I had this emailed to me the other day from Liz Ohanesian from LA Weekly’s Westcoast Sound, a music news blog, so I’d thought I’d share it with everyone:

Though anime has had some sort of presence in the US for decades, it wasn’t until the turn of the century that we’ve seen so many titles hit the domestic market. Combined with the increasing number of conventions and other related events, this could be considered the decade when anime became almost mainstream. With that in mind, we’ve put together a list of ten opening and closing themes that made the animes of the ’00s sound pretty cool.
1. Yoko Kanno “Inner Universe” Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (opening theme)
2. Jean-Jacque Bernal “We Were Lovers” Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo (opening theme)
3. Susumu Hirasawa “Dream Island Obsessional Park” Paranoia Agent (opening theme)
4. The RZA “Afro Theme” Afro Samurai (opening theme)
5. Roundtable featuring Nino “Let Me Be with You” Chobits (opening theme)
6. The Delgados “The Light Before We Land” Gunslinger Girl (opening theme)
7. Aya Hirano, Minori Chihara, Yuko Goto “Hare Hare Yukai” The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (closing theme)
8. iLL “Space Rock” Eureka Seven: Good Night, Sleep Tight Young Lovers (closing theme)
9. Kumiko Noma “Lilium” Elfen Lied (opening theme)
10. Kanon Wakeshima “Still Doll” Vampire Knight (closing theme)

I think most of the choices on that list are spot on. It’s too bad “Hare Hare Yukai” wasn’t ranked higher though… I mean you don’t see any Youtube videos of masses of people dancing to “Inner Universe” ;p
To see and hear all the themes in this top ten list, visit the post at LA Weekly.

To report Haruhi related news and media, please go here.