This was the best decade in music for me in a long time. There was so much rich, personal perspectives that have come out of all the previous styles that created an amalgam of sounds that are both experimental and beautiful. When I look back on this decade and think about what major developments happened that have made a major mark on music, I can think of four things. First; the invention of the iPod. Whether you love them or hate them, you can't deny the impact they have had on how we approach music. The second: The return of the single. The iPod and on-line music purchases have made buying a single, instead of a whole LP very popular. This has greatly changed the way many people listen to an artist's music. Third: The death of the record store. I can remember no less than 6 record stores within 5 miles from my house at the turn of the century. Now there are two and both are struggling. The fourth is American Idol. Before American Idol came to be, the line between Pop and authenticity was not entirely clear. American Idol changed all of that. Love it or hate it, American Idol made the line in the sand very clear. If you were an artist that wanted to make it big or create art, the show helped you decide where to go. You can very clearly hear the American Idol sound in a song. I call it vocal acrobats. An insincere, but excellently executed pop song. The music that is now created that is clearly not made to this franchised demographic sounds so distant, that some are simply bewildered by these strange new sounds. To Quote David Hickey from a recent article; "The Vision of the artist, high or low, is replaced by the dream of a franchise that can be perpetually reconstituted, a Pirates of the Caribean that pleases almost everybody but no one in particular. Since anything specific or intimate offends someone or excludes someone, one gains a in demographic reach what one gives up in specificity and intimacy."
As a music lover, I am always looking for an artist that has a very specific point of view, who is willing to share their intimacy, and who is willing to take chances. Here is my list for the top 50 best albums of the decade. I have a pretty small scope of musical taste. So this is only a list of the albums that really moved me. There are many more that did not make it, but I would like to give an honorable mention to Beirut, Daft Punk, and Kanye West.

What are your top albums of the decade?
Well, here mine are:

50 Vampire Weekend- Vampire Weekend 2008
49 Lily Allen- Alright Still 2006
48 Broken Social Scene- Broken Social Scene 2005
47 Telefon Tel Aviv- Map of What is Effortless 2004
46 Super Furry Animals- Rings Around The World 2001
45 Grandaddy- The Sophtware Slump 2000
44 Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds- The Lyre Of Orpheus 2004
43 The Decemberist- The Crane Wife 2006
42 Madvillain- Madvillainy 2004
41 Cat Power- You Are Free 2003
40 M. Ward- Post-war 200639 The Books- Thought for Food 2002
38 Bonnie "Prince" Billy- The Letting Go 2006
37 Iron And Wine- The Shepard's Dog-2007
36 Björk- Vespertine 2001
35 Blonde Redhead- 23 2007
34 Boards Of Canada- Geogaddi 2002
33 Four Tet- Rounds 2001
32 Kate Bush- Aerial: A Sea of Honey 2005
31 RJD2- Dead Ringer 2002
30 The Strokes- Is This It? 2000
29 Dirty Projectors- Bitte Orca 2009
28 The Hold Steady- Almost Killed Me 2004
27 Grizzly Bear- Veckatimest 2009
26 Beck- Sea Change 2003
25 Modest Mouse- Good News For People Who Love Bad News 2004
24 Arcade Fire- Funeral 2004
23 DJ Shadow- The Private Press 2002
22 The Notwist- Neon Golden 2003
21 Tegan and Sara- So Jealous 2004
20 Robert Plant & Alison Krauss- Raising Sand 2007
19 TV On The Radio- Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes 2003
18 Ali Farka Touré- Savane 2006
17 Shearwater- Rook 2008
16 The Shins- Oh, Inverted World 2001
15 Deer Hunter- Microcastle 2008
14 M.I.A. Kala 2007
13 Animal Collective- Merriweather Post Pavilion
12 Sigur Rós- Ágætis Byrjun 2001 (U.S. release)
11 The White Stripes- White Blood Cells 2001
10 Amy Winehouse- Back To Black 2006
9 Radiohead- In Rainbows 2007
8 Panda Bear- Person Pitch 2007
7 Spoon- Girls Can Tell 2000
6 Tom Waits- Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards 2006
5 Wilco- Yankee Hotel Foxtrot 2002
4 Sufjan Stevens- Come On Feel The Illinoise! 2005
3 Bon Iver- For Emma, Forever Ago 2008
2 The Flaming Lips- Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots 2002
1 Radiohead- Kid A 2000