Favorite Songs of the 21st Century (So Far)

 I usually share a year-end list of my favorite albums and/or songs of the past year around now, but this year I've had trouble even coming up with a top 10 list for either, I've listened to so little new music in 2024. (However, I'm trying to catch up as we speak, having just thoroughly enjoyed Waxahatchie's latest, Tigers Blood, and currently immersing myself in The Cure's triumphant comeback, Songs of a Lost World. I also plan to give a closer listen to Vampire Weekend's latest, Only God Was Above Us.)

Meanwhile, I have been inspired by my favorite public radio station, WXPN in Philly, to create a playlist of my favorite songs of the 21st Century (so far.) They have released a list of the 885 greatest songs of the last 25 years, as compiled from listener's votes. You can find their list here. I have responded with my own list of 100 songs that I feel are worthy of consideration as some of the "greatest" of that same period. I tried to give myself an additional challenge by limiting my list to one song per artist. This was particularly hard in regard to some of my favorite artists like Wilco, The Decemberists, Spoon, The New Pornographers and the Drive-by Truckers, but I think the resulting list has a fair amount of diversity, and when I listen to it on my Amazon Music app, either sequentially or in shuffle mode, I always think, "Damn, these were some good songs!" I hope you get the same impression, though I'm sure your opinions will vary. (As with the WXPN list, my tastes lean toward the "adult alternative" subgenre, although there are a few legitimate hits on it as well.) So here is my list of Favorite Songs of the 21st Century (So Far), 2000-2024. (Note: I compiled my list just before WXPN released theirs. Numbers in bold after each song indicate their position on the WXPN list. If there is no number, that song did not place in their top 885.)

      1.      Rolling in the Deep – Adele (2011) (7)
2.      Dad’s Gonna Kill Me – Richard Thompson (2007)
3.      The Bleeding Heart Show – The New Pornographers (2005) (378)
4.      Chicago – Sufjan Stevens (2005) (21)
5.      Impossible Germany – Wilco (2007) (6)
6.      Percussion Gun – White Rabbits (2009)
7.      Lippy Kids – Elbow (2014)
8.      Sister Jack – Spoon (2005)
9.      Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect – The Decemberists (2002)
10. Boy with a Coin – Iron & Wine (2007) (675)
 
11. Girl in the War – Josh Ritter (2006) (712)
12. Clocks – Coldplay (2002) (35)
13. Bassackwards – Kurt Vile (2018)
14. Hey Ya! – Outkast (2003) (4)
15. If We Were Vampires – Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit (2017) (5)
16. White Winter Hymnal – Fleet Foxes (2008) (117)
17. Happy – Pharrell Williams (2013) (47)
18. Poor People – Marah (2005)
19. Hurt – Johnny Cash (2002) (11)
20. Phantom Limb – The Shins (2007) (397)
 
21. Crazy – Gnarls Barkley (2006) (27)
22. Talking Backwards – Real Estate (2014)
23. Don’t Know Why – Norah Jones (2002) (71)
24. Leviathan – Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (2019)
25. My Moon My Man – Feist (2007)
26. I Can’t Give Everything Away – David Bowie (2016) (171)
27. ’97 Bonnie and Clyde – Tori Amos (2001)
28. Slapped Actress – The Hold Steady (2008)
29. Pedestrian at Best – Countney Barnett (2015) (151)
30. Rococo – Arcade Fire (2010)
 
31. The Town Halo – A.C. Newman (2004)
32. Hallelujah – Rufus Wainwright (2001)
33. The Walls Are Coming Down – Fanfarlo (2009)
34. I Will Possess Your Heart – Death Cab for Cutie (2008) (149)
35. This is a Photograph – Kevin Morby (2022) (233)
36. Under the Pressure – The War on Drugs (2014) (18)
37. Tropic Morning News – The National (2023)
38. My Friend – Dr. Dog (2008)
39. Zebra – Beach House (2005) (816)
40. Be Here Now – Ray LaMontagne (2006)
 
41. Paper Planes – M.I.A. (2007) (30)
42. In My Heart – Moby (2002)
43. When My Train Pulls In – Gary Clark Jr. (2012)
44. 100 Days, 100 Nights – Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings (2007) (134)
45. Supercollider – Fountains of Wayne (2003)
46. Rose Rouge – St. Germain (2000)
47. Be Sweet – Japanese Breakfast (2021) (361)
48. Surrender Under Protest – Drive-by Truckers (2016)
49. The Rising – Bruce Springsteen (2002) (8)
50. Deep Red Bells – Neko Case (2002)
 
51. 10 A.M. Automatic – The Black Keys (2004)
52. The Cave – Mumford and Sons (2009) (197)
53. Slow Burn – Kacey Musgraves (2018) (79)
54. I and Love and You – The Avett Brothers (2009) (53)
55. Take Me to Church – Hozier (2013) (10)
56. My Girls – Animal Collective (2009) (347)
57. Falling Slowly – Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova (2007) (160)
58. Destiny – Zero 7 (2002)
59. Exile – Taylor Swift feat. Bon Iver (2020)
60. Afterburner – Panda Bear (2011)
 
61. Default – Django Django (2012)
62. Good Morning Aztlan – Los Lobos (2002)
63. Anyhow – Tedeschi Trucks Band (2016) (210)
64. Go! – Public Service Broadcasting (2015)
65. Little Talks – Of Monsters and Men (2011) (342)
66. Santa Fe – Beirut (2011)
67. Everybody’s Coming to My House – David Byrne (Live -American Utopia) (2020)
68. Tear Off Your Own Head (It’s a Doll Revolution) – Elvis Costello and the Impostors (2002)
69. Short Skirt/Long Jacket – Cake (2001) (129)
70. A-Punk – Vampire Weekend (2008) (97)
 
71. Hold On – Alabama Shakes (2012) (44)
72. Digital Witness – St. Vincent (2014) (302)
73. Photon – Pantha du Prince and the Bell Laboratory (2013)
74. Weird Fishes/Arpeggio – Radiohead (2007) (45)
75. All My Friends – LCD Soundsystem (2007) (22)
76. 1901 – Phoenix (2009)
77. Electric Feel – MGMT (2008) (131)
78. Uptown Funk – Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars (2014) (19)
79. Down Down the Deep River – Okkervil River (2013) (703)
80. I’m Writing a Novel – Father John Misty (2012) (833)
 
81. Gone Gone Gone – Robert Plant and Alison Krause (2007) (321)
82. Ship to Wreck – Florence + The Machine (2015) (168)
83. Lose Yourself to Dance – Daft Punk feat. Pharrell Williams (2013) (717)
84. Just Like That – Bonnie Raitt (2022) (750)
85. Measure – Field Music (2010)
86. Freedom – Jon Batiste (2021) (255)
87. Sugarfoot – Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears (2009)
88. S.O.B. - Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats (2015) (34)
89. Heaven – Los Lonely Boys (2004)
90. When the Tequila Runs Out - Dawes (2016)
 
91. Tailspin – Jayhawks (2003)
92. Young Folks – Peter Bjorn and John (2006) (125)
93. On the Wrong Side – Lindsey Buckingham (2021)
94. Sideways – Santana feat. Citizen Cope (2002) (431)
95. Anchor – Alejandro Escovedo (2010)
96. Arms of a Woman – Amos Lee (2005) (534)
97. Brother Down – Sam Roberts (2003)
98. Afterglow 61 – Son Volt (2005)
99. Skinny Love – Bon Iver (2007) (111)
100.  Pumped Up Kicks – Foster the People (2011) (167)

As you can see, 54 of my songs also ended up on the WXPN list, which is a pretty good percentage, although none of their top three made it to my list (Seven Nation Army by White Stripes, Mr. Brightside by The Killers, and The Story by Brandi Carlile.) Only five of my top ten made their list, although 13 of my top 20 did. I was disappointed that my #2 song, Richard Thompson's Dad's Gonna Kill Me, didn't even make their list, but I shouldn't be that surprised - he was a favorite artist of theirs through the 80s and 90s but his popularity seemed to wane going into the 2000s. There wasn't a single one of his songs in the top 885. I really didn't expect Percussion Gun by White Rabbits to make the list, and I thought Lippy Kids by Elbow was also a long shot (although a few of their other songs made it.) I was most surprised not to see Sister Jack by Spoon on their list, although the band did quite well with nine other songs posted. Likewise, the Decemberists placed nine songs, but not my choice from their first album, Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect. That song was the first I heard from them and I've been a fan ever since. The champion for multiple songs on the WXPN list, though, was Radiohead with an impressive 18 entries. The closest I got to matching the ranking of a song on the WXPN list was I and Love and You by the Avett Brothers (#53 on their list, #54 on mine) and Impossible Germany by Wilco (#6 on their list, #5 on mine.) Of my 100 songs, the majority (58) were from the first decade (2000-2009), 34 were from 2010-2019, and only 8 from the 2020s so far, and 15 of my top 20 were all from the first decade. I guess that's an indication of how it may take several years for a song to acquire "classic" status. 

Okay, enough geeking over music list stats. Feel free to comment if you have anything to share about what I should or shouldn't have included, and what your list may look like if you have one.