Sorry, folks, but ten years is a long time, and I could only get my list down to eleven -- and even this involved some tough decisions.

1. Sink or Swim, The Gaslight Anthem, 2007. I haven't been this excited about a band since middle school. These guys play a hybrid of Bruce Springsteen and The Cure, and their songwriting is absolutely top-notch. They need to learn from the Boss's strategy of the late '70s, though, and start marketing themselves to Middle America rather than the indie crowd. There is nothing ironic or aloof about their blue-collar anthems, and they can single-handedly breathe life back into rock 'n' roll if they keep working and grow their sound. Every music fan should buy their entire discography (this one, plus The '59 Sound and the EP Señor and the Queen, both released last year), which I've listened to, straight through, dozens of times. I rarely go through more than a week of commuting without at least a one-way trip set to a Gaslight soundtrack.

2. Lateralus, Tool, 2001. It was a toss-up between this record and the best effort by singer Maynard James Keenan's side project, A Perfect Circle's Thirteenth Step (2003). Lateralus's musical intricacy helped it win. All four members of the band are firing on all cylinders here, with interweaving riffs, haunting melodies, constantly shifting time signatures, and occasional unbridled rage. This is what metal should be.

3. Frances the Mute, The Mars Volta, 2005. These enigmatic musicians, with their blend of Jimi Hendrix guitars, Led Zeppelin vocals, and Spanish influences, sound like no others, and this is an excellent record straight through. It's accessible, yet quirky and exotic.

4. Fox Confessor Brings the Flood, Neko Case, 2006. When I get bored of hard rock, I often turn to indie folk-rock, and this is a great example of it. Case has a wonderfully evocative voice, sings with passion, and puts together great songs. Nudged out The Decemberists' The Crane Wife (also 2006).

5. Live From Iraq, 4th25, 2005. Recorded in Iraq by active-duty soldiers, this rap concept album begins with a track about deployment and proceeds to cover many different aspects of military life -- the danger, the conflicts with superiors, the anxiety about cheating spouses back home. It features raw production and amazing lyrics. For the great many of us who have never served in the military, this serves as a reminder of what our armed forces go through.

6. Rebel Meets Rebel, 2006. Country's David Allan Coe singing over Pantera? Sounds like an awful idea, but the group turned out an album's worth of top-notch tunes before Dimebag Darrell passed away. This record inspired me to look kindly upon country, or at least outlaw country, for the first time in my life.

7. Troubadour, K'Naan, 2009. Looking to the next decade, there are few rap artists I'm looking forward to hearing from. This Somali-born Canadian is one of them. He's a gifted storyteller and rhyme architect who covers plenty of different topics (one track here is an ode to Western Union), and this record features excellent production.

8. Threads of Life, Shadows Fall, 2007. This was the decade of metalcore. Hopefully it was the last decade of metalcore, but before running out of steam, the genre gave us this high-octane tour de force from one of the style's innovators.

9. A City by the Light Divided, Thursday, 2006. Just re-read the last entry, substituting "screamo" for "metalcore" and "textured and powerful" for "high-octane."

10. The Love Below, Outkast, 2003. (Notice I didn't include "Speakerboxxx" in the title.) Andre 3000 is better when Big Boi isn't holding him back, and he's also better when he sings instead of raps. This is a classic, and (for the most part) classy to boot.

11. Ashes of the Wake, Lamb of God, 2004. It was a toss-up between this and Children of Bodom's Hate Crew Deathroll (2003) for a modern extreme-metal album that really kills. Arch Enemy's Doomsday Machine (2005) is up there too. So why not get all three?