I noticed this year my list is more full of hip-hop than in previous years, I'm not sure if that's my taste shifting or this being an exceptional year for it. Either way I like it.
And without further ado here it is:
25. Band of Horses - Infinite Arms
One of my favorite bands of the 00's, this isn't their best effort. That being said given most years it was certainly strong enough to push a top 10 spot; however, this year is just too strong. Good but not great.
24. MGMT - Congratulations
This might be one of the more polarizing albums of the year, and I'll admit it took me a while to get on board. I had to include this video for this title track because it reminds me of Tatooine on LSD. Though this is a much slower album than their now classic 2008 Oracular Spectacular, there's certainly value here and I recommend you check it out.
23. Gorillaz - Plastic Beach
One of my favorite albums of the year at the beginning of the summer, it began to wear on me a bit by the time fall came. I'm not sure if I listened to it too much over too short of a time or maybe it was just drowned out by all the other outstanding albums in 2010, either way this is a great album and a welcome return by one of the more innovative bands around.
22. Tallest Man on Earth - The Wild Hunt
I'm not sure this album is for everyone, mostly due to his nasal/folksy sounding voice; however, if you don't mind it I highly recommend this to anyone who likes strong songwriting and 1960's folk rock "Me and Julio Down By the Schoolyard" sounds channeling Bon Iver, Dave Matthews, or even sometimes Bob Dylan. I'm a big fan.
21. Broken Bells - Broken Bells
The ONLY reason this album is so low on the list is due to its short length, or maybe its the perceived short length; either way I need about 10 more tracks. Danger Mouse continues to be the most active member of the music industry to this day and adds another excellent addition to his resume. I will have to say that this album did leave me wanting a new Shins album though...
20. Titus Andronicus - The Monitor
This is the first time I've really listened to one of their albums, and I'll admit it's because I read that Craig Finn (The Hold Steady) made an appearance. Goddamn this is good stuff though, high energy Punk/Rock/Indie feel with a bit of melodrama and great lyrics. Oh yeah, and Craig Finn reading Walt Whitman at the end of the above song...that never hurts.
19. Beach House - Teen Dream
A solid entry into the NROP (Noise/Rock/Pop) category that made its resurgence in 2008, this a what I consider a good "driving album". What I mean by that is simply, if you've got a long distance to drive and have already burned through your "Pump Up" music, this is a good chill album, especially when driving through the Mojave Desert. If you're into the NROP stuff you probably already know this album well, but if not I'd give it a go. Plus this video is super creepy.
18. Kid Cudi - Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager
2010 has proved to be one of the strongest Hip-Hop years in the past decade. Kid Cudi, who I consider to be one of the more underrated "mainstream" rappers out there, put out the sequel to his 2009 Man on the Moon: The End of Day. Additionally he teamed up with Best Coast and Vampire Weekend members to put out one of the year's best singles All Summer. Simply put go get this album if you're Hip-Hop inclined.
17. Spoon - Transference
One of the great bands of the '00s puts out its first album of the '10s (that's right, right?), and while not their best effort its certainly a welcome addition to their Canon. They say emulation is the sincerest form of flattery, perhaps in this case though emulation is the reason this album didn't quite click like their past efforts. It seems these days there's about ten or so mainstream Spoon "sound-alikes", and while that's indicative of their influence on modern music it has slightly diluted their own efforts.
16. Atmosphere - To All My Friends, Blood Makes the Blade Holy
Being that I hail originally from Minnesota, Minneapolis/St. Paul rap will always have a soft spot for me. Sometimes there are albums I like from these rappers simply because of their intrinsic reminiscent value, other times there are legit rap albums coming out of the Twin Cities--this is certainly a case of the latter. At this point, I'm fairly certain Atmosphere will never garner the mainstream radio play and praise he deserves, and maybe it's because of his relative lack of "hooks" on his tracks but anyone who's into hip-hop or rap will find this album hard not to love.
15. Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Before Today
I made the mistake earlier this year of skipping out on seeing these guys for about $12 at the Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa, I won't be doing that again. This is another of those NROP lo-fi bands that have become all the rage with the youngin's these days, but there are also tinges of MGMT and The Flaming Lips psychadellica in their music. Be warned if you're tripping balls you might want to skip the YouTube clip above.
14. Big Boi - Sir Lucious Left Foot : The Son of Chico Dusty
Maybe it's bias from going to college in the early 00's but looking back, besides maybe Phish and DMB, was there a more memorable soundtrack besides Aquemini and Stankonia? It's been a while since Outkast has released an album (I'm not sure I count Idlewild given it's a soundtrack essentially), and frankly I think they've been missed. Now while this isn't a full blown Outkast album because of the absence of Andre 3000, I think it certainly whets the appetite for a new one...though I think the odds are slim.
13. Mumford and Sons - Sigh No More
Labeled as an English "folk-band", though that may be debatable, this foursome broke through the mainstream radio with an unlikely profanity-dubbed smash hit Little Lion Man. While this is a great song, and certainly the most approachable with it's Crazy Game of Poker-esque jamming and wailing bridge, it's just one of many on this album. Truthfully I may have listened to this album more than any album of the year, and while I can certainly recognize its musical faults (simplicity and repetition being two of the glaring ones), I can't look past how addicting it is. I blame the banjo...
12. Das Racist - Sit Down, Man
The creators of the infamous/awesome Combination Pizza Hut & Taco Bell of 2009, this Brooklyn duo sarcastically put out one of the year's best rap albums. With lyrics like:
Meet me where I beat beats, drop street heat
I'm on the block like street meat
Call me Dwight Schrute from the way that I eat beats
It's sometimes hard to take them seriously. Whether they're serious or not they've put out some damn good songs on this album. Somehow this year Pitchfork gave this album an 8.7, which is weird for a website that hates all music that isn't Lil' Wayne or some electronic band no one's heard of yet, and maybe that's a reason not to like these guys...I didn't let it stop me though.
11. The Walkmen - Lisbon
One of the last vestiges of what I consider to be the true rock bands of the 00's. Keeping with their tradition of channeling The Cure, The Strokes, and U2 while putting their raw twist on it, Lisbon is a fantastic alt-rock album and what I consider to be their best since 2004's Bow and Arrows.
10. No Age - Everything in Between
When I first listened to "Glitter", the track above, I half expected them to break into a cover of Twisted Sister's "We're not Gonna Take it". I have a feeling in ten years I'll be listening to more No Age then maybe any band from the past five years. It's amazing to me that there are only two members to this band and they can maintain such a BIG sound in many of their songs. They're still a staple at The Smell in downtown Los Angeles, though I have yet to attend I hope to change that soon.
09. The Hold Steady - Heaven is Whenever
A departure from their norms, The Hold Steady, have struggled to maintain their mainstream success of "Boys and Girls in America". Many critics panned this album, it garnered a paltry 6.2 from Pitchfork.com, but I certainly don't agree. This is just another strong entry into The Hold Steady catalog, and it may be the most Springsteen-inspired yet. I think the major issue with the critics is the growing theme of Craig Finn singing on more songs over the past few albums rather than simply "free style" speaking. Guess what though, The Hold Steady has been pretty consistent since about 3 albums ago so this sudden criticism of them no longer being "raw" is kind of bogus. Craig Finn is still awesome.
08. Black Keys - Brothers
Speaking of duos delivering huge sounds, #9 belongs to one of the best in the business. The garage rock phenomenon has long since morphed into the lo-fi movement performed by the likes of No Age and Dr. Dog, but there are still a few staples remaining from it--particularly The Black Keys and The White Stripes. Though its hard to not to make comparisons between the two they really are very different in their musical styles, especially of late. The Black Keys have managed to stay true to their garage/bar-band/guitar driven rock and roll while The White Stripes have taken a more experimental course. The Black Keys are using their inner Chris Robinson and The Black Crowes this time around and I'll be the first one to say, though I'm most certainly not the first (in fact there's a distinct chance I may be the LAST of the year), that it works like a charm. Well done guys.
07 The National - High Violet
This really was a banner year for my favorite bands apparently. The National put out yet another outstanding album this year, I'm not sure what more to say. These guys continue to put out some of the best albums of the year every time they release a new one, I love it. I've got my fingers crossed for a The National and the LA Philharmonic collaboration concert at the Hollywood Bowl next year...that's not too much to ask right?
06. The Morning Benders - Big Echo
I reviewed this album in January and said then I was pretty sure this was going to be a top album of mine back then, well it nearly cracked the top 5. I wont delve into further detail on this besides saying that it's worn well over the year, they're a great concert, and here's my previous review.
05. Arcade Fire - Suburbs
Anyone who knows my musical tastes knows that there are six bands that come before all others: The White Stripes, Arcade Fire, The Flaming Lips, Wilco, Sigur Ros, and LCD Soundsystem, so it should be no surprise to see one of the "sweet six" in the top five albums of the year. That being said, I'm not sure this is their best album. It is definitely great, but when comparing to "Neon Bible" and "Funeral" those two are pretty tough to top, so they've kind of dug themselves a hole. Most people reading this by now will have listened to this album repetitiously, and have developed their own opinions of it but let me just say that it had been many years before I was so excitedly anticipating the release of an album, and I certainly wasn't let down.
04. Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
I'll go on record as saying I wasn't a big "808s and Heartbreaks" fan, the overuse of autotune took away from the album to the point that it was distracting. "Graduation" was outstanding and remains one of the best hip-hop albums of all time, and "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" takes a step back in that direction. Never known for being a modest, rational, non-douchey guy Kanye's talent outweighs all of these criticisms and never before has he had such free reign to experiment as he did on this album. Though this is only at the #4 spot on my Top 25, I have a feeling I lowballed this one, it's just that there's too many damn good albums this year!
03. Local Natives - Gorilla Manor
Remember those Spoon "sound-alikes" I was referring to before, well here's a great example, especially in song linked above. This is one of those albums that you'll listen through the first time, love it, stash it, get it in your head, wait a few weeks, wonder who sing's that song that's ingrained in your brain, remember who go back to it, rinse and repeat. Local Natives blend their best Spoon impression with the afro-pop stylings of Vampire Weekend and throw in a little Bon Iver and orchestra to create one hell of a debut album. I'm very excited to hear more.
02. LCD Soundsystem - This is Happening
James Murphy, you son of a bitch, you do it to me every time, I'm not supposed to like techno or electronic rock or whatever the hell classification of music this is. Even though that's true this is perhaps the best and most underrated band of the 00's, a blend of techno/rock/pop that's cutting edge and fresh on each of their now three full length albums. "Dance Yrself Clean" was basically on an infinite loop over the course of the year and I don't really see any reason to stop with that. If you aren't a huge fan this might be their toughest to break into; however, I promise it's well worth it. With rumors of their inevitable dissolution always popping into my music news feed one has to wonder how many more albums they'll release before becoming the next in a long line of band's that people wish made "just one more album". Personally I'm hoping for a long drawn out slow drug riddled fade into the sunset, but I'm a little selfish I guess.
01. Vampire Weekend - Contra
Two for two. They've released two albums, their self-titled Vampire Weekend in 2008 and this year's Contra. These guys are freaks of nature. Very rarely, if ever, does a band come out with two albums as strong as their first two efforts. My take on them has always been good, they are certainly not free of their critics who say they're "too smart for their own good", but guess what. F*ck you, and enjoy it because this could be Nickelback, would you rather more Nickelbacks? No? Okay then...This video sort of signaled their full blown acceptance into the mainstream meme with cameos by about ten (at least) recognizable celebrities. I really could have picked any song on this album to post here as an example of their music since nearly every song on the album is as strong as the next. Here's to hoping their next album stays atop the Power Rankings whenever it's finally released.
