Best(ish) Albums of 2010

So, another year has passed, and it's been a great one for music in general. Many new discoveries were made, old favorites were renewed, and many of my favorite artists came out with long-anticipated new releases. Singles are nice, but the true measure of a great band is whether or not they can bring it all together for an entire album, and these albums did a pretty good job of that. I'll preface this with two things; first, these are not the 'best' albums released this year by any artistic standard, they are just what I enjoyed the most. Second, I did not include any EPs on this list, so although you may have seen Geographer take two of the top three songs on my 'best songs' list, you won't find that record here (I still recommend it highly!).

Honorable Mentions:

20. Hot Chip - One Life Stand

Britain's dance-rock supergroup of sorts has been one of a few bands in the genre to enjoy crossover success of some kind, and their mainstream appeal became full-fledged this year with One Life Stand. Catchy dance tunes are still the norm for Alexis Taylor and Co., but this record is permeated by great somber tunes such as 'Alley Cats' too. This record really focuses on love of all shapes and sizes, and it's tough not to give a little love to Hot Chip in return.

19. Best Coast - Crazy For You
This was the debut record for California stoner queen Bethany Cosentino, and the title of the album pretty much says it all. Cosentino really wants to be with this dude. Pretty much every song features her pining after presumably the same guy, and it's safe to bet that much of her longing is brought on by the ganja. Thing is, it works. The lyrics are very relateable, and the fuzzy surf-rock hooks make this the perfect album for chillin' on the beach.

18. Ratatat - LP4

This NYC indie-electronic duo's fourth studio album has been widely criticized for being a collection of B-sides just lazily thrown together, indicating a lack of drive to try new things. I beg to differ, because if every band's B-sides were this good it would be impossible to put a list like this together. This record features just as many danceable, catchy hooks as their previous work, and as the old saying goes, 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it.'

17. 65daysofstatic - We Were Exploding Anyway
This criminally underrated post-rock group from England also released their fourth studio album this year to almost zero fanfare. 2010 was a major changing period for 65dos, as they fully abandoned their old all-out guitar assault sound in favor of a predominantly electronic sound. The band didn't lose their edge though, as the riffs on this record still hit just as hard, albeit with a different bite. Listen to the opening beat of 'Mountainhead' for an idea of what I'm getting at.

16. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

At this point we've all come to expect a lot from Win Butler and friends, perhaps unfairly, but their majestic anthems about loss have caused much of the independent music world (and maybe the mainstream world too, considering this record debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts) to place them on a pedestal. Perhaps it is unfair to judge this band based on their past work, but it's really hard to compare them to anything else. As such, this record was a minor disappointment for me (not that I blame them, they'll probably never top Funeral). However, even a slightly disappointing Arcade Fire record is good for one of the best of the year. The band takes the listener on a stellar journey full of depressing lows and cathartic highs.

15. Laura Marling - I Speak Because I Can

This 20-year old British folk singer came out with her second album this year, a sweep-you-off-your-feet collection of gorgeous acoustic folk tunes. Marling sounds wise beyond her few years, both in the quality of her voice and her mature lyrical themes, making this collection of songs all the more impressive. Let's hope this is the beginning of a long, prolific career.

14. Michael Cassette - Temporarity

Boy, was this record a blast from the past. This well-respected underground producer's first solo album features heavy use of 80s-style electronics, drowning the listener in a deluge of ridiculously catchy synth hooks. You can bet that this some of this stuff will be on the playlist at any dance party I throw.

13. LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening

James Murphy hit the big 4-0 early this year, and on this LCD record (possibly their last) you can definitely tell it's something he thinks about. A lot. Despite the final two songs being a bit boring, there is enough good stuff in the first seven to make this a really great record. From the joyous celebration of partying in 'Drunk Girls' to the desperation of clinging to love in 'I Can Change,' Murphy just gets better and better with age.

12. Beach House - Teen Dream

Honestly, a week ago this wasn't on my list because I hadn't listened to it yet. If I made this list again in another week it might be even higher up. The Baltimore dream-pop duo makes exquisitely refined songs with aching melodies and beautiful reverb. It's like My Bloody Valentine and Enya had a baby, and it is glorious.

11. Sufjan Stevens - The Age of Adz

With his first proper album is four years, Sufjan Stevens underwent some drastic changes. Gone are the banjos and crooning passages about the unique locales of midwestern America. They were replaced by spare electronics and lots of introspection and demon-facing. The end result is a beautiful journey through the darkest places of Stevens' mind, and strangely enough, in the end it ends up being more uplifting than any record he're written before.

10. Emeralds - Does It Look Like I'm Here?

One of the few good things still happening in Cleveland, Ohio (hurr hurr), drone outfit Emeralds have been nothing if not prolific, releasing cassette after cassette of material for the past five years. This year's full-length release Does It Look Like I'm Here is the most polished of the bunch, a sprawling mixture of ambient textures and schizoid synth melodies. The music swells and recedes beautifully, making this the perfect 'lie on your bed and think' album.

9. Belle and Sebastian - Write About Love

The legendary Scottish twee act returned with their 8th studio album this year, bringing to rest the genre-confusion of their past couple records and settling somewhere in the middle. Write About Love brilliantly combines the upbeat jazziness of The Life Pursuit with some of the quieter, more reserved tunes from their early releases. Sarah Martin steals some of the spotlight with more vocal work than we usually see, which is definitely a plus. All in all, this is just another great record from an excellent group of musicians.

8. Two Door Cinema Club - Tourist History

These Irish youngsters debuted with quite possibly the most fun album of the year. The three-piece band features post-punk song structures that somehow dissolve into some of the bounciest dance music of the year, not to mention more catchy hooks than you can shake a stick at. Somewhat overlooked this year by many major publications, I think they'll hit the big time very very soon.

7. Matthew Dear - Black City

Longtime electrohouse producer Matthew Dear has long been behind some of the world's biggest dance hits, but it wasn't until recently he stepped to the forefront of his music and grabbed the mic. Black City is a dark affair; a collection of songs featuring Dear's deep baritone over squelchy beats and riffs that practically ooze. Dear uses his imperfect voice creatively, using it intricately to add a sense of foreboding to the beats. In the end, the mix is hauntingly beautiful, though it takes a few listens to really understand.

6. Fang Island - Fang Island

When I first heard Fang Island coming through my headphones on my way to campus, I kind of had to fight the urge to start skipping down the street. Fang Island describes their music as 'everyone high-fiving everyone,' and honestly, there really isn't a better way to describe it. Soaring triple-guitar melodies make statement after statement, and the few sung portions are joys to behold.

5. Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest

All it takes is the first few bars of 'Earthquake' to let you know you're in for something truly different with Deerhunter's latest record. The psych-rock group's latest effort is a spectacle, with its somber guitar lines accentuated by haunting ambient noise. Frontman Bradford Cox tackles aging and death in his lyrics, as is most apparent in the last song, 'He Would Have Laughed,' a tribute to recently deceased garage-punk icon Jay Reatard. The last few bars of that song might be the musical moment of the year, as the song twinkles out of existence abruptly mid-bar, mirroring the unexpected death of Reatard. Sadness has never sounded so pretty.

4. Gorillaz - Plastic Beach

Gorillaz, being a one-man show run by former Blur frontman Damon Albarn, have always relied on guest appearances to take the stellar music to the next level. Albarn really hit the jackpot in that respect on Plastic Beach, landing awesome guest spots from Bobby Womack, Little Dragon, Mos Def, and Snoop Dogg. Albarn calls it "the most pop album I've ever made in many ways," but the truth is it may be the best album in the Gorillaz trilogy.

3. Sleigh Bells - Treats

I'm not sure the world was ready for Derek Miller to wait on Alexis Krauss' table at a Brooklyn cafe. The two began to talk about music and the rest is history. Sleigh Bells strange combination of loud-beyond-belief guitars, drum machine rumbles, and Krauss' relatively soft voice singing though the chaos, is a new phenomenon in the music world. The energy of Sleigh Bells is unparalleled by any group today, and with their music now being used in major advertisements, Sleigh Bells are on their way to being more than just an indie phenomenon.

2. The National - High Violet

Matt Berninger just has a way with words. The Brooklyn-via-Cincinnati group just keeps putting out solid records about ordinary American adult life, and this is probably the best of the bunch. What makes the National so great is the fact that the lyrics are so relateable; Berninger is a normal, troubled guy just like most of the rest of us, and he does a brilliant job of turning his feelings into beautiful poetry. Combine that with masterful songwriting and you've got one of the best bands making music out there today.

1. Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Wow. For the majority of the year I didn't think any record would top High Violet in my mind. Then some guy named Kanye released a record and I played songs off that record 244 times in the ensuing week. That made me take notice. Kanye West's magnum opus is a masterpiece in American hip-hop and the best album released this year. The tight production, the funny rhymes, the move from epic egotism at the beginning to bleak self-hatred at the end. Kanye may not be the best rapper out there, but he sure as hell is the best hip-hop producer, and has a bevy of high-profile friends to make up for whatever skills he lacks (not many). Competitors will be hard-pressed to make sure this isn't the best hip-hop record of the decade to come.

That's it for 2010, see you in 2011!