2000 to 2009.

Who were all your bestest bands and albums and songs in the Noughties?
Bands -
The Libertines - Up The Bracket
At The Drive-In - Relationship of Command
The Music - The Music
The Mars Volta - DeLoused in the Comatorium
Kings of Leon - Aha Shake Heartbreak

(i could write a massive list for this, but I'm going to leave it there for lengths sake)

Which bands do you think defined the decade?
The Libertines. The amount of sh*te wannabe bands that have come from their sound/success has dwarfed the number of Nirvana/Pearl Jam clones in the mid to late 1990's.

Do you think it was a good decade about music at-all?
Continuing what Stu said, there's equal parts good and bad in every decade if you can be bothered to look for it. I think 'mainstream' music this decade has been worse than at any other time since popular music began, but that's been supplemented by the stuff coming through from the 'underground' and the internet, which has been far more accessible.

Do you think the internet and downloads are really good and helpful for music at-all?
Ultimately yes, as it's going to give far more bands the exposure that they wouldn't have had otherwise without a) a ton of cash, and b) major label backing. Looking at some of the acts that owe their success/exposure solely or in majority to the internet (and the conspiracy theories that come with it, natch), and how easy it has become to access music of the present and past, then it can't really be considered a bad thing. Of course, the row about downloads vs tangible media will roll on, but I'm putting that to the side in order to prevent opening [Loony?] pandora's box.

Quote: the doc, Oct 2009

This is a recent favourite of mine from across the pond:



Cease To Begin was the best album of last year by a mile.

And of 2007, too