Given the hypershifting styles and sensibilities that defined the '00s, how do you choose the ten best albums of a decade that changed the definition of the word over and over? In our case, we throw down the gauntlet, going with one album for each year to complement the music world's constant evolution. And what's more, we've given ourselves the constraint of trying to avoid certain albums that we find ourselves skipping in every list due to their monotonous domination (*cough*RadioheadArcadeFireRaptureAnimalCollective*cough). So we've come to this: our ten best records of the decade, our last word, whether you like it or not. And if you don't, well... that's what the comments section is for. Without further ado, learn how the Avalanches, Brian Wilson, and R. Kelly share space together on our definitive list.

2000: OutKast - Stankonia
If you hadn't heard Stankonia until yesterday and didn't know its release date, there's a good chance you'd think it came out this past week. That's basically the catch-all statement behind 2000's best album. Combining pretty much every genre imaginable, Stankonia pushed the boundaries of both hip-hop and contemporary pop music, a feat very acts ever manage to pull of in their lifetime.

2001: The Avalanches - Since I Left You
Entirely constructed from samples, Australian DJ collective the Avalanches created both a technical triumph and a collective atmosphere of wonder with 2001's Since I Left You. Both elements are things that many bands would try to recreate throughout the decade, but none would come close, a true testament to the album's uniqueness and staying power.

2002: Beck - Sea Change
Beck made a career out of being a genre-hopping chameleon throughout the '90s, and the beginning of the decade found him with one more (incredibly depressing) trick up his sleeve. In what might be considered the ultimate breakup record, Beck managed to both get his Dylan on while snagging some of the best of the year's current trends like the Flaming Lips' spacey sounds and Nick Drake-aping vibes of Elliott Smith.

2003: The Postal Service - Give Up
Long before you decided you pretended to hate them after getting overexposed, the Postal Service created one hell of an electropop record. The dreamy blips and bloops of Jimmy Tamborello combined with the soothing falsetto of Ben Gibbard seemed like an unstoppable combo, one that clearly resonated with an audience that was just then warming up to the widespread acceptance of indie culture. While groups like the Rapture were also getting the arm-crossers to dance, the Postal Service managed to create a record that did the same while giving the heartbroken teens of the world something to nod to in their bedrooms.

2004: Brian Wilson - Smile
Every once in a while, listeners need a reminder that the Beach Boys were more than just some surface level sunny rock band. Obviously most music geeks remember Pet Sounds as being an extremely ahead-of-its-time record, but the reputation almost seems unshakable. Luckily, Brian Wilson came by to set the story straight once again by resurrecting Smile, a piece of music lore that was originally recorded and later set on fire by Wilson after the Pet Sounds sessions. Even in 2004, Smile still sounds pretty damn out there, and you'll be in for a treat if you happen to play it alongside an Animal Collective record.

2005: R. Kelly - Trapped in the Closet
2005 brought a weird perfect storm that made Trapped in the Closet strike a chord with people of all ages and races - even if it wasn't necessarily for the same reasons. At a time when YouTube, hypernostalgia, and ironic humor all became a part of everyday life, Trapped in the Closet was a piece of incredible, unforeseeable artistic genius from Mr. Robert Kelly. Telling the winding tale of a cheating man catching his own wife cheating, the series hit the perfect notes of ridiculousness, catchy melody, and an X factor we'd be wasting words trying to describe.

2006: Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere
If there's one song that matches the ubiquity and likability of 2003's crossover smash "Hey Ya," it has to be "Crazy," the criminally catchy lead single from Gnarls Barkley stunning debut, St. Elsewhere. With the pleasure of feeling both old-school and new-school at the same time, the soul-funk-hip-hop project of Grey Album mastermind Danger Mouse and former Goodie Mob member Cee-Lo were one of the most prominent acts to usher in the anything-goes attitude of pop in the latter half of the decade.

2007: The Tough Alliance - A New Chance
If you wanted to chart the evolution of indie pop's current love affair with dreamy, summer-appropriate reverb-heavy pop tunes (and experimental music from Sweden, for that matter), you don't have to look any further than A New Chance. In the same way that OutKast and Gnarls Barkley signaled a new era of genre lines blurring in the mainstream, the Tough Alliance did the same thing across the pond with a wondrous lost-in-translation reimagining and resurrection of everything from dance music to R&B, as appropriate for a sunset rooftop party as it is for a reflective walk through the city of your choice.

2008: Why? - Alopecia
The challenge of talking about a Why? album is trying to describe what it contains at all. With little avant-garde bits of trip-hop, rap, and folk music, Alopecia is one of a record that defies not only genre tags, but any sort of clear-cut definition. There are very few ties to the trends of 2008, or the lyrical content that found bands waxing philosophic on the Bush years or the recession, rather bizarre imagery of coke use in a Starbucks bathroom, lovers in Berlin, and reference after reference to a tragic breakup. While most of the other albums on the list have ties to what came before and after it, this is truly a collection of songs that can't ever be replicated.

2009: Washed Out - Life of Leisure
Yes, it's an EP. Yes, it's a debut. Yes, those outside the blogosphere probably haven't heard it. But you know what, it's pretty damn good, and you'd better get used to it. As music continues to morph into a series of unrecognizable cycles and embarrassing subgenres, there are still albums and artists that will transcend where they came from. In this case, Washed Out and the Life of Leisure EP will be the slice of (excuse us while we vomit) glo-fi/chillwave/whateverembarrassingtagcomesnext that people remember, songs that combine the best elements of hazy dream pop, nostalgic dance samples, and that unshakable urge to leave our laptops and hit the beach.