Your top albums of 2010?

[Frau_Blucher]

My crap fairly mainstream prefs as I scored them throughout the year, so maybe not precisely how I feel about them at this very moment. In retrospect, a lot of "good" albums and maybe only one "great" one in my mind for 2010...

Rank - Score - Artist - Album
01 - 9.0 - Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest
02 - 8.5 - The Phantom Band - The Wants
03 - 8.0 - The Secret History - The World That Never Was
04 - 8.0 - Pomegranates - One of Us
05 - 8.0 - Crocodiles - Sleep Forever
06 - 8.0 - The Dig - The Dig
07 - 8.0 - LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening
08 - 8.0 - Veil Veil Vanish - Change In Neon Light
09 - 8.0 - Delphic - Acolyte
10 - 8.0 - Shout Out Louds - Work
11 - 8.0 - Soundpool - Mirrors In Your Eyes
12 - 7.5 - Band Of Horses - Infinite Arms
13 - 7.5 - Clinic - Bubblegum
14 - 7.5 - Working For a Nuclear Free City - Jojo Burger Tempest
15 - 7.5 - Film School - Fission
16 - 7.5 - Caribou - Swim
17 - 7.5 - Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. - Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly.
18 - 7.5 - Hey Champ - Star
19 - 7.5 - Royksopp - Senior
20 - 7.0 - Stars - The Five Ghosts
21 - 7.0 - New Young Pony Club - The Optimist
22 - 7.0 - Fight Like Apes - The Body Of Christ And The Legs of…
23 - 7.0 - Swans - My Father Will Guide Me…
24 - 7.0 - Wild Nothing - Gemini
25 - 7.0 - The Soft Pack - The Soft Pack

And the honorable to dishonorable mentions, at least of the ones I've listened to somewhat thoroughly. Doesn't include drek that I would never bother with of course, but it also doesn't include things I've totally missed. Would love to hear of some can't misses not on my list...

26 - 6.5 - Surfer Blood - Astrocoast
27 - 6.5 - The Strange Death Of Liberal England - Drown Your Heart Again
28 - 6.5 - Foals - Total Life Forever
29 - 6.5 - Kid Canaveral - Shouting At Wildlife
30 - 6.5 - Field Music - Measure
31 - 6.5 - Hooverphonic - The Night Before
32 - 6.5 - Neon Indian - Mind Ctrl: Psychic Chasms Possessed
33 - 6.5 - Local Natives - Gorilla Manor
34 - 6.5 - Frightened Rabbit - The Winter of Mixed Drinks
35 - 6.5 - Tokyo Police Club - Champ
36 - 6.5 - Twin Shadow - Forget
37 - 6.5 - The Radio Dept. - Clinging To a Scheme
38 - 6.5 - The Morning Benders - Big Echo
39 - 6.5 - OMD - History of Modern
40 - 6.5 - Uni Form - Mirrors
41 - 6.5 - Violens - Amoral
42 - 6.5 - Teenage Fanclub - Shadows
43 - 6.5 - The Thermals - Personal Life
44 - 6.5 - Phantogram - Eyelid Movies
45 - 6.5 - The Vaselines - Sex With An X
46 - 6.0 - Cloud Cult - Light Chasers
47 - 6.0 - The Golden Filter - Voluspa
48 - 6.0 - Hot Chip - One Life Stand
49 - 6.0 - Kissaway Trail - Sleep Mountain
50 - 6.0 - Klaxons - Surfing the Void
51 - 6.0 - Ou Est Le Swimming Pool - The Golden Year
52 - 6.0 - Pantha Du Prince - Black Noise
53 - 6.0 - Warpaint - The Fool
54 - 6.0 - Wavves - King of the Beach
55 - 6.0 - Weekend - Sports
56 - 6.0 - 65daysofstatic - We Were Exploding Anyway
57 - 6.0 - !!! - Strange Weather, Isn't It?
58 - 6.0 - Tame Impala - Innerspeaker
59 - 5.5 - Beach House - Teen Dream
60 - 5.5 - The Courteeners - Falcon
61 - 5.5 - The Drums - The Drums
62 - 5.5 - Dum Dum Girls - Blissed Out
63 - 5.5 - Four Tet - There Is Love In You
64 - 5.5 - Manic Street Preachers - Postcards From a Young Man
65 - 5.5 - The New Pornographers - Together
66 - 5.5 - Peter Case - Wig!
67 - 5.5 - We Have Band - WHB
68 - 5.5 - 22-20s - Shake Shiver Moan
69 - 5.5 - Ben Folds & Nick Hornby - Lonely Avenue
70 - 5.5 - Devo - Something for Everybody
71 - 5.0 - Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
72 - 5.0 - Broken Bells - Broken Bells
73 - 5.0 - Bryan Ferry - Olympia
74 - 5.0 - The Clientele - Minotaur
75 - 5.0 - Codeine Velvet Club - Codeine Velvet Club
76 - 5.0 - The Gaslight Anthem - American Slang
77 - 5.0 - I Am Kloot - Sky At Night
78 - 5.0 - James - The Night Before
79 - 5.0 - Kim Wilde - Come Out And Play
80 - 5.0 - Locksley - Be In Love
81 - 5.0 - MGMT - Congratulations
82 - 5.0 - Ra Ra Riot - The Orchard
83 - 5.0 - Rogue Wave - Permalight
84 - 5.0 - Scissor Sisters - Night Work
85 - 5.0 - Underworld - Barking
86 - 4.5 - jj - jj n° 3
87 - 4.5 - O Children - O Children
88 - 4.5 - Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles (II)
89 - 4.0 - Black Tambourine - Black Tambourine
90 - 4.0 - Goldfrapp - Head First
91 - 4.0 - Hurts - Happiness
92 - 4.0 - Interpol - Interpol
93 - 4.0 - These New Puritans - Hidden
94 - 4.0 - Yeasayer - Odd Blood
95 - 4.0 The Black Keys - Brothers
96 - 3.5 - Best Coast - Crazy For You
97 - 3.0 - The National - High Violet
98 - 3.0 - We Are Scientists - Barbara
99 - 2.0 - The Dead Weather - Sea of Cowards
100 - 2.0 - No Age - Everything in Between

[coop41]

wow, maybe 1 in your top 25 on my top 25....maybe.

6 or 7 from your lower list scored higher with me. Will get mine on soon. Didn't see these anywhere on your lists: Devo? Neon Trees? Two Door Cinema Club? Kanye West?

[SwampThing]

How about Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti and Future Islands? No likey? At first I didn't like either of these, but I warmed up to them after about 5 listens.

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[schwenko]

I would put Kylie Minogue's "Aphrodite" on my list. along with St Etienne's "A Glimpse of Stocking"
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[Frau_Blucher]

Cool. Sounds like a few more listens I need to dig up. I did play 'stocking' in my office yesterday. I didn't actually consider it for this list.

[popreactor]

@Frau_Blucher
Seems like a very busy year in music for you.

Anyway, a good topic.
Will complete my list soon.

[Frau_Blucher]

[quote][i]Originally posted by SwampThing[/i]
<br>How about Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti and Future Islands? No likey? At first I didn't like either of these, but I warmed up to them after about 5 listens.
[/quote]
Now that you mention it, I did sample several tracks on youtube after hearing some buzz. I have to say that none of it stuck at all, and I'll likely be guilty of those pretty serious negative impressions not letting me give them another chance. If you said they're top 10 material, I'd have to reconsider given lots of overlaps in our taste in the past.

[schwenko]

[quote][i]Originally posted by Frau_Blucher[/i]
<br>Cool. Sounds like a few more listens I need to dig up. I did play 'stocking' in my office yesterday. I didn't actually consider it for this list.
[/quote]

you didn't consider it because ? only 4 new tracks, so not really 2010?

btw- if you were willing to pay 150 quid you could get a personalized song from St Etienne- seems like it was Sarah singing that she was going to bake you a cake[8D]

[djcraig]

What are these "albums" of which you speak? I find your ancient traditions quite charming.

I guess it is so rare for me to find an entire new release I would want every track from, I haven't bought/downloaded a whole album in years. Can't remember the last time that happened.

<a href="http://www.djcraig.net/los_angeles_dj">DJ Craig</a>

[Frau_Blucher]

[quote][i]Originally posted by schwenko[/i]
<br>[quote][i]Originally posted by Frau_Blucher[/i]
<br>Cool. Sounds like a few more listens I need to dig up. I did play 'stocking' in my office yesterday. I didn't actually consider it for this list.
[/quote]
you didn't consider it because ? only 4 new tracks, so not really 2010?
[/quote]
Well it's not really Next Wave is it? If we don't abide by at least loose genre denotations, then we are not a society.

Besides, an entire album of veritable Downey California's is beyond the pale...whatever that means.

[Frau_Blucher]

[quote][i]Originally posted by djcraig[/i]
<br>What are these "albums" of which you speak? I find your ancient traditions quite charming.

I guess it is so rare for me to find an entire new release I would want every track from, I haven't bought/downloaded a whole album in years. Can't remember the last time that happened.
[/quote]
I'm sure that's the majority. I would think that indie should be a bastion of the album though. It's not like these guys are getting rich selling smash singles. Not most of them anyway. Well, maybe none of them are making any money. They're independent. They must have something to sing that's different than the mass tide of crappola. I kinda want to like the whole of a band - their music, their lyrics, their attitudes and convictions, the whole body of work. I think I spent the whole 90s and latter half of the 80s in singles mode. In retrospect, that era is a bagful of some good songs, some with great emotional connections but relatively little connection to the bands and albums themselves. I freakin love what the Noughties are compared to that. As I type this, I'm thinking this is exactly why Halcyon Digest is at the top of my list. Every song is like a mini adventure within the bounds of a bigger coherent work. Probably only the top 3 to 5 albums might resonate like this with me in any given year, but it scares me that I might miss out on something great in that vein if I don't pay enough attention.

Wow, I might be obsessive!

[SwampThing]

1 - Future Islands - In Evening Air
2 - Local Natives - Gorilla Manor
3 - Twin Shadow - Forget
4 - Wild Nothing - Gemini
5 - Beach House - Teen Dream
6 - Minus The Bear - Omni
7 - Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Before Today
8 - Warpaint - The Fool
9 - Beach Fossils - Beach Fossils
10 - Crocodiles - Sleep Forever
11 - Stornoway - Beachcomber’s Windowsill
12 - Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest
13 - Laura Veirs - July Flame
14 - The Secret History - The World That Never Was
15 - Shout Out Louds - Work
16 - Mumford & Sons - Sigh No More
17 - Teenage Fanclub - Shadows
18 - The Drums - The Drums
19 - Band of Horses - Infinite Arms
20 - Delta Spirit - History From Above
21 - Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles II
22 - Three Mile Pilot - The Inevitable Past Is The Future Forgotten
23 - Dr. Dog - Shame Shame
24 - The Phantom Band - The Wants
25 - The Bluetones - A New Athens

Didn't make the cut:
Frightened Rabbit - The Winter of Mixed Drinks
Blone Redhead - Penny Sparkle
The Radio Dept. - Clinging to a scheme
The Morning Benders - Big Echo
The National - High Violet
Broken Bells - Broken Bells
Civil Twilight - Civil Twilight
Badly Drawn Boy - It's What I'm Thinking
Broken Social Scene - Forgiveness Rock Record
Interpol - Interpol
The New Pornographers - Together
Spoon - Transference
Belle and Sebastian - Write About Love
Ratatat - LP 4


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[SwampThing]

[quote][i]Originally posted by Frau_Blucher[/i]
Now that you mention it, I did sample several tracks on youtube after hearing some buzz. I have to say that none of it stuck at all, and I'll likely be guilty of those pretty serious negative impressions not letting me give them another chance. If you said they're top 10 material, I'd have to reconsider given lots of overlaps in our taste in the past.
[/quote]
The reason I like these two (and a couple of others in my list) is they have a nostalgic sound that I'm a real sucker for. Sometimes I want old but new if you know what I mean.

Cool video:
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[Frau_Blucher]

[quote][i]Originally posted by SwampThing[/i]
<br>The reason I like these two (and a couple of others in my list) is they have a nostalgic sound that I'm a real sucker for. Sometimes I want old but new if you know what I mean.
[/quote]
I get ya. I see that in many of your choices. Gemini comes closest to that for me. Otherwise, I think I've been in an anti-nostalgia mood, thus the bitter railing against Vampire Weekend and all it's related demon spawn. May be a shame since it would have been a great year for that sorta thing. A #1 album isn't to be taken lightly though, so I'm gonna have to revisit Future Islands.

[MikeP]

I've still got about half a dozen albums on my 'pod I want to digest before I pull the trigger. I see a lot I can agree and disagree with but this will be fun. I typically listen to every album at least 3 times and I rate every song using iTunes' undocumented 1/2 star system, so it will be interesting to see how things shake out "by the numbers".