P2K: Pitchfork's top tracks & albums of the 2000s

[AlexH.]

I know a lot of people don't like Pitchfork here, but they've started on their lists of the best music of the 2000s, starting with tracks 500-201 today.

The Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s: 500-201

The Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s: 200-101 (Tuesday)

The Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s: 100-51 (Wednesday)

The Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s: 50-21 (Thursday)

The Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s: 20-1 (Friday)

The History of the MP3

August 24

The Decade in Pop

August 27

The Top 50 Music Videos of the 2000s

August 31

Guest List: 2000s Edition

September 8

The Decade in Noise

September 14

The Mainstreaming of Indie

September 16

The Decade in News

September 21

The Top 200 Albums of the 2000s

September 28

Personally, I don't know how they can do this list when the decade isn't even over. I'd have waited at least a year, otherwise you're comparing stuff that came out last week to albums like The Moon & Antarctica and Kid A, which have had more time to be judged in the context of the last 10 years of music.

[flicker]

it is a little early for this, but honestly, there is nog going to bee too much that is going to come out and knock socks off. well, that new Destroyer track kind of did, so what do i know...

[mclz]

this is a horrible list. there is maybe 5 songs on the list i actually like

[sgoodcore]

it is a little early for this, but honestly, there is nog going to bee too much that is going to come out and knock socks off. well, that new Destroyer track kind of did, so what do i know...

You just never know though so why not wait, take your time, and do something not 3 months early? For me, lists THIS early feel weird.

[dante3000]

I'm not sure if I'm less excited to read their list or for the inane "OMG so pretentious" comments.

[flicker]

this is a horrible list. there is maybe 5 songs on the list i actually like

i know right, these songs have way too many chords!

[jimmythescumbag]

386. Konono No. 1 - "Paradiso"

Glad to see Konono made the list.

They had to do this early, in order to give all the hipsters something to argue about for the next year and a half...sorry if you happen to be one of the many cats who live their musical lives based on Pictchfork, I just get annoyed at the level of pretentiousness that pervades these kinds of lists/websites.

[drabley]

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the kind folks at Pitchfork for giving me a great headstart on my Worst Tracks of the 2000's list that I plan on creating on a date somewhat closer to the end of said timeframe. Some Secretly Canadian band will likely release a record between now and then that is bound to make the list.

Otherwise: copy, paste, done.

[motorbike]

list sucks!

[jimmythescumbag]

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the kind folks at Pitchfork for giving me a great headstart on my Worst Tracks of the 2000's list that I plan on creating on a date somewhat closer to the end of said timeframe.

Copy, paste, done.

Give 'em a chance drabley...they still have 200 songs most people have never heard to make us all see the light.

Seriously, I would rather listen to most of this stuff over the disposable radio crap, even though a few managed to make the list. Also, is anyone as mad at me at the lack of Gaslight on the list?

[flicker]

i still dont get how its pretentious to talk about music you have never taken the time to listen to.....?

[jimmythescumbag]

i still dont get how its pretentious to talk about music you have never taken the time to listen to.....?

pre⋅ten⋅tious [pri-ten-shuhs]

–adjective

characterized by assumption of dignity or importance.

Trust me, I would probably be into a lot of the stuff on the list, but the holier-than-thou attitude makes me not care...like I said, I would take any song off of this list over the Jonas Bros or Brokencyde.

[flicker]

dude, this is a straight up numerical list. there is no attitude with it. you assume there is because thats the "punk" thing to do.

and by "punk" i mean needlessly taking a stand against something you know next to nothing about.

i challenge anyone to listen to the entire list and not come away with at least a handful of albums you feel like checking out.

[jimmythescumbag]

dude, this is a straight up numerical list. there is no attitude with it. you assume there is because thats the "punk" thing to do.

and by "punk" i mean needlessly taking a stand against something you know next to nothing about.

i challenge anyone to listen to the entire list and not come away with at least a handful of albums you feel like checking out.

Wow, I took a stand against their list? I feel soooooooooooo punk now.

You must be one of the regulars over there who gets mad when someone has never heard of Alan Braxe and Fred Falke (yes I listened to it...it wasn't too bad). Your post is exactly the kind of attitude I am talking about. I am all about sharing new music and getting into new bands/albums, you assumed I wasn't because I made fun of a "straight up numerical list". I listen to more than just punk rock, I just don't have enough time to listen to every band/song/album that is out there. If that is a crime, so be it.

[dante3000]

Holy shit! Executive order from the White House:

Any "best of" list that features anything from 808's&Heartbreak shall be rendered null and void. This order shall hold true for all tracks and album "best of" lists. Thank you and God Bless America

Finally a president does something good.

[lokithelion]

i still dont get how its pretentious to talk about music you have never taken the time to listen to.....?

I think it's incredibly pretentious and self important to think you can make a list of the best tracks/records from a decade before that decade is even over. That being said I actually listen to a ton of stuff that pitchfork likes and have heard all of these tracks so far.

Some of their choices are fucking stupid.

I love Unwound but no nothing they've done is among the best of the last decade. Island in the Sun isn't the best Weezer track, and its inclusion feels like forced pandering to prove they still like pop music.

Goldfrapp blows. St. Vincent is great but really? Best of the last decade? She added dance beats to the Sound of Music.

Mum is also one of those bands that should be shot come the glorious revolution.

Great calls on the Nick Cave and Roots tracks. I don't get the hype with brightblack morning light

Great call on Dodos

I dont know if that Kid Cudi song is going to stand the test of time even though I'm banging it out in my car right now.

Five tracks that are better noise than the wolf eyes track they went with

1. phoenix in flames - converge

2. moral distortion - agoraphobic nosebleed

3. the Lord Hates a Coward - Future of the Left

4. C. Thomas Howell is the Soul Man - Botch

5. Lost in Mirror - Melt Banana

Crystal Castles, great beats ruined by profoundly awful vocals. This chick gets a pass cause she airs it out live and dances like a mother fucker, but man o man is she the worst vocalist ever.

Good call on the DJ Shadow, Strokes, Voxtrot, and Cee-Lo tracks.

Don't like Rjd2, so I can't comment. The wife loves it.

Black Kids are awful, Sun Kil Moon is boring, and that Scarface track is blah.

Vivian Girls, I like that record but really? Its just surf rock with phil spector production and weak vocals, does it really need this kind of acclaim?

Good calls on Sleater Kinney and Doves, but the Em Haines record and Bonnie Prince and Songs Ohia they picked don't have a place in the top of their respective band catalogs let along of the last decade.

Fucked Up and Jay Reatard tracks I can back and Scissor Sisters is always backed hard.

So yeah Flicker, I know you gotsta defend your homies but there is a lot of obscure for the sake of being obscure on here, and thats coming from a fellow fan of the site and the site's taste. We'll see how the next few rounds go before I make up my mind.

[AlexH.]

There's a lot of great songs on here, including a lot of stuff people on this board would like (At The Drive In, Fucked Up, Mastodon, Weezer...) There may be things people haven't heard of, but I don't think they're particularly obscure for their genre (I doubt many people on here know jackshit about dance/techno/world music, myself included). I will say that no list of the last decade should include Madonna, and if you're going to include a Destiny's Child song, Jumpin Jumpin? Really? Also, no, Coldplay did not write any of the best songs of the 2000s.

[jesse]

Well I think that technically this decade is over after 2009. 2000-2009 is ten years, is that how we're counting shit now?

[cj]

the decade is over after 2009. was 2000 still the 1990's?

and dont forget this is only 500-201.

if some of your favorite jamz arent on there, wait until the end of the week.

there will be next to nothing coming out in the next 4 months that should be considered, and even if there was dont you think the people at pitchfork would have heard it already?

they are the go to source for a lot of people and i'm sure because of that they get a lot of music much earlier than your precious torrent sites do

[cj]

i still dont get how its pretentious to talk about music you have never taken the time to listen to.....?

Some of their choices are fucking stupid.

I love Unwound but no nothing they've done is among the best of the last decade. Island in the Sun isn't the best Weezer track, and its inclusion feels like forced pandering to prove they still like pop music.

Goldfrapp blows. St. Vincent is great but really? Best of the last decade? She added dance beats to the Sound of Music.

Mum is also one of those bands that should be shot come the glorious revolution.

Great calls on the Nick Cave and Roots tracks. I don't get the hype with brightblack morning light

Great call on Dodos

I dont know if that Kid Cudi song is going to stand the test of time even though I'm banging it out in my car right now.

Five tracks that are better noise than the wolf eyes track they went with

1. phoenix in flames - converge

2. moral distortion - agoraphobic nosebleed

3. the Lord Hates a Coward - Future of the Left

4. C. Thomas Howell is the Soul Man - Botch

5. Lost in Mirror - Melt Banana

Crystal Castles, great beats ruined by profoundly awful vocals. This chick gets a pass cause she airs it out live and dances like a mother fucker, but man o man is she the worst vocalist ever.

Good call on the DJ Shadow, Strokes, Voxtrot, and Cee-Lo tracks.

Don't like Rjd2, so I can't comment. The wife loves it.

Black Kids are awful, Sun Kil Moon is boring, and that Scarface track is blah.

Vivian Girls, I like that record but really? Its just surf rock with phil spector production and weak vocals, does it really need this kind of acclaim?

Good calls on Sleater Kinney and Doves, but the Em Haines record and Bonnie Prince and Songs Ohia they picked don't have a place in the top of their respective band catalogs let along of the last decade.

Fucked Up and Jay Reatard tracks I can back and Scissor Sisters is always backed hard.

loki i think you only looked at the first page

[lokithelion]

i did. no way was i doing six pages of that.

[kirbypuckett]

this is a horrible list. there is maybe 5 songs on the list i actually like

What does that even mean? Haha

I love when Pitchfork does this kind of stuff, because their writers have an great knowledge of music and you can discover a lot of tracks / bands that you've never heard of that you might love. I don't take their word as the gospel and each track has a song attached so that all you have to do is press play and form your own opinion.

To many people think Pitchfork is 1 person.

[drabley]

My problems with Pitchfork aren't the people or the pretentiousness. I find some of the snide remarks in reviews somewhat amusing. Further, anyone who has honed their craft to the degree that the folks at Pitchfork have are more than entitled to write or speak however they wish.

It's just the music that I don't agree with.

I feel that Pitchfork tries too hard to be cutting edge all of the time. That said, perhaps I try too hard to be purist all of the time. Regardless, a good 95% of the content on the site does not appeal to my tastes at all. That doesn't make it bad, as I implied earlier. But it doesn't make it good, or the best, either.

There are two things I find fault with. First, the fact that it's way too early for this list. Second, words like "top" or "best" should simply be replaced with "our favorite". Pitchfork is no more an authority to call something "top" or "best" than any other reputable musical outlet. Or any kid with a blog, for that matter.

Seeing Shellac on the list is redeeming, however.

[pibbals]

I feel that when someone calls a list a top, or best of, it's implied that it is their opinion.

And the pretentious remarks that are being made, I find it's easy for me to avoid that since I don't even read the damn reviews. I look at a score, see if its above 4-5 and then play a track off the little player on the side or youtube some. It's a pretty good system and it's turned me on to some interesting albums.

[flicker]

i still dont get how its pretentious to talk about music you have never taken the time to listen to.....?

So yeah Flicker, I know you gotsta defend your homies but there is a lot of obscure for the sake of being obscure on here, and thats coming from a fellow fan of the site and the site's taste. We'll see how the next few rounds go before I make up my mind.

dude, this list is not obscure. there are only a couple bands/tracks on there i have never heard of. its obscure the same way Death Cab for Cutie was obscure to the kids at my high school. I actually think their list is a little too poppy, but they still got 100 songs to go.

but i think that main thing people have against sites like pitchfork is that it exposes this giant hole in their "musical knowledge armor". its easy to be that one guy who knows all about music when your friends dont know shit, but when you run into to someone who blows your knowledge out of the water, its just easier to sit back and call them pretentious.

still dont get how talking about obscure music could ever be a bad thing.