Top 40 Records of 2010

If one record title could sum up the year in music, it would probably be singer-songwriter Sharon Van Etten's epic. 2010 saw countless artists, from the lowliest emerging indie musicians to the most powerful pop superstars, making big, bold musical statements. The most talked about records of the year, generally speaking, were larger than life. From folker Sufjan Stevens' electronic experimentation to jazz artist Esperanza Spalding's emerging world music eclecticism to Kanye West's showing the world what a mutha******* monster he truly is, there was much to talk about and little time to be bored. The result for most listeners was a euphoric sense that we are living in a particularly creative musical epoch, coupled with the regret of not having had the time to hear even more. Personally, I can say unequivocally that many records flew under my radar this year. I especially regret having not delved into more of the exciting new jazz releases from 2010, although my focus this year on catching up with several great jazz records from the past was quite rewarding as well. Nevertheless, here are the 40 records that thrilled me the most in an exceptionally exciting year for music:

#40: The Secret Sisters, The Secret Sisters

I'm not sure if sister duo Laura and Lydia Rogers will singlehandedly save country music as some have suggested, but they're sure trying their darnedest. Roots guru T-Bone Burnett serves as executive producer on this stunning debut record, referencing the best mainstream country and Nashville pop of the early 60s in a smorgasbord of down-home delight.

#39: The Black Keys, Brothers

A little fuzzy blues is always a great anecdote for the cold winter months. Perhaps that's why I'm just now getting into this May release. While the blues-rock duo format has been done almost to death at this point, the Keys still bring their own special energy to this tried and true sound.

#38: Caribou, Swim


Toronto's Daniel Victor Snaith turns out intelligent and surprising electro-psychadelic dance music. This year's Swim is awash with funky electronic grooves, exotic instrumentation, and stark lyrics about frail human relationships. The result is an overwhelming, yet welcomed, assault on the senses.



#37: Antony & the Johnsons, Swanlights

I'm still not sure quite what to make of the work of Anthony Hegarty, and perhaps that's a good thing. Swanlights is a dark blend of chamber pop, impressionistic piano stylings, and Hegarty's always intricate vocal, a strange mixture of unbounded joy and unrelenting pain. You know you have a blisfully odd collection of tracks when a guest appearance by Bjork is the most "normal" moment on the record.

#36: Broken Social Scene, Forgiveness Rock Record

Sure, the Toronto collective's latest effort isn't a perfect record. It may not even be a great one. But, it contains enough memorable moments to warrant a spot on a list such as this. The group's musical ambition is questioned by no one, with indie anthems like "World Sick" and "All to All" ruling the day.

#35: Best Coast, Crazy for You

I strongly denounce Bethany Costenino's designation of California as the "best coast." But, what the frontwoman of Best Coast lacks in geographical realism she makes up for with a kickin' collection of surfer-shoegazer numbers. Costenino won't win an award for most profound lyrics of the year ("I wish he was my boyfriend" is about complex as the words get), but she will continue to get recognition for the pop perfection of the soaring melodies and her surfboard-ready vocal delivery.

#34: Titus Andronicus, The Monitor

The Monitor is a song-cycle about the modern plight of New Jersey, and other blighted industrial landscapes, as read through the history of the American Civil War. No, I'm not making this up. While Titus Andronicus made one of the most challenging records of the year, it's also one of the most rewarding upon multiple listens. Bruce Springsteen fans beware; the Boss is being deconstructed. "Tramps like us, baby we were born to die ..."

#33: Mart Stuart, Ghost Train: The Studio B Sessions

In a world of country music santized for the mass consumption of suburban redneck poseurs, Marty Stuart is a true preserver of tradition. Listening to Ghost Train, I can hear the soulful authenticity of voices from the past, as well as eclectic energy of today. If there were any justice in the musical universe, "Hangman," a song written days before Johnny Cash's death, would top the country charts.

#32: The Hold Steady, Heaven is Whenever

The Hold Steady are better live than on record; they've lost some of their primal energy now that Franz Nicolay has left; Heaven is Whenever fails to capture the magic of Boys and Girls in America; etc. etc. etc. Yes, this is the perceived critical wisdom. However, I still find much pleasure in the Steady's latest offering, especially "The Weekenders," a sublime sequel to "Chips Ahoy!" and "Rock Problems," a rockin' track that seems destined to open many shows. I still believe.

#31: Mumford & Sons, Sigh No More

There's a reason why Mumford & Sons has been nomimated for an emerging artist Grammy alongside such predictable pop figureheads as Drake and Justin Bieber. They're really, really good. Taking the traditions of English folk and a touch of American bluegrass, Mumford and company combine competent songwriting with virtuosic instrumentalism. If their lyrics feel forumalic at times, they make up for it with raw energy in their playing.

#30: Midlake, The Courage of Others

Texas-based Midlake take contemporary concerns about environmentalism and our technocentric way of life and combine them with musical references to 1960s freak folk and protest music.  The result is a blatantly mellow, yet musically enjoyable collection of songs bemoaning man’s destruction of nature.  “Fortune,” in particular, is one of the year’s most quietly perfect songs.

#29: Spoon, Transference

The Austin art rockers have done it again. Sure, Transference lacks the pop precision of Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga and the inventiveness of Kill the Moonlight. Nevertheless, the latest efforts from one of the hardest working bands of our time is still a joy to listen to. Britt Daniel and company keep things on the experimental side, which perhaps explains the record's lack of critical attention. It's still great fun, though.

#28: Broken Bells, Broken Bells

Take one of the most innovative producers working today (Danger Mouse) and one of indie rock's most distinctive voices (Jonny Mercer) and you have the year's most fascinating collaboration. Broken Bells is like a music geek's tribute to all sorts of sounds from the past, present, and future. Each track is a sonic adventure, with Mercer and Danger's melting pot of soul, pop, and experimental grooves yeilding pure pleasure.

#27: Vampire Weekend, Contra

Vampire Weekend is quite simply a very solid pop band. Their debut album was not the second coming of Graceland, as some critics implied, nor are they privileged ethnocentrists who are appropriating African rhythms for their own greedy aims. Vampire Weekend knows how to write tuneful, groovy songs with straighforward lyrics about the perils of life in the Ivy League. Is there really anything wrong with that? I'm okay with any band that legitimatey makes me want to go on a holiday to Cape Cod. That's not something I wish for every day.

#26: Mike Reed's People, Places & Things, Stories and Negotiations

Mike Reed, a prominent musician and concert presenter in Chicago, proves that jazz is not an artform of the past, relegated to the hallowed halls of some musical museum, but rather a continully evolving medium. His ensemble called People, Places & Things deliver the goods on Stories and Negotiations, a collection of lose improvisations and engaging small-group arrangements recorded live in Chicago's Millenium Park.

#25: M.I.A., Maya

M.I.A., no stranger to controversy, dishes up one of the most discussed records of the year. I'm not quite sure how I feel about M.I.A. the person, but I'm continually intrigued by M.I.A. the artist. On her latest collection of world music-inflected hip-hop tracks, M.I.A. pushes the limits of her sonic experimentation to the extreme. The record begins with the sound of what I can only describe as an amplified dentist's drill. Maya isn't always pleasant to listen to, but it's never boring. That's saying something in our age of pop predictability.

#24: Erykah Badu, New Amerykah Part Two

Nobody in contemporary soul music combines smooth vocal stylings and provocative lyrics the way that Erykah Badu does. Whereas the artist made a challenging and complex political statement on her previous record, this one focuses more on mellow grooves and laidback vocals. It's okay, though, that New Amerykah Part Two's lyrics mostly avoid commenting on the state of the nation/world as a whole, and speak to the personal travails of complicated relationships. Badu has a way of injecting profound meaning into every syllable, no matter what the subject at hand.

#23: Yeasayer, Odd Blood

Yeasayer, a curious little Brooklyn band, has managed to do something few thought possible after 2007's experimental All Hour Cymbals: make a pop record. Indeed, tracks like "Madder Red" and "O.N.E." have become some of the greatest indie anthems of the year. Don't worry, though, there's something for the more avant-gardlly minded as well. The soaring pop melodies and infection grooves are often encased in some pretty trippy soundscapes. I dig.

#22: Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, I Learned the Hard Way

Sharon Jones is to soul music what Marty Stuart is to country. She takes the best of the great American R&B American tradition and brings the sights and sounds into the present day. I Learned the Hard Way is everything that Amy Winehouse's Back to Black was trying to be. Jones' deep, resounding vocal delivery sits delicately on top of the soulful horns and rhymths of the Dap-Kings. Songs about love lost and love found abound. Roll over James Brown, and tell Aretha the news. Soul survives.

#21: Neil Young, Le Noise

Neil Young makes records so often that their release has almost ceased to become an "event." However, Le Noise is a major exception. Young, working with producer Daniel Lenois, crafts a minor masterpiece out of nothing but his vocal, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, and some crazy effects pedals and processing units. The result is an audiophile's delight. The record's sonic explorations would prove moot, however, if it were not for Young's delightful batch of self-referential tunes. Young and Lenois start with great songs as their base and only enhance them with their profound sheets of sound.

#20: Sleigh Bells, Treats

Treats turns out to be one of the strongest debuts of the year from one of the most blogged about new acts of the year. The Brooklyn-based musical duo seem to have a polarzing effect among music fans. Either you dig their electronic, noise-rock, distorted, chant-like sound, or they give you a massive headache. I clearly fall into the former camp, although I understand the latter position. Sleigh Bells is not a band for the sonically faint of heart. Somewhere in their blatant loudness, though, I feel an infectious energy that brings me back to this record time and time again. It's kind of a treat.

#19: Ricky Skaggs, Mosaic

Ricky Skaggs, one of the most authentic and credible artists working today, surprised everyone when he did a 180-degree turn away from the traditional bluegrass music he has been immersed in for the past few years. Skaggs, working with producer Gordan Kennedy, has created a collection of folk/pop-inflected songs about faith. While Skaggs' vocal retains its downhome, country charm, the rest of the record's musical layers are far removed from Bill Monroe and Ralph Stanley. Skaggs and Kennedy employ choirs, Beatles-inspired acoustic guitars, string quartets, sitars, and Peter Frampton himself to create a sonic pallat that manages to reinforce the lyrics' message about embracing and celebrating one's place in God's universe.

#18: Hot Chip, One Life Stand

Thank you, DFA label, for producing some of the most simultaneously engaging and danceable music of the year. Hot Chip continues to surprise with its unique blend of infectious grooves, complex chord structures, and adventurous synth sounds. One Life Stand is every bit a good as The Monitor in my mind. Hot Chip explore several new sounds on this record, including the vocoder on a couple tracks, and a tune that can only be described as electronic doo-wop.

#17: Grinderman, Grinderman 2

Grinderman 2 is the scariest record of the year from one of music's most prolific artists, Nick Cave. When he is not fronting the Bad Seeds, writing a play, or scoring a film, you will find him working with Grinderman, his brash, bold side project. I'm not quite sure what he's talking about half the time, and I'm pretty sure I don't really want to know. Cave has a way of capturing the dark underbelly of American life with his dirty blues, slimy guitar sounds, and gruffer-than-thou vocals. Make sure you keep a flashlight under your bed if you dare listen to this one in the dark.

#16: She and Him, Volume Two

Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward, two prominent symbols of American indiedom, continue their pleasant embrace of musical nostalgia with Volume Two, in many ways a cut above Volume One. This time, they expand their sonic texture, incorporating denser arrangements and thicker background vocals. The result comes dangerously close to being too cute for its own good on occassion. However, the record is saved by the integrity of its lyrical content (i.e. "California is a great big nation of one" and "running from you is like running a business ...") and Deschanel's passionate and skillfull vocal delivery.

#15: Krista Detor, Chocolate Paper Suites

Bloomington, Indiana native Krista Detor was inspired in the making of her latest record by the poetry of Dylan Thomas and Lorca, the music of Tom Waits and Charlie Parker, and the life of Charles Darwin.  If you’re thinking this album is likely to be a pretentious welter, you are dead wrong.  Detor’s music is both accessible and courageous.  She creates a collection of five musical suites held together by her simple, elegant vocal delivery and the rich imagery of the lyrics.  The fact that “Rich Man’s Life,” an impressionistic catalogue of surreal imagery and “Small Moments,” one of the most beautiful, direct love songs I’ve heard in some time, can co-exist on the same album is evidence of this criminally underrated musician’s profound artistry.

#14: Infamous Stringdusters, Things That Fly

Do you get a headache when you hear the word “bluegrass”?  Are you emotionally disturbed at the sight of a banjo?  Well, then, this record might just be for you.  The Infamous Stringdusters, a Nasvhille-based newgrass sextet, reach out to an ever-expanding fan base on their latest release.  From the forward-thinking “Can’t Stop the Changes,” to the rockin’ U2 cover “In God’s Country,” to the tender New Grass Revivalish “Not Tonight,” the band really, really wants you to like their music.  As far as I’m concerned, any band that can find an audience at both a traditional bluegrass festival in Kentucky and a hipster club in Wicker Park, Chicago is okay in my book.

#13: Belle and Sebastian, Write About Love

I was a bit disappointed that the new Belle and Sebastian release didn’t end up on more end-of-year lists.  The Scottish indie-poppers have had quite a varied and prolific career.  Write About Love, though, might just be my favorite record from their ever-expanding canon.  The band traveled to L.A. to record this one, and I think the sunshine perhaps got their creative juices flowing once again.  Belle and Sebastian borrow from several musical genres and touch on many different moods, including danceable disco, guitar-driven alt rock, and forlorn ballads about looking for love in all the wrong places.  I have to say that even Norah Jones sounds pretty good on this record.

#12: Mavis Staples, You Are Not Alone

What do you get when you cross Chicago soul legend Mavis Staples with Chicago alt-rock/alt-country legend Jeff Tweedy?  A match made in musical heaven, apparently.  Tweedy and Staples collaborate on this inspirational and gritty collection of songs about faith, love, and hope.  Mavis’ deep, resounding voice has always been one of the most distinctive in contemporary music.  It’s such a thrill to hear that voice backed by a group of incredible musicians and guided by a musical journeyman like Tweedy.  Staples covers traditional spirituals, classic rock tunes, and Tweedy’s original songs with equal comfort and credibility.  The hope this record exudes is just what is needed in a long, cold winter to keep the soul inspired and exhilarated.

#11: Robyn, Body Talk

The Swedish dance-pop artist Robyn is kind of like Lady Gaga, sans the raw meat and construction-tape attire.  Actually, there’s also the fact that Robyn’s lyrics are more complex and meaningful than Gaga’s.  Robyn is notable for moving not only her listeners’ bodies, but also brains, a unique distinction in the often vapid world of dance music.  Tracks like “Fembot” and “Dancing on My Own” are not only infinitely danceable, but also speak to the complexities of gender relations in contemporary society.  Here’s hoping that Robyn retains her independence and creativity throughout her whole career.  Greedy record executives, hands off!

#10: Sufjan Stevens, The Age of Adz

Was there a more ambitious record released this year than folker Sufjan Stevens’ completely unexpected The Age of Adz, inspired loosely by the schizophrenic art of Royal Robertson?  Stevens, most known for his alleged “50 states project,” which was terminated after only two states, spends more time experimenting with autotune and freaky synth sounds on this album that he does wallowing in banjos and acoustic, finger-picked guitars.  The result has definitely polarized his fan base and most of the critics.  I fall on the side of those who think that Adz is a curious little masterpiece, one that rewards the listener on repeated spins.  From the quiet subtlety of album opener “Futile Devices” to the twenty-five minute epic closer “Impossible Soul,” Sufjan proves that, despite what some may say, he clearly knows what he’s doing.

#9: The Arcade Fire, The Suburbs

Can anyone offer fresh insight on the tired topic of the suburbs?  Apparently The Arcade Fire can.  Win Butler and company approach the subject not with unremitting criticism or unqualified romanticism, but with a broad spectrum of complex and authentic emotions.  Sure, the suburban sprawl we see in so many metropolitan areas might be reeking havoc on the environment and reinforcing a “cookie-cutter” culture.  But, on the other hand, the suburbs are where Win Butler learned to drive.  Who can look upon this dichotomy and not be moved?  Fortunately, the Fire dial down the U2esque anthems a bit on this record in favor of a more nuanced musical texture.  I’m not sure how these songs will play live, but on record they make a great soundtrack for my own drive through the suburban wasteland--or paradise, depending upon which track I’m spinning.    

#8: The Besnard Lakes, The Besnard Lakes are the Roaring Night

The Besnard Lakes are the Roaring Night just might be the most perfect record of the year in terms of creating and sustaining a consistent atmospheric mood for the entire length of the album.  It’s like My Bloody Valentine and Brian Wilson got together and created a work full of sound and fury.  It’s a shame that the Montreal band is not more widely known.  Perhaps part of the reason for their relative obscurity is that they do not always produce music that is instantly accessible.  The Roaring Nights required several listens before I worked my way into its complex tapestry of sonic bliss.  Believe me, though, my patience paid off in the end.  So will yours.     

#7: Girl Talk, All Day

Pittsburgh DJ Gregg Gillis answers that immortal question, “hmm … what record shall I buy today?” with the joyful answer, “not mine … because it’s free.”  Girl Talk’s All Day clearly represents the best deal of the year for the music fan.  Pay $0 and experience a roller-coaster ride of mashed up samples from the greatest hip-hop, soul, pop, dance music, and rock from the 60s right up to the present day.  Anyone who says that mashups can’t be art has not seriously considered the tireless attention to detail required to produce such a unified, joy-filled product out of hundreds of samples from such diverse sources.  Gillis is the ultimate artist for the ADD, iPod generation.  If you don’t like what you hear at the moment—not likely—hang on about five seconds and something entirely new will come along.

#6: Kanye West, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

It’s so rare that critics, music snobs, and the undefined masses rally around an album with such relentless intensity.  My initial impulse is to criticize the hype.  But, you know what, I can’t.  Kanye the person might be a jerk—he admits as such on the record itself—but Kanye the artist is a true visionary.  Yeezy adroitly juggles the personal, the political, and the petty in a pop amalgamation that is never boring and, at times, utterly spellbinding.  Where else will you hear a childish diatribe against the cast of SNL followed by a confessional admission of scumbagginess followed by a long sample on the state of freedom in America by Gil-Scott Heron?   My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is the Apocalypse Now of records, a bloated, messy, indulgent masterpiece that is nearly impossible to ignore.  And why would you want to? 

#5: The National, High Violet

Over the past two or three records, The National have evolved into an emotionally honest, technically proficient, darkly creative musical collective.  High Violet is the culmination of their growth as a band and might just be their greatest effort yet.  The lyrics alternative between naked directness (“I’m afraid of everyone”) and beautiful poetic abstraction (“I was carried to Ohio in a swarm of bees”).  The National simultaneously speak to the personal and the universal while immersing themselves in a wall of sound distinguished by Matt Berninger’s rich baritone and Bryan Devendorf’s virtuosic drumming. 

#4: The Roots, How I Got Over

I remember when loving The Roots was a sign of a music snob’s impeccable musical taste, a badge of hipsterdom proudly borne by a select few.  However, given the Roots’ gig as the house band for Jimmy Fallon, their days of leading the hip-hop underground are essentially over.  I worried a little about what impact the band’s new media exposure would have on their creative and relevant music.  In turns out that even though they’re late night now, they’ve created their greatest work.  How I Got Over is a reflection on the times we live in and how an individual might positively respond to personal tragedy.  Black Thought and his string of high-profile guests rap intelligently about overcoming great odds to make a difference in this blighted world.  ?uestlove and company keep things grooving appropriately.  How I Got Over proves that rap music can indeed be a force for good in the universe.     

#3: Sharon Van Etten, epic

Singer-songwriter Sharon Van Etten seemed to come out of nowhere when she opened the Pitchfork Music Festival this past summer.  While the world has no shortage of troubadours singing about the trials and tribulations of human relationships, Van Etten’s soaring, authentic voice and direct, yet poetic lyrics make her sail high above the rest.  The record title, epic, is ironic, given that the album clocks in at only about half an hour.  However, Van Etten’s vocal is accompanied by a slightly thicker texture than on her previous relief.  Soulful steel guitars and rhythmic acoustics reinforce the artist’s explorations of such serious topics as failed relationships, lost love, and personally destructive behavior.  Van Etten’s lyrical blend of realism and hope yields one of the year’s most underappreciated albums.  

#2: Janelle Monae, The ArchAndroid

When I was a kid, we used to walk uphill in the snow all the way to school all year round.  We also used to listen to these things called albums, apparently a dying breed, many argue, in the age of iTunes and the shuffle mode.  I however, beg to differ, as evidenced by rising star Janelle Monae’s The ArchAndroid, a sprawling sci-fi odyssey touching on such disparate musical genres as hip-hop, soul, funk, jazz, swing, folk, rock, dance-pop, and electronica.  Monae’s musical influences are too many to begin to list here.  Let’s just say that George Clinton, James Brown, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Stravinsky, Louie Jordan, The Carpenters, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, and The Flaming Lips are all welcome to Monae’s maniacal musical party.  Monae makes music-making look so easy that few listeners may appreciate what a miraculous treasure this record really is.     

#1: LCD Soundsystem, This is Happening

If This is Happening is truly the final LCD Soundsystem record, as frontman James Murphy has been asserting, he is ending his three-record musical project on a high note indeed.  While Sound of Silver got lots of critical praise for several standout tracks, including “All My Friends” and “Someone Great,” This is Happening probably works better as a unified whole than the previous LCD release.  It’s true that Murphy sometimes wears Bowie and Roxy Music on his sleeve.  But, he magically mixes his musical influences in a caldron, yielding a product greater than the sum of its parts.  The latest record leads the listener down a varied path, starting with the blissful slow build of “Dance Yrself Clean” to the emotional confessionalism of “I Can Change” to the world of stubborn record executives in “You Wanted a Hit,” to the pure joy of “Home.”  Whatever Murphy decides to do with his career next, it is clear that it will definitely be worth checking out, whether or not it carries the “LCD” label.