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

Q Magazine EOY 2010:

1. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
2. Robert Plant - Band of Joy
3. Plan B - The Defamation of Strickland Banks
4. Laura Marling - I Speak Because I Can
5. Vampire Weekend - Contra
6. John Grant - Queen of Denmark
7. Gorillaz - Plastic Beach
8. The National - High Violet
9. Paul Weller - Wake Up the Nation
10. MGMT - Congratulations
11. The Black Keys - Brothers
12. Gil Scott-Heron - I'm New Here
13. Beach House - Teen Dream
14. Hot Chip - One Life Stand
15. Yeasayer - Odd Blood
16. Foals - Total Life Forever
17. John Legend & The Roots - Wake Up!
18. Manic Street Preachers - Postcards from a Young Man
19. Grinderman - Grinderman 2
20. Take That - Progress
21. Band of Horses - Infinite Arms
22. Corinne Bailey Rae - The Sea
23. LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening
24. Bryan Ferry - Olympia
25. Kings of Leon - Come Around Sundown
26. Klaxons - Surfing the Void
27. Midlake - The Courage of Others
28. Avi Buffalo - Avi Buffalo
29. Interpol - Interpol
30. Brandon Flowers - Flamingo
31. The Chemical Brothers - Further
32. The Drums - The Drums
33. Tricky - Mixed Race
34. The Dead Weather - Sea of Cowards
35. Man Alive - Everything Everything
36. The Roots - How I Got Over
37. The Coral - Butterfly House
38. Janelle Monae - The Archandroid
39. I Am Kloot - Sky at Night
40. Peter Gabriel - Scratch My Back
41. Belle and Sebastian - Write About Love
42. Tom Jones - Praise & Blame
43. Skream - Outside the Box
44. Villagers - Becoming a Jackal
45. Cherry Ghost - Beneath This Burning Shoreline
46. Joanna Newsom - Have One On Me
47. Two Door Cinema Club - Tourist History
48. Edwyn Collins - Losing Sleep
49. Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest
50. Steve Mason - Boys Outside

paging Mitchell Stirling

Decibel 2010 Albums Of The Year

1. Agalloch - Marrow of the Spirit
2. Watain - Lawless Darkness
3. Triptykon - Eparistera Daimones
4. Dawnbringer - Nucleus
5. Enslaved - Axioma Ethica Odini
6. Torche - Songs for Singles
7. Ludicra - The Tenant
8. Thou - Summit
9. Nails - Unsilent Death
10. The Austerity Program - Backsliders and Apostates Will Burn
11. Castevet - Mounds of Ash
12.Immolation- Majesty and Decay
13. Sailors With Wax Wings - Sailors With Wax Wings
14. Coliseum - House With a Curse
15. Horseback - The Invisible Mountain
16. Kylesa - Spiral Shadow
17. High on Fire - Snakes for the Divine
18. Burzum - Belus
19. Atheist - Jupiter
20. Electric Wizard - Black Masses
21. Deathspell Omega - Paracletus
22. Kvelertak - Kvelertak
23. Integrity- The Blackest Curse
24. Ghost - Opus Eponymous
25. Withered - Dualitas
26. PIVIXKI - Gravissima
27.Fear Factory - Mechanize
28. Unearthly Trance - V
29. Christian Mistress - Agony & Opium
30. Nachtmystium - Addicts: Black Meddle Part II
31. Deftones - Diamond Eyes
32. Father Befouled - Morbid Destitution of Covenant
33. The Body - All the Waters of the Earth Turn to Blood
34. Early Graves - Goner
35. Intronaut - Valley of Smoke
36. Decrepit Birth - Polarity
37. The Dillinger Escape Plan - Option Paralysis
38. Hail of Bullets - On Divine Winds
39. Lantlos - .Neon
40. Darkthrone - Circle the Wagons

lol at all these lists

http://www.largeheartedboy.com/blog/archive/2010/11/2010_yearend_on.html

^ list of lists

10. MGMT - Congratulations

ffs, really?!

control yourself

take only what you neeeeeeeeeeeeeed from it

that's a great site but the ILM thread's have been great over the years:

The 2009 Magazine Albums Of The Year Thread For Posting Lists and Discussion.

oh yeah def! im all for this thread -- just wanted to drop that link here too

http://christianrock123.blogspot.com/2010/11/top-ten-albums-of-2010.html

http://www.nme.com/blog/index.php?blog=10&title=albums_of_2010_75_73&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

This is from the xtianrock list. I have no idea who this band is, but I'm way into this cover (even as bad as it is):

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_mzSb8kli0i0/TO13ryfUqAI/AAAAAAAAAEA/9q9ZXZLMveI/s320/Write%2Bthis%2BDown.jpg

is Q Magazine always first? it seems that way.

first out gets all the press in the dailies & websites and also gets big sales before people get fed up with list overload. But most of the magazines come out on the 1st of the month now

so Q is big enough to get mentioned in daily newspapers and it will actually boost sales. Hence the lists get out.

I think

Mojo

50 Matthew Dear – Black City
49 Ali Farka Toure & Toumani Diabate – Ali & Toumani
48 John Legend & The Roots- Wake Up!
47 Jane Weaver & Septieme Souer – The Fallen By Watch Bird
46 Peter Gabriel – Scratch My Back
45 Roky Erickson with Okkervil River – True Love Cast Out All Evil
44 Swans – My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky
43 The Besnard Lakes – Are The Roaring Night
42 Kelley Soltz – To Dreamers
41 Tom Jones – Praise and Blame
40 Eli Paperboy Reed – Come and Get It
39 Wyatt, Atzmon, Stephens – For The Ghosts Within
38 Gonjasufi – A Sufi And A Killer
37 Teenage Fanclub – Shadows
36 LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening
35 M.I.A. - // / Y /
34 Villagers – Becoming A Jackal
33 The Roots – How I Got Over You
32 Robert Plant – Band of Joy
31 Neil Young – Le Noise
30 Janelle Monae – The ArchAndroid
29 Gill Scott-Heron – I’m New Here
28 DangerMouse and Sparklehorse – Dark Night of The Soul
27 Field Music – Field Music (Measure)
26 Gorillaz – Plastic Beach
25 Foals – Total Life Forever
24 The Jim Jones Revue – Burning Your House Down
23 Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings – I Learned The Hard Way
22 Sam Amidon – I See The Sign
21 Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan - Hawk
20 Grinderman - Grinderman 2
19 Rumer – Seasons of My Soul
18 Caribou – Swim
17 Roots Manuva meets Wrongtom – Duppy Writer
16 Aerial Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Before Today
15 Avi Buffalo – Avi Buffalo
14 Manic Street Preachers – Postcards From A Young Man
13 Joanna Newsom - Have One On Me
12 Mavis Staples – You Are Not Alone
11 Deerhunter – Halcyon Digest
10 Doug Paisley – Constant Companion
9 The Coral – Butterfly House
8 Phosphorescent – Here’s To Taking It Easy
7 Midlake – The Courage of Others
6 Paul Weller – Wakes Up The Nation
5 The Black Keys – Brothers
4 Edwyn Collins – Losing Sleep
3 MGMT – Congratulations
2 Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
1 John Grant – Queen of Denmark

Never heard of John Grant until I saw these lists, is it any good? Can't believe MGMT is #3 on the Mojo list, I thought it was an appalling mess.

John Grant fka singer in The Czars. This album is as patchy as most Czars records were, but the transcendent moments still exist.

this year's EOY lists are going to be especially infuriating, i don't think i've liked ANY crit-hyped record this year (apart from laura marling, and even then that's just the UK), and most of my personal favourites have gone unnoticed rather

I've only heard five albums on the Q list (Gorillaz, Black Keys, Interpol, LCD Soundsystem, Bryan Ferry).

I've heard six on the Mojo list (LCD Soundsystem, MIA, Neil Young, Gorillaz, Sharon Jones, Black Keys). Yes, now it can be told: I got the Swans album in the mail and never played it.

I got the Swans album in the mail and never played it.

i downloaded it but i'm afraid to play it for fear it will damage my (old) eardrums.

Not sure if we're including record shop lists, but the Piccadilly Records Top 100 is here. Top 20:

1 - Gil Scott-Heron I'm New Here
2 - The National High Violet
3 - Caribou Swim
4 - Field Music Field Music (Measure)
5 - The Phantom Band The Wants
6 - Broken Bells Broken Bells
7 - Four Tet There Is Love In You
8 - Shit Robot From The Cradle To The Rave
9 - LCD Soundsystem This Is Happening
10 - Sun Araw Off Duty / Boat Trip
11 - Beach House Teen Dream
12 - Thee Oh Sees Warm Slime
13 - The Black Angels Phosphene Dream
14 - Seahawks Ocean Trippin'
15 - The Hundred In The Hands The Hundred In The Hands
16 - Aloe Blacc Good Things
17 - Smoke Fairies Through Low Light & Trees
18 - Toro Y Moi Causers Of This
19 - Gonjasufi A Sufi And A Killer
20 - Erykah Badu New Amerykah Part 2 - Return Of The Ankh

My reaction is about 50% "Who?", 25% "No" and 25% "Yes!".

I have no idea what the final Wire list will look like, but here's the Top Ten I sent them:

1. Ayumi Hamasaki, Rock ’n’ Roll Circus (Avex Trax)
2. High On Fire, Snakes for the Divine (E1)
3. Rick Ross, Teflon Don (Def Jam)
4. Ihsahn, After (The End)
5. Shining, Blackjazz (The End)
6. Inherit Disease, Visceral Transcendence (Unique Leader)
7. Decrepit Birth, Polarity (Nuclear Blast)
8. Negura Bunget, Vîrstele Pamîntului (Aural Music/Code 66)
9. John Zorn, Ipsissimus (Tzadik)
10. Rotting Christ, AEALO (Century Media)

Well, so far I adore three of the Piccadilly list. I like 6 of the Q list.

2. High On Fire, Snakes for the Divine (E1)

It'll bring the lols if HOF get into the "avant rock" top 20 again

i don't think i've liked ANY crit-hyped record this year

Me as well, with few exceptions... The fewest I can ever remember from any year.

Unperson, have you done a separate list for the Latin music you listen to?

No, but I might do that on my blog. Also, The Wire asked for a Top Five list of reissues, and these were the first two:

1. Fania All-Stars, Ponte Duro: The Fania All-Stars Story (Fania)
2. Los Saicos, ¡Demolición! The Complete Recordings (Munster)

just want to be the annual grouch to point out that it's FUCKING NOVEMBER

well played

just want to be the annual grouch to point out that it's FUCKING NOVEMBER

And you're expecting to be blown away, to have your whole perspective on 2010 altered, by exactly...what?...in the next four weeks?

well, it looks like these lists came out before kanye's album, for one thing.

(maybe that disc didn't make these lists, but . . .)

I think it's very imaginable that in a month's time an album could come out that would have made it on someone's list otherwise.

Yeah, not to mention that if these lists are coming out now, when were they actually finalized?

i think it's good to have a month (december) where little comes out but you have a chance to catch up and/or reevaluate before making your list.

I'm hopeful that I might find some good stuff on some of the December/EOY lists that I haven't heard yet.

And you're expecting to be blown away, to have your whole perspective on 2010 altered, by exactly...what?...in the next four weeks?

the ciara and diddy/dirty money albums aren't out yet. neither is the nicolas jaar compilation. the jazmine sullivan, kanye west, rihanna and yelawolf albums have only just been released (not that i like the kanye/rihanna ones but they were certainly anticipated for good reason). nov/dec release dates for big artists are par for the course in the music industry.

big partists, particularly hip-hop, r&b and pop ones - it's just a commercially obvious time to release it

*artists

ugh typos

http://www.nme.com/blog/index.php?blog=10&title=albums_of_2010_75_73&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

― Algerian Goalkeeper, Sunday, 28 November 2010 06:04 (10 hours ago)

Dude [Visitor] //November 25 2010 at 11:42
I see Sufjan Stevens got a complimentary nod because you all realised you'd be totally fucking lame if you ignored it completely. This angers me.

loooooool at the mgmt on this thread.

2010 has been terrific although you wouldn't have guessed it by looking on here.

yup

Wow, some kind of turning point for me -- I know and like 6 of the things on the Decibel list, which is more than on any of the other ones.

And there's at least 3 or 4 more things on the Decibel list I really want to check out, which is also more true than for Q or Mojo.

commenters under NME articles are so overwhelmingly miserable and solipsistic

I see [x] got a complimentary nod because you all realised you'd be totally fucking lame if you ignored it completely

going to catch on in 2k11 imo

five years since 'no sufjan, no credibility' and, well, how life changes

John Grant's my album of the year - unusually Mojo of me. I don't see it getting much ILX love though.

maybe it's a 'we ignored the czars mostly' thing so they overpraise his mediocre solo record.

Or maybe not.

I don't think it's a mediocre album.

Not a magazine, but here's the Rough Trade Shops 100 of the year:

1. Caribou - Swim
2. Gil Scott-Heron - I'm New Here
3. These New Puritans - Hidden
4. Caitlin Rose - Own Side Now
5. Phosphorescent - Here's To Taking It Easy
6. Darkstar - North
7. Charlotte Gainsbourg - IRM
8. Gold Panda - Lucky Shiner
9. Wild Nothing - Gemini
10. Tame Impala - Innerspeaker
11. Broken Bells - Broken Bells
12. Avi Buffalo - Avi Buffalo
13. The National - High Violet
14. Emeralds - Does It Look Like I’m Here?
15. Beach House - Teen Dream
16. Voice Of The Seven Thunders - Voice Of The Seven Thunders
17. Perfume Genius - Learning
18. Crocodiles - Sleep Forever
19. The Black Keys - Brothers
20. The Morning Benders - Big Echo
- Foals - Total Life Forever
21. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
22. Salem - King Night
23. Brian Eno - Small Craft On A Milk Sea
24. Dylan Leblanc - Paupers Field
25. Joanna Newson - Have One On Me
26. Matthew Dear - Black City
27. Warpaint - The Fool
28. Liars - Sisterworld
29. LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening
30. John Grant - Queen Of Denmark
31. Konono No 1 - Assume Crash Position
32. Smoke Fairies - Through Low Light And Trees
33. Surfer Blood - Astro Coast
- Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest
34. Villagers - Becoming A Jackal
35. Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles
36. Mount Kimbie - Crooks And Lovers
37. Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma
38. Best Coast - Crazy For You
39. PVT - Church With No Magic
40. Laura Marling - I Speak Because I Can
41. Vampire Weekend - Contra
42. Edwyn Collins - Losing Sleep
43. Yeasayer - Odd Blood
44. Midlake - The Courage Of Others
45. The Soft Pack - The Soft Pack
46. Sleigh Bells - Treats
47. O Children - O Children
48. Glasser - Ring
49. Zola Jesus - Stridulum 2
50. Holly Miranda - The Magician's Private Library
51. Sea Of Bees - Songs For The Ravens
52. JJ - No3
53. Pantha Du Prince - Black Noise
54. Twin Shadow - Forget
55. Gonjasufi - A Sufi And A Killer
56. Bear In Heaven - Beast Rest Forth Mouth
57. Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti - Before Today
58. Cours Lapin - Cours Lapin
59. Darwin Deez - Darwin Deez
60. School Of Seven Bells - Disconnect From Desire
61. Beach Fossils - Beach Fossils
62. Shit Robot - From The Cradle To The Rave
63. Jonsi - Go
64. Dum Dum Girls - I Will Be
65. Belle And Sebastian - Belle And Sebastian Write About Love
66. Chilly Gonzales - Ivory Tower
67. Connan Mokasin - Please Turn Me Into The Snat
68. Holy Fuck - Latin
69. The School - Loveless Unbeliever
70. Tobacco - Maniac Meat
71. Dios - We Are Dios
72. Allo Darlin’ - Allo Darlin’
73. Swans - My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky
74. Male Bonding - Nothing Hurts
75. El Guincho - Pop Negro
76. Oneohtrix Point Never - Returnal
77. Kort (Kurt Wagner And Cortney Tidwell) - Invariable Heartache
78. Solar Bears - She Was Coloured In
79. Free Energy - Stuck On Nothing
80. Sufjan Stevens - The Age Of Adz
81. Kings Go Forth - The Outsiders Are Back
82. Grinderman - Grinderman 2
83. Dan Michaelson And The Coastguards - Shakes
84. Stornoway - Beachcomber’s Windowsill
85. Tamaryn - The Waves
86. The Tallest Man On Earth - The Wild Hunt
87. Four Tet - There Is Love In You
88. Magic Kids - Memphis
89. Marina And The Diamonds - Family Jewels
90. Mystery Jets - Serotonin
91. Black Angels - Phosphene Dream
92. Danger Mouse And Sparklehorse - Dark Night Of The Soul
93. Fool’s Gold - Fool’s Gold
94. Frankie Rose And The Outs - Frankie Rose And The Outs
95. Aloe Blacc - Good Things
96. Drums Of Death - Generation Hexed
97. Am - Future Sons And Daughters
98. Field Music - Field Music (Measure)
99. Hot Chip - One Life Stand
100. Time And Spacemachine - Set Phazer To Stun

I have 11.

(Not tellin' which ones.)

33 The Roots – How I Got Over You

love Mojo's inadvertent "we love this album so much we can't remember the exact title" over here

maybe it's a 'we ignored the czars mostly' thing so they overpraise his mediocre solo record.

― keythhtyek, Sunday, 28 November 2010 17:48 (33 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

I've not heard the album in question (dude is only on my radar at all cos two of my friends made a lol video for him, so I'm mildly o_0 about him being near the tops of these lists) but this makes no sense - why would mags have any obligation to care about him?

They have an obligation to write about him because youtube commenters say he writes beautiful melodies

I really like the new MGMT, better than the first in fact.

dunno if it's in the 'spirit' of this thread but here is a bunch of dorks from bands etc listing their 'best sounds of 2010': http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/nov/28/best-sounds-2010?CMP=twt_gu

dude from Magnetic Man just edging out Antony in the thinly-disguised nepotism contest

Serge Pizzorno, Kasabian
Katy B

I heard a tune on the radio that I liked so much that I went and bought it, which proves it must be the best thing I've heard this year, because no one buys anything these days! It was "On a Mission" by Katy B. I love the bass on it; it reminds me of the old rave days. And I don't know the first thing about who she is or who made the record, and I like that about it as well.

not following your emphasis tbh - wouldn't exactly expect Kasabian bro to study the pop landscape day-by-day

as in she couldn't possibly have made it herself

tbf to kasabro, i guess his syntax allows that....but suggests otherwise

I had no idea who Serge Pizzorno was before I read that.

Is that Plan B album (#3 on the Q list) generally considered a big deal in the U.K.? It comes out in the States in January, and the advance I heard was okay, but not what I'd call exciting. Didn't get through half of it, though. Maybe I'll listen to it more, maybe not.

Didn't realize people cared about the Robert Plant album (which I haven't heard, and don't expect I'd like much given his output over the past couple decades, but who knows), either. And Ludicra at #7 on the Decibel list is a surprise for me, too -- I liked an Alternative Tentcales EP they did several years ago called Fex Urbis Lex Orbis, but had no idea metal critics had since fallen for them in such a big way. (Assuming it's the same Ludicra, I guess.)

I agree Thanksgiving weekend is way too early to publish best-of-the-year lists, but I've said that for years. (Do publications that do that count December '09 releases as 2010, by the way? Or are all December, and presumably most November releases given deadlines, always just shit out of luck?) Doubt my own list will change much if any between now and year's end, but odder things have happened.

the national?? really?? what a dire thing that record is.

National is a fucking bore, and the fact that p4k celebratest this .... well I don't even know.

i wuzzzz afraaaid i'd eat ur brainnnnnnns
i wuzzzzz afraiiid i'd eat ur brainnnnnnns
caus im evillllllllll
cause im evillllllll

UUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I really like the Plan B album, xhukx. It helps that I didn't get a copy when it came out so the singles just sneaked up on me one by one over the course of a few months. On first exposure it may seem like Mark Ronson-style retro-soul but it's packed with earworms and I like the tension between the violence and gloom of the lyrics and the sweetness of the voice and production. No more retro than the Cee Lo album at any rate so it would be nice to see Plan B make some impact in the US.

Enjoyed that bloke from MGMT declared DI Go Pop as his album of the year (in Mojo).

Listening to John Grant and not liking it. Sounds like sub-Silver Jews jokery and confessions backed by... Midlake

that ludicra album is really good, fwiw. (and not an accident that two of the top 10 decibel albums have the same drummer, imo.)

the rough trade shops list is pretty good -- i can get behind a 1-2 punch of caribou + gil scott heron, that's unfuckwithable

looool @ mojo and q lists

at closer examination, Q is really the worst offender here -- yaaaaaawn!

the Mojo list at least has a few more adventurous choices i can get behind (matthew dear, swans, gonjasufi, m.i.a. in 2010, neil young, gil scott heron, grinderman, caribou -- all great albums)

rough trade is a goldmine, i own close to 30 of those ^____^

decibel i'm satisfied having heard 7 of the 40, i'm not a HUGE metal fan but do need a little in my listening diet

all lists need more hip-hop/r&b/dance btw

33 The Roots – How I Got Over You

love Mojo's inadvertent "we love this album so much we can't remember the exact title" over here

― some dude, Sunday, 28 November 2010 18:25 (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Its printed correctly in the magazine, was this not a typo on the part of whoever uploaded the list to the interwebs, ie not MOJO?

disappointed that taylor swift didnt make the decibel list

I did the typo, I always do one just to see how far it travels.

posted before but

The Fly Magazine (Nov/Dec issue)

50 Wavves - King of The Beach
49 Gold Panda - Lucky Shiner
48 Connan Mockasin - Please Turn Me Into The Snat
47 Menomena - Mines
46 Jonsi - Go
45 Midlake - The Courage of Others
44 Kele - The Boxer
43 Vampire Weekend - Contra
42 Steve Mason - Boys Outside
41 No Age - Everything In Between
40 Archie Bronson Outfit - Coconut
39 Delphic - Acolyte
38 Dinosaur Pile-Up - Growing Pains
37 Caribou - Swim
36 Crocodiles - Sleep Forever
35 Two Door Cinema Club - Tourist History
34 Sufer Blood - Astro Coast
33 Les Savy Fav - Root For Ruin
32 Zola Jesus - Stridulum II
31 Male Bonding - Nothing Hurts
30 Chew Lips - Unicorn
29 MGMT - Congratulations
28 The Black Keys - Brothers
27 Edwyn Collins - Losing Sleep
26 Villagers - Becoming A Jackal
25 Hot Chip - One Life Stand
24 Laura Marling - I Speak Because I Can
23 Los Campesinos! - Romance Is Boring
22 Liars - Sisterworld
21 Mystery Jets - Serotonin
20 Gorrilaz - Plastic Beach
19 Bombay Bicycle Club - Flaws
18 Warpaint - The Fool
17 Frightened Rabbit - The Winter of Mixed Drinks
16 The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster - Blood & Fire
15 The Drums - The Drums
14 Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Before Today
13 Pulled Apart By Horses - Pulled Apart By Horses
12 Sleigh Bells - Treats
11 Best Coast - Crazy For You
10 Beach House - Teen Dream
09 Interpol - Interpol
08 Yeasayer - Odd Blood
07 The National - High Violet
06 Avi Buffalo - Avi Buffalo
05 Everything Everything - Man Alive
04 These New Puritans - Hidden
03 LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening
02 Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
01 Foals - Total Life Forever

La Quenelle Culturelle

50) Grace Potter & The Nocturnals - Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
49) Menomena - Mines
48) The New Pornographers - Together
47) Maximimum Balloon - Maximimum Balloon
46) Da Brasilians - Da Brasilians
45) Barton Carrol - Together You and I
44) The Stone Foxes - Bears and Bulls
43) The Tallest Man on Earth - The Wild Hunt
42) The Parting Gifts - Strychnine Dandelion
41) Mystery Jets - Serotonin
40) Pete Molinari - A Train Bound For Glory
39) Blackbird Blackbird - Summer Heart
38) Joe Pug - Messenger
37) The Go Find - Everybody Knows It's Going To Happen
36) James Yuill - Movement In A Storm
35) Angus & Julia Stone - Down the Way
34) Forest City Lovers - Carriage
33) Francois Morel - Le Soir Des Lions
32) Spoon - Transference
31) Good Old War - Good Old War
30) Jonsi - Go
29) Pure Reason Revolution - Hammer and Anvil
28) Maps and Atlases - Perch Patchwork
27) Ray LaMontagne - God Willin' and the Creek Don't Rise
26) Jason Collett - Rat A Tat Tat
25) Lone Wolf - The Devil and I
24) Fyfe Dangerfield - Fly Yellow Moon
23) Junip - Fields
22) Avi Buffalo - Avi Buffalo
21) Yeasayer - Odd Blood
20) The Gaslight Anthem - American Slang
19) Minus The Bear - Omni
18) Saycet - Through The Window
17) Mando Diao - Above and Beyond (MTV Unplugged)
16) Uniform Motion - Life
15) Laura Marling - I Speak Because I Can
14) Dr. Dog - Shame, Shame
13) Josh Ritter - So Runs The World
12) Adam Kesher - Challenging Nature
11) Janelle Monane - The Archandroid
10) Kula Shaker - Pilgrims Progress
9) Broken Bells - Broken Bells
8) He's My Brother She's My Sister - Self-Titled EP
7) She and Him - Volume Two
6) The Black Keys - Brothers
5) Gigi - Maintenant
4) Folded Light - Kelly
3) Portugal. The Man - American Ghetto
2) Lightspeed Champion - Life Is Sweet! Nice To Meet You
1) Kings of Leon - Come Around Sundown

Get Off the Coast : Favorite 25 of 2010

25. Twins - The Other Side Of (Ruralfaune)
24. Lush Cola - Lush Cola (Patient Sounds)
23. Dem Hunger - Caveman Smack (Leaving)
22. RxRy - VAEIOUWLS (RxRy)
21. Sumsun - Samo Milagro (Leaving)
20. Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Before Today (4AD)
19. Truman Peyote & Many Mansions - Peaced Together (Whitehaus Family Record)
18. Emily Reo - Witch Mtn (Breakfast of Champs)
17. GR†LLGR†LL - GR†LLGR†LL (Disaro)
16. Ensemble Economique - Physcal (Not Not Fun)
15. Woods - At Echo Lake (Woodsist)
14. Twin Shadow - Forget (Terrible)
13. Oneohtrix Point Never - Returnal (Editions Mego)
12. High Wolf - Ascension (Not Not Fun)
11. Autre Ne Veut - Autre Ne Veut (Olde English Spelling Bee)
10. Julian Lynch - Mare (Olde English Spelling Bee)
09. D'EON - Palinopsia (Hippos In Tanks)
08. Velvet Davenport - Warmy Girls (Moon Glyph)
07. Dylan Ettinger - New Age Outlaws (Not Not Fun)
06. Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles (Universal Motown)
05. Pocahaunted - Make It Real (Not Not Fun)
04. Clive Tanaka y su orquesta - Jet Set Siempre 1° (Tall Corn Music)
03. LA Vampires & Zola Jesus - LA Vampires meets Zola Jesus (Not Not Fun)
02. Toro y Moi - Causers Of This (Carpark)
01. How To Dress Well - Love Remains (Lefse)

About.com alternative

30. The Walkmen 'Lisbon'
29. The Morning Benders 'Big Echo'
28. Magic Kids 'Memphis'
27. The Radio Dept. 'Clinging to a Scheme'
26. Club 8 'The People's Record'
25. Wildbirds and Peacedrums 'Rivers'
24. Dirty Projectors and Björk 'Mount Wittenberg Orca'
23. Ólöf Arnalds 'Innundir Skinni'
22. Sam Amidon 'I See the Sign'
21. Sharon Van Etten 'Epic'
20. Mountain Man 'Made the Harbor'
19. How to Dress Well 'Love Remains'
18. Grimes 'Halfaxa'
17. Here We Go Magic 'Pigeons'
16. Twin Shadow 'Forget'
15. Toro y Moi 'Causers of This'
14. The Ruby Suns 'Fight Softly'
13. Vampire Weekend 'Contra'
12. Best Coast 'Crazy for You'
11. Kisses 'The Heart of the Nightlife'
10. Arcade Fire 'The Suburbs'
9. Deerhunter 'Halcyon Digest'
8. Beach Fossils 'Beach Fossils'
7. Beach House 'Teen Dream'
6. White Hinterland 'Kairos'
5. Zola Jesus 'Stridulum EP
4. Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti 'Before Today'
3. Owen Pallett 'Heartland'
2. Sufjan Stevens 'The Age of Adz'
1. Joanna Newsom 'Have One On Me'

Amazon.co.uk

Black Keys - Brothers
Sleigh Bells - Treats
Vampire Weekend - Contra
Best Coast - Crazy for You
Villagers - Becoming a Jackal
Steve Mason - Boys Outside
Magnetic Man - Magnetic Man
Parkway Drive - Deep Blue
Arcade Fire - Suburbs
Caribou - Swim
Pendulum - Immersion
Chief - Modern Rituals
Imelda May - Mayhem
Beach House - Teen Dream
Two Door Cinema Club - Tourist History
The National - High Violet
Band of Horses - Infinite Arms
Foals - Total Life Forever
Plan B - The Defamation of Strickland Banks
Meursault - All Creatures Will Make Merry

Dots and Dashes

20. Cosmogramma, Flying Lotus
19. The Heart Of The Nightlife, Kisses
18. Ariel Pink Before Today, Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti
17. Disc-overy, Tinie Tempah
16. Treats, Sleigh Bells
15. False Priest, of Montreal
14. Astro Coast, Surfer Blood
13. Crooks & Lovers, Mount Kimbie
12. Puzzle, Amiina
11. $, Mark Sultan
10. Sisterworld, Liars
9. Blooming Summer, Blue Hawaii
8. Together, The New Pornographers
7. Pop Negro, El Guincho
6. The Way Out, The Books
5. Hidden, These New Puritans
4. Plastic Beach, Gorillaz
3. Lucky Shiner, Gold Panda
2. Teen Dream, Beach House
1. Swim, Caribou

Sonic (Sweden)

1. Håkan Hellström - 2 Steg Från Paradiset
2. Radio Dept. - Clinging To A Scheme
3. Anna von Hausswolff - Singing from the Grave
4. Midlake - Courage of Others
5. Merle Haggard - I am What I am
6. Teenage Fanclub - Shadows
7. Phosphorescent - Here's to Taking it Easy
8. Beach House - Teen Dream
9. Arcade Fire - Suburbs
10. Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Before Today
11. National - High Violet
12. Big Boi - Sir Luscious Left Foot: The Son Of Chico Dusty
13. First Aid Kit - Big Black & the Blue
14. Tracey Thorn - Love and It's Opposite
15. Sade - Soldier of Love
16. Robyn - Body Talk Pt 1
17. Steve Mason - Boys Outside
18. The-Dream - Love King
19. Glasser - Ring
20. Roky Erickson with Okkervil River - True Love Cast Out All Evil
21. Lloyd Cole - Broken Records
22. Säkert! - Facit
23. The Drums - The Drums
24. Caribou - Swim
25. Salem - King Night

Here's the rest of Mojo.

Re-issues

20 Various - Alan Lomax In Haiti
19 Lightni'g Hopkins - His Blues
18 Kenny Graham And His Satellites - Moondog Suite
17 Charanjit Singh - Ten Ragas To A Disco Beat
16 Galaxie 500 - On Fire
15 Sandsy Denny - Sandy Denny
14 Neu! - Box
13 Bob Dylan - The Mono Box
12 Kris Kristofferson - Please Don't tell Me How the Story Ends: The Publishing Demos 1968-1972
11 David Bowie - Station To Station
10 Various - Theme Time Radio Hour Vol. 3
9 R.E.M. - Fables of The Reconstruction
8 The Teardrop Explodes - Kilimanjaro: Deluxe Edition
7 Robert Wyatt - His Greatest Misses
6 Bob Dylan - The Bootleg Series Vol. 9: The Witmark Demos
5 Miles Davis- Bitches Brew: Collector's Edition
4 Iggy and The Stooges - Raw Power
3 Jimi Hendrix - West Coast Seattle Boy
2 The Rolling Stones - Exile on Main St: Deluxe Edition
1 Bruce Springsteen - The Promise

Track of The Year: Janelle Monae - 'Tightrope'
Book of The Year: Rob Young - 'Electric Eden'
DVD of The Year: White, The Edge, Page - It Might Get Loud
Return of The Year: Edwyn Collins

Best of the rest

Jazz

10 John Ellis & Double-Wide - Puppet Mischief
9 Esperanza Spalding - Chamber Music Society
8 Nigel Price - Organ Trio... Live!
7 Paul Motian - Lost In A Dream
6 Secret Quartet - Bloor Street
5 Tom Harrell - Roman Nights
4 Ivo Neame - Caught In The Light of The Day
3 Django Bates - Beloved Bates
2 Grigoryan Brothers - Distance
1 Phronesis - Alive

Reggae Reissues

10 King Tubby - The Roots of Dub
9 Sound Iritation - Sound Iritation In Dub
8 Evolution of Dub: Vol 5 - The Missing Link
7 The Flying Lizards - The Secret Dub Life of The Flying Lizads
6 Dadawah - Peace and Love
5 King Tubby & The Aggrovaters - Shalom Dub
4 Prince Jammy - Strictly Dub
3 Gregogry Issacs - Private Lesson
2 Henry Junjo - Volcano Eruption
1 Lee Parry and The Upsetter - Sound System Scratch

Soundtracks

10 Various - Flipper Pyschout
9 Various - Shutter Island
8 Brian McBride - The Effective Disconnect
7 Hans Zimmer - Inception
6 Maurice Jarre - Lawrence of Arabia
5 Michael Small - Marathon Man/The Parallax View
4 Ray Budd - Get Carter
3 Lalo Schifrin - Bullit
2 Teho Teardo - Soundtrack Work 2004-2008
1 The The - Tony: A Soundtrack

Blues

10 Pokey LaFarge & The South City Three - Riverboat Soul
9 Cyndi Lauper - Memphis Blues
8 Jimmy Dawkins - Presents The Leric Stroy
7 Joe Bonamassa - Black Rock
6 Various - Fire In My Bones.. Raw + Rare Otherworldy African-American Gospel (1944-2007)
5 Janiva Magness - The Devil is An Angel Too
4 Oli Brown - Heads I Win Tales You Lose
3 Guitar Shorty - Bare Knuckle
2 Lightnin' Hopkins - His Blues
1 Various - Things About Comin' My Way: A Tribute To The Music Of The Mississippi Shieks

Folk

10 Emily Portman - The Glamoury
9 O'Hooley & Tidlow - Silent June
8 The Imagined Village - Empire & Love
7 Pete Coe - Backbane
6 Ian King - Panic Grass & Fever Few
5 Alasdair Roberts and Friends - Too Long In This Condition
4 Ewan McLennan - Rags and Riches
3 Bellowhead - Hedonism
2 The Burns Unit - Side Show
1 Eliza Carthy & Norma Waterson - Gift

Electronica

10 LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening
9 Caribou - Swim
8 Reboot - Shunyata
7 Superpitcher - Kilmanjiro
6 Phaeleh - Fallen Light
5 Gold Panda - Lucky Shiner
4 Luke Abbot - Holkham Drones
3 Matthew Dear - Black City
2 Actress - Splazsh
1 Walls - Walls

Americana

10 Mountain Man - Made The Harbor
9 Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan - Hawk
8 Simon Joyner - Out Into The Snow
7 Kort - Invariable Heartache
6 Rocky Votolao - True Devotion
5 Bonnie 'Prince' Billy & The Cairo Gang - The Wonder Show of The World
4 Justin Townes Earle - Harlem River Blues
3 Curtis Harvey - Box of Stones
2 Dave Rawlings Machine - A Friend of A Friend
1 Willie Nelson - Country Music

World

10 Tamikrest - Adagh
9 Marcos Valle - Estatica
8 Sa Dingding - Harmony
7 Grupo Fantasma - El Existential
6 Hangai - Juan Zou De Rem
5 Ali Farka Toure & Toumani Diabate – Ali & Toumani
4 Konono No. 1 - Assume Crash Postion
3 The Chieftains ft. Ry Cooder - San Patrico
2 Carolina Chocolate Drops - Genuine Negro Jig
1 AfroCubism - AfroCubism

Underground

10 Sun Araw - On Patrol
9 Rachel Grimes - Book of Leaves
8 Harvey Milk - A Small Turn of Human Kindness
7 Richard Skelton - Landings
6 Barn Owl - Ancestral Star
5 Sophie Hutchings - Becalmed
4 Black Breath - Heavy Breathing
3 Tape & Bill Wells - Fugue
2 Peter Broderick How They Are
1 Endless Boogie - Full House Head

I see Caribou showing up a lot, but it's unclear yet if there will be an equivalent to last year's GAPDY. Possible contenders:

Arcade Fire
Deerhunter
Joanna Newsom
Sufjan Stevens
Yeasayer
LCD Soundsystem
Vampire Weekend
Aerial Pink
Kanye West

YAKSVJALD?
SLAKYJAVD?

Here's a list of lists that I find interesting, and the date they came out last year. Not necessarily all that similar to my own tastes, but are unique enough that they always have some must-hear entries I missed earlier in the year. Anyone got the Rock-A-Rolla list?

Quietus, Dec 8
FACT, Dec 11
The Wire, Dec 14
Brainwashed, Jan 4
Silent Ballet, Dec 25
Rock-A-Rolla, Nov 25
Decibel, Nov 25
Terrorizer, Dec 31
Treblezine, Dec 14
Cokemachineglow, Dec 22
Resident Advisor, Dec 17
Artrocker, Dec 3

These are more along lines of general critical consensus, and have few surprises, but generally okay choices, at least for my tastes.

Pitchfork, Dec 18
NME, Nov 30 (Dec 8 last year)
PopMatters, Dec 14
Stereogum, Dec 10
Drowned In Sound, Dec 14
Onion A.V. Club, Dec 9
Guardian, Dec 18

I think rock-a-rolla was out not that long ago so im not sure if there will be another out before dec. I subscribe so I'll put it up if there is one in dec.

Walls @ number one in the Mojo electronica poll is a weird one - didn't think it was all that.

Anyone want to tell me about any of these?

Sophie Hutchings - Becalmed
Black Breath - Heavy Breathing
Tape & Bill Wells - Fugue
Reboot - Shunyata
Phaeleh - Fallen Light
Luke Abbot - Holkham Drones

Black Breath is a really really great thrashy deathy punky metal band who fall squarely into the 'people who like this sort of thing will find it to be the sort of thing they like' category

Where's the fucking Fall in all these fucking lists? And Liars? And Swans? Gah, I'm going back to bed. Unperson's is better than most of these magazine's... and that dude's got pretty far out taste in music.

And by most, I mean all.

Tape + Bill Wells is wonderful, well worth the ~£3 it costs to download. Dreamy melodic textures in an Ashra kind of vein.

Okay, might well jump for that at that price. Enjoyed the last Tape album, not really familiar with what Bill Wells does though (but have been seeing his name around since forever).

Black Breath - sounds like an odd one for Mojo to get behind?

Feel like it might be one writer riding primarily for them but hey all good by me

They've got a couple of dedicated "underground" writers who take turns on that column and there are a few other heads there. They have, for example, run sizeable features on SunnO))) and Slayer in the last year.

10) Kula Shaker - Pilgrims Progress
9) Broken Bells - Broken Bells
8) He's My Brother She's My Sister - Self-Titled EP
7) She and Him - Volume Two
6) The Black Keys - Brothers
5) Gigi - Maintenant
4) Folded Light - Kelly
3) Portugal. The Man - American Ghetto
2) Lightspeed Champion - Life Is Sweet! Nice To Meet You
1) Kings of Leon - Come Around Sundown

oh wow

that versus the mojo top 10 is a grim, grim contention

Re Tape: My Ashra comparison was kind of off, they don't have any Gottsching guitar heroics going on, it was just the first thing that came into my head. If you liked previous Tape albums then I'd say you'll like this.

I'm only familiar with Bill Wells through collaborations like the Maher Shalal Hash Baz + BW album from 2009(?); he seems to be a good fit for Tape because I don't think Fugue sounds that different from Rideau or Luminarium (more piano maybe?).

I haven't heard more than like 5 on any of these.

Joanna Newsome's album is getting a bit of a kicking UK polls wise (Rough Trade, Q, Mojo, NME...). I mean considering i seem to have read a million things about it being you know 'as good as YS only deeper, with more resonance..' amd all that hooey. people have decided it's not much cop it seems, even at this short distance from it's release.

^ a welcome development imo

What's the consensus on the Black Keys over here? I've seen them appearing on several lists and thought it was enjoyable enough to deserve the mention on rockist magazines.

Much better than Kings of Leon and MGMT at least

^^^pretty much says it all

Much better than Kings of Leon and MGMT at least

A ringing endorsement!

"This piece of crap smells less bad than these other two pieces of crap over here!"

Also when you're listing 50 or 100 records and not a single one is the Rangda LP your net credibility drops to zero.

(Full disclosure, I actually don't hate that new Black Keys. It isn't great, but when I'm forced to hear it I don't totally mind.)

the Rangda LP

Heard it. Not a fan.

The Joanna Newsom suffers due to its length, plus however much opinion coalesces in the short term, I think, given time, it will be her Tusk or her Sandinista.

Okay, I'm only being slightly facetious there. It is a brilliant album, rich and rewarding, but the effort needed for those rewards is commensurate, and most people—even (especially?) music critics—don't have the luxury of that time commitment in a crowded arena.

Then again, I'm apparently way out of step with ILM on both this record and the National's, so ymmv, etc.

Rangda zoomed into my top 5 at number 5 </newsyoucanuse> but of all the lists posted so far I'd not really expect it to be on any of their radars save for Mojo's

oh shit, didn't realize there was a Tape album this year! Their song on this fantastic soundtrack is v much worth checking out: http://www.normanrecords.com/cd/107363-various-halsningar-fran-skogen-greetings-from-the-woods

here you go:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qXOw9R-EPU

I have no idea what the final Wire list will look like, but here's the Top Ten I sent them:

1. Ayumi Hamasaki, Rock ’n’ Roll Circus (Avex Trax)

Have you written about this anywhere? I'm checking it out now anyway, intrigued. I love her at her best, didn't know this was that.

Joanna Newsom I've heard won Uncut, not seen this confirmed though. Another two records that I thought might do a lot better have probably suffered from their respective release dates at either end of the year; These New Puritans and The Phantom Band.

That Rangda album is pretty good... I mean obviously it's a lot better than MGMT and KOL but a world beater? Not so sure.

the rangda alb is gd, but the live shows were way way better (see also: swans!)

haven't seen sun city girls on any of these lists, either

Kind of surprised that Charlotte Gainsbourg only appears on the Rough Trade list - I thought her album would get wider recognition.

NME

75. The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster, 'Blood And Fir
74. Sufjan Stevens, 'Age Of Adz'
73. Interpol, 'Interpol'
72. Male Bonding, 'Nothing Hurts'
71. Field Music, 'Field Music (Measure)'
70. Broken Social Scene, 'Forgiveness Rock Record
69. Happy Birthday, 'Happy Birthday'
68. Edwyn Collins, 'Losing Sleep'
67. The Dillinger Escape Plan, 'Option Paralysis'
66. Gorillaz, 'Plastic Beach'
65. Robyn, 'Body Talk Pt 1'
64. Walls, 'Walls'
63. Perfume Genius, 'Learning
62. Gil Scott-Heron, 'I'm New Here'
61. Flying Lotus, 'Cosmogramma'
60. Belle And Sebastian, 'Write About Love'
59. Errors, 'Come Down With Me'
58. Crocodiles, 'Sleep Forever'
57. Joanna Newsom, 'Have One On Me'
56. Mount Kimbie, 'Crooks & Lovers'
55. Ikonika, 'Contact, Love, Want, Have'
54. First Aid Kit, 'The Big Black and The Blue'
53. Kelis, 'Flesh Tone'
52. Dum Dum Girls, 'I Will Be'
51. Charlotte Gainsbourg, 'IRM'
50. Frightened Rabbit, 'The Winter of Mixed Drinks'
49. Surfer Blood, 'Astro Coast'
48. My Chemical Romance, 'Danger Days'
47. Pulled Apart By Horses, 'Pulled Apart By Horses'
46. Paul Weller, 'Wake Up The Nation'
45. Four Tet, 'There Is Love In You'
44. Manic Street Preachers, 'Postcards From A Young Man'
43. Everything Everything, 'Man Alive'
42. Mystery Jets, 'Serotonin'
41. Steve Mason, 'Boys Outside'
40. Sleigh Bells, 'Treats'
39. Magnetic Man, 'Magnetic Man'
38. Big Boi, 'Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son Of Chico Dusty'
37. Lonelady, 'Nerve Up'
36. Hurts, 'Happiness'
35. Glasser, 'Ring'
34. Kanye West, 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'
33. Marina And The Diamonds, 'The Family Jewels'
32. Islet, 'Wimmy' (EP)
31. Crystal Castles, 'Crystal Castles'
30. Klaxons, 'Surfing The Void'
29. No Age, 'Everything In Between'
28. New Young Pony Club, 'The Optimist'
27. Best Coast, 'Crazy For You '
26. Les Savy Fav, 'Root For Ruin'
25. Avi Buffalo, 'Avi Buffalo'
24. Vampire Weekend, 'Contra'
23. Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, 'Before Today'
22. Swans, 'My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky'
21. Janelle Monae, 'The ArchAndroid'
20. Deerhunter, 'Halcyon Digest'
19. MGMT, 'Congratulations'
18. Warpaint, 'The Fool'
17. Factory Floor, 'Untitled'
16. Grinderman, 'Grinderman 2'
15. Yeasayer, 'Odd Blood'
14. The Fall, 'Your Future, Our Clutter'
13. Gayngs, 'Relayted'
12. Caribou, 'Swim'
11. The National, 'High Violet'
10. The Drums, 'The Drums'
9. Liars, 'Sisterworld'
8. Salem, 'King Night'
7. Zola Jesus, 'Stridulum II'
6. Foals, 'Total Life Forever'
5. Laura Marling, 'I Speak Because I Can'
4. LCD Soundsystem, 'This Is Happening'
3. Beach House, 'Teen Dream'
2. Arcade Fire, 'The Suburbs'
1. These New Puritans, 'Hidden'

NME list is better than I would have expected.

62. Gil Scott-Heron, 'I'm New Here'
55. Ikonika, 'Contact, Love, Want, Have'
53. Kelis, 'Flesh Tone'
51. Charlotte Gainsbourg, 'IRM'
38. Big Boi, 'Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son Of Chico Dusty'
35. Glasser, 'Ring'
5. Laura Marling, 'I Speak Because I Can'

i'll rep for these at least

nme list says 'this are the only 75 records we have decided to listen to, in an order i guess'

NME list isn't bad at all, and I certainly can't argue with their #1.

I too think that is a pretty decent list, a lot of stuff I'd not expect on it that high like Zola Jesus. Have to throw the question up though, if that's one of the top 10 albums of the year, why not put her on the cover?

nme list says 'this are the only 75 records we have decided to listen to, in an order i guess'

― wheezy f baby (a hoy hoy)

Most publications have this problem, when Pitchfork publishes it's writer's lists it will mainly be the same 150 albums appearing in 75% of the slots.

Impressed they put These New Puritans at the top. Impressed generally by what Krissi Murison is doing with the NME. This is much more like the NME lists I read 15-20 years ago which helped me to discover records rather than simply affirm what I already knew.

So far, I'm surprised how far Joanna Newsom's stock has fallen and how much MGMT's has held, or even risen. I expected that record to be invisible come the end of the year.

Was looking everywhere through that NME list to see where TNP were, amazed and really quite glad to see it at #1. Quite a few other nice surprises there too - Zola Jesus, Glasser, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Lonelady...

I agree with the NME's album of the year. Don't think that's happened in a very long time.

One record really missing out so far is the Knife - wasn't even in the Swedish chart upthread.

^^^this

Also dull as a lot of these lists are, I can't see 2010 having a consensus as soul-crushing as GAPDY.

So far, I'm surprised how far Joanna Newsom's stock has fallen

i'm not really - it's def the kind of album that can impress on first listen, but then gets tidied away and not thought about after that.

for the record i think that nme list is in general as dreadful as ever and full of some AWFUL records, especially near the top #smgdh #kmft

That Klaxons album must be terrible to only make #30 in the NME list.

pretty sure mcnicholas era lists were worse than that

My point isn't that Rangda should be #1 it's that these lists show how segregated music journalism has become... nearly every list so far, with minor subjective tweaks, is consensus indie rock + anointed R&B/rap/hip-hop/dance music + token world music phenom and/or reissue. That Mojo "underground" list is what really brought it home...in what universe are Harvey Milk, Sun Araw and Peter Broderick measured against each other? Whereas the top 10-20 of a lot of this these lists by and large sound very similar to my ears.

20. Deerhunter, 'Halcyon Digest'
19. MGMT, 'Congratulations'
16. Grinderman, 'Grinderman 2'
15. Yeasayer, 'Odd Blood'
14. The Fall, 'Your Future, Our Clutter'
13. Gayngs, 'Relayted'
11. The National, 'High Violet'
10. The Drums, 'The Drums'
6. Foals, 'Total Life Forever'
4. LCD Soundsystem, 'This Is Happening'
3. Beach House, 'Teen Dream'
2. Arcade Fire, 'The Suburbs'
1. These New Puritans, 'Hidden'

^^there isn't much WORSE you can actually get from a top 20 with those acts in it

like seriously if you think any of them contributed to the best music of 2010 then GOD HELP YOU

yeah rly needed some 'xallops here

NME is a lot better. The problem is that all the people saying it's a lot better are not in their target market of 15-25yos, who are deserting it in their thousands. Several issues this year have apparently barely scraped past 20,000.

fwiw i've only heard lcd of those but cmon, the fall vs mid 00s landfill indie isn't even a thing

Not a Fall fan then, Lex?

lex plz refrain from trying to engage with the fall and play nice

the fall are unlistenable, tho i'll take him/them/whatever over fucking gayngs, who seem to have fooled people with usually-reliable taste this year, and the boring-ass greyness of deerhunter and the national, and the middle-aged accountant take on rock of grinderman, and those fucking wimps the drums, and seriously why do foals still exist, and anyone repping for lcd soundsystem must have totally missed the point of them when they were good. SO MUCH H8 SO MUCH H8

http://cdn.pitchfork.com/media/2979-hex-enduction-hour.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ifzyv.gif

I'm surprised to see The Fall in the NME list, it must be the first time they've appeared since the mid 90's when they used to appear every single year. It must have been a while since Paul Weller made the list too, that probably has something to do with them putting him on the cover the other week.

It's a shame they left out Hot Chip, it's probably going to end up being my album of the year.

Previously in NME top 20s since 2000

Coldplay, Richard Ashcroft, Starsailor, Slipknot, Aphex Twin's 'Drukqs', The Vines, The Datsuns, The Music, The Distillers, Hot Hot Heat, Jet, Muse, Razorlight, U2, The Magic Numbers, Art Brut, The Rakes, Babyshambles, Kasabian, My Chemical Romance, Biffy Clyro, Panic! At The Disco and Jamie T

So compared to the years those came from it's much better and I can see the development in the list has been influenced by the new staff members. It could have had The Courteeners, Two Door Cinema Club, Kate Nash, The Hold Steady, Band Of Horses, Dead Weather, The Gaslight Anthem, Kele Okerke, Weezer, Brandon Flowers, Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly etc etc etc collectively much worse than Lex's selections from the top 20.

I agree with Lex that the NME top 20 is mostly dull but probably for a different reason. Given it's an NME list, I'd say what was missing was youth or exuberance or star quality or noise. You know, ROCK MUSIC.

Part of the problem with the ongoing Pitchforkisation of the Brit music press is that it feels a bit cardigan-wearing, a bit daddish. Laura Marling and The Drums are the closest things in that top 10 to what the kids are actually listening to. Generally speaking they aren't listening to NME guitar music, and if they're listening to guitars at all they're listening to Kerrrang! guitars, and the NME still isn't adequately covering the other stuff they ARE listening to.

I dislike Salem and I think Zola Jesus is overrated, but seeing them in the NME top 10 is a pleasing sign of diversity that I didn't expect.

I agree that there's even more inertia creep of Britforking, very surprised to see under earlier NME blogs and on DiS the main complaint was how low Sufjan was, an album I found agonisingly tedious. Then again there is a whole generation of bands more feted by DiS than NME (Sky Larkin, LC! and others) that sound like they have been vastly more influenced by Pitchfork and therefore are in thrall to 90s US indie. Something like Everything Everything you'd could have imagined being much higher in earlier years.

There's about 20 or so US Indie/Pitchfork-y things in that and they are mainly bunched nearer #1 than #75. In 2005's top 50 there are about 5.

Lex's annual favourite, Uncut

50 Kings of Leon - Come Around Sundown
49 Olof Arnalds - Innundir Skinni
48 Zola Jesus - Stridulum II
47 Solar Bears - She Was Colored In
46 Sleigh Bells - Treats
45 Toro Y Moi - Causers of This
44 Hot Chip - One Life Stand
43 Janelle Monae - The ArchAndroid
42 Blitzen Trapper - Destroyers of the Void
41 Steve Mason - Boys Outside
40 Trembling Bells - Abandoned Love
39 Yeasayer - Odd Blood
38 Wyatt, Atzmon, Stephen - For the Ghosts Within
37 Corinne Bailey Rae - The Sea
36 The Hold Steady - Heaven Is Whenever
35 Roky Erickson and Okkervil River - True Love Cast Out All Evil
34 Dylan LeBlanc- Pauper's Field
33 Edywn Collins - Losing Sleep
32 The Duke & The King - Long Live The Duke & The King
31 Richard Thompson - Dream Attic
30 Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma
29 Afrocubism - Afrocubism
28 The Black Keys - The Black Keys
27 Voice of the Seven Thunders - Voice of the Seven Thunders
26 Los Lobos - Tin Can Trust
25 Gayngs - Related
24 Alasdair Roberts - Too Long in This Condition
23 Teenage Fanclub - Shadows
22 Spoon - Transference
21 Hans Chew - Tennessee and Other Stories
20 Oneohtrix Point Never - Returnal
19 Manic Street Preachers - Postcards from a Young Man
18 Gorillaz - Plastic Beach
17 The Fall - Your Future, Our Clutter
16 Gil Scott-Heron - I'm New Here
15 Field Music - Field Music (Measure)
14 The National - High Violet
13 Vampire Weekend - Contra
12 These New Puritans - Hidden
11 Drive-By Truckers - The Big To-Dp
10 Grinderman - Grinderman II
9 LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening
8 Ali Farka Toure and Toumani Diabate - Ali and Toumani
7 John Grant - Queen of Denmark
6 Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Before Today
5 Robert Plant - Band of Joy
4 Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
3 Paul Weller - Wake Up the Nation
2 Neil Young - Le Noise
1 Joanna Newsom - Have One on Me

That's more like it.

You know where you are with Uncut.

Surprised that the Spoon and Hot Chip albums aren't placing higher and more frequently. Had a hunch that John Grant and These New Puritans would do well.

It's strange seeing the Manic Street Preachers appearing in all these lists, the last couple of albums seem to have turned it around for them.

They're the new Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, half-arsed vote from people with no imagination.

So far, I'm surprised how far Joanna Newsom's stock has fallen

i'm not really - it's def the kind of album that can impress on first listen, but then gets tidied away and not thought about after that.

i think j. newsom is kinda in "fans only" territory here -- fans probably love her new album, everyone else couldn't care less -- it doesn't really scream CROSSOVER INDIE ALBUM the way the first two did

61. Flying Lotus, 'Cosmogramma'
53. Kelis, 'Flesh Tone'
22. Swans, 'My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky'
12. Caribou, 'Swim'
7. Zola Jesus, 'Stridulum II'
1. These New Puritans, 'Hidden'

nice surprises on the NME list ^^

honestly surprised they ranked kanye so low (in the 30s) compared to where he's gonna place elsewhere

20 Oneohtrix Point Never - Returnal
12 These New Puritans - Hidden
2 Neil Young - Le Noise

lone high points on Uncut ^^

man i really need to hear that gil scott-heron album before year's end

There was a streaming link for Gil Scott-Heron on the ilx thread for the album (that was still working the other day)

GSH album is stunning. i think deej said he couldn't decide if he really liked it or if it sounded like a moby remix album, but i don't hear the "moby remix" thing much at all, given the vocals and some of the abrasive elements buried in the arrangements.

I liked GSH when it came out but haven't found myself returning to it since.

i still get chills listening to me and the devil.

i'd bet $$ that Arcade Fire was NME number 1 with say These New Puritans at 2 until they read Q's poll last week.

I'd rate the GSH higher if it wasn't so short and, even then, padded out with interludes. It feels like an EP. New York Is Killing Me is one of the tracks of the year though.

I didn't know Robert Wyatt had done an album with Gilad Atzmon. Well, I guess no surprise since I don't pay much attention to either, but I'm somehow interested in the idea of them collaborating.

As easy as it is to hate on the NME, it is kind of great that they put TNP at number one.

Actually, it was the NME's review of Hidden that piqued my interest in the first place. Been years since that happened!

Yes, I think if Lex is outraged by TNP at number one then he really hasn't considered the alternatives.

BBC 6 Radio

(No apparent order)

Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
Beach House -Teen Dream
National - High Violet
Warpaint – The Fool
Everything Everything – Man Alive
Foals - Total Life Forever
Laura Marling – I Speak Because I Can
Caribou - Swim
Gorillaz – Plastic Beach
Tame Impala - Inner Speaker

i like the warpaint album but dunno why it's being rated higher than the school of 7 bells one

if beach house, arcade fire and the national are this years GAPDY...BAN

Think the NME opting for TNP in the same week as the NUS leadership decides to stop being "spineless" marks some sort of Carmodic tipping point.

Is it just me that mixes up Beach House and Best Coast? I keep forgetting which one I've heard.

Think the NME opting for TNP in the same week as the NUS leadership decides to stop being "spineless" marks some sort of Carmodic tipping point.

explain?

xp: I do the same. Heard both, not sold on either.

The first track on the Beach House album is still sublime but the rest of it gets pretty boring pretty quickly.

yes! exactly true. first track is great, don't care for the rest.

Is it just me that mixes up Beach House and Best Coast? I keep forgetting which one I've heard.

Constantly... even though they definitely have different styles. The whole soundz of the sixtiez fads needs to die immediately.

love the Beach House album. the entire thing is beautiful imo. was disappointed by Crazy For You

Waiting for the first list that Taylor shows up on. Maybe Entertainment Weekly? Won't be surprised if she makes some of the NYT writers' lists.

I'm so out of it that, a month ago, I was actually wondering whether she had a chance to win Pazz & Jop! But I'm starting to realize that was extreme wishful thinking. Now I'm wondering if Top 10 is out of the question. (Top 40 should be a given, though, right? I hope.)

Then again, most of these lists are British, right? So they're not much to go on, Pazz&Jop-wise.

yeah taylor swift basically does not exist for 90% of british critics

im sure all the old fart middlebrow critics will vote for her in their droves for P&J.

(smh at them OBV)

smh = shake my head?

xp Btw, wackiest things about those Mojo lists have to be Cyndi Lauper with the #9 blues album (which might good, who knows) and Carolina Chocolate Drops with the #2 world music album. (Though I guess North Carolina is in the world, technically.)

Mojo lists are usually more varied than most mags tbh.

all the old fart middlebrow critics will vote for her in their droves

Yeah, old fart middlebrow guys all love teen-pop country. (Still, hope they do. Assuming they're still voting these days.)

smh = shaking my head, yes
kmt = kissing my teeth, for future ref, because that will assuredly be a reaction to this thread

haha kmt is most definitely a new one. No idea what it means but thanks for the heads up!

Kissing my teeth only works if you can take them out first imo.

haven't seen sun city girls on any of these lists, either

― Ward Fowler, Tuesday, November 30, 2010 6:13 AM (9 hours ago) Bookmark

this, and no marnie stern, are the biggest WTFs so far

Kissing my teeth only works if you can take them out first imo.

what? idk whether you're serious about not knowing what kissing one's teeth is

Hadn't decided whether to put Taylor #1, 2, or 3, but now I think I'm gonna give her #1 just because.

xp: Marnie Stern doesn't surprise me. I loved her first two records, and I like this one, but not quite as much. It's probably not a top-10 for me, and I had her last one as my #1 that year.

what? idk whether you're serious about not knowing what kissing one's teeth is

Genuinely have no idea on this. Eager to be schooled.

xpost
never heard this expression before tonight too. Thank goodness for urban dictionary.

My immediate thought was that it was similar to A Partridge's "kiss my face" exclamation.

I assumed it was the noise plumbers make when they give you an estimate on a bill

yeah it's hard to actually describe but clearly none of you have ever talked to any caribbean women, lol

I'm not sure i've ever seen one round here tbh nevermind spoke to one , lol.

xp I know what you mean Lex, African women use the same expression to punctuate conversation.

Trisha on Bo Selcta! was fond of saying kiss my teeth.

that was a terrible terrible program!

kmt = kissing my teeth, for future ref, because that will assuredly be a reaction to this thread

― lex lex lex lex lex on the track BOW (lex pretend), Tuesday, 30 November 2010 21:09 (1 hour ago)

feelin this

'kissing your teeth' is actually more like sucking air through your teeth, or tutting with more... Attitude..?
It's generally used to make a sound of disapproval. It is stereotypically said that black people use it, but other people use it too... It's just known more as a black thing, because mostly Jamaicans use it.
Kmt is an abbreviation, just like lol is an abbreviation for 'laugh out loud'
and it's not as stupid as some of you non british/english make out.
Just because you don't use the slang, doesn't give you the right to insult other ways of speaking. Every country has their list of slang words, and so do we...

Guest 6 months ago

lol @ that whole exchange

I never heard it called "kissing" teeth, we say "sucking your teeth," same difference tho

lol

cooly g's twitter and fbook feeds are veritable feasts of KMT

http://twitter.com/COOLYGuk/status/9398538496638976

over here we say kmg, i.e. "kissing my grits"

Yup, third or fourth year in a row where NME list was more interesting than Uncut/MOJO.

NME Tracks

75. Jam City, 'Ecstasy Refix'
74. Eminem Feat. Rihanna, 'Love The Way You Lie'
73. Addison Groove, 'Footcrab'
72. Active Child, 'She Was A Vision'
71. The Futureheads, ‘The Heartbeat Song’
70. DJ Nate, ‘Call Me When You’re Sober’
69. Egyptian Hip Hop, 'Moon Crooner'
68. Foals, ‘Miami’
67. New Young Pony Club, ‘Lost A Girl'
66. Les Savy Fav, 'Let's Get Out Of Here'
65. Beach House, ‘Zebra'
64. Joy Orbison, ‘The Shrew Would Have Cushioned The Blow’
63. Islet, ‘Ringerz’
62. Caribou, ‘Odessa’
61. Salem, 'King Night'
60. Dead Skeletons, 'Dead Mantra'
59. Willow Smith, 'Whip My Hair'
58. Frankie & The Heartstrings, 'Tender'
57. Interpol, 'Lights'
56. Sleigh Bells, 'Tell 'Em'
55. Gaggle, 'I Hear Flies'
54. Vampire Weekend, 'Giving Up The Gun'
53. Warpaint, 'Elephants'
52. Klaxons, 'Echoes'
51. Kelis, '4th Of July (Fireworks)'
50. Summer Camp, 'Ghost Train'
49. Crocodiles, 'Sleep Forever'
48. Mystery Jets, 'Dreaming Of Another World'
47. Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, 'Round And Round'
46. Manic Street Preachers, '(It’s Not War) Just The End Of Love'
45. Liars, 'Scissor'
44. Biffy Clyro, 'Bubbles'
43. Darwin Deez, 'Constellations'
42. Robyn, 'Dancing On My Own'
41. Foals, 'This Orient'
40. Kele, 'Tenderoni'
39. Arcade Fire, 'Ready To Start'
38. Mark Ronson & The Business Intl, 'Bang Bang Bang'
37. Glasser, 'Home'
36. Les Savy Fav, 'Sleepless In Silverlake'
35. The Knife, 'Colouring Of Pigeons'
34. Katy Perry Feat. Snoop Dogg, 'California Gurls'
33. Big Boi, 'Shutterbugg'
32. Klaxons, 'Flashover'
31. Cee Lo Green, 'Fuck You'
30. Yeasayer, 'O.N.E.'
29. My Chemical Romance, 'Na Na Na'
28. The Drums, 'Forever And Ever, Amen'
27. Tinie Tempah, 'Pass Out'
26. Magnetic Man Feat. Katy B, 'Perfect Stranger'
25. Lady Gaga Feat. Beyonce, 'Telephone'.
24. Everything Everything, 'Schoolin''
23. LCD Soundsystem, 'I Can Change'
22. Yeasayer, 'Ambling Alp'
21. Avi Buffalo, 'What’s In It For?'
20. Kelis, 'Acapella'
19. Crystal Castles, 'Celestica'
18. Egyptian Hip Hop, 'Rad Pitt'
17. The National, 'Bloodbuzz Ohio'
16. Best Coast, 'Boyfriend'
15. Warpaint, 'Undertow'
14. These New Puritans, 'We Want War'
13. LCD Soundsystem, 'Drunk Girls'.
12. Factory Floor, 'Lying'
11. MIA, 'Born Free'
10. The Fall, 'Bury Pts 2+4'
9. Zola Jesus, 'Night'
8. Grinderman, 'Heathen Child'
7. Surfer Blood, 'Swim (To Reach The End)'
6. Gorillaz, 'Stylo'
5. Arcade Fire, 'We Used To Wait'
4. Kanye West, 'Power'
3. Janelle Monae, 'Tightrope'
2. MIA, 'XXXO'
1. Foals, 'Spanish Sahara'

75. Jam City, 'Ecstasy Refix'

WOW serious respect for this one actually ("arpjam" is better but we'll give them a pass seeing as it was only released this week)

there are quite a few really good songs elsewhere in the list but tbh there's a lot of total bullshit as well, and like the albums it gets worse and worse the higher you go, because the nme fundamentally has shitty taste

Slam dunking in at no. 35, it's the Knife...

34. Katy Perry Feat. Snoop Dogg, 'California Gurls'

serious respect for this one...

NAH

That NME top 10 is fucking awful and I am totally unsurprised to see them repping for Jam City.

I *am* surprised to see DJ Nate in there.

oh nos. 6, 8 are damn good songs.

tho i would have chosen a different grinderman song (worm tamer), and a different zola jesus song (poor animals)

70. DJ Nate, ‘Call Me When You’re Sober’
65. Beach House, ‘Zebra'
64. Joy Orbison, ‘The Shrew Would Have Cushioned The Blow’
59. Willow Smith, 'Whip My Hair'
56. Sleigh Bells, 'Tell 'Em'
51. Kelis, '4th Of July (Fireworks)'
37. Glasser, 'Home'
33. Big Boi, 'Shutterbugg'
27. Tinie Tempah, 'Pass Out'
26. Magnetic Man Feat. Katy B, 'Perfect Stranger'
15. Warpaint, 'Undertow'
14. These New Puritans, 'We Want War'
5. Arcade Fire, 'We Used To Wait'
3. Janelle Monae, 'Tightrope'

Will rep for these, but that's it.

That NME top 10 is fucking awful and I am totally unsurprised to see them repping for Jam City.

i wonder if it will ever be possible to mention a night slugs related thing on ilx without one of you, tim or rtc snarking.

i'm surprised at kelis being the token r&b diva (not that those songs are r&b but ygm), surprised at anyone remembering that knife opera (and choosing to rep for it in the tracks list?!) and surprised in a bad way at that eminem/rihanna song showing up. why would anyone vote for that, why.

3. Janelle Monae, 'Tightrope'

she's r&b(-ish), no?

tracks from that in my own top 100

xxxo - but the SBTRKT remix
tightrope
stylo (maybe)
undertow (maybe)
celestica (srs grower)
i can change (ditto)
telephone (and again)
pass out
shutterbugg
round and round
the shrew...

i'm surprised at kelis being the token r&b diva (not that those songs are r&b but ygm)

Nah they've been pro-Kelis since the first album, she is very much the r&b diva it's okay for indie kids to like. Janelle Monae too now, but she's almost as much rock as she is r&b (in the way that, say, Prince was).

surprised at anyone remembering that knife opera (and choosing to rep for it in the tracks list?!)

I've gone back to it and it's growing on me the second time around. But yeah, opting for individual tracks off it is a bit of a cop out.

the only actual r&b song in the list is, like, "whip my hair" anyway

we know that "call me when you're sober" is based around an evanescence sample, of all things, right? it's such an amazing track though not as stupendous as "poetry" imo

the only actual r&b song in the list is, like, "whip my hair" anyway

Come on, Tightrope totally counts, it's virtually a Rich Harrison production.

I don't like the Foals record but it's obviously in their demographic, but it's just utterly incomprehensible to me that anyone could make a credible argument for XXXO being the second-best song of the year.

yeah "tightrope" is obv retro-r&b, i should've put modern r&b

prefer 'seeds' to 'colouring of pigeons' but i will probably like the remixes more

Zola Jesus: cool name, unfuckingbelievably boring

Eh, 'I Can't Stand' is one of the stand-out gloom anthems for these miserable times imo.

Agree with blueski re. 'Seeds' too.

I'm kind of curious now to see if Paul Weller makes *any* US lists...

The guy is a total pissflap, I'd be pleased not to see his name much anywhere

Let me guess which country you're from...

First time in years that I haven't heard the NME's top single/track. Listening now. it just sounds like one of Bloc Party's big, moody, faintly electronic numbers. Is acclaim for Foals (number one album in The Fly) the manifestation of a desperate desire for a 20something Radiohead?

people actually listen to more of bloc party than banquet? guys are definition one hit wonders, the rest of their songs have zero imagination.

same applies to kaiser chiefs, who apparently are (for whatever reason) still popular

Let me guess which country you're from...

The US actually, I just read a lot of brit mags at the bookstore...the current or last NME in which he poses upon the cover with beefy forearms calling UK to a revolution (headed under him, of course) made me want to gag the guy.

also uk-born insults are so much funner than commonalities here like "you fucking douchebag" and "dumbass bitch" and such

There may be some truth to that, but between "pissflap" and buying NME, I think you've lost your US citizenship.

I'm just fascinated by the (apparent) fact that everyone in the UK hates him and nobody in the US knows him, other than weirdo Jam fans and the like. He probably should have released the album under an alias that implied that David Bowie was behind the whole thing...

Anyway, I'm pleasantly surprised to see it popping up on year end lists, though from my cramped perspective I don't know if it's happening for good or for bad reasons.

Nice to see Field Music at least getting a few scraps of recognition on these lists.

most of my disgruntle stems from the fact that kevin shields, when he should be developing that new album in promise for over 20 years, was caught as the guitarist for weller's nme concert in which he was hailed a "godlike genius"

Bloc Party's best moment was 'Like Eating Glass'

Can't say I'm on board with NME's list the way I am to a degree with the album list. Thought that 'Tightrope' would win tbh.

Like 'Spanish Sahara' and could make the lower reaches of my singles list but is a bit of an odd #1, in fact it's the first time since 2002 that the track of the year hasn't been a nailed on indie disco floorfiller, though probably do alright in those stakes.

Thinking about it every NME track of the year back to Bitter Sweet Symphony would do a pretty good job at an indie(ish) disco, even Foals and Doves.

10. The Fall, 'Bury Pts 2+4'
9. Zola Jesus, 'Night'
8. Grinderman, 'Heathen Child'
4. Kanye West, 'Power'
3. Janelle Monae, 'Tightrope'
2. MIA, 'XXXO'

will rep for these in the top ten, but MIA belongs much lower

1. Foals, 'Spanish Sahara'

looooooool

http://www.factmag.com/2010/11/30/40-best-albums-of-2010-40-31/

FACT are counting down their list

It's definitely more interesting than the other lists so far

i always love fact's year (or decade)-end lists.

hm. i've got the disc they list at no. 38, but i don't think i've ever listened to it! must investigate.

The LA Vampires Meets Zola Jesus sounds interesting.

i love the idea; i'm not as sold on the execution (tbf, i've only heard bits-and-pieces).

Just acquired the Zola Jesus/LA Vampires thing on the strength of the blurb, liking it so far. I always find something new from Fact's lists.

Not sure I was all that taken with the 'No No No' cover, but I enjoyed it on the whole.

Definitely wanna hear that Dylan Ettinger. Ooh, it's probably on eMusic amirite?

y

Yay!

Yeah, FACT's lists are always great and loaded with new discoveries for me. "Spanish Sahara" is a great great song you fools. But I don't think it would climb my top ten.

That Fact list is great - I thought I had been keeping up with new releases to some degree, but I hadn't even heard of half the albums there. Just added a bunch to my Spotify "to listen" playlist.

First listens to Dylan Ettinger and Zola Jesus/LA Vampires are positive, though I'm not sure either is bringing much new to the party.

emusic link on that dylan ettinger disc.

damn i totally thought that foals had gone the way of the klaxons & shit

This was a slightly different way of doing things;

http://thefourohfive.com/articles/4602

The 405s 45 favourite EPs of the year

1. Zola Jesus - 'Stridulum II'
2. Hold Your Horse It - 'Rammin' It Home'
3. Girls - 'Broken Dreams Club'
4. Stagecoach - 'Crash My Ride'
5. Dad Rocks! - 'Digital Age'
6. Tall Ships - 'There Is Nothing But Chemistry Here'
7. Islet - 'Wimmy'
8. Islet - 'Celebrate This Place'
9. Summer Camp - 'Young'
10. Egyptian Hip Hop - 'Some Reptiles Grew Wings'
11. Zola Jesus & LA Vampires - 'LA Vampires Meets Zola Jesus '
12. Botany - 'Feeling Today'
13. Wild Nothing - 'Golden Haze'
14. Jonquil - 'One Hundred Suns'
15. Selebrities - 'Ladies Man Effect'
16. El Guincho - 'Piratas De Sudamerica'
17. Megafaun - 'Heretofore EP'
18. Sufjan Stevens - 'All Delighted People'
19. James Blake - 'Klavierwerke'
20. Guards - 'Guards'
21. Museum of Bellas Artes - 'Days Ahead'
22. Tubelord - 'Tezcatlipoca'
23. Twin Sister - 'Color Your Life'
24. Gallops - 'Gallops'
25. Girls Names - 'Don't Let Me In'
26. Spectrals - 'Extended Play'
27. Tanlines - 'Settings'
28. Dirty Projectors & Bjork - 'Mount Wittenberg Orca'
29. The James Cleaver Quintet - 'Ten Stage of A Make Up'
30. Flying Lotus - 'Pattern + Gridworld'
31. Chad Valley - 'Chad Valley'
32. Owen Pallet - 'Swedish Love Story'
33. British Sea Power - 'Zeus '
34. Memoryhouse - 'The Years'
35. Becoming Real - 'Spectre'
36. Seams - 'Tourist EP'
37. Ursine Vulpine - 'Fenrir'
38. Flats - 'EP2'
39. A Sunny Day in Glasgow - 'Nitetime Rainbows'
40. Holy Fuck - '+Ghost'
41. Active Child - 'Curtis Lane'
42. James Blake - 'CYMK'
43. Monzano - 'Apple Handsome'
44. Balam Acab - 'See Birds'
45. Los Campesinos! - 'All's Well That Ends'

Everyone is forgetting ROMANCE IS BORING :(

NPR alt-Latin top 10 albums

http://www.npr.org/blogs/altlatino/2010/12/01/131593815/alt-latino-best-albums-2010

Everyone is forgetting ROMANCE IS BORING

All we can do is try, goddamn it. All we can do is try.

That FACT list is amazing.

NPR has multiple lists here

http://www.npr.org/series/131394847/the-best-music-of-2010

They like Arcade Fire best but they also like my Malian fave singer Khaira Arby

Oops, actually Arcade Fire is just one of the 50 faves of NPR staff. There's also a best jazz and best classical list.

Recommended by NPR Music Staff

Thomas Ades, Tevot

Agalloch, Marrow Of The Spirit

Aloe Blacc, Good Things

Khaira Arby, Timbuktu Tarab

Arcade Fire, The Suburbs

Erykah Badu, New Amerykah, Pt. 2: Return Of The Ankh

Big Boi, Sir Lucious Leftfoot...The Son Of Chico Dusty

The Black Keys, Brothers

Brooklyn Rider, Dominant Curve

Buke & Gass, Riposte

Carolina Chocolate Drops, Genuine Negro Jig

Regina Carter, Reverse Thread

Chancha Via Circuito, Rio Arriba

Deerhunter, Halcyon Digest

Issac Delgado, Love

Joyce DiDonato, Rossini: Colbran, The Muse

Flying Lotus, Cosmogramma

Four Tet, There Is Love In You

Vittorio Grigolo, The Italian Tenor

Gyptian, Hold You

Hilary Hahn, Higdon & Tchaikovsky: Violin Concertos

Mary Halvorson Quintet, Saturn Sings

Rita Indiana, El Juidero

Jamey Johnson, The Guitar Song

Jonsi, Go

Seu Jorge And Almaz, Seu Jorge And Almaz

King Sunny Ade, Baba Mo Tunde

Ray LaMontagne And The Pariah Dogs, God Willin' And The Creek Don't Rise

LCD Soundsystem, This Is Happening

Lower Dens, Twin Hand Movement

Alexander Melnikov, Shostakovich

Janelle Monae, The ArchAndroid

Jason Moran, Ten

Carla Morrison, Mientras Tu Dormias

The National, High Violet

Owen Pallett, Heartland

Sondra Radvanovsky, Verdi Arias

Josh Ritter, So Runs The World Away

Robyn, Body Talk

Kermit Ruffins, Happy Talk

Christian Scott, Yesterday You Said Tomorrow

Gil Scott-Heron, I'm New Here

Sleigh Bells, Treats

Esperanza Spalding, Chamber Music Society

Mavis Staples, You Are Not Alone

Sufjan Stevens, The Age Of Adz

The Tallest Man On Earth, The Wild Hunt

Titus Andronicus, The Monitor

Sharon Van Etten, Epic

Kanye West, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

that Zola Jesus EP was just not that good.

A few EPs that 405 missed (a couple of which were maybe marketed as "albums," but they're 25 minutes or less, so they qualify.)

Art Museums – Rough Frame (Woodsit)
Chrome Dome – Chrome Dome (Lexicon Devil)
Major Lazer – Lazers Never Die EP (Interscope/Downtown/Mad Design)
The Sediment Club – The Sediment Club (Softspot)
Colt Ford – Country Is As Country Does (Average Joe’s)
Herpes – Das Kommt Von Kussen (Tapete)
Screaming Females – Singles (Don Giovanni)

that Zola Jesus EP was just not that good.

i liked her other 2010 ep better (the one with poor animals on it).

that Major Lazer EP is aggressively mediocre

also I keep forgetting to check out that Esperanza Spalding album

A publicist keeps sending me e-mails re Buke & Gass, but I haven't listened to it/them(?) yet.

loooooool @ Agalloch on NPR's year end top 50

Q is getting a bit too hip and "indie". It needs to bring back some of their old writers and get a bit more soft rock oriented again.

Never change, Geir. Never change.

(unlike Q)

GORILLA VS. BEAR’s ALBUMS OF 2010

01 Beach House – Teen Dream
02 Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Before Today
03 Shabazz Palaces – Of Light/Shabazz Palaces
04 James Blake – CMYK/Klavierwerke
05 Joanna Newsom – Have One on Me
06 Big Boi – Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty
07 Lower Dens – Lower Dens
08 Games – That We Can Play
09 White Denim – Last Day of Summer
10 Girls – Broken Dreams Club
11 Toro y Moi – Causers of This
12 Earl Sweatshirt – EARL
13 Twin Sister – Color Your Life / Alternates
14 Big K.R.I.T. – wuz here
15 Dum Dum Girls – I Will Be
16 Grimes – Geidi Primes
17 The Samps – The Samps
18 Harlem – Hippies
19 Forest Swords – Dagger Paths
20 Twin Shadow – Forget
21 Frankie Rose & the Outs – Frankie Rose & the Outs
22 Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
23 Tennis – Tennis (cassette)
24 The Walkmen – Lisbon
25 Erykah Badu – New Amerykah Part II: Return of the Ankh
26 Deerhunter – Halcyon Digest
27 Mount Kimbie – Crooks & Lovers
28 Caribou – Swim
29 Shackleton – Fabric 55
30 Ty Segall – Melted

Good to see Games on the top 10

yeah at the Lower Dens ending up at number 7 as they are my latest addiction. such a great album.

Paste

50. Marnie Stern: Marnie Stern [Kill Rock Stars]
49. Flying Lotus: Cosmogramma [Warp]
48. Local Natives: Gorilla Manor [Frenchkiss]
47. Yeasayer: Odd Blood [Secretly Canadian]
46. The Black Keys: Brothers [Nonesuch]
45. Deerhunter: Halcyon Digest [4AD]
44. Swans: My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky [Young God]
43. Stornoway: Beachcomber’s Windowsill [4AD]
42. Wavves: King of the Beach [Fat Possum]
41. Anaïs Mitchell: Hadestown
40. Free Energy: Stuck on Nothing [Astralwerks]
39. Sarah Jaffe: Suburban Nature [Kirtland]
38. Josh Ritter: So Runs the World Away [Pytheas]
37. Big Boi: Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty [Def Jam]
36. Spoon: Transference [Merge]
35. Grinderman: Grinderman 2 [Mute Records/ANTI-]
34. Girl Talk: All Day [Illegal Art]
33. Blitzen Trapper: Destroyer of the Void [Sub Pop]
32. Carolina Chocolate Drops: Genuine Negro Jig [Nonesuch]
31. The Roots: How I Got Over
30. She & Him: Volume Two [Merge]
29. Freelance Whales: Weathervanes [Frenchkiss]
28. Laura Marling: I Speak Because I Can [Astralwerks]
27. Vampire Weekend: Contra [XL]
26. Lissie: Catching a Tiger [Fat Possum]
25. Various Artists: Preservation: An Album to Benefit Preservation Hall [Megaforce]
24. Beach House: Teen Dream [Sub Pop]
23. Laura Veirs: July Flame [Raven Marching Band]
22. The Tallest Man on Earth: The Wild Hunt [Dead Oceans]
21. Jamey Johnson: The Guitar Song [Mercury Nashville]
20. Suckers: Wild Smile [Frenchkiss]
19. Elizabeth Cook: Welder [31 Tigers]
18. Cee Lo Green: The Lady Killer [Elektra]
17. Jónsi: Go [XL]
16. Mavis Staples: You Are Not Alone [Anti-]
15. Justin Townes Earle: Harlem River Blues [Bloodshot]
14. Band of Horses: Infinite Arms [Brown Records/Fat Possum/Columbia]
13. Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings: I Learned the Hard Way [Daptone]
12. Bruce Springsteen: The Promise: The Lost Sessions of Darkness on the Edge of Town [Columbia]
11. The National: High Violet [4AD]
10. Frightened Rabbit: The Winter of Mixed Drinks [Fat Cat]
9. Sufjan Stevens – The Age of Adz [Asthmatic Kitty]
8. Phosphorescent: Here’s to Taking It Easy [Dead Oceans]
7. Arcade Fire: The Suburbs [Merge]
6. Sleigh Bells: Treats [Mom + Pop]
5. Titus Andronicus: The Monitor [XL]
4. Kanye West: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy [Def Jam/Roc-a-Fella]
3. Mumford & Sons: Sigh No More [Glassnote]
2. Janelle Monáe: The ArchAndroid [The Wondaland Arts Society/Bad Boy]
1. LCD Soundsystem: This Is Happening [EMI/DFA]

a boring & predictable list from beyond the grave

paste magazine meeting room:

"man fuck this year end list shit, i dont wanna put more than like 20 minutes into this"

"hmmmm okay. how about we just write down lots of mid-tier indie bands and stuff that indie ppl like?"

"gotcha. how will we decide what gets on the list?"

"how about, anything that got over 7.0 on pfork and was written about on lots of indie blogs?"

"okay! what's #1 gonna be, that is an important choice"

"lcd soundsystem duh. he pleases the indie kids and the dance/electronic kids at the same time"

"sounds good. how do we order the other stuff?"

"are you fuckin kidding me, no one cares about the order after #1"

"k. lets draw straws or something"

(.......15 minutes pass.......)

IN TODAY'S ISSUE: PASTE MAGAZINE 2010 YEAR END BEST ALBUMS LIST

I don't see what's so mindblowing about Fact's list. Sure it's got some records you wont see in other lists but have you guys listened to the records theyre pimping? Bunch of boring, run-of-the-mill albums with terrible production.

Different =/= interesting.

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 rashad and roc records are great though when it comes to juke, dj nate >>>> all

The Dylan Ettinger sounded fine to me when I was fooling around in the snow yesterday. Wasn't into the Solar Bears full-length so much though.

the dj roc record seemed interesting but annoyed me intensely with the vocal rap loops. The Rashad song they've got as a sample in there is awful, can't say I've heard the rest of the record but the amateurish keyboard drums on that song drove me insane, is the guy from Salem guesting on that one?

ppl are perfectly entitled to hate Rashad (and juke in general) but keen to hear what you've been listening to that makes it "run of the mill"

Wasn't specifically pointing at Rashad but anyway; I'm not familiar with the 'juke/footwork' scene so I don't really know how 'unique' this sort of music might really be but I feel like I've been listening to the same overused bass and drums patches for too long in the same unimaginative styles that it starts to feel old to me.

ppl are keen to hear what you've been listening to that doesn't make it 'run of the mill'

Given that pretty much no one outside Chicago had heard any juke a year ago, does it really matter whether it's run of the mill or not?

In some ways, John Roberts’ Glass Eights stands out because of the lack of good contemporary house and techno albums around – yes, it’s one of the genre’s best LPs of the year, but where’s the competition?

This seems like a weird thing to write in a Fact list that's full of house and techno albums.

Vibe

10. Jazmine Sullivan - Love Me Back
9. Nicki Minaj - Pink Friday
8. Big Boi - Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty
7. The Roots - How I Got Over
6. T.I. - No Mercy
5. Janelle Monáe - The ArchAndroid
4. Eminem - Recovery
3. Drake - Thank Me Later
2. Rick Ross - Teflon Don
1. Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

^^^ Corny indie fucks.

lol i actively hate the entire top 6 of the vibe list

in some cases what i hate is the sheer averageness

6. T.I. - No Mercy

lol, gotta love label politics still entering the "criticism" of a magazine that no one cares about & has only been up and running for like 8 months after it went bankrupt

that album is really unbelievably dreadful

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

also they posted an audio link to the 34 min version of "runaway"

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

Definitely, thought #1 is a bit OTT.

Thought there would be more love for the ceo, Radio Dept, Trentemoller, Pantha Du Prince, The-Dream and of course LINDSTROM & CHRISTABELLE albums across these lists. Still, at least that horrible Aeroplane LP has been mostly ignored.

Oh, Holly Miranda too, I thought that would have been more popular.

fact placing drake at #7 doesn't even make gd sense

Lindstrom + Christabelle is 2009, isn't it?

x-post -in the non-ILX world Drake sold lots of music and received some pretty good reviews

yeah, but it doesn't make sense as something fact would sop to? like it's tangential to their aesthetic at best and not as hard to ignore (or as good) as kanye

fact magazine is like pretty far from the real world

haha yeah, that bastion of populism fact magazine

I'm eager to see where the Forest Swords album (top 3 for me) will end up in the Wire rewind list. Remembering that it was reviewed along with the Rangers record which got all the praise (and 3/4 of the lines)

Critic Banning Eyre of Afropop.org's list

http://blog.afropop.org/2010/12/afropops-2010-stocking-stuffers.html

I had not heard of this desert bluesy rockin' band before-Tamikrest - Adagh (Glitterhouse)

Afropop.org top Latin and Brazilian new and reissues

http://blog.afropop.org/2010/12/top-latin-records-and-best-compilations.html

Calle 13, Luisa Maita, Afro-Sound of Colombia, Roots of Chicha 2 and more

xpost Lindstrom & Christabelle released Jan 2010, but floating around for so long before that that it feels like an autumn 2009 record. Was in my Top 10 for this year.

Rock-A-Rolla Top 40 Albums Of 2010

40. Hey Colossus & The Van Halen Time Capsule - Eurogrumble vol 1
39. Black Sun - Twilight Of The Gods
38. Zs - Social Slaves
37. Envy - Recitation
36. Salome - Terminal
35. Barn Owl - Ancestral Star
34. The Body - All The Waters Of The Earth Turn To Blood
33. Yakuza - Of Seismic Consequence
32. Wino - Adrift
31. Unearthly Trance - V
30. Ultralyd - Inertiadrome
29. Black Breath - Heavy Breathing
28. The High Confessions - Turning Lead...
27. Knut - Wonder
26. White Hills - White Hills
25. Three Mile Pilot - The Inevitable Past...
24. The Red Sparowes - The Fear Is Excruciating
23. Emeralds - Does It Look Like I'm Here?
22. Black Tusk - Taste The Sin
21. Daughters - S/T
20. Arabrot - Revenge
19. Shining - Blackjazz
18. Torche - Songs For Singles
17. Twilight - Monument To Time End
16. Killing Joke - Absolute Dissent
15. High On Fire - Snakes For The Divine
14. Celeste - Morte(s) Nee(s)
13. Grinderman - Grinderman 2
12. Iron Maiden - The Final Frontier
11. Liars - Sisterworld
10. Oneohtrix Point Never - Returnal
9. Ufomammut - Eve
8. Kayo Dot - Coyote
7. Motorpsycho - Heavy Metal Fruit
6. U.S. Christmas - Run Thick In The Night
5. Master Musicians Of Bukkake - Totem Two
4. Mike Patton - Mondo Cake
3. Harvey Milk - A Small Turn Of Human Kindness
2. Melvins - The Bride Screamed Murder
1. Swans - My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope

And you're expecting to be blown away, to have your whole perspective on 2010 altered, by exactly...what?...in the next four weeks?

Currently being blown away by Rashed Al Majed – Jalsat Wanasa 2010. I think this may move Daddy Yankee a step down for me.

You desert blues type will appreciate the. . . I think it's electric oud, not sure, in some of this. Not really so far off from all that Tuareg stuff, except more Arab sounding, which of course makes sense considering it is Arab. It's Khaleeji.

Okay maybe it's not going to turn my list upside down, but it's still pretty good and will find a place there.

Hey Colossus & The Van Halen Time Capsule

should top every list based on the name alone, tho i'm offended by the idea that van-halen belongs in a time capsule.

The Lindstrom & Christabelle was available as a limited edition 3CD set (including Little Drummer Boy) from Rough Trade from November 2009 - which is when I bought my copy - but it wasn't available elsewhere until January 2010.

Algerian Goalkeeper, you rule. Got 7 more albums to chew on tomorrow, will be a nice break from all the house/techno/dubstep electronic stuff from the Fact list. Glad to see Ufomammut finally show up on a list, FFS.

No worries. My copy arrived on friday.

I oughta pay attention to Rock-A-Rolla, huh

still haven't heard that goddamn Kayo Dot album

The Swans album is good...although I tend to prefer my Swans/Angels of Light pretty rather than punishing, and this new one maybe veers towards the less melodic.

So Pitchfork aside, are there any 'big' magazines still to declare?

Terrorizer, Kerrang.

lots, i think, at least among online magazines (like p4k), e.g., popmatters, dusted, resident advisor. most lists start coming out this week, i imagine.

AMG too.

is The Wire out yet?

Don't think so, my copy hasn't arrived anyway.

Here's a list of lists that I find interesting, and the date they came out last year. Not necessarily all that similar to my own tastes, but are unique enough that they always have some must-hear entries I missed earlier in the year. Anyone got the Rock-A-Rolla list?

Quietus, Dec 8
FACT, Dec 11
The Wire, Dec 14
Brainwashed, Jan 4
Silent Ballet, Dec 25
Rock-A-Rolla, Nov 25
Decibel, Nov 25
Terrorizer, Dec 31
Treblezine, Dec 14
Cokemachineglow, Dec 22
Resident Advisor, Dec 17
Artrocker, Dec 3

Still a good number of lists to look forward to. Just listened to or revisited a dozen albums from the Rock-A-Rolla list. The big one for me is Motorpsycho - Heavy Metal Fruit. Love it! Årabrot - Revenge was also one that might make my top 50. The Melvins album has three great tracks, but is way too inconsistent to place that high for me. Have never been able to get into Harvey Milk. Mike Patton's album was an interesting find. I guess his wife is Italian, and this is live performances from Europe, sung mostly in Italian, chopped and edited. Master Musicians of Bukkake is good, Kayo Dot impressive as a whole but hard to pick any standout moment, and Shining is a pretty hardcore avant jazz trip that is tough going beyond small doses. U.S. Christmas has good moments, but also causes fatigue after more than a few cuts. Just can't get in the mood to listen to Celeste at all. Love that they put Iron Maiden up there, even though I like Slough Feg, The Sword, Sahg and Grand Magus more.

Interesting crossover between that list and FACT - Oneohtrix Point Never. I got on board with them last year, but was late in getting the new one. Forrest Swords is the one album that I liked enough to possibly crack my top 50, possibly. Digital Mystikz is good but not necessarily in one sitting. Altered Natives, Solar Bears, Guido, Emeralds, Actress, JJ are all impressive in different ways, but just not my thing enough to make my top 100.

Meant to cross out FACT, not Quietus, which is out tomorrow.

fact's list is a collection of albums maybe worth checking out placed in random order, as per usual, yet is still the best list so far

The Quietus Albums Of 2010
http://thequietus.com/articles/05391-quietus-albums-of-the-year-2010

1. Liars - Sisterworld
2. Salem - King Night
3. Swans - My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky
4. These New Puritans - Hidden
5. The Fall - Your Future Our Clutter
6. Walls - Walls
7. Lindstrom and Christabelle - Real Life Is No Cool
8. Teeth Of The Sea - Your Mercury
9. New Young Pony Club - The Optimist
10. UFOmammut - Eve
11. Gayngs - Relayted
12. Electric Wizard - Black Masses
13. Cathedral - The Guessing Game
14. Besnard Lakes - Are The Roaring Night
15. Grinderman - Grinderman II
16. Zola Jesus - Stridulum II
17. The Body - And All The Waters Of The Earth Shall Turn To Blood
18. Pan Sonic - Gravitoni
19. Janelle Monae - The Archandroid
20. Big Boi - Sir Lucious Leftfoot: Son Of Chico Dusty
21. Anika - Anika
22. FM Einheit - No Apologies
23. Barn Owl - Ancestral Star
24. Oneohtrix Point Never - Returnal
25. Shining - Blackjazz
26. Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma
27. I Like Trains - He Who Saw The Deep
28. Shit Robot - From The Cradle To The Rave
29. High On Fire - Snakes For The Divine
30. Lonelady - Nerve Up
31. Jane Weaver - The Fallen By Watchbird
32. Pantha Du Prince - Black Noise
33. Napoleon III - Christiana
34. Gil Scott-Heron - I’m New Here
35. Arabrot - Revenge
36. Ali Farka Touré and Toumani Diabaté - Ali and Toumani
37. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
38. Demdike Stare - Symbiosis
39. Mulatu Astatke - Mulatu Steps Ahead
40. White Hills - White Hills/White Hills Drop Out With GNOD/Stolen Stars Left For No-one

I can't take seriously any list with Salem in their top 20 (especially their #2), because it becomes abundantly clear to me that the listmakers actually hate everything about music.

I'm more interested in FACT's tracks list than its albums list - when does that start?

I can't take any list with Kanye anywhere near it (srs Gareth Campesinos? and there was me on the kanye thread saying that kanye going to lc! instead of bon ivor would have made it like a billion times better) seriously. Salem are at least intresting with their rapey gaze.

If wonder if the headlong rush to overpraise the Kanye record is out of a desperate desire for honest-to-god POP STARS. There's a real dearth of acts with actual presence here. 2009-10 critical consensus is a triumph of facelessness really. What do Salem look like? Who cares? Does anyone look at The National or The Arcade Fire onstage and think "OMG rock icons"? You look at these lists and you start to realise why the NME et al were so desperate for The Stroke and the White Strips to come along a decade ago. Say whatever about Janelle Monae or Nicki Minaj or whoever but at least they're trying.

As far as the rock music press goes this moment actually feels a bit like this time 10 years ago, for the above reasons.

If wonder if the headlong rush to overpraise the Kanye record is out of a desperate desire for honest-to-god POP STARS

i kind of feel like this whenever i read another 5000-word tumblr screed on why ke$ha is so important, too

i mean look at the goddamn pop charts, that's all the explanation you need for this state of affairs

Pop stars includes ROCK STARS as well. Enough fucking Brooklynites in cardigans, Jesus.

that reminds me that i really need to buy some new sweaters.

Drowned in Sound's Favourite Albums of 2010

1) Emeralds Does It Look Like I’m Here?
2) The National High Violet
3) Deftones Diamond Eyes
4) Perfume Genius Learning
5) The Knife Tomorrow, In a Year
6) These New Puritans Hidden
7) Shearwater The Golden Archipelago
8) Yeasayer Odd Blood
9) LCD Soundsystem This Is Happening
10) Sufjan Stevens Age of Adz
11) Arcade Fire The Suburbs (Review)
12) Big Boi Sir Lucious Left Foot... The Son of Chico Dusty (Review)
13) Weezer Hurley (Review)
14) Rufus Wainwright All Days Are Nights: Songs for Lulu (Review)
15) Pantha du Prince Black Noise (Review)
16) Kanye West My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (Review)
17) Mount Kimbie Crooks & Lovers (Review)
18) Crystal Castles Crystal Castles II (Review)
19) Caribou Swim (Review)
20) Kelis Flesh Tone (Review)
21) Flying Lotus Cosmogramma (Review)
22) The Besnard Lakes ...Are the Roaring Night (Review)
23) Oneohtrix Point Never Returnal (Review)
24) Villagers Becoming the Jackal (Review)
25) Blood Red Shoes Fire Like This (Review)
26) The Phantom Band The Wants (Review)
27) Errors Come Down With Me (Review)
28) White Hinterland Kairos (Review)
29) Max Richter Infra (Review)
30) Deerhunter Halcyon Digest (Review)
31) Erykah Badu New Amerykah Part Two: Return of the Ankh (Review)
32) Los Campesinos! Romance is Boring (Review)
33) Foals Total Life Forever (Review)
34) Joanna Newsom Have One on Me (Review)
35) Uffie Sex Dreams and Denim Jeans (Review) / Interview)
36) Richard Skelton Landings (Review)
37) Marnie Stern Marnie Stern (Review)
38) 65DaysofStatic We Were Exploding Anyway (Review)
39) Gold Panda Lucky Shiner (Review)
40) Sleigh Bells Treats (Review)
41) Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffitti Before Today (Review)
42) Janelle Monae The ArchAndroid (Review)
43) Liars Sisterworld (Review)
44) Forest Swords Dagger Paths (Review)
45) Broken Bells Broken Bells (Review) / Interview)
46) Gil Scott-Heron I’m New Here (Review)
47) Four Tet There Is Love in You (Review)
48) Ikonika Contact, Love, Want, Have (Review)
49) No Age Everything In Between (Review)
50) Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross The Social Network (Interview)
51) Bryan Ferry Olympia (Review)
52) Laura Marling I Speak Because I Can (Review)
53) Wild Nothing Gemini (Interview)
54) Gonjasufi A Sufi and a Killer (Review)
55) The Walkmen Lisbon (Review)
56) Matthew Dear Black City (Review)
57) Darkstar North (Review / Interview)
58) Daft Punk Tron: Legacy (Review)
59) Gorillaz Plastic Beach (Review)
60) Robyn Body Talk 1-3 (Reviews)
61) Women Public Strain (Review)
62) The Roots How I Got Over (Review)
63) Brian Eno Small Craft on a Milk Sea (Review
64) Frightened Rabbit The Winter of Mixed Drinks (Review)
65) Darren Hayman Essex Arms (Review)
66) of Montreal False Priest (Review)
67) Jonsi Go (Review / Interview)
68) Sky Larkin Kaleide (Review)
69) Belle and Sebastian Write About Love (Review)
70) Surfer Blood Astro Coast (Review to Follow)
71) Everything Everything Man Alive (Review)
72) Twin Shadow Forget (Review)
73) Interpol Interpol (Review)
74) Beach House Teen Dream (Review)
75) Rolo Tomassi Cosmology (Review)

As far as the rock music press goes this moment actually feels a bit like this time 10 years ago, for the above reasons.

the past couple of years for me have been a slow, grim realisation that the rock press, and the history of criticism, and the music that gets canonised, will never get any better

Holy shit at Deftones at number three. Is this one of those "not for this album, but because they need some general respect right about now" placements? Because the new one is good, but they've done far more interesting things in the past that have been completely ignored.

And aside from the album charts, look at the top grossing concerts - Bon Jovi, James Taylor, Taylor Swift, George Strait, Eminem, Jay-Z, Black Eyed Peas, John Mayer, Nickelback, Michael Buble, Elton John, Eric Clapton, etc. Swift will show up in the upcoming more mainstream lists, but otherwise not much crossover between these worlds. Mostly same as it ever was.

Isn't it pointless to dismiss entire lists based on one album you don't like?

Glad to see Ufomammut again on Quietus. Will finally get around to hearing Walls, Teeth Of The Sea, Perfume Genius. Deftones, wow, forgot about them.

I need to hear that UFOmammut.

http://www.factmag.com/2010/12/06/100-best-tracks-of-2010-100-81/

love the bookends to that section particularly - r1 ryders really impress me, and obv cassie is #cassiefanclub

so the kanye, big boi and roots were the only rap records of the year. good to know.

they were the only ones people in the white music industry cared about, yes

not sure why this is unexpected or shocking

I have heard about 3 of those 20 FACT tracks. So much for my illusions of "knowing about stuff".

I'd say that Wut is pretty much a lock to win that Fact poll but it's about the journey innit.

FACT reliably makes me feel like I've spent the whole year missing stuff.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/513GG9g2p9L._SL500_AA280_.jpg

^I am pretty intrigued by this, the sample on the link isn't rly long enough to tell you much but it has the kind of shit artwork that makes you think it'll be great

92: JAMES PANTS
‘I LIVE INSIDE AN EGG’
(STONES THROW)

How did you possibly miss this one?

Mencap - the entire EP is storming, well worth checking out.

is it really? every sample i heard this year sounded pretty shit.

glad FACT continues its reign of making more british / more dance versions of the same lists everyone else does.

hey guys!! that big boi album isnt all that

they were the only ones people in the white music industry cared about, yes

not sure why this is unexpected or shocking DJP

Please post the lists from the non-white industry

is it really? every sample i heard this year sounded pretty shit

Depends what you're looking for, they're straight-up functional bangers by and large, so they're not really going to sound their best on a streamed sample. House Girls 6 is better than House Girls 1 though, takes the metallic clanks from Dennis Ferrer's Hey Hey and just clatters away all over the top.

deej, exactly how many different records do they have to feature before they stop being a version of everyone else's list?

And please someone, recommend some great neglected 2010 hip hop albums instead of complaining about their absence.

Spin's Top 40 albums of 2010 (don't think anybody's posted this yet); I'll let somebody else do the scrolling and listing:

http://www.spin.com/gallery/40-best-albums-2010

swag cru -- POX year end song recommendations

also

WAKA
Curren$y
Lil B's various tapes
OFGWKTA
Starlito
Yelawolf

Ta

great neglected hip-hop albums: waka flocka flame, yelawolf (mixtape and album), the jacka & laroo, rah digga, gucci mane's jewelry selection mixtape. i think the big boi is more than worthy of a place on these lists, though i wouldn't rank it that highly - it grew off me quite a lot, though "shutterbugg" is still one of the singles of the year.

Depends what you're looking for, they're straight-up functional bangers by and large, so they're not really going to sound their best on a streamed sample. House Girls 6 is better than House Girls 1 though, takes the metallic clanks from Dennis Ferrer's Hey Hey and just clatters away all over the top.

the clip i heard of house girls 6 was even worse, just an over-cluttered mess that made me want to listen to "hey hey" instead.

oh yeah that digga is doooooope. didnt really care for any of gucci's 2010 tapes but i didnt give them enough time.

i gave both curren$y albums a listen and they were ok enough but didn't really grab me. i love the idea of lil b and in the right mood can totally vibe to his music, but i get bored after a medium-sized dose of him.

what's the deal with the odd future wolf gang thing? i can't bring myself to click on any thread with so many answers.

dope teenage crew from the westcoast = 200 new answers. dope teenage crew who also have rape jokes in some of their lyrics = a million new answers. best place to start lex is the mellow hype record lex, i think you'll really enjoy it.

jewelry selection is a terrific mixtape, esp its second half, but i've kind of given up on gucci mane ever getting it together to fulfil his potential on a proper album, and i basically can't be bothered to particularly rep for artists whose careers are basically just them dribbling on to the internet without any sort of editorial process and leaving their fans to actually curate their shit into some sort of sense

Are there any 2010 dancehall or roots reggae albums that have gotten any attention? Will its more high-profile crossover status from some years back ever return?

Stay tuned.

lol @ Spin putting Teenage Fanclub at #40

never change, you crazy guys

busy signal's d.o.b. is a terrific dancehall album - several songs that were quite old to me but if you haven't been following him i def recommend it

Does Gyptian count? That album has popped up in a few lists.

the clip i heard of house girls 6 was even worse, just an over-cluttered mess that made me want to listen to "hey hey" instead.

By all means pass this judgement but listen to the record first!

what i've heard has not motivated me to spend £££ to listen to the record

"This minimal techno record sounded like shit based on the 30second sample I heard on Juno".

lol @ Spin, Drake did not release the 16th best album of the year

(although thank you for not putting it in the top 10, and for leaving Eminem down in the low 30s)