2010 Magazine's Albums Of The Year Thread For Posting Lists and Discussion

I haven't heard the TI, didn't even know it existed. What's the deal with it?

i really liked all the promo singles from the king uncaged campaign - then he got arrested again and it was retitled no mercy, all those singles were scrapped and i assume the entire project was cobbled together from b.o.b leftovers ;_;

it's pretty much all the worst parts of 'paper trail' as a whole album

i mean, i do recommend d/lding "ya hear me", "i'm back", "yeah ya know" and "got your back" though

and "pledge allegiance to the swag", and "dying in your arms" with jazmine sullivan. you could make a decent mini-album out of all the cuts that didn't make the actual album

leaden & unexciting beats that barely sound like rap music, really unappealing attempts at contemporary pop music

"meditative" rapping

Before you come barking at me I mean the albums that few if any other lists have mentioned and which sound awful from what I've heard so far: DYLAN ETTINGER, DJ RASHAD, FRANK (JUST FRANK), DJ ROC, SOLAR BEARS, AUTRE NE VEUT.

The Dylan Ettinger and Autre Ne Veut albums have some excellent tracks, though I'm not sure they hold together as albums that well.

I haven't heard many standout albums this year tbh; I know roughly what my top 5 are, after that it's semi-random picking of albums I've enjoyed listening to a couple of times.

i never listened to 'fuck a mixtape' but it's almost like that was a pre-release peace offering for this album barely containing rap music

two of like the only three actual rap songs prominently feature pharrell & drake, so they suck by default

What's Solar Bears' vibe? my girlfriend's well into them so i could ask her i guess but i'd rather get the ILM view.

Kind of hazy Boards of Canada-ish stuff on Planet Mu, mixed with maybe a little post-rock. I know that sounds like a really boring thing, but I did actually enjoy the EP that preceded the album cos those elements were combined in surprising ways. The album felt a bit too wishy-washy for me, but I did only hear it once.

"Amazing" on No Mercy might be as terrible as any given track by Salem.

Is the Ettinger album the one that sounds like Sonic Youth's Made in USA sdtk played through a Ford Pinto stock system?

No, that's Rangers' Space Truckin'.

SUBURBAN TOURS

Must wake up.

Kind of hazy Boards of Canada-ish stuff on Planet Mu, mixed with maybe a little post-rock. I know that sounds like a really boring thing, but I did actually enjoy the EP that preceded the album cos those elements were combined in surprising ways. The album felt a bit too wishy-washy for me, but I did only hear it once.

― Krampus Interruptus (NickB), Friday, 3 December 2010 11:39 (22 minutes ago) Bookmark

Cool, totally feared the worst based on their name.

Andy K, is that Rangers album good? Not sure what to infer from your description.

it's pretty much all the worst parts of 'paper trail' as a whole album

otm alas

The Solar Bears album is excellent, nice variety of sounds on it.

The FACT top ten isn't very good though, Drake...really? And that Darkstar album was just a bore.

Crushingly disappointed by the Darkstar album. On the basis of Aidy's Girl I was expecting something great but it's so bland and insipid bar a couple of tracks.

have to agree - when i first heard it i was massively hungover and it pretty much hit the spot, and i assumed it'd become one of my favourites of the year. when i went back to it, it was just...mimsy, and weak.

the drake album IS even worse than the kanye album, tho, that's right

Can't argue with the Oneohtrix, Emeralds and Actress albums. Forest Swords hasn't grown on me all that much. Love a few of the tracks on the Darkstar, but yeah, it's a bit *meh* overall.

Yeah the Darkstar album is BORING, a lot of the prose I read about it seemed to centre on them having moved beyond dubstep but I'd never imagined that 'fifth rate Junior Boys' was what lay on the other side. It's like they ran out of ideas after Aidy's Girl.

I've never heard of, let alone heard, that Forest Swords album at #1. Any good?

Hmm. Forest Swords is definitely the best of the OESB batch that I've heard and I think I pencilled it in as my #5 for the year. It doesn't scream "year-defining album" for me though.

Agree that the Darkstar album is lame, really dislike Salem too. OPN and Emeralds albums are decent but somehow they didn't click for me.

Anyone heard the Altered Natives? Sounds intriguing but heard little discussion about it.

the altered natives album is vg. more top 30 of the year than top 10 for me, but it's def strong and worth checking out. love the more acidy moments like "rage of aquarius".

I'll be listening to the 14 or so albums of the FACT top 20 I haven't heard yet, will report back this weekend.

Listening to the Solar Bears album at the mo. Kind of warmed over cosmic/ balearic record, perfectly pleasant, nothing amazing though.

The DJ ROC record, on the other hand, is fantastic. My first thought was DJ Assault, slowed down, which probably shows how little I know about this stuff (disclosure: I am British)

nah that makes total sense tbh. if you like it, i urge you soooo much to check out dj nate's da trak genious.

cheers, will look that one up- and I see it's on Spotify...

my favs on it are "poetry", "call me when you're sober" and "hatas our motivation"...there's a thread on it around here somewhere too

looooool @ Drake at #7 on FACT list, fuck outta here

will rep for oneohtrix, emeralds, darkstar (album's not as bad as yall are making it out to be)

re: altered natives, i also love his last.fm bio: http://www.last.fm/music/Altered+Natives

never heard of forest swords til now, but the song FACT included is waaaaaayy up my alley -- A+

That's probably the best song on the album, but the others are good too.

Really like the first of this year's Altered Natives albums (Tenement Yard Vol 1); haven't heard the second one (Serial Vendetta) yet. There's a marked stylistic between the two, right?

"marked stylistic difference", bah...

Before you come barking at me I mean the albums that few if any other lists have mentioned and which sound awful from what I've heard so far: DYLAN ETTINGER, DJ RASHAD, FRANK (JUST FRANK), DJ ROC, SOLAR BEARS, AUTRE NE VEUT.

haha i really like the autre ne veut disc.

also: the darkstar was very disappointing. p4k listed it as "grime/dubstep album of the year," which was sort of bewildering.

the absence and/or relative low-placing of vampire weekend on a lot of these lists is making me think they might be better than i think they are.

Kind of surprised by the almost total absence of Hot Chip as well, even on British lists.

Vampire Weekend and Hot Chip were both in my top 10 when I was asked to vote - I placed them feeling slightly embarrassed that I liked such obvious consensus albums so much so I'm quite relieved they've been relatively snubbed TBH

I've been re-listening to a ton of stuff while compiling my end of year mix, and the Vampire Weekend still sounds fresh. Maybe partly because I hadn't heard it in 8 months, but am enjoying it even more than the first run. Hot Chip also to a lesser extent.

I like the Forest Swords guy's take on blues in that featured track, but Sun Araw does it better I think

Darkstar I guess is more album-oriented than uk funky, r'n'b or dancehall for many

lol @ fact posting the youtube link to the "shut it down" demo that is much better than the one that made it onto the album

US hip-hop, R’n'B and indie alike decided this was the year to pay tribute to Houston’s chopped and screwed legacy, but few did it as subtly and satisfyingly as Drake.

suggest ban

i'll buy that drake's album is chillwave before i buy that it's a tribute to screw

a tribute to screw

ha. this sounds elegant and vulgar at the same time