I wasn’t going to do this. Working on the Best Albums of the 2000s was going to be enough work. But after reading through some pretty great lists by Pitchfork, I Guess I’m Floating and Gorilla vs Bear, I was reminded of something very important — although the album is the most vital instrument a musician has at his disposal to get an idea or feeling across to listeners, we can’t undermine the importance of a song. A song gives you small doses of relief, comfort, or what have you, minutes at a time.

I gave a fair amount of thought into this list, but for the most part, I knew how it would turn out. This list is mine and mine alone; I am inviting you to my world where I don’t need to explain myself or answer to anyone. But as always, I encourage you all to leave your thoughts and your personal picks in the comment section.

I would like to end with… well, I can’t really say it better than Connor from IGIF. The last 10 years have been the biggest of my life, especially my life as a music lover, so these next 120 songs are the songs that have shaped and molded me into whoever I am today. That’s as personal as it gets.

1. LCD Soundsystem – All My Friends
from Sound of Silver (2007)

2. Radiohead – Idioteque
from Kid A (2000)

3. Outkast – B.O.B.
from Stankonia (2000)

4. The Killers – All These Things That I’ve Done
from Hot Fuss (2004)

5. The Arcade Fire – Neighborhood #2 (Laika)
from Funeral (2004)

6. TV On The Radio – Wolf Like Me
from Return To Cookie Mountain (2006)

7. Panda Bear – Comfy In Nautica
from Person Pitch (2007)

8. Roisin Murphy – Ramalama (Bang Bang)
from Ruby Blue (2005)

9. Britney Spears – Toxic
from In The Zone (2003)

10. Arctic Monkeys – Leave Before The Lights Come On
from Leave Before The Lights Come On EP (2006)

11. Spoon – The Way We Get By
from Kill The Moonlight (2002)

12. Sia – Breathe Me
from Colour the Small One (2004)

13. Kanye West – Jesus Walks
from College Dropout (2004)

14. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Maps
from Fever To Tell (2003)

15. Animal Collective – Peacebone
from Strawberry Jam (2007)

16. The Knife – Heartbeats
from Deep Cuts (2003)

17. The Strokes – Barely Legal
from Is This It? (2001)

18. Daft Punk – One More Time
from Discovery (2001)

19. Beyonce – Crazy In Love
from Dangerously In Love (2003)

20. The Arcade Fire – Intervention
from Neon Bible (2007)

21. Animal Collective – My Girls
from Merriweather Post Pavilion (2009)

22. Radiohead – Jigsaw Falling Into Place
from In Rainbows (2007)

23. M.I.A. – Paper Planes
from Kala (2007)

24. Hercules and Love Affair – Blind
from Hercules and Love Affair (2008)

25. Sufjan Stevens – Chicago
from Illinoise (2005)

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