This was a particularly tough list to put together. On average, order one of our Top Ten lists takes about 45 minutes. Over an hour and a half into our last meeting, we still only had the top six ironed out for this one. We ended up just individually ranking the final eight candidates individually, and normalizing the results to select the final four on the list. It worked out though, and I didn’t even have to swan dive off my balcony, as I threatened several times throughout the meeting.
So let me tell you a little bit about our decision making process in selecting the top ten artists of the first decade of the new millennium. It was about as simple as weighing quantity and quality. To some degree, we also factored in the amount of lackluster material an artist had working against them. In the end, ever artist in the ten had at least three good to great albums during the decade. Painfully, M.I.A., LCD Soundsystem, and a few others didn’t have the consistent presence throughout the entire decade like most others on here and missed out. Also, great artists like Beck, Ryan Adams, Spoon, and Bright Eyes just missed out because while they had the quantity, their highs just weren’t quite as high as others on the list.
So there you have it. Enjoy the read, and as always let us know who me missed, left off, or mistakenly included.
10. The Strokes
The Strokes were one of those rare bands where the product lived up to all the hype preceding them. They produced some refreshingly honest pop music that ushered a whole new group of fans into “indie” music. Beneath the surface of The Strokes instantly accessible music were simple but perfect harmonies, taking them beyond what was expected of an early-20′s rock outfit in the early 2000′s.
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