10 years after

Yes, kids, that's a late 1960s band reference -- "I'd love to change the world," and all that stuff. I'm on a late '60s/early '70s kick for some reason. That's odd, because it's before my time. But there I go, appreciating things that took place before my era. Wacky me.

One thing in the music arena that did take place during my time was the "decade in review" show on the radio. Do you remember those? I vividly remember listening to an hour-long show each night during the end of 1979 as it reviewed the decade's biggest moments and songs year-by-year.

It was kind of hokey, especially when I think about it now: news of Watergate with Roberta Flack singing "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" in the background. But back then I thought it was cool. And by 1989, I'm sure I listened to another decade review show that covered everything from "Another Brick in the Wall" to New Kids on the Block.

After that, I lost track. I'm sure the decade of the '90s was lost in the Y2K hysteria. And almost anyone listening to the radio these days -- there are a few of us left -- doesn't care about anything more recent than the '80s.

But I still like looking back on the past decade. And since this is a card blog, and we're nearing the end of another decade, I'd like to review the card designs of the past decade. I'm going to start with Topps, because anyone who remembers listening to music on AM radio knows that Topps is the first place to start. Unless you're 80, that is, and the only thing around when you were a kid was Goudey. And if that describes you and you're reading this blog -- God bless you, sir or madam. You are the coolest person EVER.

Sometime later, I'll review the designs of Upper Deck, although I don't expect many people to be able to tell the difference from year to year. But I'll likely keep it to Topps and UD. Fleer and Donruss died out by the end of the decade. Maybe Bowman? I don't know.

So here are the Topps designs of "The Aughts." I'm going to rank them at the end. Feel free to do the same in the comments. Also, all of these cards featured have appeared on the blog before. I need to give my scanner a break. The thing is starting to hate me.

2000 Topps: In the midst of the baseball card "Metallic Era," Topps unveiled an all "silver" flagship set. Personally, I think it's not "silver," but "gray," as in "drab." It's similar to the way that I think all the "silver" vehicles that I see on the road are actually "gray, cold, colorless, futuristic automatons that will take over the world and suck the life out of every living thing." So, um, yeah, I'm not crazy about it.

2001 Topps: Interesting color choice, but at least there is some color to the design. I rather like this set, because the photo gets most of the attention. The gold foil stuff wears away/flakes off, so that's annoying.

2002 Topps: I remember taking a step back when I first pulled these cards out of a pack. That color is certainly odd. How would you describe that color? Butterscotch? Vomit yellow? The rest of the design I like quite a bit. But I bought very, very few of these cards.

2003 Topps: I do like dark blue. It matches with the Dodgers, you know. This is a pretty basic look, but I like it. I like how they tried to make the name background match the team's color. The photo inset has been used a time or two before. They didn't necessarily need it.

2004 Topps: White-bordered cards used to be an every-year occurrence. But the 2004 set was the first Topps base set to have white borders since 1997. A lot of the photo images in this set are too small. The little player icon at the bottom left always struck me as pointless. I would have preferred the generic position guy like Topps used with the '73 and '76 sets.

2005 Topps: I really did not like this set when it first came out. It looked too much like the previous year, but with some odd additions -- the player's name and team written on the SIDE and his last name in big, gold letters at the top. I give them credit for being creative at least.

2006 Topps: The team logos are gone for the first time this decade. I like the banner colors on this set, and it is the first modern set I collected upon my return to collecting, so it means something to me. But the foil lettering on a black background is virtually unreadable. Not good.

2007 Topps: Certainly different. People describe this as the movie filmstrip design, which I believe I will add to the "define the design" list. But I'm not sure if that was Topps' original idea. The design does highlight the photo more and I like that. It's almost as if you're looking at the photo while seated in a darkened area, like watching a movie screen in a dark theater, or seeing the ballfield while standing in the shadows of a ballpark concourse. Unfortunately, Topps is addicted to that blasted foil.

2008 Topps: When I first saw this design, I thought it was refreshing and colorful after the previous year. But the more I saw it, the less I liked it. The design interfered with the photo so much that photo selection was way below average. But the names are easier to read.

2009 Topps: I'll finish where I started with Thome. This is my favorite design of the decade. Simple, but memorable, with an emphasis on the photo. And the photo selection was the best since 1991. Topps is still clinging to foil on a black background, so that's the only thing that detracts from an almost perfect look.

So, if I had to rank them -- and I have to, because I SAID SO -- it would go like this:

1. 2009
2. 2003
3. 2001
4. 2006
5. 2007
6. 2002
7. 2004
8. 2000
9. 2005
10. 2008

I think in a couple years, some of the sets will switch positions, but that's where I'm at right now.