Best of 2010: Albums

It's definitely time to unveil my picks for the best albums of the year. I'm just doing 25 this year (though really I think I could have done 100 if I had all the time in the world) and I'm not going to bother writing a blurb about each or finding all the artwork, mostly because I'm lazy.

If you want to read more about my top 10 picks, you can find a beautifully arranged article I wrote over at In Review Online. Also, you would do well to visit InRO for top 10 features from Sam Mac and Jordon Cronk, who are both superb writers with very unique tastes in music:

My Top 10 albums feature
Jordan Cronk's top 10 albums
Sam C. Mac's top 10 albums

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for (I'm sure):


1. Joanna Newsom - Have One On Me

2. The Tallest Man On Earth - The Wild Hunt / Sometimes the Blues Is Just a Passing Bird

3. Janelle Monáe - The ArchAndroid

4. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

5. Will Stratton - New Vanguard Blues

6. Owen Pallett - Heartland

7. The Black Keys - Brothers

8. Mavis Staples - You Are Not Alone

9. White Denim - Last Day of Summer

10. Josh Ritter - So Runs the World Away

11. Menomena - Mines
12. Robyn - Body Talk
13. Wolf Parade - Expo 86
14. Baths - Cerulean
15. Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
16. Maps & Atlases - Perch Patchwork
17. Spoon - Transference
18. Big Boi - Sir Lucious Left Foot...The Son of Chico Dusty
19. Patty Griffin - Downtown Church
20. Anais Mitchell - Hadestown
21. Villagers - Becoming a Jackal
22. Woods - At Echo Lake
23. David Karsten Daniels & Fight the Big Bull - I Mean to Live Here Still
24. Sufjan Stevens - The Age of Adz
25. Cloud Cult - Light Chasers


Feel free to tell me how inspired my choices are or argue if you feel the need. Keep in mind that there are some albums I've omitted from this list because I can't stand them (Best Coast's Crazy for You, for example) and a few that I probably should have heard that I haven't yet. I guess what I'm admitting here is that these technically aren't the best albums of 2010 by any standard, just mine.

Review: Mountain Man - Made the Harbor (* * * 1/2)

After a few years filled with the emergence of high-profile indie bands like Girls and Women, both of which are comprised entirely of males, perhaps we shouldn’t be at all surprised to find that a band named Mountain Man is not, in fact, a man, but three women. And really that’s a welcome surprise in this case, as such a seemingly straightforward moniker conjures thoughts of yet another sup-par songwriter attempting to follow the success of breakout acts Fleet Foxes, Tallest Man On Earth, and the like. These girls will still appropriately be lumped in with their fellow folk revivalists due to their earthy, sparse sound and nature-themed lyrics, but Vermont’s Molly Erin Sarle, Alexandra Sauser-Monnig and Amelia Randall Meath have created something uniquely lovely on their debut full-length, Made the Harbor. (Continue @ In Review Online)

Best Albums of 2010 So Far - Honorable Mentions

It's time to take a look at the best (read: my favorite) albums of 2010 so far. It's been a great year and quite honestly, this list has changed about a dozen times in the last week, but what you see hear should give you a good idea of the best music I've heard this year.

Below are my five honorable mentions and soon I'll give you my top 10.

Honorable Mentions/11-15 (Alphabetical):

Darwin Deez - Darwin Deez

Singer/songwriter Darwin Deez's self-titled debut is a pop-rock album with little in the way of excess, getting by primarily on Deez's gift for great melodies and simply catchy riffs. It's the kind of record that many will dismiss because of its plainness, but these sunny pop tunes are consistently great and all the more admirable for their straightforward compositions. Deez shows how much he can accomplish with just the basics, and the results are both entertaining and impressive.

LCD Soundsystem - This is Happening

James Murphy's supposed last album, This is Happening, leaves things on a high note with a collection of nine diverse and engaging tracks that contains some of the artist's best material. From the introspective cuts "All I Want" and "Home" to the aggressively funky numbers like "Pow Pow," Murphy offers plenty of reasons why it pains us to see him retire from the game (you know, if that indeed is the case). Of course, James Murphy would settle for nothing less than a dramatic and stylish exit.

Maps & Atlases - Perch Patchwork

Perch Patchwork, the first full-length record from talented newcomers Maps & Atlases, is one of those rare albums that manages to successfully marry technically impressive and progressive musicianship with pop accessibility. Even through all the sudden tempo changes and impossibly fast guitar riffs, the band keeps the hooks coming and the melodies memorable. It's a fun mix of pop, folk and prog-rock that shows even the most cerebral indie rock can be enjoyed by all.

Meursault - All Creatures Shall Make Merry

Meursault could probably be counted among the large group of emotionally intense Scottish indie bands that have been so popular lately, but it's clear from All Creatures Shall Make Merry that they are anything but typical of the genre. Blending digital soundscapes and filtered vocals with acoustic guitars, Meursault's latest moves from moments of quiet loneliness to explosive outbursts of anger and noise, using unusual production to create a uniquely stunning experience.

Villagers - Becoming a Jackal

Conor J O'Brien's debut as Villagers is, I must admit, just the kind of thing I'm prone to fall in love with. O'Brien is an Irish singer/songwriter with a decidedly eerie edge to his music, which puts him in league with the likes of DM Stith or Mimicking Birds--good company to keep. But on his first album, Becoming a Jackal, O'Brien proves himself a compelling lyricist and a talented musician whose hauntingly beautiful work stands apart from that of his peers.