Phil Dzikiy …is a writer.

My Top 100 Albums of the Decade (30-21)

30. The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow (2003)

"Called to see if your back was still aligned, and your sheets were growing grass, all on the corners of your bed"

Chutes Too Narrow is quite the rarity — even though it's easily the best of the three Shins albums, it's become the forgotten one. Garden State came out in 2004, which means that songs from Oh, Inverted World became more popular after the release of Chutes Too Narrow. The next album, Wincing the Night Away, benefited from anticipation. Chutes Too Narrow doesn't have the highs and lows of those other albums — it's one long, impressive high. The Shins don't need lo-fi to be relevant, as this concise collection showed. After this album, it would be more about the songs than the sound.

The Shins - "Kissing the Lipless"

29. The Hold Steady - Stay Positive (2008)

"Back then, it was unified: The punks, the skins, the greaser guys. Then one summer, two kids died. And one of them was crucified. Now it's so competitive: The sleeplessness and sedatives. I know it sounds repetitive. Every show can't be a benefit."

Every Hold Steady album feels like part of one long story, even if a harpsichord enters the mix ("One for the Cutters") on Stay Positive. Just listen to the title track, which is essentially a rowdy callback to the last three albums. A song for the fans, from a fan band if there ever was one. The good thing is, it's never too late to become a fan. So sure, the middle of this album can lag a bit at times, but the ends of this album are so undeniably strong (as are the hidden tracks on the limited edition CD) that we'll forgive 'em. Why wouldn't we?

The Hold Steady - "Stay Positive"

28. Super Furry Animals - Hey Venus! (2007)

"Baby ... baby ... baby ... baby ate my eightball"

It's as if the Furries took a gigantic album and distilled it down to its absolute catchiest pieces. After the first few listens, I thought it felt slight and forgettable. I could have written it off after that, especially considering the prior disappointment of Love Kraft, and the merely good (not typically SFA great) Phantom Power. But the earworms in Hey Venus! grew and grew, until they were too big to remove.

Super Furry Animals - "Run-Away"

27. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes (2008)

"I was following the pack all swallowed in their coats, with scarves of red tied 'round their throats, to keep their little heads from fallin' in the snow, and I turned 'round and there you go, and Michael, you would fall, and turn the white snow red as strawberries in the summertime"

Those lyrics represent the entirety of "White Winter Hymnal." Fleet Foxes were the hyped band of the moment when this album was released. Which is peculiar (but refreshing), because this album was built on gorgeous harmonies and lush instrumentation — it sounds like a forgotten collection of folk classics. Nothing about it really screams, or even says, hype. Though Robin Pecknold's voice can soar with the best of them, as a whole, this album is an assured, soothing whisper.

Fleet Foxes - "White Winter Hymnal"

26. eels - Blinking Lights and Other Revelations (2005)

"My kind of love is an ugly love, but it's real and it lasts a long, long time"

They rarely make 'em like this anymore. A long, ambitious double album. Loosely, a concept album about one human life — the idea is basic, but it allows for complete freedom in topics and styles. The themes here — family, God, love, birth and death — are universal. One could argue that theoretically, every album could be a concept album about life — the concept is too big. But an album that starts with the lyrics "Ten pounds and a head of hair, came into without a care," and ends with a song called "Things the Grandchildren Should Know"seems fairly clear in its intentions. Like any life — or any double album — some parts meander and some parts you might not like. But you might be surprised how much you do enjoy. For me, it's nearly everything.

eels - "Railroad Man" (live)

25. Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare (2007)

"You used to get it in your fishnets, now you only get it in your night dress, discarded all the naughty nights for niceness, landed in a very common crisis"

A few of the Monkeys' biggest hits on the group's debut were fun Franz Ferdinand-esque jaunts, like "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor." But that never felt like the real Monkeys to me. The true Arctic Monkeys made their mark on the back end of that album, and continued it here. The sound is fuller and more substantial. It's heavier and darker, but still packing the pop chops to pull off a song like "Flourescent Adolescent." The kids are alright.

Arctic Monkeys - "Flourescent Adolescent"

24. The Strokes - Room on Fire (2003)

"I want to be forgotten, and I don't want to be reminded"

Do we really need another Strokes album? First Impressions of Earth was no great shakes, and plenty of time has passed since then. Julian Casablancas went and made a fine record on his own. Plenty of great bands have produced no more than one great album — getting two from the Strokes seems just fine to me. As a relevant entity, the band fits quite neatly in the early part of the decade. There's no need for greed.

And yes, this is a great album, with plenty of the band's best songs. My personal favorites being the irresistible "What Ever Happened?" and "Under Control." Who knew the band could be so ... smooth?

The Strokes - "Reptilia"

23. The White Stripes - White Blood Cells (2001)

"Fell in love with a girl, I fell in love once and almost completely"

Speaking of Is This It, this album was nearly as influential. Now, the Stripes are one of the biggest bands around, but shortly after White Blood Cells came out, I asked for the album at a college town record store and drew only a blank stare, then a question. "Who did you say they were again?"

The clerk probably hadn't heard the charming "Hotel Yorba" or the massive "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground." And he definitely hadn't heard "Fell in Love with a Girl," which is everything rock 'n' roll should be. It shoots out of the speakers, straight into your heart. If you haven't heard it in a while, have a listen. It's lost none of its power, and it probably never will.

The White Stripes - "Fell in Love with a Girl"

22. Stephen Malkmus - Stephen Malkmus (2001)

"Promise me, you will always be, too awake to be famous, too wired to be safe"

After leaving the best band of the 1990s, Malkmus really didn't have anything to prove. And so, he just had fun on his solo debut. Pavement fans already knew how great Malkmus was with a melody, but it's easier to hear on this album, as the songs come all polished and glistening, swirling around subjects like Yul Brynner and Cabin Boy.

Stephen Malkmus - "Jo Jo's Jacket"

21. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - Hearts of Oak (2003)

"And the French Foreign Legion, you know they did their best — but I never believed in T.E. Lawrence, so how the hell could I believe in Beau Geste?"

"Where Have All the Rude Boys Gone?" is an ode to ska, and in particular, The Specials, but it's also a wake-up call: Remember good music? What happened to it? Why don't people make it anymore?

So, Leo does his part to will it back into being. He's always been a dynamo, but this second Pharmacists album hits the most high marks. There's a passion here that never lets up, but the first half of Hearts of Oak is what really floors you. As great as "Rude Boys" is, after a few spins, I had trouble picking a favorite song on this disc. I still do.

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - "Where Have All the Rude Boys Gone?"

My Top 100 Albums of the Decade (40-31)

40. MGMT - Oracular Spectacular (2008)

"This is our decision to live fast and die young, we've got the vision, now let's have some fun! Yeah, it's overwhelming, but what else can we do? Get jobs in offices and wake up for the morning commute?"

Remember, about a dozen years ago, when electronica was supposed to take over? Bleeps and bloops. That's what the future was supposed to sound like, right? With that, there would eventually be shimmering, silver jackets and precisely angled haircuts.

Ah, but the future is not set. We were at least a decade too early. MGMT has created something which bares a passing resemblance to techno, but with a beating human heart as the machine's core. Neo-psychedelia, folktronica, call it what you will — "Time to Pretend" and others set the bar, even if they don't set the future.

MGMT - "Kids"

39. Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank (2007)

"Someday you will die and somehow something's gonna steal your carbon"

A grower, full of the Mouse's memorable melodies. The production is clean, but in terms of the songwriting, it's not really that much of a departure from anything else the group did in the decade. Fine, maybe it's not as adventurous as some may have expected, but in the end, the songs are better.

Modest Mouse - "Fire It Up"

38. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - Shake the Sheets (2004)

"I know I like doing the talking, time goes on, I'm talking still ... while soldier girls are dodging grenades and rockets, and moms and dads are paying the bill ... and they say, it's the only way, ooh, it's the only way"

By this point, you knew what to expect from Ted and his pharmaceutical friends. (Well, the Ted Leo fans among you knew.) Smart, tight, catchy rock — the tunes came right on cue. So, Shake the Sheets may not have grabbed you from the get-go, because you expected greatness. This album was a bit more political, but no matter the subject, Leo matters because you can hear that he cares.

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - "Me and Mia"

37. Okkervil River - The Stand Ins (2008)

"They ask for blood ... what do you think this woman's made of? I stuck a small, thin pin in my thumb, they dreamt a low, long line to be crossed ... and I crossed it."

A followup in every sense to The Stage Names, but with stronger, harder songs. When I first listened to The Stand Ins, it sounded like the best Okkervil album yet, and though I don't believe that's really the case anymore, the thought still speaks to the initial punch served up by songs like "Lost Coastlines," "Calling and Not Calling My Ex," and my favorite, "Starry Stairs," which is just another great Will Sheff song about deceased porn star Shannon "Savannah" Wilsey. Sheff could (should?) probably write a whole Savannah concept album — it would be fantastic.

Okkervil River - "Lost Coastlines"

36. The New Pornographers - Challengers (2007)

"What's the weight of the world worth to you, kid? Go write down what you see, and see how far it can go"

I didn't even really like Challengers much at first. It lacked the instant, bouncy appeal of the band's past albums. But in time, it made up for that with a sweeping, varied collection of songs, suitable for all times and places. High points abound — Neko Case's vocals on "Go Places" are some of her very best, which is saying something. And though Dan Bejar's songs usually function as necessary diversions on most NP albums, "Myriad Harbour" and "The Spirit of Giving" are two of the top tracks on Challengers.

The New Pornographers - "Mutiny, I Promise You"

35. Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (2006)

"There's only music, so that there's new ringtones"

It wasn't the best decade for British rock. It's no wonder the British press (and public) went ape — pun intended! — over the Monkeys. The Monkeys are a legitimately exciting rock band led by young talent — singer-songwriter Alex Turner turned 20 just before this debut dropped in England. The hype was largely warranted. Whatever People Say is a bit hit-or-miss, but it's largely hit. Some may like the rapid-fire singles of Side A, but I'm more partial to the album's homestretch, with "Mardy Bum," "When The Sun Goes Down," and "A Certain Romance," which sounded like an instant classic as soon as that opening sequence switched gears.

Arctic Monkeys - "When The Sun Goes Down"

34. Super Furry Animals - Rings Around The World (2001)

"You've got to tolerate all those people that you hate; I'm not in love with you, but I won't hold that against you"

This was my introduction to the Super Furry world, a world where anything goes, as long as it sounds like bliss. Rings is glorious fun — experimental, unafraid, ambitious, always listenable. Why aren't more groups like this, willing to go all out on a quest for pop perfection? Well, most groups ain't got the talent. Or the guts.

Super Furry Animals - "It's Not the End of the World?"

33. Of Montreal - The Sunlandic Twins (2005)

"Let's pretend we don't exist ... let's pretend we're in Antarctica"

An expansion and improvement on the new direction taken by Satanic Panic in the Attic. Sunlandic is another pop wonder funhouse where there's always a sense of underlying sweetness. Also, "Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games" is far better when it's not about Outback Steakhouse.

Of Montreal - "Requiem for O.M.M.2"

32. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (2007)

"I'm in need of someone to take care of me tonight"

It's that extra spark — genuine oomph — that puts Ga x5 over the top. It's the horns on "The Underdog," a song that absolutely must be featured in a future Wes Anderson movie. It's the falsetto in "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb." The very existence of "My Little Japanese Cigarette Case." The heft in the album's bookends — "Don't Make Me a Target" as a warning, "Black Like Me" as a memory-maker for the long walk home. Spoon shows it has swagger.

Spoon - "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb"

31. M. Ward - Hold Time (2009)

"And he put his name in the chorus like the the dark before the dawn, so that in my hour of weakness, I'd remember it's his song — he's got a line in the water, he's a fisher of men"

Christian Rock. The two words that make most rock fans — religious or not — shudder and turn away. It can conjure up images of crowds holding their hands skyward as numerous interchangeable acts play nearly indistinguishable "praise anthems" for compilations featured on TV commercials. Even worse, some thoughts turn to Creed.

It doesn't have to be this way, though, as there's no reason why Christianity can't be explored in pop music, just like any other subject matter. M. Ward's Hold Time is at the very least, spiritual, but to be more accurate, it's very Christian. And at some points, very Catholic. Now, you can still relate to the songs without connecting with all the allusions and references (which is part of what makes Ward such a skilled songwriter), but it's all there, out in the open.

Getting back to the root of the "Christian Rock" problem, none of this would matter if the music was forgettable. Hold Time is anything but. It's lush and lovely, sparkling and dreamy. The cover songs don't feel forced. It picks up and slows down with masterful ease. If Hold Time is a Christian album, it's a Christian album with heart and brains — accepting that one's faith can be questioned without being destroyed.

M. Ward - "Rave On"

My Top 100 Albums of the Decade (50-41)

50. Mclusky - The Difference Between Me & You Is That I'm Not on Fire (2004)

"Note to invading aliens: Avoid this town like this town avoided us, like murder stalked the valley where this woman used to live, bathe and breathe and be murdered"

Mclusky was a bit more subdued on this album, which is kind of like saying an angry gorilla isn't quite as menacing as that same angry gorilla on steroids. That metaphor was a stretch, but it wouldn't shock you to hear a similar lyric in a Mclusky song. So, in a way, it's fitting. In summary, this is mostly more crazed, intense, off-the-wall rock, with Andy Falkous singing about MSG and rickshaws, among other things. I wouldn't want it any other way.

Mclusky - "She Will Only Bring You Happiness"

49. My Morning Jacket - It Still Moves (2003)

"And you always told me, no matter how long it holds me, if if falls apart or makes us millionaires; You'll be right here forever, we'll go through this thing together, and on heaven's golden shore, we'll lay our heads"

My Morning Jacket is the band you can listen to with your dad to convince him that today's rock music isn't all so bad. If you decide to take this route, It Still Moves would be the best starting point. There's no rewriting of the rules here, but when the songs are this good, who cares? I pity the poor souls who shun the warmth of "Magheetah," the grace of "Golden," and most of all, the powerful perfection of "One Big Holiday."

My Morning Jacket - "One Big Holiday"

48. Badly Drawn Boy - Have You Fed the Fish? (2002)

"And songs are never quite the answer, just a soundtrack to a life, that is over all too soon, helps to turn the days to night, while I was wrong and you were right"

This album threw me off at first, but I'm not sure why. Maybe I had gotten used to the idea of Badly Drawn Boy as bedroom genius, and this whole Technicolor-vaudeville affair rubbed me the wrong way. But I usually eat that stuff up, so that theory doesn't really check out. Anyway, years after I bought Have You Fed The Fish?, I gave it a second chance. What first felt wrong was now so right. Here's to second chances.

Badly Drawn Boy - "You Were Right"

47. Spoon - Kill The Moonlight (2002)

"I'll never hold you back, I'll never force my will, I will no longer do the devil's wishes, something I read on a dollar bill"

For a while there, it seemed like this would be the group's high point, or possibly the start of a plateau. Spoon has yet to make any sweeping changes in sound, or take any unpleasant detours. It's a band that simply got better over time and really found itself. Kill The Moonlight was the start of something bigger, and the band knew it. Few opening tracks were more prescient.

Spoon - "Small Stakes"

46. She & Him - Volume One (2008)

"Old habits die hard when you got, when you got a sentimental heart; Piece of the puzzle and you're my missing part, oh, what can you do with a sentimental heart?"

To answer the above lyric, you can write songs like this. People often ignore the musical forays of the acting crowd, and for good reason — they're usually pretty bad. But there are always exceptions. Does it help that M. Ward is Him? Probably, though She wrote the songs. And it's not like you even have to care that Zooey Deschanel is doing the singing, if you're up for a sweet love letter to old soul, country and pop records.

She & Him - "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?"

45. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - The Tyranny of Distance (2001)

"Chasing seafoam dreams around another dirty old town, parallel-run streams crawl through gray ocean from the green ground, oed' und leer das meer beneath the leafy glassy surface, all the songs you hear, down there, they have a purpose"

I think of Ted Leo as this generation's Elvis Costello. Lyrically, they're both about as sharp as they come. They can get political without making you gag. Throw in the pop/punk sound and the fact that both are overlooked (Leo, moreso) and there you have it. Is Leo as good as Costello? Well, no, but few are. Earning a comparison should be enough to make you take notice, but songs like "Biomusicology" and "Timorous Me" will hook you from the get-go.

Ted Leo and Pharmacists - "Timorous Me"

44. The National - Alligator (2005)

"I wish that I believed in fate, I wish I didn't sleep so late; I used to be carried in the arms of cheerleaders"

To what band or musician would you compare The National? Joy Division? A downbeat R.E.M..? The slow, solo stuff from Springsteen? All honorable stabs, but nothing sticks. This is a band doing its own thing. Matt Berninger's baritone helps set the group apart, sure, but I'm always taken by the arrangements, as well. How the group rarely ever sounds urgent — yet never sounds boring — is quite the magic trick.

The National - "Abel"

43. Belle and Sebastian - Dear Catastrophe Waitress (2003)

"I'm glad to see you, I had a funny dream, you were wearing funny shoes"

The lo-fi bedroom sound of Belle and Sebastian was always a large part of the band's appeal, so it's hard to believe that this leap into glossy hi-fi glory would ever seem natural. But in hindsight, it makes perfect sense. If anything could benefit from stellar, shiny production, it would be the B&S brand of pop greatness. If you weren't convinced by the time the crew took a classic Thin Lizzy riff and turned into something sweet and wonderfully new, well, you could always just go listen to If You're Feeling Sinister again. But don't ruin the party.

Belle & Sebastian - "I'm a Cuckoo"

42. Spiritualized - Let It Come Down (2001)

"The only time I'm drink and drug-free is when I get my drugs and drink for free"

If you're going to make a long, ambitious, orchestral rock album, why wouldn't you use the wall of sound? Go big or go home. Yeah, these are mostly songs about drugs ... but they're grand, sweeping, gorgeous songs about drugs. The sound doesn't excuse the subject matter as much as it brings a sense of gravitas to the whole affair. Not that Let It Come Down is humorless — make sure to read the above lyric again.

Spiritualized - "Stop Your Crying"

41. Dr. Dog - Fate (2008)

"I'm getting it back with that terrible feeling, my vision is cracked, but it looks like it's healing"

The good Dr. Dog gets flack for its nostalgic sound. Sure, these guys love the Beatles and Beach Boys and The Band (who doesn't?) but so do the Elephant 6 bands. And it isn't like this group sounds like a carbon copy of anything.  Fate is a warm, inviting album filled with songs that sound like lost classics. Classics by a band known as ... Dr. Dog.

Dr. Dog - "Hang On"

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)