As with any list of this type, albums could move up and down the list with second and third thought. I considered a lot of music to come up with this list for the Exclaim! editor who solicited it. Unfortunately, none of my albums made their list of 50 Best of the Decade. I had to scratch several stellar creations. I also limited myself to one album per artist, which prevented me from including three Kim Beggs albums, and a couple more from John Wort Hannam and Maria Dunn. This is my list today: if I get to a listing of my favourite hundred albums of the second decade of the century, we’ll check it for consistency.
- Buffy Sainte-Marie- Medicine Songs I went back and forth between this album and Power in the Blood as I consider them—unjustly—as a single creation. I play them, usually, back-to-back and on my iMachine the songs play interchangeably, and there are times when I’m not sure which album I am listening to. Upon closer reflection, and additional listens this month, I prefer Medicine Songs, but both are incredible. The year it was released, I had Medicine Songs barely in my Top Twenty. That was a few years ago, and I listen to it on a regular basis, likely monthly. That’s why it is my #1 Canadian album of the decade, a brilliant re-imagining of five decades of music.
- John Wort Hannam- Love Lives On My review here.
- Maria Dunn- Gathering My review here.
- Kacy & Clayton- The Siren’s Song My review here.
- Ann Vriend- For the People in the Mean Time There are eleven songs on this album; given a bit of time, I could think of a reason for any single one to top a list of songs of the decade.
- Ron Sexsmith- The Last Rider My thoughts here.
- John Reischman & the Jaybirds- Vintage & Unique My review here.
- Kim Beggs- Beauty and Breaking My review here.
- Northern Cree- It’s A Cree Thing My thoughts here.
- Mike Plume Band- Born By The Radio My thoughts here.
Fervor Coulee- roots music opinion 