2010 in Review - Top 25 Albums

Here, at last, is the list of my 25 favorite albums of 2010 -- a .zip file containing a track from each of these 25 albums can be downloaded by clicking here:

1. Janelle Monáe - The ArchAndroid
I'm ashamed to admit that I'd never heard Janelle Monáe's music until her jaw-dropping performance of "Tightrope" on The Late Show With David Letterman in May 2010. I don't think I've ever downloaded an album more quickly. Monáe is a remarkably unique artist and The ArchAndroid is an amazingly ambitious album. That she has produced a work of such startling scope and originality at such a young age is a bit frightening, frankly.

Listen: Tightrope (Feat. Big Boi)


2. Field Music - Field Music (Measure)
Field Music -- and the Brewis brothers, individually -- have released a series of fantastic records over the past several years. They are extremely gifted multi-instrumentalists who can effortlessly segue from prog rock to power pop and back again within a single song. I was lucky enough to see them perform live twice in 2010 -- don't miss them if they visit your town.

Listen: Measure


3. Beach House - Teen Dream
On the surface, this is not the sort of album that generally makes my list. It's pretty and spare and slow and acoustic, and I'm all about the rock. Still, these melodies are undeniable. . . .

Listen: Zebra








4. LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening
The more James Murphy embraces that Bowie in Berlin sound, the more I like him.

Listen: All I Want








5. Zeus - Say Us
I haven't seen this tremendous record on any "Best of 2010" lists, and that is a tremendous injustice to these guys. I can't say enough about their songcraft and the wonderful sound of this album. Imagine a supergroup made up of members of The Zombies, Village Green-era Kinks, Big Star, Revolver-era Beatles and early ELO -- this is the record they would have produced.

Listen: Marching Through Your Head



6. Telekinesis - Telekinesis!
Yes, this record was released in 2009, but I didn't hear it until 2010. Indie pop of the first order.

Listen: Coast Of Carolina









7. Owen Pallett - Heartland
The Artist Formerly Known As Final Fantasy has produced his finest work under his own name. His live performance of "Lewis Takes Off His Shirt" in the POURING rain at the Hillside Festival in Guelph is the stuff of legend. The true grandeur of his orchestrations is a thing of great beauty and power -- and that trumpet melody at the 5:22 mark in "Tryst With Mephistopheles" gets me every single time.

Listen: Tryst With Mephistopheles



8. Sleigh Bells - Treats
One guitarist - One singer. The massive sonic onslaught at the 1:52 mark in "Infinity Guitars" is so ridiculously over the top that it might be my favorite musical moment of the year.

Listen: Infinity Guitars








9. Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Yes, he's insufferable. The quality of his work is undeniable. Plus: King Crimson sample!

Listen: Power










10. Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Before Today
Ariel Pink has been releasing his genuinely weird records for years. Somehow or other, everyone -- myself included -- finally took notice this year. This is an eclectic, yet approachable, album for fans of 70s Rock and Guided By Voices-style lo-fi.

Listen: Bright Lit Blue Skies







11. Girl Talk - All Day
Gregg Gillis a/k/a Girl Talk has taken the mash-up to a new level with his latest album, All Day. It was nearly impossible to select a single song to represent this album, as every track is masterful. I particularly love the T'Pau (!) sample under Skee-Lo in "Jump on Stage" -- it's hilarious and awesome in equal measures.

Listen: Jump on Stage



12. Tame Impala - InnerSpeaker
70s-style psychedelic rock from Perth. Made to be listened to while wearing enormous headphones and bell-bottoms.

Listen: Desire Be Desire Go









13. Robyn - Body Talk
Robyn is the only artist to merit two songs on my list of the 50 Best Songs of 2010. She's quirky and genuine and nobody does melancholy dance music as well as she does. The three volumes of Body Talk that she released during 2010 combined to make one terrific record at the end of the year.

Listen: Hang With Me





14. Best Coast - Crazy for You
I wasn't a fan of earlier Best Coast music, but this record charmed me. It's messy and lo-fi and you might get a contact high from handling the jewel box, but there's something delightfully pure and free of artifice about Bethany Cosentino's songwriting.

Listen: Boyfriend






15. Arnaud Fleurent-Didier - La Reproduction
Ce disque est très français. Si vous appréciez Serge Gainsbourg ou Mathieu Boogaerts, vous apprécierez ceci, aussi.

Listen: Mémé 68










16. Wavves - King Of The Beach
As with Best Coast, earlier Wavves music didn't make much of an impression on me. The ramshackle charm and irrepressible spirit of King of the Beach made me a believer.

Listen: King Of The Beach








17. Twin Shadow - Forget
Terrific synth-pop which wouldn't have sounded out of place in the 80s. Just the way I like it.

Listen: When We're Dancing










18. Fang Island - Fang Island
Fang Island's music sounds like nothing else I heard this year -- anthemic, largely instrumental guitar-based rock that is immediately engaging and familiar. I love this record.

Listen: Daisy








19. Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma
Steven Ellison a/k/a electronica artist Flying Lotus has released a series of outstanding records, and Cosmogramma may well be his best yet. I think he was criminally overlooked for a Grammy nomination this year -- an opinion he clearly shares.

Listen: Table Tennis (feat. Laura Darlington)






20. The New Pornographers - Together
The New Pornographers can do no wrong in my book. Even their lesser albums -- and I'm not convinced that Together deserves that description -- are jam-packed with hooks. Dan Bejar's songs on this record are some of my favorites, and that never happens.

Listen: Crash Years




21. Dungen - Skit I Allt
This is a quieter, more introspective Dungen than I was expecting. Still, it's fantastic and utterly original. I wonder what I'd think if I could understand the lyrics?

Listen: Skit I Allt







22. The Soft Pack - The Soft Pack
Ten perfect, snotty noise pop songs that whiz past in barely half an hour. Bliss.

Listen: C'Mon











23. Gold Panda - Lucky Shiner
Gold Panda is another of those guy-and-his-sampler artists -- but the emphasis is on artist in this case. Haunting downtempo electronica of the sort that Telefon Tel Aviv made before Charlie Cooper's untimely demise.

Listen: Snow & Taxis








24. Fol Chen - Part II: The New December
Fol Chen's avart-garde pop records sound like nothing else out there. Their thrillingly experimental sounds meld with accessible melodies and curious looping lyrics in an utterly original way.

Listen: In Ruins







25. Bombay Bicycle Club - Flaws
Last I'd heard, Bombay Bicycle Club were a thoroughly generic "Faux-asis" Britpop band. The fact that they released this out-of-left-field acoustic album that sounds as though they are channelling Nick Drake and Fairport Convention was completely unexpected and a minor miracle.

Listen: Rinse Me Down