Thursday, January 1, 2015

150 Songs of the 21st Century

Fairly self-explanatory.  In commemoration of the first 15 years of the 21st century, I hereby offer my 150 favorite songs of the century so far, 2000-2014.  I have highlighted 20 of them in blue, with links to my 20 favorite music videos, as well.  And yeah, a few of them have been overplayed on the radio, and now you probably hate them.  But hey, I still like them, and it's my list, so there.


1.  "My Girls" by Animal Collective (from Meriweather Post Pavilion)
2.  "Casimir Pulaski Day" by Sufjan Stevens (from Illinois)
3.  "Wake Up" by Arcade Fire (from Funeral)
4.  "White Winter Hymnal" by Fleet Foxes (from Fleet Foxes)
5.  "Hurt" by Johnny Cash (from American IV)
6.  "Ain't Talkin'" by Bob Dylan (from Modern Times)
7.  "Seven Nation Army" by The White Stripes (from Elephant)
8.  "Ring Them Bells" by Sufjan Stevens (from I'm Not There (Original Soundtrack))
9.  "Right as Rain" by Adele (from 19)
10.  "Everything in Its Right Place" by Radiohead (from Kid A)

11.  "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart" by Wilco (from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot)
12.  "Jesus Walks" by Kanye West (from The College Dropout)
13.  "Chicago" by Sufjan Stevens (from Illinois)
14.  "i" by Kendrick Lamar (single)
15.  "Saro" by Sam Amidon (from All is Well)
16.  "All These Things That I've Done" by The Killers (from Hot Fuss)
17.  "Little Lion Man" by Mumford & Sons (from Sigh No More)
18.  "Home" by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes (from Up from Below)
19.  "Fell In Love With A Girl" by The White Stripes (from White Blood Cells)
20. "Beautiful Day" by U2 (from All That You Can't Leave Behind)

21.  "Runaway" by Kanye West (from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy)
22.  "Wagon Wheel" by Old Crow Medicine Show (from O.C.M.S.)
23.  "Afterlife" by Arcade Fire (from Reflektor)
24.  "Murder in the City" by The Avett Brothers (from The Second Gleam)
25.  "Dog Days Are Over" by Florence + The Machine (from Lungs)
26.  "Paper Planes" by M.I.A. (from Kala)
27.  "Genesis" by Grimes (from Visions)
28.  "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. 1" by The Flaming Lips (from Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots)
29.  "Tighten Up" by The Black Keys (from Brothers)
30.  "Beg Steal or Borrow" by Ray LaMontagne and The Pariah Dogs (from God Willin' and the Creek Don't Rise)

31.  "Vesuvius" by Sufjan Stevens (from The Age of Adz)
32.  "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)" by Arcade Fire (from Funeral)
33.  "Helplessness Blues" by Fleet Foxes (from Helplessness Blues)
34.  "All of the Lights" by Kanye West (from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy)
35.  "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley (from St. Elsewhere)
36.  "The Underdog" by Spoon (from Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga)
37.  "Royals" by Lorde (from The Love Club EP)
38.  "Come Away With Me" by Norah Jones (from Come Away With Me)
39.  "Stars" by Switchfoot (from Nothing Is Sound.)
40.  "St. Peter's Cathedral" by Death Cab for Cutie (from Codes and Keys)

41.  "High Water (For Charley Patton) by Bob Dylan (from "Love and Theft")
42.  "Pyramids" by Frank Ocean (from channel ORANGE)
43.  "Video Games" by Lana Del Rey (from Born to Die)
44.  "Rambling Man" by Laura Marling (from I Speak Because I Can)
45.  "Warwick Avenue" by Duffy (from Rockferry)
46.  "Hard Sun" by Eddie Vedder (from Into the Wild (Music for the Motion Picture))
47.  "Lose Yourself" by Eminem (from 8 Mile (Soundtrack for the Motion Picture))
48.  "Two Weeks" by FKA Twigs (from LP1)
49.  "Do You Realize??" by The Flaming Lips (from Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots)
50.  "Pumped Up Kicks" by Foster the People (from Torches)

51.  "Love Story" by Taylor Swift (from Fearless)
52.  "The District Sleeps Alone Tonight" by The Postal Service (from Give Up)
53.  "Reflektor" by Arcade Fire (from Reflektor)
54.  "B.O.B." by OutKast (from Stankonia)
55.  "Doin' It Right (feat. Panda Bear)" by Daft Punk (from Random Access Memories)
56.  "Everlasting Arms" by Vampire Weekend (from Modern Vampires of the City)
57.  "Ain't No Grave" by Johnny Cash (from American VI: Ain't No Grave)
58.  "Settle Down" by Kimbra (from Vows)
59.  "The Predatory Wasp Of The Palisades Is Out To Get Us!" by Sufjan Stevens (from Illinois)
60.  "Lost in the World/Who Will Survive in America" by Kanye West (from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy)

61.  "1901" by Phoenix (from Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix)
62.  "Time To Pretend" by MGMT (from Oracular Spectacular)
63.  "Float On" by Modest Mouse (from Good News for People Who Love Bad News)
64.  "Awake My Soul" by Mumford & Sons (from Sigh No More)
65.  "Fake Empire" by The National (from Boxer)
66.  "God Help the Girl" by God Help the Girl (from God Help the Girl (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack))
67.  "Merry Go 'Round" by Kacey Musgraves (from Same Trailer Different Park)
68.  "Land of Hope and Dreams (Live)" by Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band (from Live in New York City)
69.  "Two Weeks" by Grizzly Bear (from Veckatimest)
70.  "Here Comes the Night Time" by Arcade Fire (from Reflektor)

71.  "Hold On" by Alabama Shakes (from Boys & Girls)
72.  "Viva La Vida" by Coldplay (from Viva La Vida)
73.  "Such Great Heights" by The Postal Service (from Give Up)
74.  "Oblivion" by Grimes (from Visions)
75.  "Diane Young" by Vampire Weekend (from Modern Vampires of the City)
76.  "Lisztomania" by Phoenix (from Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix)
77.  "Fireworks" by Animal Collective (from Strawberry Jam)
78.  "You Know I'm No Good" by Amy Winehouse (from Back to Black)
79.  "Mississippi" by Bob Dylan (from "Love and Theft")
80.  "City of Blinding Lights" by U2 (from How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb)

81.  "Someone Great" by LCD Soundsystem (from Sound of Silver)
82.  "Blue Jeans" by Lana Del Rey (from Born to Die)
83.  "Magic" by Bruce Springsteen (from Magic)
84.  "My Body Is A Cage" by Arcade Fire (from Neon Bible)
85.  "Blood on the Leaves" by Kanye West (from Yeezus)
86.  "Save Room" by John Legend (from Once Again)
87.  "The Cave" by Mumford & Sons (from Sigh No More)
88.  "Rumour Has It" by Adele (from 21)
89.  "Missed the Boat" by Modest Mouse (from We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank)
90.  "That Black Bat Licorice" by Jack White (from Lazaretto)

91.  "Love Never Felt So Good" by Michael Jackson (from Xscape)
92.  "The Mother We Share" by Chvrches (from The Bones of What You Believe)
93.  "Rebellion (Lies)" by Arcade Fire (from Funeral)
94.  "Q.U.E.E.N. (feat. Erykah Badu)" by Janelle Monae (from The Electric Lady)
95.  "1+1" by Beyonce (from 4)
96.  "Howlin' for You" by The Black Keys (from Brothers)
97.  "VCR" by The xx (from xx)
98.  "The Shadow Proves The Sunshine" by Switchfoot (from Nothing Is Sound.)
99.  "Down in the Valley" by The Head and the Heart (from The Head and the Heart)
100.  "Song for Zula" by Phosphorescent (from Muchacho)

101.  "Zero" by Yeah Yeah Yeahs (from It's Blitz)
102.  "Electric Feel" by MGMT (from Oracular Spectacular)
103.  "The High Road" by Broken Bells (from Broken Bells)
104.  "Woods" by Bon Iver (from Blood Bank EP)
105.  "Window in the Skies" by U2 (from U218 Singles)
106.  "Hoppipolla" by Sigur Ros (from Takk...)
107.  "Ya Hey" by Vampire Weekend (from Modern Vampires of the City)
108.  "The World at Large" by Modest Mouse (from Good News for People Who Love Bad News)
109.  "Distraction #74" by The Avett Brothers (from Four Thieves Gone--The Robinsville Sessions)
110.  "I'm Shakin'" by Jack White (from Blunderbuss)

111.  "Young Folks" by Peter Bjorn and John (from Writer's Block)
112.  "Tears Dry On Their Own" by Amy Winehouse (from Back to Black)
113.  "Digital Love" by Daft Punk (from Discovery)
114.  "Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)" by Arcade Fire (from The Suburbs)
115.  "Ill With Want" by The Avett Brothers (from I and Love and You)
116.  "The Wrestler" by Bruce Springsteen (from Working on a Dream)
117.  "Glosoli" by Sigur Ros (from Takk...)
118.  "The Saints Are Coming" by U2 (from U218 Singles)
119.  "Ball and Biscuit" by The White Stripes (from Elephant)
120.  "Tightrope (feat. Big Boi)" by Janelle Monae (from The ArchAndroid)

121.  "Out of the Woods" by Taylor Swift (from 1989)
122.  "Steady As She Goes" by The Raconteurs (from Broken Boy Soldiers)
123.  "Call Your Girlfriend" by Robyn (from Body Talk)
124.  "Girl" by Beck (from Guero)
125.  "For the Summer" by Ray LaMontagne and The Pariah Dogs (from God Willin' and the Creek Don't Rise)
126.  "Boom Clap" by Charli XCX (from Sucker)
127.  "Please Read the Letter" by Robert Plant & Alison Krauss (from Raising Sand)
128.  "Speed Of Sound" by Coldplay (from X&Y)
129.  "The Thanks I Get" by Wilco (single)
130.  "The Rising" by Bruce Springsteen (from The Rising)

131.  "God's Gonna Cut You Down" by Johnny Cash (from American V: A Hundred Highways)
132.  "Simple Song" by The Shins (from Port of Morrow)
133.  "You Are a Tourist" by Death Cab for Cutie (from Codes & Keys)
134.  "Retrograde" by James Blake (from Overgrown)
135.  "Lost in My Mind" by The Head and the Heart (from The Head and the Heart)
136.  "Call It Off" by Tegan and Sara (from The Con)
137.  "Sweet Darlin'" by She & Him (from Volume One)
138.  "The Wild Hunt" by The Tallest Man on Earth (from The Wild Hunt)
139.  "Nightcall" by Kavinsky (from Nightcall)
140.  "You Are The Blood" by Sufjan Stevens (from Dark Was the Night)

141.  "Hey There Delilah" by Plain White T's (from All That We Needed)
142.  "Snow (Hey Oh)" by Red Hot Chili Peppers (from Stadium Arcadium)
143.  "Teenagers" by My Chemical Romance (from The Black Parade)
144.  "100 Years" by Five for Fighting (single)
145.  "Other Side of the World" by KT Tunstall (from Eye to the Telescope)
146.  "Human" by The Killers (from Day & Age)
147.  "Remember When" by Alan Jackson (from Greatest Hits, Vol. 2)
148.  "Hero" by Family of the Year (from Loma Vista)
149.  "Uptown Funk (feat. Bruno Mars)" by Mark Ronson (from Uptown Special)
150.  "Sometime Around Midnight" by The Airborne Toxic Event (from The Airborne Toxic Event)



(actually posted February 20, 2016)