Best of the Decade (2010s)

1. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress (2015)
2. Low - Double Negative (2018)
3. Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010)
4. Four Tet - There Is Love In You (2010)
5. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross - The Social Network (2010)
6. Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool (2016)
7. Wild Nothing - Nocturne (2012)
8. Purity Ring - Shrines (2012)
9. The Notwist - Messier Objects (2015)
10. Future Islands - Singles (2014)
11. Boards of Canada - Tomorrow’s Harvest (2013)
12. LCD Soundsystem - This is Happening (2010)
13. The War on Drugs - Lost in the Dream (2014)
14. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs (2010)
15. Tyler, The Creator - IGOR (2019)
16. Soft Metals - Lenses (2013)
17. Simian Mobile Disco - Whorl (2014)
18. Daft Punk - Random Access Memories (2013)
19. Sufjan Stevens - Carrie and Lowell (2015)
20. The Barr Brothers - Queens of the Breakers (2017)

Best of 2019

1. Tyler, The Creator - IGOR
2. Jessica Pratt - Quiet Signs
3. Karen O & Danger Mouse - Lux Prima
4. Thom Yorke - Anima
5. Hot Since 82 - 8-Track
6. Dave Aju - TXLAX
7. Freddie Gibbs & Madlib - Bandana
8. W.H. Lung - Incidental Music
9. James Blake - Assume Form
10. Little Simz - GREY Area

Best of 2017

1. The Barr Brothers - Queens of the Breakers
2. Mount Eerie - A Crow Looked at Me
3. LCD Soundsystem - american dream
4. Kelly Lee Owens - Kelly Lee Owens
5. Spoon - Hot Thoughts
6. The War on Drugs - A Deeper Understanding
7. Kendrick Lamar - DAMN
8. Future Islands - The Far Field
9. Godspeed! You Black Emperor - Luciferian Towers
10. Curtis Harding - Face Your Fear
11. Fleet Foxes - Crack-Up
12. Lord Echo - Harmonies
13. Goldfrapp - Silver Eye
14. Bjork - Utopia
15. Mogwai - Every Country's Sun
16. Grizzly Bear - Painted Ruins
17. Jamiroquai - Automaton
18. Feist - Pleasure
19. Cigarettes After Sex - Cigarettes After Sex
20. Protomartyr - Relatives in Descent

Best of 2016

1. Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool

2. Holy Fuck - Congrats

3. A Tribe Called Quest - We got it from Here... Thank You 4 Your service

4. Swans - The Glowing Man

5. Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions - Until The Hunter

6. Jim James - Eternally Even
7. David Bowie - Blackstar

8. Car Seat Headrest - Teens of Denial

9. The Avalanches - Wildflower

10. Roisin Murphy - Take Her up to Monto

11. Underworld - Barbara, Barbara we face a shining future

12. Bat for Lashes - The Bride

13. Nicolas Jaar - Sirens

14. Savages - Adore Life

15. Tortoise - The Catastrophist

16. Beyonce - Lemonade

17. Wild Nothing - Life of Pause
18. Michael Kiwanuka - Love & Hate

19. Gold Panda - Your Good Times Are Just Beginning

20. School of Seven Bells - SVIIB

Best of 2015

1. Godspeed! You Black Emperor – Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress

2. Sufjan Stevens – Carrie and Lowell

3. Braids – Deep in the Iris

4. Jamie XX – In Colour

5. Pure Bathing Culture – Pray For Rain

6. Grimes – Art Angels

7. Floating Points – Elaenia

8. New Order – Music Complete

9. BADBADNOTGOOD & Ghostface Killah – Sour Soul

10. Prinzhorn Dance School – Home Economics

11. Bibio – Fi

12. Beach House – Thank Your Lucky Stars

13. GEMS – Kill The One You Love

14. The American Dollar – Across The Ocean

15. Tomas Barfod - Glory

The End

I wasn't sure this was how I wanted to start my first blog, but there are so many thoughts passing through the synapses that I had no choice given that I had way more than 140 characters to type.

First things first. Major shoutouts to the only two people I've been reading about during the entire series of Lost.

Erika Olsen from http://www.longlivelocke.blogspot.com & Vozzek from the darkufo forums. Your insights about the show from the fan perspective have been invaluable throughout the series. Not only to myself, but to a ridiculous amount of fans throughout the world. THANK YOU!

The reception of "The End" passing along the universe tonight is weighing slightly more towards the positive side than the negative right now. The most anticipated series finale in the history of the digital age has come and gone, and I'm most assuredly on the side that agrees this was a terrific end to one of the most polarizing stories in the history of the television.

Let's get to it.

*SPOILER ALERT*

Guess what? Yup, they're all dead in the flash sideways. We/I didn't find out until the final minutes of the episode when everyone went back to the church where Eloise Hawking showed the Oceanic 6 the lone Dharma Station off the island (The Lamp Post). It was given away once Ben & Hurley congratulated each other on being each other's partner on the island.

Desmond had been giving signs throughout the finale, and throughout previous episodes when telling everyone he met in the sideways universe that they were all "leaving". The question on every viewers mind was "Where are they going?!?".

It was finally determined at the end of the episode, when everyone who got back together in the finale met at the church where they were. The flash sideways that began at the beginning of season 6 (LA X) proved to be somewhat of an alternate universe, but only in the sense that the alternate universe was the purgatory that we ALL at one time had thought the island was actually represented as. Personally, I loved that Team Darlton had thrown us that bone.

I understand the fact that so many of us Losties are ridiculously conceited, and believe that we're better than everyone else who DOESN'T understand what Lost is all about.

Let's face it. We do....

(We probably are)

But Cuse and Lindelof didn't give the 'purgatory' state as an easy way out to any of the casual fans out there to try and help them grasp the concept of the ending of the show. They did it because it was their story all along, going back to the end of Season 5 (see: The Incident). The bomb DID NOT go off like many of us thought it did once the credits flashed to white rather than black. Sawyer got it right in that Jack was wrong into believe that the hydrogen bomb would send them back three years, and the plane would land successfully at LAX.

I think this is where we truly see the beauty in the writing here. Season 6 brought it full circle to the Science vs. Faith argument. Once again, Faith wins out. The juxtaposition of Jack and Locke throughout the years has been outstanding. Seeing Jack become the ultimate man of faith at the end is the Giving In that has been a shining theme throughout the season. He finally accepted that all he needed in life was simply to believe. All that happened to him in being a man of science was a life full of anger and resentment. He never believed that he was good enough for his father, and in believing that, he never was fully able to believe in his self. In the end, we see that he finally LETS GO and accepts the responsibility that Jacob has bestowed upon him once he volunteered for the gig.

I was never really sure how I felt about the alternate universe until the final episodes. In the beginning, I thought the risk seemed too high for the reward. In the end (and in my mind), the payout was completely worth it. Watching each one of the characters see the light was grossly entertaining. The constant that we saw in all of those that ended up inside the church, were flashbacks that showed the happiest moments of their on-island lives. It was their moment of crossing over.

Here's where we jump back to the state of purgatory, and where I know Cuse & Lindelof will be receiving the most flack. They've said over and over that they want everybody to come to as much of their own conclusion as possible. My conclusion is pretty simple. All events that happened on the island, happened. Everyone who left on the plane from the Island died as mortals. Just as Jacob, Jack, Locke, MIB ultimately died as mortals. Once dead, they re-lived a version of life until they got to that moment in their once living existence where they could finally let go, and are then able to move on, just as Christian said.

YES, I believe it's as simple as heaven and hell. The light equals heaven, and once the stone was moved by Desmond, the gates of hell were opened. There's a reason that glow became red. Red has been a color used in the show as much as Black and White were. The MIB was thrown into the light, and just as the bible says in Revelation 3:16 "Because you are lukewarm...I will spit you out of my mouth". He was spit out because he was neither hot nor cold. This led to the becoming of the smoke monster, and why he was not able to escape past the cork in the wine bottle.

Once Christian opened the door from the church, all who were on the Island could finally move on. Desmond just happened to be the first one to figure it all out. I don't know if I've had a happier moment in the show than in the final scene. Maybe it's because I too believe that this life we have together right now is not the end for us. There is an afterlife, and for many, it can take a long, long time to get beyond those doors to share in this eternal light.

Think about it. What's greater than spending an eternity with the ones who we shared the most with? Though there may be pain, suffering, and heartache at times, we would never take them back for the happiness and love that has followed. Is there any greater way to move into an afterlife than with the ones we care about the most? To me, this is what Lindelof and Cuse were ultimately trying to say in the end.

CS: "Everyone dies sometime kiddo. Some of them before you. Some...long after you".

Its all a part of mortality. No matter how much we fight the fact that it will happen one day, the fact remains that it WILL happen, and there's nothing we can do about it. All that matters is what we do with each other, and in doing so, it allows us to find the measure of happiness we need to grow, and ultimately move on towards the next chapter of whatever plane of existence we're in.

. . . . . . .

Quick thoughts on some of my favorite moments from tonight:

Everything about the last 20 minutes.

Ben asking for, and Locke giving forgiveness was great. Michael Emerson and Terry O'Quinn were the two best actors from this show, hands down.

The torch passing from Jack to Hurley. It's what we all wanted. Once Hurley said "I'm just glad it wasn't me" from the last episode, didn't you just know that was a setup? (Side note: How was that muddy water, Hurley?) Ben's acceptance as the advisor to Hurley was the final straw that pushed Ben over from the Empire to the Rebellion.

When Locke and Jack had their final showdown on the cliff, who else had a flashback to the Bodhi-Johnny Utah fight at the end of Point Break?

How many thought that was the end for Jack once MIB gave him the shiv in the side?

My initial reaction on the final scene from Kate & Jack was very Empire-esque. I thought Jack was gonna pull a Han Solo with the "I Know" line once Kate brought the "I Love You" line out. But it took me about 10 seconds to realize that there's no way Jack busts that line out...It's way too much of a Sawyer line.

Loved Jack calling out the MIB "You disrespect his memory by wearing his face, but you're nothing like him".

Juliet and Kate really pulled off those black dresses tonight.

Btw, How much did Target win with each one of their commercials?

Juliet and Sawyer's moment with the Apollo Bar. I lost it during that one..

Ok, so I lost it about 5-6 times. But none more that the scene when Charlie and Claire had their moment after Aaron was born. Everybody in the world has always pulled for those two, and it was great to see them together again in the end.

I wonder how many takes it took for Hurley when he arrived at Charlie's motel. Jorge Garcia is such an underrated actor on this show, and on that one he was either that damn good, or it took about 8 takes when that one finally did the trick with as little a smirk as possible.

. . . . . . .

Namaste