Best 2000s Alternative and Indie Songs

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1. 1
   RA
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   Everything in Its Right Place

   Radiohead · from Kid A (2000)

   The opening salvo — piano and electronics, utterly disorientating.

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2. 2
   RA
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   How to Disappear Completely

   Radiohead · from Kid A (2000)

   Strings, Yorke's falsetto, the most beautiful Radiohead song.

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3. 3
   ST
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   Last Nite

   The Strokes · from Is This It (2001)

   Vintage cool that made it look effortless.

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4. 4
   RA
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   Knives Out

   Radiohead · from Amnesiac (2001)

   The guitar pop song Thom Yorke buried in an experimental record, and the best on it.

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5. 5
   SH
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   New Slang

   The Shins · from Oh, Inverted World (2001)

   The song that changed Natalie Portman's life — and many others.

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6. 6
   WI
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   Jesus, Etc.

   Wilco · from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002)

   Jeff Tweedy at his most tender, strings at their most eerie.

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7. 7
   IN
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   Obstacle 1

   Interpol · from Turn on the Bright Lights (2002)

   Post-punk cool with an aching emotional undertow.

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8. 8
   WS
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   Seven Nation Army

   The White Stripes · from Elephant (2003)

   The riff everyone knows — bassless and inexhaustible.

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9. 9
   YY
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   Maps

   Yeah Yeah Yeahs · from Fever to Tell (2003)

   A raw, aching love song.

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10. 10
    AF
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    Wake Up

    Arcade Fire · from Funeral (2004)

    A communal, goosebump anthem.

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11. 11
    AF
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    Rebellion (Lies)

    Arcade Fire · from Funeral (2004)

    The euphoric closer of the decade's most important debut.

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12. 12
    FF
    ▶

    Take Me Out

    Franz Ferdinand · from Franz Ferdinand (2004)

    The tempo change that made indie-dance feel new in 2004.

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