Why is this man smiling?: Chris Martin of Coldplay

Credit: AP Photo

 
As my colleague Katie Hasty and I -- as well as every other critic in the world -- have been doing over the last few weeks, it’s time to unveil yet another list.

Below are my Top 12 choices for best albums and singles of the 2000s. “Best,” which is clearly a subjective term, means a few things here: not only was the album or song a superior effort, it’s also one that I loved (and continue to love) to play over and over. The latter meant more to me than critical acclaim from fellow writers and whether any of these selections showed up on other lists. I deliberately left out anything that I put on my Best of 2009 tallies, for singles and albums.

What are your favorites of the decade?
 
Best Albums of the Decade

1) “Magic,” Bruce Springsteen
2) “American Idiot,” Green Day
3) “Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends,” Coldplay
4) “FutureSex/LoveSounds,” Justin Timberlake
5) “This is It,” The Strokes
6) “Back to Black,” Amy Winehouse
7) “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb,” U2
8)  “Taking the Long Way,” Dixie Chicks
9) “Late Registration, “ Kanye West
10) “Kid A,” Radiohead
11) “Evil Urges,” My Morning Jacket
12) “Final Straw,” Snow Patrol
 
Best Singles of the Decade

1) “Viva La Vida,” Coldplay
2) “Crazy in Love,” Beyonce
3) “All My Life,” Foo Fighters
4) “Crazy,” Gnarls Barkley
5) “Clocks,” Coldplay
6) “Hey Ya,” Outkast
7) “American Idiot,” Green Day
8) “Girls in their Summer Clothes,” Bruce Springsteen
9) “No One Knows,” Queens of the Stone Age
10) “Golddigger” Kanye West
11) “Starlight,” Muse
12) “99 Problems,” Jay- Z