Phil Dzikiy …is a writer.

My Top 100 Albums of the Decade (60-51)

60. Okkervil River - The Stage Names

"I told you, I can't listen baby, about the fourth time you were a lady, and how your forthrightness betrayed a secret shyness, stripped away by days of being hailed as 'your highness,' and what's new pussycat, is that you were once a lionness ... they cut your claws out"

Will Sheff's songwriting is literate and clever — these are words you can chew on — but it never comes off as condescending or too showy, although the song lyrics above come close to the latter. He's telling stories in a distinct style. And Okkervil has the musical chops to keep up. This is the album that found the band stepping up the tempo and rocking harder, a trend that would continue.

Okkervil River - "Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe"

59. Wilco - A Ghost Is Born

"She appears in his dreams ... but in his car and in his arms, a dream can mean anything"

The creative push after the breakthrough rears its head again. While Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was a perfect balance between the band's Americana roots and its eagerness to explore, A Ghost Is Born leaped headlong into experiments: quiet, winding, loud and fuzzy. Almost all of these leaps were lengthy in running time. I'm not going to sit around and listen to "Less Than You Think," of course, but "At Least That's What You Said" and "Spiders (Kidsmoke)" get plenty of play. The middle part of the album is best, and lest you think the band was completely removed from its roots, "The Late Greats" proves a delicious dessert.

Wilco - "Wishful Thinking"

58. The Wrens - The Meadowlands

"Forward seven months: I've only seen you once, I never call on time, trying to seem tough"

If history is any indication, The Wrens are due to release another album next year. Seven years is too long of a wait for a band that releases songs like "This Boy Is Exhausted" and "13 Months and 6 Minutes," but one can always wait for quality. I'm not sure anyone actually refers to this group as emo, but that's probably because such a label carries so many negative connotations. Emo is such a strange attempt at subgenre to begin with, but if we're going to go there, then this is emo, if it had positive connotations. Or maybe it's emo for grownups.

The Wrens - "Everyone Choose Sides"

57. TV On The Radio - Dear Science

"He's a what? He's a what? He's a newspaper man and he gets his best ideas from a newspaper stand; from his boots to his pants to his comments and his rants he knows that any little article will do"

I feel like I could plot each TV on the Radio album on a Cartesian coordinate system, with the x axis titled "respect" and the y axis reading "enjoyment." The group's full-length debut would be in the bottom right quadrant, while this would rest firmly in the top right. Potential, reached. Dear Science has soul and groove, and while it's walking along that same slippery edge as the band's other works, there's no fall.

TV On The Radio - "Dancing Choose"

56. The Unicorns - Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone?

"I've seen the world, kissed all the pretty girls, I've said my goodbyes and now I'm ready to die"

For such a death-obsessed album, man, is Who Will Cut Our Hair fun. There's a soft spot in my heart for any band who can graft anything unexpected onto great pop melodies. In lesser hands, this album could have been too cute. In much lesser hands, too dark. But this one was juuuust right.

The Unicorns - "Jellybones"

55. Augie March - Strange Bird

"Thoughtful godless men find god in them at the age of twenty-five, but in a year death gains favor and they think themselves the more alive, you'll find them in the loose caboose where the pills are kept and the stupid juice; This one has a sleeping wheel, this one has a willing noose"

Far from Chicago-born, would this be Australia's answer to Super Furry Animals? It's not a stretch. Strange Bird isn't as exuberant as a Furry album, but the sense of wonder is evident, as are the melodies, along with that feeling that you'll never quite know what's going to happen next, other than this: It'll sound good, and you'll like it. The group's next album took a decidedly less strange path, unfortunately.

Augie March - "Little Wonder"

54. Of Montreal - Satanic Panic in the Attic

"Without love, life has no great reward, leaving us damaged or feeling so bored, devoid of memories, nothing to record, wishing the ones that we adore love us more"

The album where Of Montreal moved past Beatle-esque and into Of Montreal-esque. Kevin Barnes never lost his gift for melody, but this album sounds as if he took what his group already did well, pumped it up, took some strange turns and threw new instruments on top of the whole thing. As soon as the first notes of the addictive "Disconnect The Dots" kicked in, it was clear: Of Montreal, new and improved.

Of Montreal - "Disconnect The Dots"

53. Stephen Malkmus - Face the Truth

"Post-paint boy, with your art, you're penny rich and dollar dumb; In a style that they call so non-European ... You're the maker of modern minor masterpieces for the untrained eye"

Another mad melodic master adding bleeps and bloops to his tunes. The sounds on "Pencil Rot" and "Kindling for the Master" weren't getting much use in his Pavement days, but songs like "Mama" are the true heart of this album. The lyrics — biting, clever, obtuse — never changed.

Stephen Malkmus - "Baby C'mon"

52. Adam Green - Friends of Mine

"She used to live with an Indian chief who gave her the clap that he got from a priest; Night after night, I would lay with her pets, like a mail order bride in a box by the steps"

Read those lyrics. Can you get with that? While sung in a crooner's voice, over the top of contradicting, gorgeous, dramatic instrumentation? That's Friends of Mine, and, for the most part, Adam Green. I can't even fully understand why I like it, to be honest. The words are like puzzle pieces, but what the picture is really supposed to like, we'll probably never know. Nonsense? Maybe. But I'll go with surrealism.

Adam Green - "Jessica"

51. Saturday Looks Good To Me - All Your Summer Songs

"You spent such a long time typing that you forgot how to write letters"

Bands like this are formed in the hopes of creating an album like this. Romance, instant nostalgia, and a sweet set of songs built for warm nights. It's built right into the title, for crying out loud. Calculated, sure, but it's a timeless formula.

Saturday Looks Good To Me - "Meet Me By The Water" (live, and of questionable sound quality)