I'm much enjoying this preview process, though I suspect there are cards being held close to chests in terms of top tens. Which is the way it should be. To continue therefore:

Among my favourite of the veritable cornucopia of hushed female popsters that have emerged in the decade (like, can you say CBC Radio 2 morning show?), and within one dimension at least have defined the sound of the "noughts", my favourite is I think New Buffalo, a one-woman band - Sally Seltmann - with a difficult-to-pin-down mix of acoustic and synthetic instruments/arrangements, beautiful melodies and wonderful lyrics. I haven't decided which of her two albums I like better. This cut is off of Somewhere Anywhere, her second.

A far less obscure choice, and I'm comfortable saying will likely be on other long lists - if not top tens - is Badly Drawn Boy, Damon Gough's nom de plume for his chamber pop band whose first record, the Hour of Bewilderbeast, was a stunner, and whose subsequent output hasn't measured up nearly as well. We all (I think) know the music well, so feel free to imagine your favourite track instead of this one (though it's a goody).