So Close . . .

The D Man struggled winnowing down his Best Songs of the Decade to just thirty songs. The following are all great songs from artists that came ever so close to making the cut. Do yourself a favor and click on the links below to enjoy the best the decade had to offer. You may just discover a song or a band that you won't be able to live without. For the sake of full disclosure, I can tell you that Beck, Bon Iver, Doves, Jens Lekman, Junior Boys, Phoenix, Wilco, and Vampire Weekend came closest to cracking the glass ceiling.

• "Twenty Two Fourteen" by The Album Leaf. From the most sublime ambient album of the decade.
• "Plasticities" by Andrew Bird. Get loopy with this violin-pop maestro and world-class whistler.
• "Brother" by Annuals. One of the best album openers turns into something fiercely exciting.
• "Wires" by Athlete. The birth of singer Joel Pott's son will break your heart.
• "Daniel" by Bat for Lashes. A flawless, atmospheric pop recording from Peter Gabriel's daemon.
• "Guess I'm Doing Fine" by Beck. I'm not sure I believe you.
• "Rocky Took A Lover" by Bell XI. Because this is about music for the people. And Mr. Reese said so.
• "I'm A Cuckoo" by Belle & Sebastian. Plenty more where this ditty came from.
• "The Luckiest" by Ben Folds. Sentimental and superb. But now in too many wedding videos.
• "You're Quiet" by Brendan Benson. "I'm Brendan. What's your name?"
• "Out of Sight" by The Brother Kite. How is this song not on the interweb? "Get On, Me" will have to do.
• "Skinny Love" by Bon Iver. Just about any song from his debut will do.
• "Jacknuggeted" by Caribou. Makes me feel good just thinking about it.
• "Hearts on Fire" by Cut Copy. Smooth electro-pop from Down Under.
• "A Movie Script Ending" by Death Cab For Cutie. The highway. The highway. The highway.
• "Pounding" by Doves. Two killer climaxes. The D Man apologizes for leaving this one off.
• "1234" by Feist. This song was everywhere. And deservedly so.
• "Be Good Or Be Gone" by Fionn Regan. One of the best videos of the decade too.
• "Stacey's Mom" by Fountains of Wayne. "You missed a spot over there."
• "Stray Dog and the Chocolate Shake" by Grandaddy. Supervisor guy turns off the factory lights so the robots have to work in the dark.
• "Stuck Between Stations" by The Hold Steady. A great rock'n'roll song, plain and simple.
• "In Front of the House" by Human Television. You should own this effortless pop record.
• "The Lakes of Canada" by Innocence Mission. Exquisite.
• "The Opposite of Hallelujah" by Jens Lekman. Broke my heart to leave Jens off. I'm so sorry.
• "In The Morning" by Junior Boys. One of the decade's crowning electro-pop achievements.
• "My Love" by Justin Timberlake. He's smooth so get over it haters.
• "Mr. Brightside" by The Killers. Hey, Brandon grew up in Nephi, Utah.
• "Someone Great" by LCD Soundsystem. You can run forever to this funky electro groove.
• "I Am John" by Loney Dear. Bet you can't sing this high.
• "Pushover" by The Long Winters. The most underrated band of the decade.
• "So Much Trouble" by Matt Pond PA. What I wished the college band I never had sounded like.
• "This Woman's Work" by Maxwell. Only Maxwell could make Kate Bush better.
• "The Zookeeper's Boy" by Mew. Fighting for the best falsetto rock song of all time.
• "My Young Bride" by Midlake. Great American band that needs to be celebrated.
• "Get Ur Freak On" by Missy Elliot. Saw this performed live and in person on Letterman. Supa dupa fly.
• "Starlight" by Muse. Lil' D's favorite song because it talks about black holes.
• "Blizzard of '77" by Nada Surf. Sweet first track to a great collection of songs.
• "Silver & Gold" by Neil Young. Apparently only people who cover Neil Young are on the web.
• "In Need of A Miracle" by New Radicals. The D Man's desperation circa summer of 2000.
• "One Step Inside Doesn't Mean You Understand" by Notwist. Still love when the sticks come in.
• "Little Secrets" by Passion Pit. This song will get you higher and higher and higher.
• "On Your Side" by Pete Yorn. A late-night burner from a phenomenal debut.
• "Young Folks" by Peter Bjorn and John. Stay cool and keep whistling.
• "1901" by Phoenix. Maybe the decade's best three minutes of pop music. Why did The D Man leave this off?
• "Samson" by Regina Spektor. Original, lovely, and spellbinding.
• "By Your Side" Sade. With that voice and those words you can stay by me forever.
• "Lazy Eye" by Silversun Pickups. The best "alternative" song in years. The pay-off is totally is worth the wait.
• "Chocolate" by Snow Patrol. Came out when I was 25. Still makes sense. Still taking those steps.
• "The Underdog" by Spoon. Forget about the underdog and you will not survive.
• "Ageless Beauty" by Stars. Dreamy shoe-gaze pop doesn't get much better.
• "Jenny & The Ess-Dog" by Stephen Malkmus. He's the son of a Coca-Cola middleman.
• "Of Montreal" by The Stills. The sexiest guitar song you've ever heard.
• "Love Don't Owe You Anything" by Strays Don't Sleep. This will catch your attention while driving in the middle of the night.
• "Someday" by The Strokes. The garage band that took over the world for a little while.
• "Juxtaposed With U" by The Super Furry Animals. Zany Welsh band: "You've got to tolerate all those people that you hate."
• "Big Sur" by The Thrills. Ireland does California. And it sounds good.
• "Wolf Like Me" by TV On The Radio. Wolves are cool.
• "Oxford Comma" by Vampire Weekend. If they're good enough for Shakespeare, they're good enough for me.
• "The Rat" by The Walkmen. Seriously intense torcher.
• "Golden Cage" by The Whitest Boy Alive. Funky guitar minimalism will play tricks on your brain.
• "Jesus, Etc" by Wilco. Great band. Great album. Great song.
• "Maps" by Yeah Yeah Yeahs. It's hard to see a rock chick cry.