I love lists! Really, I do! It seems only fitting that I unleash a list  enumerating my favourite tunes of the decade, because really, it’s what everyone else is doing. I know I’m a little late on this, but I’m doing it anyway! There was lots, and lots and lots of really good music released in the last 10 years… making creating this list a daunting but fun task. So, here goes nothing:

100. Stand Up – Ludacris

From Ludacris’ 2003 album, Chicken-n-Beer, Stand Up gets the booties shaking in the big room clubs, with it’s large beat, and Luacris’s commands When I move, you move.

99. Beeper – Sinden & The Count

This catchy tune was my introduction to Sinden and the Count of Monty Christal (Hervé) in the summer of 2008. With its thick base, and catchy rhymes, it had me looking the other way about the subject matter. It still has me bopping away a year and a half later.

98. New Soul – Yael Naim

Yael Naim was one of many artists made popular by Apple’s marketing team. You can’t fault them though, they have good taste, and New Soul deserves recognition for its beauty and honesty.

97. Hide & Seek – Imogen Heap

This song will always remind me of The OC. With the elegant use of a vocorder (I didn’t know that was possible!), Heap created a signature track, with beautiful simplicity, that stroke a chord with many, including Jason Derülo who heavily used samples from Hide & Seek in the now popular tune Whatcha Say.

96. 1, 2, 3, 4 – Feist

Made popular by Apple’s brilliant marketing campaign for the iPod, Canadian darling, Feist, found near overnight success with the very catchy 1, 2, 3, 4. The tune even earned her a spot on Sesame Street!

95. My Girls – Animal Collective

With a lovable, almost Beach Boys-esqe experimental style, Animal collective got a lot of attention for their album Merriweather Post Pavilion in 2009. For me, My Girls was the stand out track on the album.

94. Me Gustas Tu – Manu Chao

Lovable multi-linguist, Manu Chao earned a place in my heart with Me Gustas Tu (I like you) from the 2001 album, Próxima Estación: Esperanza .

93. Rebellion(Lies) – Arcade Fire

From The Arcade Fire’s debut album, Funeral in 2004, Rebellion (Lies) is a good example of the quality of the entire album. Beautiful, and highly repeatable!

92. Buick City Complex – Old 97’s

From the 2001 album, Satellite Rides, Buick City Complex not only speaks for the accomplishments of The Old 97’s this decade, but it also specks for the troubled times of the automotive industry that was a major focus so many times over the past decade.

They’re tearing the buick city complex down
I think we’re the only people left in town
Where are you gonna move, where are you gonna move?
Do you wanna mess around?

Love it.

91. Hopefully – My Morning Jacket

Hopefully, from the 2001 album, At Dawn, is a helpless love song that always grabs my attention when I come up on iTunes. The stand out jewel from My Morning Jacket’s releases.

A note one this series: I can’t be giving away the full 100 tracks. That just wouldn’t be right. So, as you can see, I’m trying a new thing with the Amazon mp3 clip widgets from their affiliate program. You can listen to a bit, and buy if you like. Remember, support the artists you love by going to shows, buying their material, and spreading the word about their greatness!

I Found You (Classic Remix) – Axwell

Axwell, one of the three musical geniuses behind the Swedish House Mafia, has had quite a year since the Swedish House Mafia Essential Mix on BBC Radio 1, and the subsequent tours and recordings! The classic mix of Axwell’s I Found U is the best of all the mixes available for this track. It has the cutest little melody that you end up wanting to hear over and over.  This song has special significance for me, as it came out when Perfect and I were falling in love. The lyrics say exactly what I was feeling at that time:

Thank god I found you
I never really had a love
Sent from heaven up above
I’m just so happy because
Thank god I found you

This song is perfect for those moments when you are dancing in a crowded club with your loved one, and it feels like no one else is there,  no one except the two of you, the love, and the music!

Hopefully – My Morning Jacket

My Morning Jacket’s Hopefully has a certain beautiful tragic element to it, a desperation in the emotion filled vocals that sing:

Hopefully, it occurs to me
That there’s one thing I can’t stand
That’s the thought of a single day
Without your head in my hand

The lyrics sing of a long term love, one that sees many trails through the day to day of normal life. With all its desperation, this track is beautiful to listen to, with Jim James’s vocals soaring over the acoustic guitar and keyboard sound-scapes. This song is perfect for gazing into the eyes of your loved one, and re-discovering why you feel in love in the first place.

My Morning Jacket are wrapping us a touring in Australia and Japan in promotion of their latest album Evil Urges, which was released in June of last year.

In Your Eyes – Peter Gabriel

Likely best know for it’s integral role in the 1989 film Say Anything. The often imitated scene when John Cusak holds the stereo high above his head outside her window, is one of the most romantic moments in 1980s cinema. The song itself powerfully shows Peter Gabriel’s sensitive side (not that this is a rare occasion), with lyrics he wrote in response to the failure of his relationship with Rosanna Arquette. The lyrics clearly paint that wonderful, inescapable feeling you get when you gaze into the eyes of the one you are in love with. This particular version is from Gabriel’s Secret World Tour recorded back in 1994. The live version is particularly long, but it’s well worth the listen. It is good music to accompany cuddles on the couch, particularly with the jam session towards the end featuring the vocal stylings of Youssou N’Dour.

Peter Gabriel is going to be touring Mexico and South America through March, if you have the opportunity to go, do! He puts on quite a show.

At Last – Etta James

Arguably the most romantic songs that has ever been recorded, At Last has stood the test of time. Originally, written by Mack Gordon and Harry Warren for the musical film Orchestra Wives in 1941, the song has been covered many times, by artists such as Etta James, Jason Mraz, Miles Davis, Christina Aguilera, Joni Mitchell, Stevie Nicks, Norah Jones, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, Cyndi Lauper, and Beyonce Knowles. The lyrics tell of the fabulous moment when you recognize that love has finally arrived.

At last, my love has come along
my lonely days are over
and life is like a song

The song has held a very special place for me since it was featured in one of my favourite movies, Pleasantville. Ah… Tobey Maguire, he’s so dreamy (not as dreamy as my Perfect though, of course!).

Watch for my next post, another special Valentine’s edition!