The Best/My 50 Favorite Songs of the Last 10 Years (2005-2014)

#50~ Janelle Monae (ft Big Boi) Tightrope [2010]
As popular as Janelle Monae may be, I still believe her to be among the most shafted female artists alive.











#49~ Of Montreal The Past Is A Grotesque Animal [2007]
People often forget that the original purpose of glam rock wasn't just too sound glossy and fun, but too sound ambitiously layered and anxious.








  

#48~ Run The Jewels (ft Zach de la Rocha) Close Your Eyes (And Count To F***) [2014]
"Run them jewels fast- run the- run them jewels fast!"












#47~ Girls Hellhole Ratrace [2009]
To me, Girls' Album stands as one of the last great, true indie pop albums and this is the singalong centerpiece to its drunken walk on a sunset beach.










#46~ Frank Ocean Thinkin' Bout You  [2012]
I often hate alternative-R&B due to its lack of true soul, although that's not an issue with Frank Ocean.











#45~ Bat For Lashes Daniel [2009] 
I'll never understand why people listen to Grimes.












#44~ Neon Indian Deadbeat Summer [2009]
"Ah, 2009: The summer of freshwave!"  
-Ross Irwin











#43~ Los Campesinos! You! Me! Dancing! [2007]
On a personal level, this was legitimately my initial 16 year-old introduction to modern "indie" music.











#42~ Deerhunter Desire Lines [2010]
I must say, the (ahem) "guitar solo" on this track isn't necessarily hard to play, but it's shiny and easy to get lost in, which is the point.










#41~ Band Of Horses The Funeral  [2006]
Some people love the ever-blurring lines of indie and radio pop, but for nostalgia's sake, I say screw that.
  










#40~ Justice D.A.N.C.E. [2007]
2 years after Daft Punk released their fairly crappy Human After All, Justice realized someone else had to do their job.











#39~ Hot Chip Ready For The Floor [2008]
By 2008, Hot Chip had effortlessly mastered the art of "copy + paste" hooks.











#38~ Daft Punk (ft Pharrell) Get Lucky [2013]
I'm glad there's a soulful, representative single for the "cheesy throwback" production movement, but what's hilarious is that this probably only Daft Punk's 5th best song they've ever made.










#37~ Panda Bear Bros [2007]
Panda Bear has this way of producing with a voice that sounds like Brian Wilson recorded under layers of snow and music that blinds you with its excess sunshine (which is cool).









#36~ Peter Bjorn And John (ft Victoria Bergsman) Young Folks [2006]
I don't care what kind of stupid faux-hipster crowd listens to this song; it has one of the greatest whistle hooks of all time!











#35~ Burial Archangel [2007]
Burial introduces you to the world of Untrue with a beat you'll likely never forget.











#34~ Japandroids The House That Heaven Built [2012]
I don't like Japandroids nearly as much as I used to, but this song reaches the explosively romantic lyricism the band aims for.










#33~ Cut Copy Hearts On Fire [2008]
This track is a modern take on the earliest formulas for house music and adds a lovable French touch of classiness.










#32~ FKA Twigs Two Weeks [2014]
My favorite Twigs track is "Pendulum," but looking back on a decade-long perspective, this song will be remembered for its catchy-yet-uncomfortably immoral and industrial spin on alt-R&B.









#31~ The Knife Silent Shout [2006] 
The Knife don't always sound as exciting as they do on this track, but it's a great introduction to the band's distinctively dark mysteriousness.










#30~ Phoenix 1901  [2009]
I think the majority of Phoenix songs sound the same, but this is a hot track nonetheless.











#29~ Fleet Foxes White Winter Hymnal  [2008]
It's 2015 and I'm tired of hearing this freaking song, but I'm grateful that it happened.











#28~ Justin Timberlake (ft T.I.) My Love [2006]
Future Love/Sex Songs is overrated as an album itself, but I still love the singles, especially the use of a turntable scratch as a hook on "My Love."










#27~ UGK (ft Outkast) Int'l Player's Anthem [2007]
I don't know how "good" this song really is, but I know all the words and UGK's Pimp C passed away merely months after its release, thus making it a classic in my book.










#26~ Kanye West (ft Dwele) Flashing Lights [2007]
The beat is straight off some dusty Run-DMC vinyl, the spits are as clever as they are sincere, and the synths are made of futuristic neon.










#25~ TV On The Radio Wolf Like Me [2006]
Aside from it being an anthem for 2000's indie innovators TV On The Radio, this was somewhat of an anthem for the fake gang I was part of in high school: The Timbawulv$.










#24~ Hot Chip Boy From School  [2006]
It's rare to find a disco track as true to the genre and as beautiful/depressing as "Boy from School."











#23~ Grizzly Bear Two Weeks [2009]
Grizzly Bear's following usually annoys me, but come on, everybody loved/loves this track.
 










#22~ Battles Atlas [2007]
One might think that any kind of innovation in the drumming world would be irrelevant by 2007, but no...











#21~ Vampire Weekend Step  [2013]
Vampire Weekend has a spot between Arcade Fire and Bon Iver as one of the most hated "indie" bands of the modern era, but "Step" is an all-around crowd-pleaser, balancing sonic relevance with its encyclopedic lyrics.









#20~ Washed Out Feel It All Around [2009]
Chillwave (at least good chillwave) proved itself to be a short-lived trend, but this is the track we can all look back on as the genre's breakthrough hit.
  









# 19~ Antony & The Johnsons Hope There's Someone [2006]
Some people hate Antony's voice, but it's hard not to believe what he sings on the simplistically deep, bare-bones baroque of "Hope There's Someone."
    









#18~ Animal Collective Fireworks [2007]
As Animal Collective was shifting towards synthesizers and sounding less lo-fi, this track is a beautiful, bittersweet representation of a bridge between their eternal indie superstardom and the days Avey Tare's oddball vocals taking the lead.








#17~ Hercules & Love Affair Blind [2009]
I didn't understand disco in 2008, but looking back, this song has this heavy, dumb bassline accompanied by Antony singing heavy, dumb disco lyrics that earns this track a spot in music history next to "I Feel Love."









#16~ Bon Iver Holocene [2011]
The brief career of Bon Iver has been called "boring" more often than "ambitious," but this song is layered in all the instrumentally humbling colors Justin Vernon could combine and rises above a band's arguable reputation of being stupidly minimal.








#15~ M.I.A. Galang [2005] 
Oh, M.I.A...












#14~ Sufjan Stevens Chicago [2005]
I will always think of Sufjan's Illinois when I think of music that's full of life, and "Chicago" manages to be both the album's most lyrically relatable and instrumentally adventurous track.
 








#13~ Hot Chip Over And Over [2006] 
I'm kind of a sucker for "big rock" songs and I'm also a sucker for Hot Chip singles, so naturally this song gets a high ranking.










#12~ Kendrick Lamar B****, Don't Kill My Vibe [2012]
The title itself may come off as just another cocky rap song, but any actual bragging Kendrick does here is outshined by his commentary on the music industry, his human struggles with pain and remorse, and the track's musically smooth textures.
  







#11~ Dirty Projectors Stillness Is The Move [2009]
It's pop, it's R&B, it's indie, it's about love, it's got catchy hooks, it's got some serious vocal chops, it's got this sick beat (don't sue me, Taylor Swift), it's by a prog rock band, it's one of the most important singles that transferred "indie" into what it is today.








#10~ MGMT Time To Pretend [2008]
I'll never forget hearing this song for the first time at age 17, because let's face it, as overexposed as MGMT may be (and they are), I still consider this song's synth production pretty lo-fi for the mainstream, and every high schooler can resonate with its rock'n'roll themes.








#9~ Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti Round And Round [2010]
After years of making old-school pop with the lowest possible, Ariel Pink got a record deal with 4AD and saved his best hooks for a slow, hazy, unlikely hit that's become a modern indie standard.









#8~ Future Islands Seasons (Waiting On You) [2014] 
I'm not even kidding!












#7~ Kanye West POWER [2010]
While some consider My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy the obvious pick for best album of the current decade, I would like it more if every song on it was given as much effort- when it comes to line delivery, production, sampling, layering- as "POWER."








#6~ Destroyer Kaputt [2011]
I learned to develop my own musical opinion without riding others' after my mission, and I believe this to be a musical and lyrical representation of where the true "indie" scene has disappeared to in the past 10 years: "Wasting your days..."








#5~ Beyonce Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) [2008]
Considering she hasn't had a U.S. #1 hit since 2008, it may seem odd that Beyonce is the obvious reigning queen for female success in the music industry, but in the span of her whole career, she managed to find the hottest hooks, the most lively and heavy rhythm section, and grittiest horns for this 1 song dedicated to all independent women (with a cool dance video to boot).






#4~ LCD Soundsystem Someone Great  [2007]
Speaking of hooks... I have yet to ever hear another song like "Someone Great" where hooks just add on to each other like "Billie Jean," yet has this creative take on 25 years-worth of electronica instrumental fills and icing the cake with some of The Greatest Lyrics Ever Written.








#3~ M.I.A. Paper Planes  [2007]
M.I.A. blends world music with production techniques both lo-fi and futuristic as she turns CNN's "World News" segments into stupid, cool raps that children all over the world can sing along with (which is cool).









#2~ Animal Collective My Girls [2009]
What's cool about this song is that it redefined the word "hit," it redefined what makes something "accessible" or "cool," it redefined internet music fan bases, it redefined the indie scene, it redefined "synth-pop," it redefined the world of remixes, and our effortlessly weird heroes- Animal Collective- didn't have to sell out to do it.







#1~ LCD Soundsystem All My Friends [2007]
In addition to "Someone Great" having some of The Greatest Lyrics Ever Written and their 2002 single "Losing My Edge" already making its way into indie EDM history, LCD Soundsystem writes and records "All My Friends"-- a song that creates techno rhythms with a live drum set accompanied with sounds of a running train, a song with a disjointed piano piece chopped up like a Steve Reich track, a song that only has 2 chords and drags them out for over 7 minutes with a memorable guitar hook crammed in the middle, a song with a charming lyrical personality (referencing Pink Floyd and the U.S. Census Bureau), a song about life + death + partying + success + failing + running away to Europe + growing old + freindships-- a
                                                        memorial, emotional powerhouse.



EXTENSIVE/LOVEABLE SONG TITLES HONORABLE MENTIONS LIST
2005: Stay Fly, Trapped In A Closet, Heard 'Em Say, The Orchids, I'll Believe In Anything, Hate It Or Love It, Your Ex-Lover Is Dead
2006: Lloyd, I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken, Shakey Dog, What You Know, SexyBack, Chips Ahoy!, Crazy, Postcards From Italy, Knife
2007: No Pussy Blues, 1,2,3,4, The Underdog, The Crystal Cat, Skinny Love, Weird Fishes/Arpeggi, Keep The Car Running, A Postcard To Nina
2008: Kim & Jessie, L.E.S. Artistes, Collapsing At Your Doorstep, Oxford Comma, American Boy, Nothing Ever Happened
2009: Lust For Life, Bay Of Pigs (kinda), Warm Heart Of Africa
2010: Odessa, Dance Yrself Clean, Zebra, Sprawl II
2011: Midnight City, The Wilhelm Scream, Bay of Pigs (kinda)
2012: Jasmine
2013: White Noise
2014: I Watched The Film The Song Remains The Same