via//chicago

via//chicago's 200 of the 2000s: the introduction

Things have been quiet on the via//chicago front, with good reason this time. I've been spending what spare moments I've had over the past few weeks working towards a project I've had in mind for a few months, namely sharing with you, loyal reader, my favorite 200 albums of the decade that has recently wrapped up. I know I'm running a few months behind most blogs and publications, but for some reason I felt silly trying to start this list before the decade was officially over. But after much hemming and hawing, I'm pleased to have finally put together a list that I feel really good about. I'll be unveiling the list over the months to come, one album at a time, while talking a little bit about what made each one special to me. It'll be a fun look back, so keep checking as we progress.

A few caveats:
1. I'm certainly not claiming these to be the definitive albums of the decade, not the most essential. These are the albums that meant the most to me and became my favorites at one point or another. I won't be trying to convince anyone that these are the best albums, just that they are certainly worth some attention.

2. I noticed that the top of the list was weighted towards things from early in the decade. At first I was a bit concerned that maybe I was giving short shrift to recent favorites, but I realized that I've simply lived with the early decade releases longer and have had more time to fully fall in love with them. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

3. While I've generally tried to list these in some sort of prioritized order, with number one being my favorite and number 200 being significantly less so, I am certainly not hung up on the precise order. Really, there's not much of a difference between, for example, numbers 53 and 59. If I were to spend time being that precise, the list would never be finished. So please, don't get too hung up on Album X being unfairly ranked behind Album Y. I certainly didn't when making this list.

With that being said, come back next time when we will unveil album #200. I'm very excited to present this list and I hope you gain just as much enjoyment from reading it.