Metromix picks the decade's best music

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DENVER - With the advent of iPods and file-sharing, the decade of the '00s hasn't been kind to the music industry - but it's been very kind to the fans, making it easier than ever before to seek out new sounds and discover worthy new artists.

Brilliant new acts emerged (hello, Bon Iver); old favorites retired (farewell, Sleater-Kinney). Radio declined and bloggers ascended, anointing new heroes on a seemingly weekly basis, some of which (Arcade Fire, Sufjan Stevens) actually stuck around for awhile.

Through it all, despite dire predictions about its impending demise, the album prevailed as the preeminent format for recorded music. Maybe Radiohead really has stopped making them, and maybe other acts will follow, but for fans and critics alike, there's something about a cohesive collection of songs that captures our imagination in a way that individual tracks still can't.

Here, then, after much debate and disagreement, are the top 40 albums of the past decade, as chosen by Metromix's national staff of writers, editors and critics. We hope you'll agree with some of our picks; we're sure you'll dispute just as many.

Whether your tastes run to Outkast and Justin Timberlake or something a little more exotic, we hope this list will give you something new to listen to.

Click here for the list.