Best Songs of the Decade

[graphic by Copycat]

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[list by Jon Behm]

#1) Talib Kweli “Get By” (live performance review)
Close to my favorite hip hop song ever, Kweli combines a positive message with a stunning Nina Simone sample. I will never get tired of this song.
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#2) Beirut “A Sunday Smile” (live performance review)
My favorite track from one of the best bands of the decade, this song is a perfect combination of sweet and melancholy.
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#3) Justice “D.A.N.C.E.” (live performance review)
Edges out M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes” as the best dance jam of the decade.
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#4) Sufjan Stevens “Casimir Pulaski Day” (live performance review)
A song so beautiful that I don’t even mind the serious religious undertones.
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#5) DeVotchKa “Queen of the Surface Streets”
I was a bit lost in the early-oughts and this song helped me learn to love music again.
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#6) Bon Iver “Skinny Love”
I am not sure what happened out at Justin Vernon’s Wisconsin cabin, but whatever it was produced this heart-breakingly spare and gorgeous tune.
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Bon Iver “Skinny Love” [MP3]

#7) Sigur Rós “Staralfur”
The power of this song is so great it made even a silly moment in The Life Aquatic seem deep and profound. The slow musical build is nothing short of breathtaking.
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#8) Les Savy Fav “The Lowest Bitter”
Most of my songs on here are kind of depressing, luckily this one rocks them all out of the water.
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#9) Andrew Bird “A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left” (live performance review)
Andrew Bird is pretty much a musical virtuoso. I have always preferred his live show to his albums but this song is the one exception that always sounds better on record. It is truly exceptional.
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#10) Jolie Holland “Mexican Blue” (artist interview)
The loveliest song off of a tragically underrated album. For some reason Holland unfortunately never plays it live.
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Honorable mentions: Madcon “Beggin’” & Cat Power “The Greatest.”

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[list by Adam Bubolz]

#1) Radiohead “Idioteque”
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#2) Ted Leo & the Pharmacists “Where Have All The Rude Boys Gone?”
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Ted Leo & the Pharmacists “Where Have All The Rude Boys Gone?” [MP3]

#3) TV On The Radio “Staring At The Sun”
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#4) The Mountain Goats “The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton”
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#5) Sparklehorse (feat. PJ Harvey) “Piano Fire”
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#6) Guided By Voices “Glad Girls”
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#7) The Notwist “Pilot”
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#8) Luna “Speedbumps”
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#9) Meneguar “House Of Cats”
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Meneguar “House of Cats” [MP3]

#10) The Knife “Heartbeats”
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#11) LCD Soundsystem “All My Friends” (album review)
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#12) Vivian Girls “Where Do You Run To?” (live performance review)
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#13) Fog “Pneumonia”
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#14) Burial “Archangel” (album review)
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#15) Mclusky “Lightsaber Cocksucking Blues”
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[list by Josh Keller]

#1) LCD Soundsystem “All My Friends” (album review)
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#2) Ghostface Killah “Big Girl”
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#3) TV on the Radio “I Was a Lover” (album review)
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#4) Wilco “Jesus, etc.” (album review)
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#5) Why? “The Hollows” (live performance review)
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#6) The Roots “The Seed 2.0″
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#7) Sufjan Stevens “Jacksonville” (live performance review)
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#8) The Coral “Dreaming of You” (track review)
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#9) The Walkmen “In the New Year”
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#10) Grizzly Bear “While You Wait for the Others” (album review)
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Grizzly Bear “While You Wait For The Others (live on KCRW)” [MP3]

#11) Cut Copy “Out There on the Ice”
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#12) Grizzly Bear “The Knife (Girl Talk remix)”
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Grizzly Bear “The Knife (Girl Talk remix)” [MP3]

#13) Peter and the Wolf “Safe Travels” (track review)
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#14) Hercules and the Love Affair “Blind” (album review)
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#15) The Mountain Goats “No Children” (track review)
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Honorable mentions: LCD Soundsystem “Losing My Edge,” Gorillaz “Clint Eastwood,” The Flaming Lips “Do You Realize,” Bob Dylan “Mississippi,” Outkast “Hey Ya,” Bright Eyes “First Day of My Life,” Gnarls Barkley “Crazy,” Wolf Parade “Kissing the Beehive,” Phoenix “Listzomania,” Band of Horses “The Funeral,” Antony and the Johnsons “Hope There’s Someone,” Hold Steady “Positive Jam,” Ted Leo “Timorous Me,” Handsome Furs “I’m Confused,” Burial “Archangel.”

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Top Songs of 2008 | Top Songs of 2009