Ya - Outkast
2. Flourescent Adolescent - Arctic Monkeys
1. Girls In Their Summer Clothes - Bruce Springsteen

Choosing Bruce as #1 was a combination of how many times did I listen to the song, how badly do I wish I had written it and will it stand the test of time? The Arctic Monkey's cut is thrilling, too. So, it was tough picking one song to represent a decade, but I think this one is representative of my own feelings and the artistry of 10 years. And in fairness, I didn't want to load up the top 10 with my own compositions, because frankly I love my recordings. LOL.

OK, now the double whammy; my top 10 LPs of the decade. The only rule here, it had to have its first official release during the 00s. So you are going to see one album that was recorded in 1971 and withheld by Motown until 2004 for release (which pushed McCartney's Memory Almost Full or maybe Gnarls Barkley's St. Elsewhere out of the #10 perch). There is also a jazz title that constitutes one of my most listened to long players from the past 10. But cheers to the late David Ruffin for putting out my favorite "new" LP that I didn't record during this decade. Otherwise, peers Orson (whose CD has remained in the player for nearly 6 years) are the kings of the 00's.

Top 10 LPs of the 00's:
10. Life On Other Planets - Supergrass
9. Is This It? - The Strokes
8. Love And Theft - Bob Dylan
7. Back To Black - Amy Winehouse
6. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
5. Magic - Bruce Springsteen
4. Gardenias For Lady Day - James Carter
3. Bright Idea - Orson
2. David (The Unreleased LP) - David Ruffin
1. A Talent For Loving - Norman Kelsey

Happy New Year! Happy New Decade of Music!