The Best Albums of the Decade (Readers' Picks)

I don't disagree with the entire list, just most of it. My top 10 are:
10. Shake The Sheets, Ted Leo & The Pharmacists
9. Motherfuckers Be Trippin', The Supersuckers
8. And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out, Yo La Tengo
7. You Are the Quarry, Morrissey
6. Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Flaming Lips
5. All Hands On the Bad One, Sleater-Kinney
4. Chutes Too Narrow, The Shins
3. Boxer, The National
2. Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea, PJ Harvey
1. Boys and Girls In America, The Hold Steady

See my top 30 (and comments) here:
http://www.snobsmusic.net/2009/11/best-albums-of-decade-2000-2009.html

I can understand this entire list, but The Avett Brothers? Really? I have no idea how that made it to the top 10.

Every list like this has at least one or two songs/albums/bands that are recent and trendy. The Avett Brothers kick ass, don't get me wrong, they've just been hot since ACL. Readers choice polls aren't as interesting as something put together by an editor/writer... IMHO.

i can't think of 10 off the top of my head, but number one has to be Ode to Sunshine by Delta Spirit

I think the Paste readers would reach a state of Nirvana if Thom Yorke and Ben Gibbard did a project together (4 out of 10 albums between 'em!).

Such a soft, non-threatening list.

And yes, the Avett Brothers inclusion doesn't make any sense at all. Emotionalism was a richer, more well-rounded album and would be fine on this list.

Not in any real order but this would be my top ten from 2000-now

1. Ash - Free All Angels
2. Coldplay - Rush of Blood to the Head
3. Doves - The Last Broadcast
4. Idlewild - The Remote Part
5. Death Cab for Cutie - Transatlanticism
6. Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - Shake the Sheets
7. The Postal Service - Give Up
8. Sigur Rós - ()
9. Rilo Kiley - The Good That Won't Come Out
10. Bright Eyes - Digital Ash in a Digital Urn

Stuff that almost made the cut:
65 Days of Static - The Fall of Math
Tilly and the Wall - Bottoms of Barrels
The Thermals - The Body The Blood The Machine

Seriously? Not one My Morning Jacket album?

Since it is not possible to pick a NUMBER ONE!!!---these are the ten that "tied" for NO. 1, alphabetized

Arcade Fire Neon Bible
Beirut Flying Club Cup
Andrew Bird Noble Beast
Cloud Cult Feel Good Ghosts
Devotchka Mad and Faithful Telling
Elbow Seldom Seen Kid
Guillemots Through The Windowpane
Radiohead In Rainbows
Silversun Pickups Swoon
Sufjan Stevens Come On! Feel The Illinoise!

Lotta really good music in the aughts, and I say that as someone who started listening to pop music in the 60s with The Beatles, Dylan, The Kinks, CCR, Pink Floyd, Miles Davis, etc.

These various lists have captured quite a bit of that, and of course "de gustibus non est disputandum" and all that, but to me there's a glaring ommission:

Where's Demon Days by the Gorillaz?

Nothing against any of the other selections (I've listened to many of them, and like most of what I've heard), but if I had to pick the one best album of the aughts, Demon Days would be it (and the video of the performance at the Apollo was fantastic).

As the Avett Brothers go, I understand Emotionalism being on this list, but not so much I and Love and You being on the editors picks...

I'm highly offended by the inclusion of the worst Sigur Ros album. () and Takk.. should have all been in the top 20.

And where's Elliott Smith?!?!??!

I'm highly offended by the inclusion of by far the worst Sigur Ros album. () and Takk.. should have been in the top 20.

And where's Elliott Smith?!?!??!

and what about Bitte Orca guys?

I think Emotionalism deserved to be in the top 10 list, for sure, but not really I and Love and You. Emotionalism would actually probably be in my top 3 if I were doing this list.

Just because the Avett's are all cool and hot right now doesn't mean that their current album is better than the last one (because let's be honest, they will probably never make a better album than Emotionalism, ever). I put Emotionalism up there with the White Album. Seriously. 30 years from now, people will still be listening to Emotionalism. In fact, it has a lot in common with that great Beatles album.

Where's Damien Rice's "O"?
After this one album he got a bit repetitive, but it tells one heck of a magical, aching story.

What about Ray LaMontagne's "When the Sun Turns Black"?
Sure, his better "songs" may have been on the first or third release, but as a complete album, TTSTB is shockingly good.

How could both the critics and users fail to mention My Morning Jacket? "It Still Moves" and "Z" were landmark albums, not to mention their live double-album which trumps any live album I've ever heard.

This is a list 40 year olds would make. Wait, it a list made by 40 year olds.

Ross, Listen to emotionalism, and you'll get it.

I'm probably the only one that thinks this, but Transatlantic (Neal Morse/Pete Trewavas/Roine Stolt/Mike Portnoy) should have shown up on a list somewhere.

"The Rising." Springsteen.
Come on people. You are thinking too hard and missing the obvious. This is a no brainer.
"The Rising." A masterwork.
And "1000 Kisses" or "Children Running Through" by Patty Griffin.

Wow, the 2000 decade in music was terrible, absolutely terrible.

The inclusion of the Avett Brothers on ANY list makes ZERO sense. The album is too canned indie-folk for me.

Being a taper, for me this decade will be remembered for archive.org and other live music sites becoming available to everyone, not just traders. There were some great albums too, my top ten:

10- Sheryl Crow- Detours
9- Dropkick Murphys- Blackout
8- Drive By Truckers Brighter Than Creations Dark
7- The Decemberists- The Hazards Of Love
6- Ryan Adams- Gold
5- Lucinda Williams- Essence
4- Michael Franti & Spearhead- Yell Fire
3- My Morning Jacket- Evil Urges
2- The Flaming Lips- Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots
1- Erin McKeown- We Will Become Like Birds

Johnny C, nice call with Yell Fire. Nice touch with Gold, too; great album. But you really get extra bonus points for the Erin McKeown pick!!! First I've seen of her on ANYBODY'S list!

The Erin McKeown pick inspired me to pick one out of the rough, too:
Tift Merritt: Tambourine
I played that to death for awhile. Saw her put on a great live show, too.