I’m trying to pull these together now. A few albums leap to mind:
- Liars –Â Sisterworld
- The Roots — How I Got Over
- Kanye West — My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
- Taylor Swift’s Speak Now
- Sightings — City of Straw
- Janelle Monae — The ArchAndroid
- Erykah Badu — New Amerykah Part Two: Return of the Ankh
- Ted Leo and the Pharmacists — The Brutalist Bricks
- The-Dream — Love King
- Titus Andronicus — The Monitor
- Big Boi — Sir Luscious Left Foot…
- Spoon — Transference
- Kylesa — Spiral Shadow
- Sleigh Bells — Treats
- V/A Casual Victim Pile comp
I’m still looking around for things I missed. Really wish there were more metal on this list, to say nothing of weirdo noise and psych stuff. More country, too! I’m not above hearing ten albums in the next week and making those my favorite albums of the year. Still haven’t heard that Beach House album that came out so long ago it feels like 2009! I’m over worrying what critics think of my year-end list; none of them matter so much to warrant the cosmopolitan ulcer I used to give myself come November. Have to admit that it feels good to have reached the point in my life where I’m happy to nominate the mainstream fluff I used to hate seeing in the Village Voice Pazz ‘n’ Jop poll. That Taylor Swift album is damn good!
What are your favorites of 2010? Feel free to drop links in the comments. Wow me.
future islands-in evening air (# 1 by a mile)
beach house-teen dream
shearwater-golden archipelago
warpaint-the fool
radio dept-clinging to a scheme
arcade fire-the suburbs
oneohtrix point never-returnal
joanna newsom-have one on me
Cannot get through the Arcade Fire album. Tried. Twice! Maybe it’ll click
for me sometime down the road, but I still think “Neon Bible” is their
high-water mark. Haven’t been able to get down with Future Islands either.
What’s that Warpaint album like?
warpaint is kinda like earlier 4AD stuff with the reverb dialed down quite a bit. it’s the dude’s voice with future islands, right? I don’t think he’s being ironic.
Can’t even remember really. Pretty sure my friend Mark played it for me. Not
sure if it was the voice — and I like weird/bad voices — or if the whole
aesthetic does nothing for me.
See also Twin Shadow sounding like a Prince and R.E.M. duet. Two things I
like, just not together.
I’m glad you included the Spoon album. I’m a big fan of that album. You and Madeline should have a listening party. She would be THRILLED that you are a Taylor Swift fan… I’m just lame‑o Mom and can’t dig it. Let’s see, what other albums did I like…I liked the new Belle and Sebastian. The Dr. Dog album was fun and good and local. I have recently become a Roky Erickson fan, and he released an album this year. The Black Mountain album is fantastic. It took me several listens and going to see them to really appreciate it, but Amber’s voice is like a tranquilizing lullaby to me.