Best of the Decade...Intro

Since I'm too late to get my best of the decade list in (according to Mon) I might as well stretch it out a bit.

She already covered most of the big life changes, so I'll focus on music. I started decade with 200 CD spinner and finished the decade with no CDs and a 1 TB hard drive to get all my music back into one place. It became so easy to find and purchase new music, which combined with the fact that I had a real income, led to an explosion in my music collection. I have no complaints about the move to digital music, it just made music a bigger part of my life. My favorite development was my emusic subscription--90 new songs a month for a flat fee and I own them. That's 2 new albums a week!

Unlike Mon, I'm going to be selecting my top albums of the decade rather than just songs. Even with the digital revolution, I still shop, buy, and listen to music as albums. Here are the criteria I used to compile my list:

1. Personal connection -- Does the album remind me of an event, place, or person?

2. Relistenability -- Did the album stay in the rotation?

These first two criteria rule out some arty albums that I can appreciate intellectually but not connect to emotionally. If you're interested in those kind of compilations, see All Songs Considered or AV Music Club.

3. Strong from start to finish -- All songs on the album should be strong; singles with a lot of filler don't count.

Coming next, my top albums of the decade...