The 111 Best Songs By Tom Petty

(* This is a slightly altered post from a few years ago.  The sentiment remains the same)

An American icon cannot be narrowed down to eleven songs. Petty belongs with the greats. Time and time again he has stood up to the record companies and won. Not just once...but many times. He is everything that rock n roll was and everything it should be. He has stood for artists' rights...he has stood against over-production. He blasted the radio industry, American Idol, and everything that is wrong with music today. He made a 4-hour music documentary against all common sense...and in turn made one of the greatest music documentaries of all time. And at the end of the day...no matter how much stands up for or stands against...he backs it up making good honest music...that has only gotten better with time.

Rock on, Tom Petty.  RIP


The 111 Best Tom Petty Songs:

1. American Girl (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers)
2. A Woman In Love (Hard Promises)
3. Runnin' Down A Dream (Full Moon Fever)
4. Shadow of A Doubt (A Complex Kid) (Damn The Torpedoes)
5. Zombie Zoo (Full Moon Fever)
6. Refugee (Damn The Torpedoes)
7. Learning To Fly (Into The Great Wide Open)
8. Crawling Back To You (Wildflowers)
9. Rebels (Southern Accents)
10. Free Fallin' (Full Moon Fever)
11. King's Highway (Into The Great Wide Open)
12. Mary Jane's Last Dance (Greatest Hits)
13. Walls (Circus) - (She's The One)
14. Waiting For Tonight (Playback)
15. The Last DJ (The Last DJ)
16. I Won't Back Down (Full Moon Fever)
17. Wildflowers (Wildflowers)
18. Breakdown (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers)
19. I Need To Know (You're Gonna Get It)
20. Out In The Cold (Into The Great Wide Open)
21. You Got Lucky (Long After Dark)
22. The Waiting (Hard Promises)
23. Don't Do Me Like That - Mudcrutch Version (Playback)
24. Finding Out (Long After Dark)
25. Handle With Care (Traveling Wilburys Volume 1)
26. Love Is Long Road (Full Moon Fever)
27. A Thing About You (Hard Promises)
28. Time To Move On (Wildflowers)
29. Two Gunslingers (Into The Great Wide Open)
30. Ways To Be Wicked (Playback)
31. Counting On You (Echo)
32. Dark of the Sun (Into The Great Wide Open)
33. I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better (Full Moon Fever)
34. Magnolia (You're Gonna Get It)
35. Lover of the Bayou (Mudcrutch)
36. Stop Draggin' My Heart Around (Bella Donna)
37. Dreams of Flying (2)
38. Square One (Highway Companion)
39. Yer So Bad (Full Moon Fever)
40. Even The Losers (Damn The Torpedoes)
41. Trailer (2)
42. Runaway Trains (Let Me Up)
43. Into The Great Wide Open (Into The Great Wide Open)
44. End of the Line (Traveling Wilburys - Volume 1)
45. Hope You Never (She's The One)
46. Flirting With Time (Highway Companion)
47. You and Me (The Last DJ)
48. You Wreck Me (Wildflowers)
49. Ankle Deep (Highway Companion)
50. Depending On You (Full Moon Fever)
51. A One Story Town (Long After Dark)
52. Here Comes My Girl (Damn The Torpedoes)
53. King's Road (Hard Promises)
54. So You Want To Be A Rock N Roll Star (Pack Up The Plantation)
55. Dreamville (The Last DJ)
56. Saving Grace (Highway Companion)
57. We Stand A Chance (Long After Dark)
58. The Apartment Song (Full Moon Fever)
59. Deliver Me (Long After Dark)
60. Restless (You're Gonna Get It)
61. Won't Last Long (Echo)
62. To Find A Friend (Wildflowers)
63. Don't Come Around Here No More (Southern Accents)
64. The Trip To Pirate's Cove (Mojo)
65. Forgotten Man (Hypnotic Eye)
66. Century City (Damn The Torpedoes)
67. Dogs On The Run (Southern Accents)
68. Needles and Pins (Pack Up The Plantation)
69. Angel Dream (No. 4) - (She's The One)
70. Insider (Hard Promises)
71. A Mind With A Heart of Its Own (Full Moon Fever)
72. Listen To Her Heart (You're Gonna Get It)
73. All You Can Carry (Hypnotic Eye)
74. Save Your Water (2)
75. A Higher Place (Wildflowers)
76. Hope (2)
77. It's Good To Be King (Wildflowers)
78. Louisiana Rain (Damn The Torpedoes)
79. Sea of Heartbreak (Unchained)
80. I Will Run To You (Wild At Heart)
81. Grew Up Fast (She's The One)
82. Southern Accents (Southern Accents)
83. Big Weekend (Highway Companion)
84. You're Gonna Get It (You're Gonna Get It)
85. Something Good Coming (Mojo)
86. Down South (Highway Companion)
87. One More Day, One More Night (Echo)
88. Night Driver (Highway Companion)
89. Running Man's Bible (Mojo)
90. Poor House (Traveling Wilburys - Volume 3)
91. Since You Said You Loved Me (Playback)
92. Letting You Go (Hard Promises)
93. Jammin' Me (Let Me Up)
94. Lover's Touch (Mojo)
95. Hurt (You're Gonna Get It)
96. Fooled Again (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers)
97. Let Me Up (Let Me Up)
98. A Self-Made Man (Let Me Up)
99. Makin' Some Noise (Into The Great Wide Open)
100. All Or Nothin' (Into The Great Wide Open)
101. How Many More Days (Let Me Up)
102. Fault Lines (Hypnotic Eye)
103. The Wrong Thing To Do (Mudcrutch)
104. Asshole (She's The One)
105. Anything's That Rock N Roll (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers)
106. Kneeling Drunkard's Plea (Unchained)
107. Red River (Hypnotic Eye)
108. Damaged By Love (Highway Companion)
109. Scare Easy (Mudcrutch)
110. High In The Morning (Mojo)
111. Money Becomes King (The Last DJ)

The 11 Best Stevie Nicks Team-Ups

We all have our favorites.  We all have artists who we follow.  We all have artists who we can listen to no matter the album, whether it's considered their best or their worst.  For me that artist is Tom Petty.  He has been one of my favorites for over 25 years.  He also may be the only artist among my favorites I've never seen live.   That changed this week.  After going through a deeply frustrating personal set-back, one of my best friends came through out of the blue with a free ticket to his show in Anaheim.  It could not have come at a better time, and it was exactly what I needed.  Tom Petty...40 years a rock n roll star...put on one of the best rock shows I have ever seen.   It was big, personal, and filled with every riff I ever wanted to hear out of Petty's mouth or Campbell's guitar.  Today, I have gratitude that when we get knocked down that our friends are there to pick us up. One of Petty's best rock friends is the one and only Stevie Nicks.  Many people don't know that Nicks almost became a member of the Heartbreakers in the 80s.  Nicks may have had a massive career in dysfunctional family of Fleetwood Mac but her solo outings were ripe with huge duets and guests that made her equally respected on her own.  And with Mike Campbell sneaking into every one of her solo albums, it's safe to say that she might as well be a Heartbreaker. Here are the 11 Best Stevie Nicks Team-Ups:

1. Stand Back w/ Prince (The Wild Heart)
2. Stop Draggn' My Heart Around w/ Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers (Bella Donna)
3. Whenever I Call You Friend w/ Kenny Loggins (Nightwatch)
4. I Will Run To You w/ Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers (The Wild Heart)
5. Leather and Lace w/ Don Henley (Bella Donna)
6. Magnet And Steel w/ Walter Egan (Not Shy)
7. You Can't Fix This w/ Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Rami Jaffe (Reel To Reel)
8. Too Far From Texas w/ Natalie Maines (Trouble in Shangri-La)
9. Sorcerer w/ Marilyn Martin (Streets of Fire)
10. Everybody Loves You w/ Dave Stewart (In Your Dreams)
11. Twisted w/ Lindsey Buckingham (Twister Soundtrack)

Buy Stevie Nicks new album, 24 Karat Gold...now!!  

The 11 Best Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers of the 80s

Tom Petty rules.  

Petty owned the 70s.  It was this decade when Petty crawled out of the Florida swamps and kicked us in the ear drums with jangle-rific rock n' roll that infected us with push play, rewind, repeat.  "American Girl" & " Refugee" will out live us all.  In the 90s, Petty had a massive rebirth ignited by the late 80s iconic solo album, Full Moon Fever.  "Learning To Fly" had us strumming along as they went to the top of the rock charts, Johnny Depp and Faye Dunaway were making video cameos, and indie filmmakers were hiring the band to score soundtracks.  Like the decade did for other 70s icon, John Travolta, the 90s reminded us why we loved them in the first place.

Twenty years down the road, TP & the HBs were as dominant as ever.  But in between the 70s and the 90s, Petty took the road less traveled.  The 80s may be Petty's most subversive decade.  The 80s were owned by MTV.  Petty couldn't dance like Michael Jackson, and he couldn't wear a dress (or not wear) like Madonna.  He couldn't rap like LL Cool J and claymation just wasn't his thing.  But that didn't mean Petty and the boys weren't churning out music that stood on par with the best of their career.  

Here are the 11 Best Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers of the 80s:

1. Rebels (Southern Accents)
2. A Woman In Love (It's Not Me) (Hard Promises)
3. Insider (Hard Promises)
4. Change Of Heart (Long After Dark)
5. The Waiting (Hard Promises)
6. Deliver Me (Long After Dark)
7. It Ain't Nothing To Me (Southern Accents)
8. Runaway Trains (Let Me Up I've Had Enough)
9. You Got Lucky (Long After Dark)
10. We Stand A Chance (Long After Dark)
11. Jammin' Me (Let Me Up I've Had Enough)

Buy Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers new album, Hypnotic Eye...now!!!

Don't forget to check out our blog's awesome new book The 111 Best Lists of the 2000s.  Available now!  (featuring Tom Petty's best of the 00s)

The 11 Best Songs By The War On Drugs

With the news of Tom Petty's new album, Hypnotic Eye, (a major news flash in itself) the initial thought that hit me...seems to have hit just about everybody in the collective music community that the universe might just be aligning for the perfect tour:  Tom Petty with special guests, The War On Drugs.  It was epic enough that Christine McVie was returning to Fleetwood Mac (too bad Rilo Kiley isn't still around to open).  But to have two seemingly connected bands (one the leader and the other the padawan) release albums at almost the same time seems too good to be true.  The War On Drugs new album is their best album to date.  It's one of the first albums of the year I've been urging my friends to go out and buy.  With WOD's obvious similarities to Petty & co...the mere thought of the two of them sharing a stage was something more of a lost dream than a potential reality.  Like Wilco & Bob Dylan, Pearl Jam & Neil Young, Steel Panther & Spinal Tap...sometimes dreams do come true...let's keep our fingers crossed that this one might just happen. Here are the 11 Best Songs By The War On Drugs:

1. Best Night (Slave Ambient)
2. Taking the Farm (Wagonwheel Blues)
3. Baby Missiles (Slave Ambient)
4. A Needle In Your Eye #16 (Wagonwheel Blues)
5. Your Love Is Calling My Name (Slave Ambient)
6. Arms Like Boulders (Wagonwheel Blues)
7. Comin' Through (Future Weather)
8. Brothers (Slave Ambient)
9. Show Me the Coast (Wagonwheel Blues)
10. Pushing Corn (Barrel of Batteries)
11. The History of Plastic (Future Weather)

Buy The War On Drugs new album, Lost In The Dream...now!!

The 11 Best Black Friday Record Store Releases

Every April...us old dudes who still own record players crowd around record stores to pay a lot of money for limited edition colored vinyls with one extra track.  But Christmas has come early this year.  The wonderful folks at RSD have a new day for us...like a teaser trailer for spring's epic event.  Black Friday features a much smaller amount of releases but some exclusive and exciting ones none-the less.  Here's some of the most interesting releases...and click here for the the full list.


Here are 11 of the Best Releases for Black Friday:

1. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Kiss My Amps Live (No one has made a bigger effort to support vinyl than Tom Petty...so this live EP with songs from the Mojo tour promises to sound amazing.)
2. Wilco - Speak Into The Rose (a 4-song EP with two unreleased tracks from the Whole Love Sessions)
3. Janis Joplin - Move Over 7-inch box set (4 7-inch singles with unreleased tracks and versions)
4. Iron & Wine - Morning Becomes Eclectic (An collection of live tracks recorded for the show)
5. The Kings of Leon - The Early Vinyl (The first three albums on vinyl with a 4th album of unreleased material)
6. The Byrds - Eight Miles High & The Times They Are A-Changing (Two singles that were never released)
7. Ryan Adams - Do I Wait/Darkness (two songs from the Ashes & Fire sessions)
8. Silversun Pickups - Seasick (Unreleased Tracks from the Swoon Sessions)
9. The Civil Wars - Tracks in the Snow (Two new holiday tracks and two live tracks unavailable anywhere else)
10. Craig Finn - Honolulu Blues (The first single with solo material from the Hold Steady frontman)
11. Sea Wolf - Song of the Magpie (Two unreleased tracks produced by Mike Mogis)

Check out Black Friday here.

The 11 Best Albums of the Year (so far):

Over halfway through the year and I am unimpressed.  Eminem's new album is pretty good and definitely a return to form.  But the best of the year?  It's not even the best Em album.  Maybe 3rd best.  And Massive Attack, Morcheeba, and MGMT have all made nice albums...but these are far from their best material.  So what gives?  Last year at this time, the Animal Collective, the xx, Grizzly Bear, and Phoenix had all released albums.  I've listened to Sleigh Bells (a reincarnation of Atari Teenage Riot), Best Coast (the new Raveonettes), Surfer Blood (a watered-down Pavement), Beach House (a more moody Joan As Police Woman), & Local Natives (a less innovative Elbow) and have been underwhelmed by all of them. Where's the good music people?!

This decade is really starting off with a whimper.

Here are the 11 Best Albums of 2010 (so far):

1.  Eminem - Recovery
2.  LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening
3.  Massive Attack - Heliogoland
4.  Morcheeba - Blood Like Lemonade
5.  Jonsi - Go
6.  MGMT - Congratulations
7.  Tokyo Police Club - Champ
8.  Against Me! - White Crosses
9.  Free Energy - Stuck on Nothin'
10. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Mojo
11. Caribou - Swim

Buy these great 2010 albums and others now!

The 11 Best Songs By Tom Petty of the 00s

The music industry never ceases to amaze me.  They complain about the internet destorying their industry.  Yet, they do everything in their power to aid and abet them.  The new Tom Petty comes out this week.  A blues-blasted masterpiece from my first couple listens.  I want to get the album on vinyl.   Because if anyone out there cares whether his album will sound good on vinyl, it will be Tom Petty.  One of the last true rock artists, who gives a crap what his music sounds like.  Those of us who still buy records...and still prefer records (yes, I realize I'm a new addition to this category) know that Petty is someone who emphasizes in not digitizing his music.  He prefers the live snapshot of the band in the studio.  On vinyl, the experience will be unmatched.  So, what does Petty's label decide to do?  Delay the release of the vinyl for 2 weeks.  Why?  Who fucking knows.  The one artist whose fans may actually prefer to purchase the record over any other medium, are the ones you choose to screw over.  Idiots. After learning this, I went and acquired the music.  I didn't pay for it.  But I wanted to hear it.  I still plan on buying th vinyl...I just didn't want to wait.  And I'm not the only one.  Learning yet?

Here are the 11 Best Songs by Tom Petty of the 00s:

1.  The Last DJ (The Last DJ)
2.  Square One (Highway Companion)
3.  Ankle Deep (Highway Companion)
4.  Dreamville (The Last DJ)
5.  Saving Grace (Highway Companion)
6.  Lover of the Bayou (Mudcrutch)
7.  Night Driver (Highway Companion)
8.  The Wrong Thing To Do (Mudcrutch)
9.  You and Me (The Last DJ)
10.  Crystal River (Mudcrutch)
11.  Blue Moon of Kentucky (Good Rockin' Tonight)

Buy Tom Petty & the Hearbreakers new album, Mojo, now!!

The 111 Best Tom Petty Songs

When an American icon comes along with a new album...narrowing his career down to eleven songs isn't just a difficult task...it's an insult. Petty belongs with the greats. Time and time again he has stood up to the record companies and won. Not just once...but many times. He is everything that rock n roll was and everything it should be. He has stood for artists' rights...he has stood against over-production. He blasted the radio industry, American Idol, and everything that is wrong with music today. He made a 4-hour music documentary against all common sense...and in turn made one of the greatest music documentaries of all time. And at the end of the day...no matter how much stands up for or stands against...he backs it up making good honest music...that has only gotten better with time.

Rock on, Tom Petty. Rock on.






The 111 Best Tom Petty Songs:

1. American Girl (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers)
2. Refugee (Damn The Torpedoes)
3. Runnin' Down A Dream (Full Moon Fever)
4. Breakdown (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers)
5. Shadow of A Doubt (A Complex Kid) (Damn The Torpedoes)
6. Learing To Fly (Into The Great Wide Open)
7. Even The Losers (Damn The Torpedoes)
8. Zombie Zoo (Full Moon Fever)
9. I Need To Know (You're Gonna Get It)
10. I Won't Back Down (Full Moon Fever)
11. Crawling Back To You (Wildflowers)
12. The Last DJ (The Last DJ)
13. King's Highway (Into The Great Wide Open)
14. Waiting For Tonight (Playback)
15. Free Fallin' (Full Moon Fever)
16. The Waiting (Hard Promises)
17. Don't Do Me Like That - Mudcrutch Version (Playback)
18. Handle With Care (Traveling Wilburys Volume 1)
19. Yer So Bad (Full Moon Fever)
20. Mary Jane's Last Dance (Greatest Hits)
21. Rebels (Southern Accents)
22. Square One (Highway Companion)
23. Love Is Long Road (Full Moon Fever)
24. A Woman In Love (Hard Promises)
25. Walls (Circus) - (She's The One)
26. Finding Out (Long After Dark)
27. Two Gunslingers (Into The Great Wide Open)
28. Ways To Be Wicked (Playback)
29. Saving Grace (Highway Companion)
30. Wildflowers (Wildflowers)
31. Here Comes My Girl (Damn The Torpedoes)
32. Dark of the Sun (Into The Great Wide Open)
33. Grew Up Fast (She's The One)
34. Stop Draggin' My Heart Around (Bella Donna)
35. I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better (Full Moon Fever)
36. Listen To Her Heart (You're Gonna Get It)
37. Angel Dream (No. 4) - (She's The One)
38. Out In The Cold (Into The Great Wide Open)
39. You and Me (The Last DJ)
40. Counting On You (Echo)
41. A Thing About You (Hard Promises)
42. You Got Lucky (Long After Dark)
43. Ankle Deep (Highway Companion)
44. Since You Said You Loved Me (Playback)
45. Magnolia (You're Gonna Get It)
46. Letting You Go (Hard Promises)
47. Depending On You (Full Moon Fever)
48. A One Story Town (Long After Dark)
49. Runaway Trains (Let Me Up)
50. Restless (You're Gonna Get It)
51. Into The Great Wide Open (Into The Great Wide Open)
52. Won't Last Long (Echo)
53. Flirting With Time (Highway Companion)
54. The Wrong Thing To Do (Mudcrutch)
55. End of the Line (Traveling Wilburys - Volume 1)
56. You Wreck Me (Wildflowers)
57. All Or Nothin' (Into The Great Wide Open)
58. A Mind With A Heart of Its Own (Full Moon Fever)
59. So You Want To Be A Rock N Roll Star (Pack Up The Plantation)
60. King's Road (Hard Promises)
61. Jammin' Me (Let Me Up)
62. Century City (Damn The Torpedoes)
63. Hope You Never (She's The One)
64. Time To Move On (Wildflowers)
65. Insider (Hard Promises)
66. Southern Accents (Southern Accents)
67. Needles and Pins (Pack Up The Plantation)
68. We Stand A Chance (Long After Dark)
69. You're Gonna Get It (You're Gonna Get It)
70. Dogs On The Run (Southern Accents)
71. Fooled Again (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers)
72. I Can't Fight It (Playback)
73. Dreamville (The Last DJ)
74. Swingin' (Echo)
75. Down South (Highway Companion)
76. Lover of the Bayou (Mudcrutch)
77. Sea of Heartbreak (Unchained)
78. The Apartment Song (Full Moon Fever)
79. A Higher Place (Wildflowers)
80. Deliver Me (Long After Dark)
81. Let Me Up (Let Me Up)
82. One More Day, One More Night (Echo)
83. Makin' Some Noise (Into The Great Wide Open)
84. Hurt (You're Gonna Get It)
85. Poor House (Traveling Wilburys - Volume 3)
86. Turning Point (Playback)
87. Blue Moon of Kentucky (Good Rockin' Tonight)
88. Louisiana Rain (Damn The Torpedoes)
89. How Many More Days (Let Me Up)
90. To Find A Friend (Wildflowers)
91. Damaged By Love (Highway Companion)
92. Scare Easy (Mudcrutch)
93. I Will Run To You (Wild At Heart)
94. Money Becomes King (The Last DJ)
95. Asshole (She's The One)
96. Don't Come Around Here No More (Southern Accents)
97. A Self-Made Man (Let Me Up)
98. About To Give Out (Echo)
99. Wake Up Time (Wildflowers)
100. Crystal River (Mudcrutch)
101. Night Driver (Highway Companion)
102. Anything's That Rock N Roll (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers)
103. Kneeling Drunkard's Plea (Unchained)
104. Big Weekend (Highway Companion)
105. Keeping Me Alive (Playback)
106. When A Kid Goes Bad (The Last DJ)
107. Room At The Top (Echo)
108. The Best of Everything (Southern Accents)
109. It's Good To Be King (Wildflowers)
110. Orphan of the Storm (Mudcrutch)
111. You Don't Know How It Feels (Wildflowers)

Buy Tom Petty's Live Anthology. 50 songs for under $20!!

The 111 Best Albums of the 00s (100-111)

With very few new releases of note coming out these next few weeks...I'm jumping the gun and heading into the uber list that every blogger has been waiting for since blogging was invented. Yes...that's right. It's the best of the decade...and this will be the first decade where bloggers get to weigh in on the count. Even though there's "Nevermind" or "OK Computer" this decade...there was a much stronger middle. Even chipping the list down to 111...I've left well over a 100 albums of equal quality and importance sitting on the sidelines.

And even though we have a solid 4 months of releases coming, there's no telling whether these albums will truly be the best of the decade for at least another few years. I mean what's left Jay-Z? Detox? Strong contenders...but in all honestly...only time can tell.

Here are the 111 Best Albums of the 00s (100-111):

100. The Streets - A Grand Don't Come For Free (2004)
- Mike Skinner's concept rap album was clever, inventive and unlike anything we'd heard....and have yet to hear. (It Was Supposed to Be So Easy)

101. Madvillain - Madvillany (2004)
- One of MF Doom's many monikers found the hip-hop rapper/producer re-inventing what a song should or could be. (Fancy Clown)

102. TV on the Radio - Dear Science (2008)
- Last year's newest offering from this dynamic group didn't have the impact of their previous release (spoiler) but it still pushed the boundaries of where music could go.

103. Common - Be (2005)
- For years, Common was known as the rapper with a conscious. Content at being just underground. But on this release...he merged his smart style with bigger production and created genre-bending classic.

104. Modest Mouse - Good News For People who Love Bad News (2004)
- Isaac Brock and crew dump their artistic side and shoot for commercial success. In doing so, they become the last of the Seattle greats. (Bukowski)

105. Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca (2009)
- Still a bit early to figure how mighty this album is...but its praise hasn't slowed yet.

106. Badly Drawn Boy - The Hour of the Bewilderbeast (2000)
- Though Damon Gough's career has been uneven over this decade, his first offering is still a solid offering, paving the way to the freak folk bands to follow. (The Shining)

107. Radiohead - Hail To The Thief (2003)
- The Head's anti-Bush album did very little to stop him from being re-elected, or invading Iraq...but it did provide us with some great music. (There There)

108. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (2006)
- CYHSY is the first of the next generation in rock bands. Their success is laid at the feet of the bloggers who spread the praise of their debut album to their readers. They are the first true success story of the blogger-age...and it's a damn fine album to boot. (Yellow Country Teeth)

109. Sufjan Stevens - Illnoise (2005)
- Soulful folk backed by orchestras? Who could have thought that would sound good? One man made it work.

110. Brian Wilson - Smile (2004)
- A hard album to list here. Not that it's not a fantastic album...but does it really belong in the 00s? It was a hard call...there's never a bad time for Beach Boys bliss...but it edges in for purely not getting it fair shot years ago.

111. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - The Last DJ (2002)
- Though it was panned by critics...had minimal sales...and barely any radio play, TP's inditement of the radio/music industry now sounds like an eerie premonition of the decade that would come. Bashing the DJ-less radio playlists, rock stars created from game shows, and soaring ticket prices that milk kids of their last dime, The Last DJ sounds less like a prediction and more like a warning. Too bad no one heeded it. (The Last DJ)

Buy These albums now at Best of the 00s.

The 11 Best Tom Petty Songs:

I went to the store to buy the new Mudcrutch album. The cheapest I could find it was $11.99. I can't believe there's still some label out there who would push a first week CD for more than $9.99. Have they still not learned from the Napster years? So I went home and decided to buy it online for under $10. But before I bought it...I listened to it one more time...and didn't like it as much. Then I noticed that I could get Tokyo Police Club for only $9.00 with a bonus remix EP. I bought that instead.

Had Mudcrutch been $10 at the store...I would have purchased that...but greed got the best of the label and they lost a customer.

The 11 Best Non-Heartbreaker Tom Petty Songs:

1. Zombie Zoo (Full Moon Fever)
2. Ankle Deep (Highway Companion)
3. Runnin' Down A Dream (Full Moon Fever)
4. I Won't Back Down (Full Moon Fever)
5. Wildflowers (Wildflowers)
6. Yer So Bad (Full Moon Fever)
7. Saving Grace (Highway Companion)
8. I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better (Full Moon Fever)
9. Coming Back To You (Wildflowers)
10. Time To Move On (Wildflowers)
11. Don't Do Me Like That (Mudcrutch)

Buy Tom Petty's new album with his side-project, Mudcrutch.

Buy Tokyo Police Club's full-length debut.