The Twenty Albums You Must Hear of the Decade (20-16)

20. REM: Accelerate (2008) - REM has done some incredible work in their time, but viewing their entire catalog as a whole, it’s nothing to get excited about. They haven’t been relevant since 1992's Automatic for the People, making Accelerate one of the biggest surprises of 2008. Practically every track has a nasty bite that comes on strong and doesn’t ease up. Heavy guitars, speedy tempos, and Stipe’s rough vocals have once again accelerated (pun intended) REM into a band that deserves notoriety.

19. Regina Spektor: Begin to Hope (2006) - Anti-folk is a polarizing genre. It’s a genre that can be viewed as genius or idiotic - in all honesty, it’s probably the latter. However, Regina Spektor takes all the nonsensical aspects of anti-folk and manages to create something which is endearingly quirky, not to mention, fantastic. Embrace your inner dork and let this oddball sink her teeth into your ears.

18. Weezer: Maladroid (2002)- Sure, Weezer often gets a bad rap for anything released after Pinkerton, but for those who immediately write off post-Pinkerton material, you are making a major mistake. I consider Maladroid to be Weezer’s forgotten album. The incredible thing to note about Maladroid is it holds up nearly, if not as well as Blue and Pinkerton. Think the Blue album with more of an edge. These are songs that will replay in your head for days on end.

17. Arcade Fire: Funeral (2004) - It certainly took me long enough to listen to this album. In fact the first time I listened to it was last year. The Arcade Fire had enough internet hype to get them elected for political office, and that was enough of a turn off for me. However, after reading a book about how the internet revolutionized music by Greg Kot, I finally decided to give them a listen. After listening to "Wake Up" I was shocked at the sheer intensity and heart of the band. More often than not, the hype never meets the expectations, but for the Arcade Fire, the internet community was right on target.

16. The Raconteurs: Broken Boy Soldier (2006) - It certainly seems as if Jack White can do no wrong. When he announced his venture into a new band, Stripes fans shed an incredible sigh, with the fear that this was the beginning of the end of the dynamic duo from Detroit. What ended up happening was Jack White became the hardest working man in rock, and brought forth his unique talents into everything he touched. Broken Boy Soldier was a simplistic and fun effort with some of the best hooks of the decade.

(Disclaimer: There is a one album limit per band.)