auto

NME thread got me thinking that this is about the time we start ranking our albums of the year. Lots of bitching in that thread and not many people posting their favorites.

I'm not quite ready to rank mine but I'm pretty sure my top ten will consist of some of these albums:

Vampire Weekend: Contra
Kanye West: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
LCD Soundsystem: This is Happening
The National: High Violet
Das Racist: Sit Down, Man
Deerhunter: Halcyon Digest
Girl Talk: All Day
Frightened Rabbit: The Winter of Mixed Drinks
Robyn: Body Talk Pt. 1 & 2
Gorillaz: Plastic Beach
The Dead Weather: Sea of Cowards
Black Keys: Brothers
The Walkmen: Lisbon
The Roots: How I Got Over
Wolf Parade: Expo 86
Spoon: Transference

and my #1 for the year hand's down (haters be damned):


Arcade Fire: The Suburbs

Rocketdog2000

Still have another month of the year to go, so I'm not done finalizing mine yet, either.

Out of your list, I share four, possibly five of the same titles that will likely make my own (which is usually a Top 20). And all but one ended up as surprises to me, as well. (Meaning I didn't think these bands would ever make grace a list of mine.)

cdollaz

The Dead Weather - Sea Of Cowards
Dweezil Zappa - Return Of The Son Of
Devo - Something For Everybody
Minus The Bear - Omni
OMD - History Of Modern

This has been the slowest year for new music releases that I can remember. None of my favorite bands released anything.

Aegean2007

Here is my finalized list. The only album from the rest of the year that has a chance of breaking into my list would be Daft Punk's Tron: Legacy soundtrack.



1. Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Favorite track: "All of the Lights"



2. The National - High Violet
Favorite track: "Terrible Love"



3. Beach House - Teen Dream
Favorite track: "Norway"



4. Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma
Favorite track: "...And the World Laughs with You"



5. Sufjan Stevens - The Age of Adz
Favorite track: "Age of Adz"

6. Big Boi - Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty
Favorite track: "Shine Blockas"

7. Titus Andronicus - The Monitor
Favorite track: "A More Perfect Union"

8. Sleigh Bells - Treats
Favorite track: "Infinity Guitars"

9. LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening
Favorite track: "All I Want"

10. Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest
Favorite track: "Helicopter"

Runners-up (11-25):
Gonjasufi, Crystal Castles, Four Tet, How to Dress Well, Joanna Newsom, Hot Chip, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Owen Pallett, PS I Love You, Robyn, Baths, Gold Panda, Dum Dum Girls, James Blake, Weekend.

Tscott

My list of what I've enjoyed the most this year is currently amorphous, unordered and unruly. But here it is anyway:

BT - These Hopeful Machines
Joanna Newsom - Have One On Me
Natalie Merchant - Leave Your Sleep
Robyn - Body Talk EPs
Brian Eno - Small Craft on a Milk Sea
Belle & Sebastian - Write About Love
KT Tunstall - Tiger Suit
Autechre - Oversteps
Grace Potter & The Nocturnals - Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
Nushu - Hula
Dum Dum Girls - I Will Be
Marina & the Diamonds - The Family Jewels
She & Him - Volume Two
Kristin Hersh - Crooked
Wreckless Eric and Amy Rigby - Two-way Family Favourities
His Name Is Alive - The Eclipse

Ropes Pierre

I am proud to say i own two of the albums listed so far (Black Keys-Brothers and She & Him vol 2).

There may be hope i am not completely out of touch with what the kids today are groovin to.

islandclaws

Danzig - Deth Red Sabaoth

Agalloch - Marrow of the Spirit

The Flight of Sleipnir - Lore

Ghost - Opus Eponymous

High on Fire - Snakes for the Divine

Acid Witch - Stoned

Dimmu Borgir - Abrahadabra

The Sword - Warp Riders

Deftones - Diamond Eyes

Mike Patton - Mondo Cane

Quake1028

Still far too early for me. Still have a backlog of about 30 albums to get through.

Dan

No love for "Move of Ten" ??

Tscott

I somehow missed that one, but saw it at Amazon when I searched for Autechre to get the other album title for this list. I've downloaded it this morning and listened to it once so far. Very good stuff.

CreatureX

1. Dum Dum Girls - I Will Be
fav song: 'It Only Takes One Night'

2. Best Coast - Crazy for You
fav song: 'Our Deal'


3. Corin Tucker Band - 1,000 Years
fav song: 'Doubt'


4. Corrine Bailey Rae - The Sea
fav song: 'Paris Nights/New York Mornings'


5. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
fav song: 'City With No Children'


6. Frankie Rose & The Outs - Frankie Rose & The Outs
(fav song: 'Little Brown Haired Girls')

7. Gorillaz - Plastic Beach
(fav song: 'Melancholy Hill')

8. M.I.A - /\/\ /\ Y /\
(fav song: 'Space')

9. Brandon Flowers - Flamingo
(fav song: 'Only The Young')

10. She & Him - Volume Two
(fav song: 'Gonna Get Along Without You Now')

Sessa17

I loved it. Not sure if it will even make my top 10 though.

bootsy

Kanye West - MBDTF
Janelle Monae - ArchAndroid
The Roots - How I Got Over
Eminem - Recovery
Nas and Damian Marley - Distant Relatives
J. Cole - Friday Night Lights(mixtape)
Erykah Badu - New Amerykah Part Two: (Return of the Ankh)
Raheem Devaughn - The Love & War Masterpiece
Big Boi - Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty
Drake -Thank Me Later

cactusoly

It was a really great year... I can't narrow down to 10 so here is my top 20

1) Rob Zombie: Hellbilly Deluxe 2
2) Accept: Blood of The Nations
3) Murder Dolls: Women and Children Last
4) Armored Saint: La Raza
5) Overkill: Ironbound
6) Charred Walls of The Damned
7) Airbourne: No Guts No Glory
8) Black Label Society: Order of The Black
9) In This Moment: A Starred Crossed Wasteland
10) Fozzy : Chasing The Grail
11) Halford: Made of Metal
12) Jackyl: When Moonshine and Dynamite Collide
13) Buckcherry: All Night Long
14) Godsmack : The Oracle
15) Iron Maiden: Final Frontier
16) Scorpions: Sting In The Tail
17) Drowning Pool
18) Helloween: 7 Sinners
19) Hell Yeah: Stampede
20) Slash

musick

I concur

slymer

Here goes....

The Menzingers - Chamberlain Waits
The Gaslight Anthem - American Slang
Against Me! - White Crosses
Make Do And Mend- End Measured Mile
The Riot Before- Rebellion
Iron Chic- Not Like This
RVIVR - RVIVR
Sundowner - We Chase the Waves
Mixtapes - Maps
Dessa - A Badly Broken Code

Honorable Mention: Paul Baribeau - Unbearable, Best Coast - Crazy for You,


I was somewhat disappointed in The Suburbs. Still an excellent album.

GenPion

I've been slacking off a bit with some of my favorite musicians, so I have some catching up to do still. It's a first for me I believe. Here's my best attempt at a Top Ten list at the moment:

The Chemical Brothers: Further (My #1 favorite of the Year)
Belle and Sebastian: Write About Love
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club: Beat the Devil's Tattoo
Broken Bells: Self-Titled
Ed Harcourt: Lustre
Interpol: Self-Titled
Royksopp: Senior
She & Him: Volume Two
Sia: We Are Born
Vampire Weekend: Contra

Runner Up's:
Spoon: Transference
Arcade Fire: The Suburbs

I should note, I still haven't listened to The Walkmen's Lisbon. They are one of my favorite bands.

Best Soundtracks/Scores:
Dexter S4
Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (Soundtrack + Score Releases)
Lost: The Final Season and Lost: The Final Episodes Soundtracks
The Last Airbender
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1

I still haven't heard Daft Punk's score to Tron Legacy, and I can easily imagine that making my list.

The Black

1) Tinie Tempah - Disc Overy
2) Nas & Damian Marley - Distant Relatives
3) Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
4) Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles
5) Gogol Bordello - Trans-Continental Hustle
6) Hot Chip - One Life Stand
7) Sleigh Bells - Treats
8) Gorillaz - Plastic Beach
9) Grinderman - Grinderman 2
10) Magnetic Man - Magnetic Man

honorable mention:
Witchery - Witchkrieg

TripWire

Alright finally finished mine, congrats to Auto for being the first to make the thread.


This year was a great year for music, especially compared to the shit music year of 2009

1. Los Campesinos - Romance is Boring
I'm sure I bothered the people around me by talking about this album and listening to it so much. But listening to this brought along the same feelings of listening to Arcade Fire's funeral for the first time. The lyrics are awesomely tongue in cheek and there is such a mixture of sounds, tempos, and song types. The album is cohesive as a whole all the way through and I knew when this was released early in the year that nothing was going to top it. Favorite tracks are "Straight in at 101" and "Romance is Boring", "The Sea is a Good Place to think About the Future", "In Media Res"
Great lyrics "I think we need more post-coital and less post-rock. Feels like the build-up takes forever but you never get me off"
"I've learnt more from toilet walls than I've learnt from these words of yours, Your feelings are buried in scriptures and fictions, it's all in the words but I'm here for the pictures."
"I'm sweating off the cheat notes on my thighs,They were for your benefit not mine"

2. Autolux - Transit Transit
I liked Autolux's first album and thought it was pretty strong, but it did not earn repeated listenings from me. This album I think hits the sweet spot for me and I have listened to this album over and over again. It's the perfect walking around the city at night soundtrack and makes me feel like I am in a way cooler dark alternative universe of some sort. This album has some great piano backing along with the usual dischord guitar, I think there are more thoughts on the vocals this second time around also. Favorite tracks are "Transit Transit", "Census", "Audience No.2", "Supertoys"
A good album lyric "This overrated atmosphere makes you kissproof"

3. Wavves - King of the Beach
I wasn't too into Waaves previous material, I'm not a huge lofi bedroom recording fan. This album he raised the production value on and is dripping with fuck you attitude but doesn't come off as angry. It's the kind of album I wish I could of written when I was a teenager, or even now for that matter. It's sorta surf rock but not really, I guess it's classified as noise pop. All the songs are really catchy though, and he hits upon a lot of different genres. I came back to these songs a lot, especially "Linus Spacehead". When the dirty guitar kicks in on the chorus, it kinda almost feels like a light nirvana moment. "Green Eyes" is also another favorite. You think his songs are going to go one way and then they end up surprising.
Favorite lyric , "My, my own friends Hate my guts So what? Who gives a fuck?"


4. Margot & The Nuclear So and Sos - Buzzard
This album came out of nowhere for me and I wouldn't even of downloaded it if it wasn't my g/f's favorite band. I have listened to their previous stuff and I liked it but wasn't in love. This album though I can't find a bad song on it, it's really really solid. Kinda reminds me of The Bends crossed with The Veils. It's honest sounding and not pretentious, great guitar riffs and songwriting and I dig the lyrics also. I've listened to this one a lot in the short time it has been out. Favorite tracks "Birds", "Let's Paint our Teeth Green", "New York City Hotel Blues", "Will You Love Me Forever"
A good album lyric "Let's move to your top, Let's make some sick love, Let's shoot our right foot, Let's smoke a bible"


5. The National - High Violet
Of course if The National puts out an album it will make my top 10 list. I think at this point they can really do no wrong, but it's not like they are really straying from their usual effective formula. I really wanted a rock album like Alligator, not another Boxer with more layers. But even though this album was a Boxer with more layers it's still pretty damn good. "Terrible Love" is one of the best songs I think they have written, the chorus has a perfect kinda sense of urgency and sophistication. What I don't like about "Terrible Love"is the production, when I first heard it I thought I had a demo recording. It's so crushed and compressed sounding, which I guess is what they were going for. "Blood Buzz Ohio reminds me of driving through the Nevada desert and hearing it on XM Radio over and over again, I dig that song. Next album they need to rock out or go in a totally different direction, they better not go electronic though. Another standout track is "I'm Afraid of Everyone"
Favorite lyric "And I can't fall asleeep Without a little help It takes awhile To settle down My ship of hopes Wait til the past lets by"

6 Deftones - Diamond Eyes
This album is the best they have done since White Pony, it brought Deftones back to their outstanding form. Hearing CMND/CTRL for the first time, it brought me back to the Around the Fur days. Production value is awesome on this album and the songs are really well crafted. "Rocket Skates" the single is definitely my favorite, it's such a fun song. "Prince", "Royal" ahh it's just good stuff. Gotta say it's really refreshing to hear Deftones delivering such a great album.
Favorite lyric "Now open your empty hand, Cause here comes the fun, Here comes the end"

7. Holy Fuck - Latin
Wow, these guys know their synths. Underworld and Chemical Brothers have now become mediocre compared to this group. There's so much going on with this album, so many sounds, I can hear how complicated the layers are and I really appreciate it. From what I have seen live, it looks like they really rock out also. It's not just one tempo type songs, there are such crazy transitions and mixtures of types of electronica going on here. I am really jealous how fucking cool these guys are with synths. It makes me feel like an idiot, and I will listen to this album over and over again feeling like one. Their drummer is pretty badass also. "SHT MTN" is epic, cowbell and booming distortion, awesomeness. "Latin" is the best all around track, it's just really smart. My phone ringtone is "Stay Lit", very IDM and snare rolls are very smooth. The band is all around smooth, and they live up to the band name Holy Fuck.

8. LCD Soundsystem - This is Happening
Loved their first album, not their second, but this 3rd album I think is their best. James Murphy just really brings it with the instrumentation and old schoolness. "Dance Yrself Clean" is such a good song, enlongated very quiet intro, then the synth kicks in, and it's just a really good moment. "Drunk Girls", the video and the song is so simple but so brilliant. This album rocks more than previous and I think it's a good direction for em. Favorite lyric "Don't you want me to wake up, Then give me just a bit of your time, Arguments are made for make-ups, So give it just a little more time"

9. Arcade Fire - Suburbs
I wasn't impressed by this album for awhile, and I didn't really appreciate it till a couple months after its release. Critics have a huge hardon for this album for some reason, which is maybe why I am kinda tough on it. I still think it falls short as far as living up to what their potential is. To me it sounds like them relying on a lot of influences and writing good songs based solely on those influences. The songs did grow on me though and they come off great live. I still think Funeral is their best, to me that was them being their most original. "Ready to start" is my favorite.
Best lyric "All the kids have always known, That the emperor wears no clothes, But to bow to down to them anyway, Is better than to be alone"

10. Beach House - Teen Dream
This is perfect teenage makeout music. I've listened to Beach House before and kinda liked em and all. This album though brings just the right melodies into the songs, and it pretty much makes you feel like you are spacing out on your favorite narcotic while listening. I actually first thought the singer was a guy, she really has a low register. I find em kinda boring live, but these guys are more of a headphone album for me. Love "Zebra" and "Walk in the Park".
Favorite lyric "Don't I know you better than the rest, All deception, all deception from you"

Runner up to top 10

Massive Attack - Heligoland
Great album, but felt like to me like Massive Attack became more of a project than a band. Paradise circus is only 3 chords on a piano, but it is one of my favorite songs of the year. Hope Sandoval sounds damn sexy on it.

Honorable Mentions: Broken Social Scene, Local Natives, The Black Keys, The Drums, Grinderman

Biggest Dissapointment:
Dead Confederate - Sugar
WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED! Did you just decide to make shit music cause you were recording in Hoboken? You guys failed me so hard with this, you better recover on the next. YOUR SOUND IS SOUTHERN GRUNGE, STICK WITH IT!

Giles

in no particular order:

Hot Chip - One Life Stand
Bluetones – A New Athens
Chemical Brothers - Further
Manic Street Preachers - Postcards from a Young Man
I Am Kloot – Sky At Night
Hurts - Happiness
Ost & Kjex – Cajun Lunch
Aeroplane - We Can't Fly
The Count & Sinden - Mega Mega Mega
Mumford and Sons - Sigh No More

bearkiss

KYLIE - Aphrodite
My Chemical Romance - Danger Days
Goldfrapp - Head First
Duran Duran - All You Need Is Now
Interpol - Interpol
Scissor Sisters - Nightwork
LCD Soundsystem - This is Happening
Chemical Brothers - Further
Brandon Flowers - Flamingo
Robyn - Body Talk 2

notkevinbacon

Man, I feel so out of the loop when it comes to new music nowadays. I just haven't sought anything new out in a while... but thanks to this thread for alerting to me that I somehow missed a new Margot and the Nuclear So and So's album, reminding me I never got the new Holy Fuck and how the hell did I miss a new Autolux disc?


Giving The National another go, tried a couple years ago and wasn't feeling it. Still not completely convinced on them, but like a few tracks on the new album a lot.

Want to give Best Coast a shot too just based upon some of what I've heard.

Not into Titus Andronicus so much so far, but they sound a lot like Desaparicidos so far and I kinda always loved that little project. So maybe I should keep on with them.

Definitely dug the shit out of the new Gogol Bordello and I'm surprised nobody mentioned the new Magnetic Fields album.

TripWire

Best Coast is pretty good, I wouldn't say they are outstanding but it's pretty good for chick fronted surf rock. They're touring with Wavves which is a good combo. Titus Andronicus has some pretty awesome songs on the new album, I do understand the Desaparicidos comparison, sometimes I think they sound like Cursive.

Yeah I haven't even listened to the new Magnetic Fields, I still gotta do that.
Definitely check out Holy Fuck, Autolux and Margot and the Nuclear So and So's.

adrenaline78

Soilwork- The Panic Broadcast..



Its my favorite 2010 album because I think it's the only album I've listened to that came out this year.

asianxcore

Can't narrow it down to 10

Favorite Albums of 2010

1. Sara Bareilles: 'Kaleidoscope Heart'
2. Alpha & Omega: 'Life Swallower'
3. Crucified: 'Coldest Winter: Darkest Reaches Of The Mind
4. Black Breath: 'Heavy Breathing'
5. Kate Nash: "My Best Friend Is You"
6. Murder By Death: 'Good Morning, Magpie'
7. Howl: "Full Of Hell'
8. The Dillinger Escape Plan: 'Option Paralysis'
9. Grace Potter & The Nocturnals: 'Grace Potter & The Nocturnals"
10. Wormrot: 'Abuse'
11. Massive Attack: 'Heligoland'
12. Landmine Marathon: 'Sovereign Descent'
13. Misery Index: 'Heirs To Thievery'
14. Sade: 'Soldier Of Love'
15. Punch: 'Push Pull'
16. Trash Talk: 'Eyes & Nines'
17. Kylesa: 'Spiral Shadow'