I usually spend the end of each year trying to figure out which albums from that year were the best, oh I don't know, top 300. This became a futile exercise in typing and boasting ("Hey, look at all of this crap!") as my opinions of album #100 and #125 really weren't that significantly different.
Beginning with the middle of the year, I am challenging myself to decide on which 20 albums I've liked the most so far. In the past, it was easy to slide as I knew I could just keep typing until I captured everything.
This wasn't easy and I am leaving off some very good albums from artists such as Band of Horses, Beach Fossils, The Besnard Lakes, Broken Bells, Broken Social Scene, Caribou, Carolina Chocolate Drops, The Chemical Brothers, Crystal Castles, The Dead Weather, Deer Tick, Drive-By Truckers, Freelance Whales, Future Islands, Gayngs, Gil-Scott Heron, Gorillaz, The Hold Steady, Holy Fuck, Hot Chip, How To Destroy Angels, Janelle Monae, Johnny Flynn, Jonsi, Josh Ritter, Karen Elson, Laura Marling, The Magic Numbers, Marina & the Diamonds, Massive Attack, Menomena, MGMT, Midlake, The Morning Benders, The New Pornographers, New Young Pony Club, Quasi, The Radio Dept., S, Sage Francis, Scout Niblett, The Tallest Man On Earth, Surfer Blood, Tame Impala, Ted Leo, These New Puritans, Tobacco, UNKLE, Yeasayer, and Zola Jesus.
With that, here is what I think are the best 20 albums of 2010....so far:
20. Liars - Sisterworld
Scissors - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04domJ7F0oY
19. Wild Nothing - Gemini
Chinatown
18. Frightened Rabbit - The Winter of Mixed Drinks
Swim Until You Can't See Land
Nothing Like You
17. Dum Dum Girls - I Will Be
Jail La La
16. Blitzen Trapper - Destroyer of the Void
Heaven and Earth
15. LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening
Drunk Girls
14. Shearwater - The Golden Archipelago
Hidden Lakes
13. Blood Red Shoes - Fire Like This
Light It Up
Colours Fade
12. Foals - Total Life Forever
Spanish Sahara
This Orient
11. Spoon - Transference
Written in Reverse
10. Tokyo Police Club - Champ
Breakneck Speed
9. Wolf Parade - EXPO 86
Ghost Pressure
8. Avi Buffalo - Avi Buffalo
What's In It For?
7. The Black Keys - Brothers
Tighten Up
Next Girl
6. Vampire Weekend - Contra
Cousins
Giving Up The Gun
5. Sleigh Bells - Treats
4. The Soft Pack - The Soft Pack
Answer To Yourself
3. Titus Andronicus - The Monitor
A More Perfect Union
2. Beach House - Teen Dream
Norway
1. The National - High Violet
Bloodbuzz Ohio
Afraid of Everyone
Beginning with the middle of the year, I am challenging myself to decide on which 20 albums I've liked the most so far. In the past, it was easy to slide as I knew I could just keep typing until I captured everything.
This wasn't easy and I am leaving off some very good albums from artists such as Band of Horses, Beach Fossils, The Besnard Lakes, Broken Bells, Broken Social Scene, Caribou, Carolina Chocolate Drops, The Chemical Brothers, Crystal Castles, The Dead Weather, Deer Tick, Drive-By Truckers, Freelance Whales, Future Islands, Gayngs, Gil-Scott Heron, Gorillaz, The Hold Steady, Holy Fuck, Hot Chip, How To Destroy Angels, Janelle Monae, Johnny Flynn, Jonsi, Josh Ritter, Karen Elson, Laura Marling, The Magic Numbers, Marina & the Diamonds, Massive Attack, Menomena, MGMT, Midlake, The Morning Benders, The New Pornographers, New Young Pony Club, Quasi, The Radio Dept., S, Sage Francis, Scout Niblett, The Tallest Man On Earth, Surfer Blood, Tame Impala, Ted Leo, These New Puritans, Tobacco, UNKLE, Yeasayer, and Zola Jesus.
With that, here is what I think are the best 20 albums of 2010....so far:
20. Liars - Sisterworld
Scissors - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04domJ7F0oY
19. Wild Nothing - Gemini
Chinatown
18. Frightened Rabbit - The Winter of Mixed Drinks
Swim Until You Can't See Land
Nothing Like You
17. Dum Dum Girls - I Will Be
Jail La La
16. Blitzen Trapper - Destroyer of the Void
Heaven and Earth
15. LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening
Drunk Girls
14. Shearwater - The Golden Archipelago
Hidden Lakes
13. Blood Red Shoes - Fire Like This
Light It Up
Colours Fade
12. Foals - Total Life Forever
Spanish Sahara
This Orient
11. Spoon - Transference
Written in Reverse
10. Tokyo Police Club - Champ
Breakneck Speed
9. Wolf Parade - EXPO 86
Ghost Pressure
8. Avi Buffalo - Avi Buffalo
What's In It For?
7. The Black Keys - Brothers
Tighten Up
Next Girl
6. Vampire Weekend - Contra
Cousins
Giving Up The Gun
5. Sleigh Bells - Treats
4. The Soft Pack - The Soft Pack
Answer To Yourself
3. Titus Andronicus - The Monitor
A More Perfect Union
2. Beach House - Teen Dream
Norway
1. The National - High Violet
Bloodbuzz Ohio
Afraid of Everyone
Comments
Like G, can't argue with your opinion... but I will :)
However a few thoughts:
Overall, I think my list would be completely different if you included the ones you left off intentionally.
1) I personally don't rate Titus or Black Keys in the top 10, though I agree they all do deserve to make the top 20 somewhere. And Soft Pack.. not sure about that one list, certainly this high.
2) No Zee Avi? Crime in Stereo?
3) Sleigh Bells, absolutely.
4) Wolf Parade: Another surprise. Don't know this record, but loved the early ones.
5) Blood Red Shoes!
6) Dum Dum Girls.Loved that you put this on. (Can I haz it? haha)
7) The National, Beach House, easy choices.
8) Vampire weekend. I love your balls for including them, and this high. For all the shit they take, it's a great record, and I'm not even ashamed to say that er...usually.
Great list! Thanks a mil...