Never released but worth hunting down

As the decade comes to a close, I have to give some credit to one of the things that made this decade in music great - online music bootlegging. When Napster came along about a decade ago, the bootleg went to a new level. It became possible for a leaked record to reach the masses in minutes, whereas it took years for Bob Dylan's Basement Tapes to do the same thing in the 60s.

With that said, here are some of my favorite bootleg records of the past decade. You can find them on blogs and Mediafire, but you sure won't find any of these in record stores.

Ryan Adams - The Suicide Handbook: These emotionally bare 21 acoustic tracks are some of the most compelling and melodic tunes he ever recorded. Made between Heartbreaker and Gold, these recordings strip him down to the core and deliver a few alternate versions and several astounding originals. Check out this version of "Firecracker".

Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine (Jon Brion version): Part of the fun in this one is doing a song-by-song comparison of these tracks and what was actually released. Aside from "Parting Gift" not being present here, the tracklist is the same, but these versions are darker, edgier, and less produced. Really, you need both versions to get a picture of what a brilliant record this was.

Clipse - Exclusive Audio Footage: Why didn't the record label think this could sell? It is more "pop" and full sounding than the brilliant Hell Hath No Fury, and it has a catchy single in "The Funeral" tht could have been a club hit. A decade later, this record is still not released. I do not understand the rap industry.

Q-Tip - Kamaal The Abstract: They finally released it! Forget I even mentioned it here.

Danger Mouse - The Grey Album: A smart and occasionally hilarious experiment that mixes Jay-Z's Black Album with the Beatles' White Album. A fun listen, but more importantly the first of it's kind and a milestone for DJ sampling technique.

Dave Matthews Band - The Lilywhite Sessions: To me, this is the most important one on this list for a few reasons. First, it was recorded by a band that already had legions of fans. Second, it hit the bootleg circuit at the same time the band released a vastly inferior record (the train wreck called Everyday). Third, it still stands as the best studio recording of this band's almost two decade career. And finally, it is simply a beautiful, heartbreaking and thoughtful album that will go beyond being a curiosity: you will want to hear this one repeatedly. Good show, Dave. Now if only you would have released it...

Have fun tracking these ones down.