{Long Winters photo by Trickshot Photography}

Because I’m some kind of masochist and a total nerd, I’ve been slaving over this list, keeping it brief (harder than you’d think!) at my favorite 20 albums of the decade without duplicating a band (even harder). Side note: I’ve probably forgotten something I really, really love, so let’s just call this how I feel right this minute. These are the albums I know every note and breath of by heart and I love as complete albums with all of my soul. These are albums that in my humble opinion have no skipable track and are works of beauty in their entirety. I’d also like to point out that these are my favorite albums, as I tend to shy away from calling them “the best”, as really, it’s just my opinion, and who am I to tell you that you’re wrong for not liking these records? (Though, if you catch me in a potentially altered state, I may completely negate that and call any number of these THE GREATEST of all time and call you wrong to your face if you disagree.) I digress. Here they are!

1. More Parts Per Million – The Thermals
2. The Worst You Can Do Is Harm – The Long Winters
3. Go Ahead And Say It – Racetrack
4. Mass Romantic – The New Pornographers
5. The Coast Is Never Clear – Beulah
6. Figure 8 – Elliott Smith
7. Albatross: How We Failed to Save the Lonestar State With the Power of Rock and Roll – Fishboy
8. We Have the Facts and We’re Voting Yes – Death Cab for Cutie
9. Warmer Corners – The Lucksmiths
10. Allison Statton – Pants Yell
11. Every Night – Saturday Looks Good to Me
12. All Hands On the Bad One – Sleater-Kinney
13. King James Version – Harvey Danger
14. Velocity of Sound – Apples in Stereo
15. Every Scene Needs A Center – Tullycraft
16. Oh, Inverted World – The Shins
17. Reconstruction Site – The Weakerthans
18. Here’s to Shutting Up – Superchunk
19. Little Chills – Darren Hanlon
20. Is This It? – The Strokes

Please feel free to post your own lists in the comments! And look out for my 50 favorite songs of the decade! (Still painstakingly working on that one!)