Love In The Time of Science came out in 1999, but it became widely known over the course of the year 2000, then she remixed the main theme of the movie 101 Reykjavík in 2001, later she lent her vocals to “Gollum’s Song” for The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Soundtrack in 2002, she also wrote two #1 hits with Kylie Minogue and finally, she came up with two wonderful and ambitious pop albums, exquisitely ornamented with her soft and warm voice, so I think it’s safe to say that it was Emilíana Torrini Davíðsdóttir’s decade.

TV On The Radio, an experimental indie-rock group from Brooklyn, New York, are experts in giving shape to slow-paced songs with choruses that sound almost like heroic hymns. The band accomplished a serious reinvention to rock by adding smudged electronic accents, some free jazz and soul, and in this manner they have composed fascinating musical atmospheres.

Sometimes originality comes in small amounts: with just one album published in the decade, Vampire Weekend was entitled to a space on our list. The indie rock band from New York City combines African popular music and Western music —a cliché combination, if you will— but they have actually improved it, with refreshing melodies and very attractive lyrics, and this makes them one of the sunniest moments in our ballot.

Mexican singer, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter, Julieta Venegas created some of the most unforgettable songs of the past ten years. This talented musician and composer has a beautiful and distinctive voice and she uses it to devise perfect contemporary pop and rock music, and, by adding some accordion shadings to the recipe, she manages to bring a great deal of originality to her music.

One of the biggest and renowned stars in hip-hop, because of his production work for other artists and his critical acclaimed music: an amalgam of daring beats, catchy hooks and impeccable rhymes. Kanye Omari West has actual talent, real substance and perfect skills in sampling, making his innovative music a truly explosive, complex and, sometimes contradictory, item.

In our opinion the quintessential rock band of the decade. When a genre is as scraped as this one, and such talent, and wonderful riffs and lyrics like the ones belonging to Jack White appear, it feels like an explosion of fresh energy for rock and roll. With a simple, but extremely effective sound, the couple clearly redefined garage rock and gave us some of the best records of the decade. They’ve even made us fall in love again with the colors: red, black and white.

With her particular, deep, expressive and jazzy vocals and despite her clear cockney accent and her struggles with alcohol and drugs, Amy Winehouse managed to deliver some of the finest soul music ever made. By mixing heartwarming vocals with 60’s Motown, funk and jazz she made her music speak for itself and became one the best artists of the decade. For the sake of music, we hope she can survive this new decade.

Pop and jazz musician from Tokyo, Akiko Yano (her real name is Akiko Suzuki) and electronic musician from Hiroshima, Rei Harakami formed this splendid project and named it by joining thier names: Yano and kami and, like The Postal Service, they work by exchanging e-mails and colliding each of thier peerless musical styles into an extraordinary electronic pop affair.

Dirty and messy but also contagious and flawless rock music, plus three of the most well-crafted personalities of the decade —especially Karen O’s— is the result of the New York project named Yeah Yeah Yeahs. They improved their powerful sound, from one recording to the next one, by adding textures and more serious compositions and trough this process they were some of the few acts that revitalized the rusted rock genre.

Sound engineers Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker created truly gorgeous soundscapes, beautiful lullabies and aural pop songs through their project called Zero 7, they have somehow managed to sound classic and yet completely new. With contributing artists that include vocals from: Sia Furler, José González, Mozez, Tina Dico, Sophie Barker, Eska Mtungwazi, Martha Tilston and Rowdy Superstar they delivered some of our favorite sonic moments in the decade.