I sometimes like to do fun lists just to share music I love with whomever may be reading. I like to think of this blog as a mixed tape I've been making for the world for the past 13 years. So I'm going to take that mission really literally today and share with you my thirty favorite songs of this century. Obviously I'm known for writing about pretty specific genres of music, but I think over the years I've become more focused on touting bands and artists I like regardless of how their music is labeled. So with this list today, I've identified the 30 tracks from 2000 to present that mean the most to me. For various reasons, these songs have become part of my life. They're in my soul. If I'm lucky enough to still be around 30 years from now, I will be able to listen to these songs then and hear the soundtrack to my 30s, 40s, and early 50s. In many cases, the bands and artists below went on to write and record arguably far better songs. But music is a very personal thing, and these particular songs are the ones that have stuck with me the most. If some of these songs are unfamiliar to you, I hope you enjoy them!
30. Honeychain - "Some Boys Lie" (2017)
This whole album is power pop greatness.
29. The Sorels - "Love Your Rock N' Roll" (2022)
I've more or less decided that the next time I name a blog after a song, this will be the song!
28. The Ergs! - "Blue" (2007)
The demo version of this song was one of the first Ergs! songs I ever heard. To this day, I can't think of another song that better encapsulates why I love The Ergs!
27. Geoff Palmer - "I Like Murder Too" (2018)
This song is not just a song about two people belonging together because they both love true crime. But it nonetheless reminds me of my marriage and holds a special place in my heart.
26. The Tattle Tales - "September Girls" (2006)
You never forget the songs that got you through the darkest times.
25. Exploding Hearts - "Throwaway Style" (2002)
An absolutely devastating love song from an album that was a game-changer for power pop punk rock.
24. The Unlovables - "I've Cried 4 U" (2002)
At a Paul Westerberg show back in 2002, Lew Houston handed me a cassette tape with demos by the Exploding Hearts and The Unlovables on it. I'd never heard of The Unlovables before, and from the first note of their demo, I was having a "Where has this band been all my life?!" moment. I knew I was hearing the world's next great pop-punk band. The Unlovables would later record an arguably stronger version of "I've Cried 4 U," but there's a youthful energy to this earlier recording (from its debut EP) that just hits different.
23. Natalie Sweet - "Gimme Good Love" (2019)
Natalie Sweet first wrote this song for her band The Shanghais and then revamped it for her solo album, which she recorded with Travis Ramin. This is perhaps the greatest party song of the last 30 years.
22. Damone - "Feel Bad Vibe" (2003)
This could have and should have been a massive hit.
21. Kurt Baker - "Don't Go Falling In Love" (2012)
One of the contemporary classics of power pop.
20. Jabber - "Maybe Next Year" (2012)
Behold one of the greatest pop-punk songs ever recorded and an anthem of guarded optimism.
Behold one of the greatest pop-punk songs ever recorded and an anthem of guarded optimism.
19. Ryan Allen - "Born Radical" (2015)
The solo album Heart String Soul was my introduction to Ryan Allen, and I was a fan from the moment I first heard his voice. In "Born Radical," Allen tells his own origin story through the story of his parents. The song is a celebration of his mom and dad and how they were the ultimate source of everything he would become. They are many kinds of love songs in this world, but few are purer and more triumphant than this one.
The solo album Heart String Soul was my introduction to Ryan Allen, and I was a fan from the moment I first heard his voice. In "Born Radical," Allen tells his own origin story through the story of his parents. The song is a celebration of his mom and dad and how they were the ultimate source of everything he would become. They are many kinds of love songs in this world, but few are purer and more triumphant than this one.
18. Beach Patrol - "Battlestar Galactica"
I love that I live in a world where a band named after a Hulk Hogan song could spawn one of the greatest songwriters of a generation.
I love that I live in a world where a band named after a Hulk Hogan song could spawn one of the greatest songwriters of a generation.
17. The Kidnappers -"Spanish Girls" (2003)
The idea of a garage punk band playing power pop is old hat nowadays, but it was a rather exciting concept twenty years ago. This song is everything that great power pop ought to be.
The idea of a garage punk band playing power pop is old hat nowadays, but it was a rather exciting concept twenty years ago. This song is everything that great power pop ought to be.
16. The Exbats - "I Got the Hots for Charlie Watts"
There are so many great Exbats songs. But this one is special.
There are so many great Exbats songs. But this one is special.
15. Scrimshanders - "SXMW" (2000)
Oddly enough, I discovered this song two decades after it was first released. It was February 2021. Malibu Lou sent me the Rum Bar Records Rebel Rousers compilation. This was peak pandemic time. I never really drove my car anywhere — except on Sundays when I'd have to back out of the garage to wheel the trash out to the curb. Then I'd take a little drive around the neighborhood just to give my car a little work. This was typically a two-minute drive, but then I came upon "SXMW," and I was instantly floored by this epic alt-country love song. My god, those lyrics! That voice! That hook! Soon I had a new routine. Every Sunday, I wheeled out the trash and drove around the neighborhood listening to "SXMW" on repeat. I don't often indulge in pandemic nostalgia, but this song always takes me back.
Oddly enough, I discovered this song two decades after it was first released. It was February 2021. Malibu Lou sent me the Rum Bar Records Rebel Rousers compilation. This was peak pandemic time. I never really drove my car anywhere — except on Sundays when I'd have to back out of the garage to wheel the trash out to the curb. Then I'd take a little drive around the neighborhood just to give my car a little work. This was typically a two-minute drive, but then I came upon "SXMW," and I was instantly floored by this epic alt-country love song. My god, those lyrics! That voice! That hook! Soon I had a new routine. Every Sunday, I wheeled out the trash and drove around the neighborhood listening to "SXMW" on repeat. I don't often indulge in pandemic nostalgia, but this song always takes me back.
14. The Shang Hi Los - "Sway Little Player"
Another flashback to pandemic times. There were intriguing rumors that Jen D'Angora and Danny Kopko were starting a band which they'd co-front. This seemed like it could be the best thing ever, and the world quickly discovered that indeed it was.
Another flashback to pandemic times. There were intriguing rumors that Jen D'Angora and Danny Kopko were starting a band which they'd co-front. This seemed like it could be the best thing ever, and the world quickly discovered that indeed it was.
13. Beach Patrol - "Don't Panic" (2019)
There's no doubt that having the songs of Domenic Marcantonio in my life has made me a wiser human.
There's no doubt that having the songs of Domenic Marcantonio in my life has made me a wiser human.
11. Vista Blue - "There Goes the Sun" (2020)
Of course this is one my favorite bands. I love dozens upon dozens of Vista Blue songs. Yet if you ask me to pick just one favorite, I won't hesitate. It's like picking my all-time favorite Philadelphia Phillie. "There Goes the Sun" is the Mike Schmidt of Vista Blue songs.
Of course this is one my favorite bands. I love dozens upon dozens of Vista Blue songs. Yet if you ask me to pick just one favorite, I won't hesitate. It's like picking my all-time favorite Philadelphia Phillie. "There Goes the Sun" is the Mike Schmidt of Vista Blue songs.
10. Pale Lips - "That Old Ghost Don't Lie" (2019)
The thing that's amazing about songwriting is that someone can write a song that is intensely personal to them, yet once it goes out into the world, it can touch others in very profound ways. Beautifully haunting, "That Old Ghost Don't Lie" is so powerful because nearly every person alive knows the pain of coping with the death of a friend. This was very different for a Pale Lips song, and that's what makes it so remarkable.
The thing that's amazing about songwriting is that someone can write a song that is intensely personal to them, yet once it goes out into the world, it can touch others in very profound ways. Beautifully haunting, "That Old Ghost Don't Lie" is so powerful because nearly every person alive knows the pain of coping with the death of a friend. This was very different for a Pale Lips song, and that's what makes it so remarkable.
9. The Sleeveens - "Give My Regards to the Dancing Girls" (2023)
The album version is great as well, but the original 7" cut is truly epic and as joyful of a slab of rock 'n' roll as you could ever hope to hear.
The album version is great as well, but the original 7" cut is truly epic and as joyful of a slab of rock 'n' roll as you could ever hope to hear.
8. Nato Coles and the Blue Diamond Band - "Promises to Deliver" (2013)
If I were a ball player, this would be my walk-up song.
7. King Louie & The Loose Diamonds - "Gypsy Switch" (2007)
There are so many Louie Bankston songs I love, but this is the one I would not want to live without.
6. Tina and the Total Babes - "Christy" (2001)
This song can hold its own against any power pop classic of any era.
This song can hold its own against any power pop classic of any era.
4. Second Saturday - "What If" (2002)
You know I love power pop and pop-punk. You know I like sappy love songs. You know I love twist endings. Put that all together, and you have the heart-racing greatness of "What If" by Second Saturday. Why in the world don't more people in the power pop community talk about what a great songwriter Wyatt Funderburk is?
You know I love power pop and pop-punk. You know I like sappy love songs. You know I love twist endings. Put that all together, and you have the heart-racing greatness of "What If" by Second Saturday. Why in the world don't more people in the power pop community talk about what a great songwriter Wyatt Funderburk is?
3. Pale Lips - "Mary-Lou Sniffin' Glue" (2016)
This is literally the most fun song ever written by anyone ever. If it doesn't bring you joy, you are dead inside.
This is literally the most fun song ever written by anyone ever. If it doesn't bring you joy, you are dead inside.
2. The Speedways - "In A World Without Love It's Hard To Stay Young" (2023)
I love The Speedways, and so many of their songs are meaningful to me. But "In A World Without Love It's Hard To Stay Young" is next-level stuff: a widescreen epic which transcends musical genre. I loved Matt's original solo track, but the full-band version recorded for the Triple Platinum compilation last year gives me chills.
I love The Speedways, and so many of their songs are meaningful to me. But "In A World Without Love It's Hard To Stay Young" is next-level stuff: a widescreen epic which transcends musical genre. I loved Matt's original solo track, but the full-band version recorded for the Triple Platinum compilation last year gives me chills.
1. Role Models - "Lost in the City" (2014)
I was a latecomer to the greatness of Rich Ragany as a songwriter. Justin Maurer shared "Lost in the City" on social media, so I went and checked out the song. It was love at first listen. I immediately wanted to hear more from Role Models, and I've been a huge Rags fan ever since. This is another example of an artist writing a deeply personal song yet creating something that's universally relatable and life-affirming in a way that will give you chills. A decade later, this remains a digital-only release, so maybe it will be new to some of you. God, what a perfect pop song!
I was a latecomer to the greatness of Rich Ragany as a songwriter. Justin Maurer shared "Lost in the City" on social media, so I went and checked out the song. It was love at first listen. I immediately wanted to hear more from Role Models, and I've been a huge Rags fan ever since. This is another example of an artist writing a deeply personal song yet creating something that's universally relatable and life-affirming in a way that will give you chills. A decade later, this remains a digital-only release, so maybe it will be new to some of you. God, what a perfect pop song!
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