Some Of These Things Are Not Like The Others: EW's Top Ten List Of The Decade

The Top 10 lists of several websites and periodicals have been popping up with more frequency now that this decade is about to come to a close. No stranger to Top 10 lists ourselves, we understand the time and care that goes into choosing a list such as this one. Entertainment Weekly recently released their "10 Best Albums Of The Decade" list. While some of them I agree with, others not so much. Let's take a look at it together, shall we?

1. The College Dropout, Kanye West (2004)
2. The Blueprint, Jay-Z (2001)
3. Kid A, Radiohead (2000)
4. Stankonia, OutKast (2000)
5. Love And Theft, Bob Dylan (2001)
6. Home, The Dixie Chicks (2002)
7. Funeral, The Arcade Fire (2004)
8. I Am... Sasha Fierce, Beyoncé (2008)
9. FutureSex/LoveSounds, Justin Timberlake, (2006)
10. You Are Free, Cat Power (2003)

• For starters, I agree mostly with this list, especially given that EW is a Pop culture outfit. Albums 1-4 are good choices, but to place Kanye's The College Dropout above Jay-Z's instant classic The Blueprint--this list in order of decreasing importance--makes me all uncomfortable and itchy. Did they put Kanye above Jay in this instance because he has production credits on this album? I'm confused.
• But let's revisit the 4th album on this list. Outkast's Stankonia got best album of the decade honors over Speakerboxxx/TheLove Below? I'm very perplexed about this one. While Stankonia was cool and yielded singles on the Pop chart ("Miss Jackson" & "B.O.B"), musically Speakerboxxx/The Love Below was stellar when compared to their previous album. I'm really restraining myself now. I constructed an altar to Andre 3000's The Love Below when it dropped. It really meant that much to me.
• The other choices in the lower half of the list are more indicative of EW being a Pop culture entity than anything else. I haven't listened to The Dixie Chicks, Cat Power, or Arcade Fire, and I really can't deal with Bob Dylan at all. It just seems strange that Justin Timberlake's Future Sex/Love Sounds trumped the more stellar (IMO) Justified. Again, I imbibed the nectar of this record until I became a virtual Bacchus, prancing through the streets singing its praises with my autographed--yes, autographed--CD in hand. I don't really talk about Justin in that way anymore, since, you know, "the incident."
• Beyoncé, her over-the-top-self, of course required her own separate paragraph because the world just can't bear to see her lumped together with any one else. I personally wasn't really feeling I Am... Sasha Fierce. I did like B'day, however, and she sounded more relatable, more soulful, and less histrionic. But again, this is strictly my opinion.

I don't mean to get all nitpicky with EW's list, but we here at SoulBounce believe in a spirited debate as much as we believe in constructive criticism. Feel free to leave your opinion about my thoughts or EW's Best Albums List in the comments.