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

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.