in its entirety (this is going to be a bit tl;dr but i didn’t get a chance to do this last year and i want to do it some justice)
honourable mentions:
big boi - sir luscious left foot (never really got into it before i started finalising the list but it is a damn good album)
pendulum - immersion (catchy but isn’t really as good as in silico which means it definitely didn’t compete with the rest of the great shit we had this year)
of montreal - false priest (i had to do this one in comparison and it just didn’t live up to the expectations i had after getting into of montreal via the sunlandic twins and satanic panic)
minus the bear - omni (opening half of the album is super catchy but it really started to peter off for me at around track four, and by the end it was pretty weak)
gorillaz - plastic beach (i’m warming up to this still but seriously after about my seventh listen i just don’t see the hype, honestly)
best album art of ‘10:
lil b - red flame (evil edition)
on the list itself:
II was honestly completely deserving of album of the year, i just immediately fell in love with the album on first listen and to date still blast that shit in my car all the time. the middle / end of the album just shines, it’s completely jammable the whole way through, and they did the lo-fi portions of the album (Fainting Spells / Doe Deer) absolutely beautifully, wrapping Celestica like some fucked up security blanket. it’s a work of art
2/3/4 were pretty hard for me and i messed with the ordering for a couple days before becoming at least content with an order, but in my book they’re tied on their own merits. i’ve become a huge (BAN ME PLEASE) for james murphy since listening to this is happening for the first time and i have to say it’s a far more mature album than sound of silver or the eponymous record. treats is a spectacular debut by two incredibly talented people, can’t wait to see what they do here soon… VW goes without saying, the album is already a classic
kanye west gets the obvious plug here, what a great album, i don’t even have words, just a question, who reupholstered that pussy?
i’ve talked about the national before, high violet is so incredibly good and heartbreaking at the same time. i simply adore berninger’s voice and in this album he actually shows off his range, which both floored me and made me love them even more. i’m not gonna lie, i cried the first time i heard Lemonworld
hexadecagon, my god, what a soundscape, i liken it to Kid A whenever i suggest it to people nowadays. short, but fantastic. i wish these guys were a bit more appreciated, cause holy fuck, this album is definitely their best yet.
all day was amazing and it is as good as if not better than feed the animals. i will fight you on this.
LC! barely made it on here, i had to reacquaint myself with them… not as good as Hold On but it’s still a stellar album, i _need_ to go see them sometime.
had WP put a little more effort into Expo 86 it would have been a far better album, i just adore the sound of this album but it could have been so much better
yeasayer got old but it’s still catchy as shit
i feel like there were two kinds of people when Congratulations got released, people who hated and people who liked it. i fucking loved this album.