Top 50 Albums of 2010

Here it is folks. I've been working on this for about three months and went through about 200 albums. I gave each album at least three full listens. I'm a dork.

#1 Beach House - Teen Dream

Sub Pop Records

I had a feeling this was going to be my favorite album of the year when it came out in February. It weathered a lot of contenders but it prevailed. Dream pop has never sounded so good. There are so many good songs on this album: "Silver Soul", "Walk in the Park", "Lover of Mine" and "Better Times" just to name a few.

I think that's what really made this album special for me: amazing song writing, catchy pop-structures and ethereal melodies. There were other albums on this list that I could appreciate what they achieved musically, but in the end of the day this a completely subjective exercise and even though this band didn't push too many musical boundaries, the strength of the song writing and the execution of the Baltimore duo was flawless.

#2 Swans - My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky

Young God Records

God damn this was one deep record. So deep. So complex. So much going on, but Michael Gira manages it all. Noise rock, folk and funeral dirges. The cover in a lot of ways sums up visually what this album is: expansive and explosive. It sounds like coming across the remains of a star that went supernova. It also sounds like it would make a great soundtrack if Stephen King's Dark Tower series is ever made into a movie: a strange mix of evil-shit, cosmic unraveling and a spaghetti western.

I've talked to some long-time Swans fans that enjoy the new record, but don't put into the same level as the earlier catalogue. I agree that it's different from the Swans earlier noise and no-wave, but I feel like this album is incredible. One of their best they've ever made in fact.

#3 Titus Andronicus - The Monitor

XL Recordings

Oh man this is such a fun album. Equal parts street punk, Bruce Springsteen/New Jersey and Billy Bragg done as a loose concept album about the Civil War. You are definitely playing with fire as a band putting that concoction together. A lot could potentially go wrong. But these New Jersey kids not only pulled it off but put together the most fun rock albums of the year.

This album is so great. It really excites both the inner 17-year old punkrock kid in me, but it also makes the 29-year-old, "I've heard it all before, so prove it to me" Pete very very happy too.

#4 Kayne West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam Records

I have to say I was never a fan of Kayne West. I generally don't care about popular culture what so ever. I just lumped Kayne in with all the other pop culture crap like Lady Gaga and the Jersey Shore that I completely ignore. But when I started reading reviews of this album I was really surprised at the universal acclaim for it. So I gave it a chance and I have to say it really lives up to the hype.

This album is extremely complex. There's no doubt this is a hip-hop and pop album, but it also has a dark and disturbing undercurrent. Kayne definitely has some real demons that he pours from his heart on this album, which gives it a whole deeper listen than just the pop surface. Plus the cast of guest singers and rappers is extensive. Everyone from Jay-Z, to the RZA, to Bon Iver, to a great sample of a Gil Scott-Heron reading to close out the album. This is a good thing because Kayne doesn't have to the best flow I've ever heard.

But check this album out if you haven't already heard it. It's worth it.

#5 Yellow Swans - Going Places

Type Records

Noise, as I have written before, can be a tricky genre. It can grate on people's nerves, bore the fuck out of you, or lack enough melody/rhythm/structure to keep a listener's attention the entire song. Going Places does not suffer from this. The Portland electronic noise/drone duo's last album is an absolute gem of a noise album. The waves of distortion, atmosphere and ephemeral noises wash over you. The waves build, enveloping you. Finally they recede, leaving you feeling like you just came out of a trance. One of the most amazing noise albums I've ever heard.

#6 Phosphorescent - Here's To Taking It Easy

Dead Oceans Records

My favorite alt-country album of the year. A lot of (alt-)country I could pass on. Not this album. The songwriting here is incredible. Matthew Houck really knows how to really pull on some heart strings. I dare you to listen to "The Mermaid Parade" and "Los Angeles" after a few beers and not get a little emotional for good-times long-gone. Truly amazing songwriting.

#7 Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest

4AD Records

There has been sooooo much hype via stupid Pitchfork over the years about Deerhunter. I've always thought the band was way too over hyped. When I was still on college radio, years ago, I saw Deerhunter in a tiny club in Boston just after Cryptograms was released. Which is around the time they started to get hyped. I was not that impressed. It was OK, but that's about it. I thought they improved with Microcastle, but again, I wasn't totally blown away. Certainly there were some good songs, but it really wasn't the be-all, end-all (I mean really? Think about it for a second.)

I will now say that Deerhunter has finally lived up to the hype. Bradford Cox & Co have finally nailed down their sound. Before they still sounded like they were stumbling around the haze to find it. There are some great pop songs here and "Desire Lines" is one best songs of the year. (Top 50 Songs of 2010 will be posted soon!)

#8 Alcest - Écailles de Lune

Prophecy Productions

All signs point to cheesy-ass-shit in regards to Alcest. They're a melodic rock/black metal band. They're French. And one of the members drew a fairy-tale scene for an album cover.

BUT... This band is AMAZING. Totally overlooked this year. The French must not know that what they consider "melodic rock" is what we consider "shoegaze." And OMG this is some of the best shoegaze of the year. The fact that it's perfectly combined with ambient black metal makes this so awesome. It's like if My Bloody Valentine and Enslaved got together.

#9 Grinderman - Grinderman 2

ANTI- Records

Oh man is Nick Cave the shit. Not only has Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds churned out eclectic rock for close to 30 years, Cave's "solo" project Grinderman is fucking awesome. This is some real down-and-dirty rock shit. While The Bad Seeds are a multi-instrumental, multi-style band, Grinderman is just straight-up fucking rock n' roll. Garage/stoner rock that has some of the wittiest lyrics I've heard in a while (well Das Racist wins that battle). Oh and Grinderman made the BEST VIDEO OF THE YEAR!!!

#10 Defiance, Ohio - Midwestern Minutes

No Idea Records

OK Here's my punkrock album of the year (yeah, yeah I know, Titus Andronicus is kind of punkrock and Defiance, Ohio is "folk-punk" but whatever). It's was so refreshing to hear this album. It's good to hear something that isn't the same old shit I've heard for the past 15 years of my life, but still is undeniably punkrock. These kids know how to have fun, but they still have the youthful conviction that defines what it means to be an angry punrock kid. Its so good to hear.

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So here's the rest of list as it shaped up. The top ten was hard to narrow down and Ariel Pink, Arcade Fire and The Soft Pack were all super close to making it. But here we are...

#11 Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Before Today

#12 Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

#13 The Soft Pack - The Soft Pack

#14 Prince Rama - Shadow Temple

#15 Neil Young - Le Noise

#16 Das Racist - Sit Down, Man

#17 LCD Soundsystem - This is Happening

#18 Four Tet - There is Love in You

#19 Yeasayer - Odd Blood

#20 Wooden Wand - Death Set

#21 Twin Shadow - Forget

#22 Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles (2010)

#23 Phantogram - Eyelid Movies

#24 Sufjan Stevens - The Age of Adz

#25 Pantha Du Prince - Black Noise

#26 Tyvek - Nothing Fits

#27 The Books - The Way Out

#28 Pocahaunted - Make It Real

#29 Diamond Rings - Special Affections

#30 Sleigh Bells - Treats

#31 Tobacco - Maniac Meat

#32 Sun Araw - On Patrol

#33 Kylesa - Spiral Shadow

#34 Woods - At Echo Lake

#35 Hot Chip - One Life Stand

#36 Liars - Sisterworld

#37 Ty Segall - Melted

#38 Royksopp - Senior

#39 Midlake - The Courage of Others

#40 Arp - The Soft Wave

#41 Salem - King Night

#42 Screaming Females - Castle Talk

#43 Dum Dum Girls - I Will Be

#44 Envy - Recitation

#45 Gil Scott-Heron

#46 Idle Times - Idle Times

#47 Black Mountain - Wilderness Heart

#48 Bardo Pond - Bardo Pond

#49 Abe Vigoda - Crush

#50 No Joy - Ghost Blonde