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15×15 lists: ABOUT | MUSE | SINGER-SONGWRITER | GUILTY PLEASURES | RADIOHEAD | BEST SONGS PT 1 | PT 2 | PT 3

Let me tell you about a band called Radiohead. Maybe you’ve heard of them. They ARE in “Rock Band” and “Guitar Hero.” I’ve semi-reluctantly come to the conclusion that they’re probably the best band in the world, in terms of taking the art form of rock-and-roll music and pushing it’s boundaries while keeping a consistently and fabulously vibrant pop sound. Why reluctantly? Because it’s such an easy answer. They’re masterful whether playing with twitchy electronic bleeps and bloops or churning out a perfect acoustic rendition on a mountaintop.

But I don’t understand why so many music-snob-types don’t recognize how important this band is, just because they have wide appeal, and that’s somehow not allowed to be in the criteria for best band on Earth. True, best band is totally subjective, and impossible to argue definitively. I just wish I could thin out the ranks of haters who think that something that appeals to the masses can’t possibly be the best of what’s around. There was a quartet from Liverpool that seemed to fit both molds pretty thoroughly. Also Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Cure… Radiohead are on that level, whether you want to believe it or not.

So, as this is a list about only the Naughties (or NOUGHTIES, as I’m increasingly seeing it spelled), we must leave out two of Radiohead’s best albums (many would argue THE two best), and those didn’t even include their most widely-known song, the career-catapulting “Creep.” Amazingly, even if you take those brilliant records out of the picture, this band’s catalog is extremely impressive, and one of, if not THE best of the decade. They released three top notch A-ONE (can you tell i’m a crossword fiend?) albums and one so-so-by-their-standards-but-great-by-anyone-else’s album, as well as a couple of successful side-projects. I do find it kind of sad that, for perhaps the best band of the decade, it might not even have been their best decade. That sort of sums up the 00s music scene in a depressing way, but I’m not complaining; what the decade lacked in standout superstar acts, it made up for with a sprawling mishmash of genres and technologies.

Here are my 15 favorite Radiohead tracks from the Naughties. Enjoy!