Best Songs of 2002

By 2002, my chief venues for musical discovery were a strange mix of the old and the new. In the old camp, I had MTV2. In the new, an FTP site I found that offered up access in exchange for albums that weren’t in its library. Somewhere in between was KEXP, which I had just started listening to in earnest the year prior.

I might also put the early stages of the modern internet in there, for a bunch of these songs were discovered on the web via legitimate sources, including the nascent days of digital music on Amazon; access to far-away sources of physical albums—like the Ben Lee CD I bought on import from Australia; or the Neil Finn album I listened to for the first time on a cross-country flight’s “new music” audio channel.

The transitionary nature of these is reflected not just through the technology used to discover them, but also in the sounds. I can see, for example, how quickly I began to shed the pop and hip-hop that I favored just a year or two earlier. Sure, these sounds remain relevant here, but their predominance fades quickly after this.

In contrast, aided by the internet’s discovery tools, this list shows the seeds of what would come to be known, in just a few short years, as indie rock, with its eventual offshoots into the realm of blogs, coinciding with the rise of corporate digital music purveyors like iTunes. In that way, it yet again proves my theory of cultural mini-eras being demarcated on the 2s and 7s. I wonder what 2007 holds for us?

For these year-end lists, I like to undertake the seemingly impossibly task of creating an hours-long mix. The order you see below represents that effort, which you can listen to via Spotify. Sadly all 100 tracks aren't available—a whopping 7 short!—but you get the general idea. Track notes to come eventually or maybe never.

Show Grid

Lose Yourself

Eminem

8 Mile

Shady

Notes
Get By

Talib Kweli

Quality

MCA

Notes
Slam Harder

Onyx

Bacdafucup Part II

Koch

Notes
Awnaw

Nappy Roots

Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz

Atlantic

Notes
What’s Golden

Jurassic 5

Power in Numbers

Interscope

Notes
Sacrifice

The Roots featuring Nelly Furtado

Phrenology

MCA

Notes
(This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan

Dntel featuring Ben Gibbard

Life Is Full of Possibilities

Sub Pop

Notes
Love at First Sight

Kylie Minogue

Fever

Capitol

Notes
The Test

The Chemical Brothers featuring Richard Ashcroft

Come With Us

Astralwerks

Notes
Days Go By

Dirty Vegas

Dirty Vegas

Capitol

Notes
Eple

Röyksopp

Melody A.M.

Astralwerks

2001 European release
L’Amour À 3

Stereo Total

Musique Automatique

Kill Rock Stars

Originally issued in 2001 by Bobsled Records
Since I Left You (Cornelius remix)

The Avalanches

Since I Left You 12"

Modular

Notes
Fly

Cornelius

Point

Trattoria

Notes
Six Days

DJ Shadow

The Private Press

MCA

Notes
In This World

Moby

18

V2

Notes
Ghostwriter

RJD2

Deadringer

Def Jux

Notes
Joyful Girl

Soulive featuring Dave Matthews

Next

Blue Note

Notes
Grey Street

Dave Matthews Band

Busted Stuff

RCA

Notes
Iwoya

Angélique Kidjo featuring Dave Matthews

Black Ivory Soul

Columbia

Notes
Julia

Chocolate Genius

I Am Sam

V2

Notes
Her Beauty

Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe

The Bridge

Relaxed

Notes
I Am Music

Common featuring Jill Scott

Electric Circus

MCA

Notes
Worst Comes to Worst

Dilated Peoples

Expansion Team

Capitol

Notes
Be Here

Raphael Saadiq featuring D’Angelo

Instant Vintage

Universal

Notes
Halfcrazy

Musiq

Juslisen

Def Soul

Notes
When I Get You Alone

Thicke

When I Get You Alone

Interscope

Notes
Like I Love You

Justin Timberlake featuring Clipse

Justified

Jive

Notes
Oops (Oh My)

Tweet

Southern Hummingbird

Elektra

Notes
Gossip Folks

Missy Elliott featuring Ludacris

Under Construction

Elektra

Notes
Hot in Herre

Nelly

Nellyville

Universal

Notes
Beautiful

Snoop Dogg featuring Pharrell

Paid Tha Cost to Be Da Bo$$

Priority

Notes
Oh Boy

Cam’Ron

Come Home With Me

Roc-A-Fella

Notes
In Da Wind

Trick Daddy featuring Cee-Lo & Big Boi

Thug Holiday

Atlantic

Notes
Superstar Pt. 0

k-os

Exit

Astralwerks

2002 Canadian release; 2003 U.S. release
Make You Feel That Way

Blackalicious

Blazing Arrow

MCA

Notes
Let’s Push Things Forward

The Streets

Original Pirate Material

Locked On

Notes
Bandages

Hot Hot Heat

Make Up the Breakdown

Sub Pop

Notes
Outtathaway

The Vines

Highly Evolved

Capitol

Notes
Go With the Flow

Queens of the Stone Age

Songs for the Deaf

Interscope

Notes
Another Morning Stoner

…And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead

Source Tags & Codes

Interscope

Notes
Shot Shot

Gomez

In Our Gun

Virgin

Notes
Worthless Song

Late Night Television

A Personal Account of How I’ve Failed at Everything

Route 14

Notes
Commerce, TX

Ben Kweller

Sha Sha

ATO

Notes
Love Song

Dando / Lee / Petersson / Schwartzman

Dead or Anything / Love Song

Trifekta

Notes
Paperwings

Damien Jurado

I Break Chairs

Sub Pop

Notes
Nevermore

The Soundtrack of Our Lives

Behind the Music

Hidden Agenda

Notes
This Is Where I Belong

Ron Sexsmith

This Is Where I Belong: The Songs of Ray Davies & The Kinks

Rykodisc

Notes
Friendly Ghost

Eels

Souljacker

Dreamworks

Notes
When U Were Mine

Crooked Fingers

Reservoir Songs

Merge

Notes
With Arms Outstretched

Rilo Kiley

The Execution of All Things

Saddle Creek

Notes
Driving Me Mad

Neil Finn featuring Sheryl Crow

One All

Nettwerk America

Notes
Overdue

The Get Up Kids

On a Wire

Vagrant

Notes
The Salt Mines of Santa Monica

Sunday’s Best

The Californian

Polyvinyl

Notes
Get Yourself Together

Tahiti 80

Wallpaper for the Soul

Minty Fresh

Notes
Don’t Let It Get You Down

Spoon

Kill the Moonlight

Merge

Notes
Lonely Day

Phantom Planet

The Guest

Epic

Notes
No Room to Bleed

Ben Lee

Hey You. Yes You.

Modular

2002 Australian release; 2003 U.S. release
A Thousand Miles

Vanessa Carlton

Be Not Nobody

A&M

Notes
Golden Slumbers

Ben Folds

I Am Sam

V2

Notes
You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away

Eddie Vedder

I Am Sam

V2

Notes
Anyone Else But You

The Moldy Peaches

The Moldy Peaches

Rough Trade

Notes
Two of Us

Aimee Mann & Michael Penn

I Am Sam

V2

Notes
You Know So Well

Sondre Lerche

Faces Down

Astralwerks

Notes
Do You Realize??

The Flaming Lips

Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots

Warner Bros

Notes
Lost Cause

Beck

Sea Change

Geffen/Interscope

Notes
Feelin’ the Same Way

Norah Jones

Come Away With Me

Blue Note

Notes
Chief

Patty Griffin

1000 Kisses

ATO

Notes
How It Is

Holly Figueroa O’Reilly

How It Is

Cake

Notes
Long Time Gone

Dixie Chicks

Home

Monument

Notes
Smoothie Song

Nickel Creek

This Side

Sugar Hill

Notes
Dream

Doug Martsch

Now You Know

Warner Bros.

Notes
Weary Memory

Iron & Wine

The Creek Drank the Cradle

Sub Pop

Notes
Thinking About Tomorrow

Beth Orton

Daybreaker

Astralwerks

Notes
Caught by the River

Doves

The Last Broadcast

Heavenly

Notes
Clocks

Coldplay

A Rush of Blood to the Head

Capitol

Notes
Times Like These

Foo Fighters

One by One

BMG

Notes
Absinthe Party at the Fly Honey Warehouse

Minus the Bear

Highly Refined Pirates

Suicide Squeeze

Notes
The Empty Page

Sonic Youth

Murray Street

DGC

Notes
You Know You’re Right

Nirvana

Nirvana

Geffen / Sub Pop

Notes
Like a Stone

Audioslave

Audioslave

Sony

Notes
Can’t Stop

Red Hot Chili Peppers

By the Way

Warner Bros.

Notes
Oh Sweet Susanna

The Mooney Suzuki

Electric Sweat

Gammon

Notes
Seen the Light

Supergrass

Life on Other Planets

Parlophone

Notes
PDA

Interpol

Turn on the Bright Lights

Matador

Notes
We’ve Been Had

The Walkmen

Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me Is Gone

Startime International

Notes
Honey and the Moon

Joseph Arthur

Redemption’s Son

Real World

Notes
Come Around

Rhett Miller

The Instigator

Elektra

Notes
Half Acre

Hem

Rabbit Songs

Bar/None

Notes
I Shall Not Walk Alone

The Blind Boys of Alabama

Higher Ground

Real World

Notes
My City of Ruin

Bruce Springsteen

The Rising

Sony

Notes
Love Boat Captain

Pearl Jam

Riot Act

Epic

Notes
Hurt

Johnny Cash

American IV: The Man Comes Around

Universal

Notes
Beautiful

Christina Aguilera

Stripped

RCA

Notes
Orange Sky

Alexi Murdoch

Four Songs

Mindblue Music

Notes
Cry on Demand

Ryan Adams

Demolition

Lost Highway

Notes
Deep Red Bells

Neko Case

Blacklisted

Bloodshot

Notes
Miracle

Josh Rouse

Under Cold Blue Stars

Rykodisc

Notes
War on War

Wilco

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

Nonesuch

Notes
The Game of Love

Santana & Michelle Branch

Shaman

Arista

Notes