Best Albums of 2010

I feel like coming up with a list of my favorite albums of the year is becoming more difficult.

First, I don't buy or listen much to albums that I don't think I'll like. I like 98% of the albums I've purchased in 2010 because I test drive a lot of music first and hold back if it doesn't "hit me."

Second, I'm not a music critic. I don't have a point scale by which to judge music, lyrics, etc. 

Third, I've never experienced a crop of albums like 2010. I feel bad leaving many I really like off this list. It's a good crop. 

But I've decided that ranking them does a few things worthwhile for both you and me. (1) I do have a way of deciding what I like and don't like, what I like better and what I like less. It's less concrete, but it exists. (2) Reading ranked lists is one of my favorite ways to find music, and so it should be a helpful way to share music. The higher the album, I assume the higher chance of you checking it out. There are certainly albums I want you to check out more than others. (3) It forces me to rethink albums at the end of the year and so saves me from being merely a music consumer. I reflect on these albums as art and substance, rather than merely a sugary snack. By the way, I'm not against albums as a sugary snack just as I'm not against the art of a well-made Snickers bar. But it needs to be occasional, not my diet.

So on to the best albums of 2010. I'll give more explanation for albums higher on the list. Tell me what I've missed. Make your argument for a certain album to be higher, or even lower. Just don't be a hater. At least have an argument. Also check out my previous "best albums" lists (2009|2008|2007|2006) and the many year end lists compiled at MetaCritic.

*****

BEYOND CATEGORY - Can't rank because they belong in their own category

Bruce Springsteen: The Promise - Songs stuck in a legal battle long ago have now been released. It's great stuff. Not that long ago I was averse to Springsteen because of a few overplayed radio hits that wrecked understanding him better (no, I don't have a "Hungry Heart"). Now I'm really appreciating his music.

Bob Dylan: The Witmark Demos 1962-1964 (The Bootleg Series Vol. 9) - I've only listened to this a bit, and it's remarkable. I've just started to read on Dylan a bit, and this is a nice companion to a few really important years in his catalog.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Beach House: Teen Dream | Shocked by the end-year buzz for this album, so I've been revisiting it. Liked this dream pop album a lot before and I like it now. I don't think in the top 35 of the year, but do check it out. 

Villagers: Becoming A Jackal | A very creative album. Unexpected sounds and good songwriting. Bright Eyes-ish.

TOP ALBUMS OF 2010

35. The Roots: How I Got Over | Do. Do. Uh. Uh. Do do-do-do. Uh. Uh. Yeah!

34. Justin Townes Earle: Harlem River Blues | It's what he does, and he does it better than most. I'm chewing on a weed stem but sitting on a city curb.

33. Shearwater: The Golden Archipelago | (Palo Santo was my #1 of 2006 & Rook was my #6 of 2008) I like everything they do. Everything.

32. Avi Buffalo: Avi Buffalo | This is the sound Danielson should be embracing.

31. Joe Pug: Messenger | Folksy, acousticy, & just really good music.

30. Flying Lotus: Cosmogramma | Lot's of fun. Dances with and teases your eardrums. 

29. LCD Soundsystem: This Is Happening | I wanted to like it more (some rank it #1). Solid album. Sometimes bitingly funny.

28. Deerhunter: Halcyon Digest | Always, always good. You can read to it even when there's vocals. 

27. Jonsi: Go | His music never lets me do anything but soar. He wears feathers in concert for a reason.

26. These New Puritans: Hidden | Marching music for dancing soldiers with laser guns who take the dancing soldiers from Janet Jackson videos and stomp on them.

25. Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross: The Social Network Soundtrack | Better than I could have ever expected. Good study music.

24. Sarah Jaffe: Suburban Nature | A fine album with an interesting kind of emotion, and at times spit. Vulnerable yet not defeated. Mopey. Lots of pain musicified. That could be overdone easily, but this is pretty genius, like Sia: Colour the Small One dealing-with-pain kind of genius.

23. Caribou: Swim | Boop, boop, beep, boop. Dance! Dance! - It's a foot tapper! So cool.

22. Sufjan Stevens: The Age of Adz (Also see in 2010 All Delighted People EP) | Hard to find too many critical words for someone I see as of the greatest living indie artists. This isn't Illinois, but that's not bad. It's a work of art and probably more creative than many albums on my list. But it makes me uneasy in a way that I'm not sure it's the masterpiece some think it is. I wonder if Suf tried too hard to be different than the last few. Nonetheless, I wouldn't want to be without it.

21. Vampire Weekend: Contra | (debut was my #12 of 2008) These guys make some of the most upbeat, fun, hoppy music around. The music is clever and interesting. I don't have much to say but you should listen to all their stuff. 

20. Damien Jurado: Saint Bartlett | Such an interesting voice. Folksy Americana. Flavorful. Melancholy. Tender. Injured. Despairingly hopeful. If the song has a depressing bassline and his voice, it's gotta be great. Sings from the dusty streets of a ghost town near a dead cowboy.

19. Lost In The Trees: All Alone In An Empty House | Swelling sounds with indie pop, emotive vocals and music, plus some classical instrumentation. Ranges from simpler ditties to complex harmonies. There are roaring yet almost front-porchish anthems as well. One of the great discoveries of the year. 

18. Pearly Gate Music: Pearly Gate Music | Minimal singer-songwriter. More minimal than you think. And probably more minimal than you think after I tell you more minimal than you think. Quiet. Contemplative. Hushed angelic. Twisty, bendy ends to sung notes. Rarely unhooked or let loose.

17. Melanie Penn: Wake Up Love (my review) | Lyrical. Playful but serious. Airy but substantial. Hopeful. Anticipatory. Theatrical. Few albums will make you feel this happy. legitimately happy, even when it's touching on sadness and pain.

16. The Tallest Man On Earth: The Wild Hunt | I'd be happy if he sung the alphabet song over and over. Got some Dylan style, sound, and substance. A seriously interesting voice. The music rarely surprises, but it's consistently great.

15. Menomena: Mines | I hear some Black Keys in this. And I hear a whole bunch else. I'm not sure what to call it but great. It has some of the most interesting twists and turns and silences of the list. All I know is I dig it. A lot.

14. Drew Grow & The Pastors' Wives: Drew Grow & The Pastors' Wives | Hope this album gets some recognition soon. Few have even reviewed it. Harmonies, melodies, curious arrangements, and several moments in songs that catch me off guard. A fine album.

13. Broken Bells: Broken Bells | Some of the best indie pop I've ever heard. Masterfully constructed songs that are way "bigger" than I expected. Groovy. Hook heavy. Hip but completely accessible.

12. Sleigh Bells: Treats | May destroy your speakers, and your ears. You aren't man enough for this, and the singer is a chick with a sweetheart of a voice. It's thick. "Fuzz" isn't adequate. It's the most interesting mix of sounds on any album I've heard this year.

11. The Besnard Lakes: Are The Roaring Night | Slow haze with an soothing epic hum. Fuller than full. Textured air. But not without melody. These are songs that blend and then gather in themselves, only to reblend again. Serious rock-cred as well. Meant to be loud.

TOP TEN

10. The Black Keys: Brothers | These brothers can do little wrong. Love, love their bluesy music. This is more rock & roll than some previous albums, and it's just a bunch of fun. Worth playing loud. One of the best bands out there, and one I really need to see live.

9. Free Energy: Stuck On Nothing | Poppiest album on my list. Not syrupy, but it's "sweet!" Theme music for a night of go carts, cruising Hardee's, and sticking your head out the passenger-side window at 55mph. Order some fries and crank it up.

8. Her Name Is Calla: The Quiet Lamb | Epic. Dark. Moody. Wonderfully timid. A slo-mo walk through the dark forest where the big, bad wolf is no cartoon. Executed with remarkable patience. Haunted & haunting. From single layers to smothering blankets of sound.

7. Mumford & Sons: Sigh No More | Easy to love. Demands your involvement because it's about you. Heart-on-sleeve. Rollicking. Passionate. Banjo-loving. Look at me! I'm dancing along and singing along and feeling the music! Let's feel this way forever!

6. Doug Burr: O Ye Devastator | Well-harnessed simplicity and storytelling. It's hesitant but not lacking in confidence. Darkness & redemption throughout, though it hangs at the edge of darkness. It's redemption in the distance but struggle now. There's a harsh gentleness here that's almost magical.

5. Titus Andronicus: Monitor | I'm happier with them when they sound angrier at the world. Edgy, rough, aggressive, ripping vocals while still making great music & melody. What Mumford does with feathers & hearts these guys do with guts & grit. Angsty when softer. Anthemic, divey bar awesomeness.

4. Delta Spirit: History From Below | From songwriting to rock-your-face-off concerts to stylistic flex, these guys may have the most potential for true greatness among the lesser known bands on my list. This album moves from cranking it up songs to where-are-my-liner-notes moments, often both at the same time.

3. Arcade Fire: The Suburbs | I want to put it lower because it's so beloved (my inner indie snob), but it's really, really, super-really this good. Soaring, full, heady, heart-y, timely, anthemic goodness. Everyone does or should love this album. Arcade Fire is not just legit, they define legit for others. Easily could have been #1.

2. The National: High Violet (Expanded Edition) | Some just can't get into the vocal style, but this album is hard to ignore. It makes the vocals, more than on previous albums, the perfect instrument. It's remarkable, moodiest of moody, darkly soaring, and massively emotive. And it's a rock album. Never get sick of it. Easily could have been #1. It was hard for me to give #1 to anything else. But I did.

1. Four Tet: There Is Love In You | Beats, in cool arrayed. Smooth. Hip. Clubbing &/or walking through a club in super slo-mo, while carefully sharing that twinkle in your eye with curious dancers. Walking in rhythm. Never panicked. You are confident, and you look good, and you dance especially well while being confident and looking good and having an incredible sense of rhythm. It's not heavy-handed. It's subtle and thoughtful, which was unexpected. It feels smart. I love to read to it and tap my foot. And while I LOVE High Violet & The Suburbs, There Is Love In You gets the edge. Outstanding.

Comments

[Chase]

Steve, thanks for the thought you put into your list. I think my list will look pretty different, but I don't consume as much new music as you (like you, I don't buy something unless I'm pretty sure I'll like it and I suppose I'm a little more snobbish... and/or poorer). I really appreciate your thoughts preceding the list, particularly the part about forcing yourself to be more than just a consumer. I'm with you there.

Here's a few that will likely be in my top 10, but weren't on yours:
Chatham County Line: Wildwood - All the things traditionalists will like best about bluegrass/folk music, but with the songwriting sensibilities of indie rockers.
Ryan Adams & the Cardinals: III/IV - Was just released last week, but is the rock record I've been looking for all year. The album almost seems to jump decades with each song, but doesn't feel contrived.
Brian Lee & His Orchestra Milk & Honey - Speaking of not feeling contrived, this (white boy) band manages to do some throwback style to classic soul and gospel music that is quite impressive. Very spiritual band and they kill it live.
Guster: Easy Wonderful - These guys just know how to make adventurous pop rock music.

Quick list of others: Robert Plant's 'Band of Joy', Ray LaMontagne & the Pariah Dog's 'God Willin' and the Creek Don't Rise', Jenny & Johnny 'I'm Having Fun Now'.

[Ryan]

Great list, some I haven't heard of and look forward to checking out. Appreciate your dilemma High Violet - it is my number one, so haunting and beautiful.

[Marty Duren]

Thanks, man. The Maxell picture is the greatest of all time.

[Steve McCoy]

Marty, I go through all of that effort and what you like is the picture? ;)

[Scott]

Great list. My number one this year was far and away Broken Bells. "The Mall and Misery" has become one of my favorite songs ever. Just a great, great CD.

A great album that got overlooked by almost everyone was Sandra McCracken's "In Feast or Fallow." Quiet worship done as good as any lyricist we have.

[Marty Duren]

lol. Since I didn't hear #'s 1 and 2, I'll trust your authority that they are better than #3, which would have been my #1.

I think I got three new albums this year and one of them was Rush's Moving Pictures. Not much room for me to be critical. Sigh No More was the other one.

[Brian Moats]

Great list here Steve. Mine is totally different, but your list is great. :)
A few to maybe check out if you haven't already.
Punch Brothers - Antifogmatic
Guster - Easy Wonderful
Clogs - i already threw this one your way - wonderful record.
Hilary Hahn - Higdon and Tchaikovsky Violin Concertos

[Rob Freire]

Don't hate? I thought the point of reading someone else's list was so you could get mad that your faves aren't on it? :)
Anyway, here's my two cents: I'm shocked by your comments re the Beach House album. It's easily top 5, IMO.
Here's my argument: My five-year-old likes it even more than I do, and he's got great taste.
Thanks for the list, man.

[Wes Hagerman]

Andrew Peterson "Counting Stars" is missing. I guess I'll have to give 1 of the 35 artists(that I've never heard of) a test listen.

[Steve McCoy]

FYI, I don't have "Christian" music on my list. There are some Christians on my list, but not doing worship or directly "Christian music." That's intentional.

[Brian M]

Steve, great list, and thanks for the introduction to Lost In the Trees. Wonderful album.

I wonder what you think of this take on Sufjan's Age of Adz in the link below. While I'm not sure he is right about Sufjan's motivation (and I don't care anyway), it did really make me think about the meaning of faith:
http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/edulis/2010/10/18/the-age-of-adz-music-review-sufjan-stevens-creates-a-magestic-tearjerker/

[Jordan]

I always appreciate reading some else's year end music list,
I had Beach House's Teen Dream at #1 on my list. It was so fresh and I was moving to another city back In JAnuary when it came out, so i guess i have good memories associated with it! But the music was unreal. Great vocals and melody! The National and Arcade Fire are also high on my list.
I liked that you put LCD and VW where they deserve to be, recognized, but by no means top 5. I also really enjoyed Janelle Monae's album a lot, not overly my style but you can't deny how good it is!
I've only heard a couple tracks from your #1. I'll have to check it out further. Just some random thoughts. Thanks for posting.
Ps: I liked "All Delighted People" better than Age of Adz... what did you think?

[Steve McCoy]

Thanks for the comments, everyone. I'm checking out all the music you are recommending. Thanks for sharing them.

Jordan, I can't et into Monae. I've really tried. As for Suf, I tend to agree on All Delighted People. I had that thought as I put the list together, though the EP status kept it off my list. Maybe I should have mentioned that. Good thoughts.

I'm still consistently shocked by the Beach House love. That keeps pushing me back for more listens. I'm currently enjoying Best Coast, which I like better. Any thoughts on Best Coast?

[Jordan]

I heard the track "boyfriend" in the summer and I think I kind of wrote them off in my mind because the song sounded like a "teeny-bop" tune. At least lyrically.

I've been going back and listening to them as of late, after Weezer announced they'd be their supporting act on the memories tour and after seeing them on many end of year lists.

I think I like it better after giving the other tracks a fair chance! It's too bad I wrote it off last summer, because it kind of has a summer-vibe to it. I like her voice now too. I can see why it worked for many listeners.

[Steve McCoy]

I totally passed on Best Coast too. My relisten after some time passed really helped. Unexpected. Just saw this today: http://pitchfork.com/news/41095-watch-best-coast-on-fallon/