Here is our list of the best albums of 2010.
1. The Black Keys , Brothers
2. Local Natives , Gorilla Manor (Review)
3. Ryan Bingham , Junky Star (Interview with Ryan Bingham)
4. Phosphorescent , Heres To Taking It Easy (Review)
Phosphorescent – Mermaid Parade
Phosphorescent – It’s Hard To Be Humble (When You’re From Alabama)
5. Delta Spirit , History From Below (Review)
6. The Moondoggies , Tidelands (Review)
The Moondoggies – It’s a Shame, It’s a Pity
7. The Tallest Man on Earth , The Wild Hunt (Review)
The Tallest Man On Earth – King Of Spain
8. Joe Pug , Messenger (Review)
9. Titus Andronicus , The Monitor (Review)
Titus Andronicus – A More Perfect Union
10. The Love Language , Libraries (Review)
Hear more from our Live Session with The Love Language.
11. The Morning Benders , Big Echo (Review)
12. Trampled By Turtles , Palomino (Review)
Trampled By Turtles – Wait So Long
13. Futurebirds , Hamptons Lullaby (Review)
14. Josh Ritter , So Runs The World Away (Review)
15. Drive-By Truckers – The Big To Do (Review)
Drive-By Truckers – This Fucking Job
16. Surfer Blood , Astro Coast (Review)
Surfer Blood – Swim (To Reach The End)
Hear more from our Live Session with Surfer Blood.
17. Spoon – Transference
18. Broken Bells – Self-Titled
19. The Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
20. Lost In the Trees , All Alone In An Empty House (Review)
Lost In The Trees – Walk Around The Lake
Lost In The Trees – All Alone In An Empty House
21. Blitzen Trapper , Destroyer of the Void (Review)
Blitzen Trapper – Heaven and Earth
Blitzen Trapper – Dragon’s Song
22. The Dead Weather , Sea of Cowards
23. Dr. Dog , Shame Shame
Dr. Dog – Nobody Knows Who You Are
24. The Walkmen , Lisbon
25. Justin Townes Earle , Harlem River Blues (Review)
Justin Townes Earle – Harlem River Blues
26. Dylan LeBlanc – Paupers Field (Review)
Dylan Leblanc – If Time Was For Wasting
27. Strand Of Oaks , Pope Killdragon (Review)
Here more from our Live Session with Strand of Oaks.
28. The Mynabirds , What We Lost In the Fire We Gain In The Flood (Review)
The Mynabirds – Let The Record Go
The Mynabirds – Numbers Don’t Lie
Hear more from our Live Session with The Mynabirds.
29. Sam Quinn , The Fake That Sunk A Thousand Ships
30. Horse Feathers , Thistled Spring (Review)
Horse Feathers – Belly of June
Hear more from our Live Session with Horse Feathers.
31. Ben Sollee & Daniel Martin Moore – Dear Companion
Something, Somewhere, Sometime
32. Ray Lamontagne and The Pariah Dogs – God Willin’ and The Creek Don’t Rise
33. Beach House – Teen Dream (Review)
34. First Aid Kid , The Big Black and The Blue (Review)
35. Wolf People , Steeple (Review)
36. Mavis Staples , You Are Not Alone (Review)
37. J. Roddy Walston & the Business , Self-Titled (Review)
J. Roddy Walston and The Business – Don’t Break The Needle
38. The Black Angels , Phosphene Dream
Hear more from our Live Session with The Black Angels.
39. Pepper Rabbit , Beauregard (Review)
40. The Henry Clay People , Somewhere On the Golden Coast (Review)
The Henry Clay People – Slow Burn
Hear more from our Live Session with The Henry Clay People.
41. Black Dub – Self Titled (Review)
42. The Wilderness of Manitoba – When You Left The Fire (Review)
The Wilderness Of Manitoba – Hermit
43. Midlake – The Courage Of Others (Review)
44. Chief – Modern Rituals (Review)
45. Menomena – Mines (Review)
46. Black Mountain – Wilderness Heart (Review)
Black Mountain – The Hair Song
47. Frightened Rabbit – The Winter of Mixed Drinks (Review)
48. The Head and The Heart – Self Titled
49. Peter Wolf Crier – Inter-Be (Review)
Peter Wolf Crier – Crutch and Crane
Peter Wolf Crier – Hard As Nails
Hear more in our Live Session with Peter Wolf Crier.
50. The Corin Tucker Band – 1,000 Years (Review)
{ 83 comments… read them below or add one }
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Loved the Local Natives album. No LCD soundsystem on the list?
i wholly support every single album on this list. wow.
Great list. My list would be very similar, except that I would have to put Damien Jurado on there.
I agree with almost half of this lis, that never happens. WOW.
Kevin – one of our contributors is all over that LCD Soundsystem as his number 1 pick. The rest of us were left sort of scratching our head. I’m listening now to see if I have any regrets.
We’re also somewhat skewed to folk/alt-country influences.
I promise I didn’t pay Kevin to write that. Below is something i read earlier that I think puts things in perspective. Understanding that LCD is technically out of the genre(s) that HearYa focuses on—it’s got everything we all love about the albums on this list…maybe just more beats than steel pedals.
From Rolling Stone…
He’s still a dance guy at heart, and he knows it’s his job to ignite parties and clubs,” Jody Rosen writes in his four-star review. “But he approaches dance music more like a folkie singer-songwriter than a DJ, as a vehicle for storytelling and confession.”
Nice list, just make sure you make room for “Libraries” from The Love Language.
I definitely have to check out a number of these but I think Two Door Cinema Club’s debut is outstanding, one of my favorites. I also liked the Beach House album and the 6-track EP from Pretty Lights.
What no ‘Teen Dreams’ ??
The new Deer Tick-Black Dirt Sessions is in the same vein as others on the list. Plus some of the new Delta Spirit sounds like a cross between Tallest Man on Earth and Deer Tick. Great list and I might include Shearwater. The new Unbunny is very good too but not top album material.
I agree with a few here. But Local Natives came out in 2009.
George, you from the UK? I’m pretty sure it was released state side in Feb of 2010.
I would add Fang Island. I love the energy and vibe from that record. It’s my #2 behind the monster that is ‘The Monitor.’
I personally loved some of the albums in the list, and I’d add the following too that are on my rotation:
* Neon Trees – Habits
* Broken Bells – Broken Bells
* We Are Wolves – Invisible Violence
* Scanners – Submarine
* Phantogram – Eyelid Movies
* Beach House – Teen Dream
* Portugal, the Man – American Ghetto
* The Dead Weather – Sea of Cowards
* Crystal Castles – Crystal Castles ( II )
* Melissa Auf der Maur – Out of Our Minds
* Yeasayer – Odd Blood
Very solid list, though I would HAVE to include The National’s High Violet! I can’t get enough of Brothers too, those are my top two of the year…thus far. A close third has to be Blitzen Trappers’ Destroyer of the Void
You TOTALLY left out Beach House
thanks for the list. i find it so hard to find new alt country bands and im gonna bookmark this website!!
I would add Bonnie’s new album, The Wonder Show of the Worlds. Definitely my top album of the year and top concert of the year at Monster Island Basement in Brooklyn.
Tired Pony “The Place We Ran From”
The Suburbs by Arcade Fire. What a bunch of genius.
MGMT – Congratulations.
Second that on The Suburbs
Agree on Arcade Fire. We need to update this list to capture that, Love Language and a few others. It hasn’t been updated since June 15th.
Great list! I’d add Alejandro Escovedo’s new one…it rocks.
Nice list – and website!
Pastic Beach has to be on here. An amazing collection of songs.
I love the debut ablum by Peggy sue, fossils and other phantoms, refreshingly different! as well as fist aid kit ( again a debut!) -the big black and blue,of which I cannot get enough of. if these two albums dont reach the charts it is ok, as far as I am concerned, both the albums are so good that I will be listening to them again, over and over in years to come!
I like this list a lot but I think Music Mavens has a better one: http://musicmavens.blogspot.com/2010/07/top-albums-of-2010-so-far.html
ummm
The Orchard: Ra Ra Riot?!
I’m just not a fan of Suburbs. I know, I’m the oddball.
I found it shocking that I agree with almost all of your choices so far for this year. Great Job! I love your website.
late. but this is a super list! love most of the picks. truth: could never get into ‘the national’. tried, but just doesn’t work for me. oooh but ‘two door cinema club’ deserves the include. what say?
and love this site. it’s my morning paper
i’ve got to say beach house/teen dreams has been my favourite album of the year thus far. it deserves a nod here.
Panda – I just got that album last week. It’ll get added to the list for sure.
I love all of these albums, but I must say there is one very important one missing-Joanna Newsom’s 3-disc “Have One On Me” should be on here. That album is incredible.
oooh also—definitely agree that Beach Houses’ Teen Dream deserves a spot…but so does Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros “Up From Below”
I am not very familiar with the albums listed above (apart from “Brothers”, which is very good) but where is “Sting In The Tail” by Scorpions? It wasn’t a masterpiece but it was certainly a very good record which featured everything the average rock album of our days should include: great power ballads such as “SLY” , “Lorelei” or “The Good Die Young”, crazy rock such as “Raised On Rock” ‘n’ even crazier roll such as “Rock Zone”. Probably their best release since “Moment Of Glory” (2000) or “Crazy World” (1990). SCORPIONS rock! Also, my list would include “My ReGeneration Vol. 1″ by Joe Elliott’s Down ‘N’ Outz – old-fashioned but charming – and Abash’s “Madri Senza Terra” – a balls-out progressive metal album by the finest Italian group.
good list.
although I would have added
Sleigh Bells – Treats
Beach House – Teen Dream
Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros – Up From Below
Gorillaz – Plastic Beach
& the Mynabirds at No.1….”What We Lose in the Fire, We Gain in the Flood”. Okay!
The Suburbs-Arcade Fire, Broken Bells- Broken Bells, Odd Blood-Yeasayer, Shame,Shame-Dr. Dog, Fortress-Miniature Tigers, Astro Coast- Surfer Blood, Beach Fossils- Beach Fossils, Teen Dream-Beach House, Brothers- The Black Keys, and Big Echo- Morning Benders
Faves 2010 Tame Impala,Innerspeaker
Dungen,Skit I Allt
Phantogram Eyelid Movies
Depreciation Guild, Spirit youth
Field Music, Measure
Film School, Fission
Morning Benders, Big Echo
Manual,Drowned in Light
Radio Dept ,Clinging to a scheme
Glad to see Arcade Fire on the list. I don’t like “The Suburbs” quite as much as the first two, but I do like the way that the album is musically and thematically distinct from the others.
I also have to admire the way they’re marketing it — for example with the tie-in to the launches of HTML5 and Google Chrome. You should check out http://www.wildernessdowntown.com if you haven’t already.
I’m keeping an especially close on musicians’ use of multimedia projects like this because my company runs http://www.fargotube.com, an online music/video/multimedia distribution platform that doubles as a fan site and social network. It generates revenue directly through downloads and subscriptions rather than steering users to other sales channels.
grinderman 2
I love your site guys….love that you are throwing new music out there for everyone to find. Cheers from AZ. If Brett Detar’s “Bird in the Tangle” doesn’t hit in the top 3 on this list, something big has gone missing. I haven’t heard an album filled with so much thought, true emotion, and story in a long time. This former Juliana Theory singer has found it.
I proceeded to think I might be mad….some have overlooked that Beach House IS on the list. Anyone listen to the Greenhornes?
Great band.
My top 10 are…
Arcade Fire- The Suburbs
The National- High Violet
Deerhunter- Halcyon Digest
Beach House- Teen Dream
LCD Soundsytem- This Is Happening
Sleigh Bells- Treats
Titus Andronicus- The Monitor
Vampire Weekend- Contra
Local Natives- Gorilla Manor
Girls- Broken Dreams Club (though its an EP)
Most of the bands on this list are new to me, except The National. I discovered The Black Keys and Josh Ritters from your list. Thank you.
Most of the bands on this list are new to me, except The National. I discovered The Black Keys and Josh Ritter from your list. Thank you.
mesineto
Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti
Deerhunter
Julian Lynch
Pantha du Prince
Emeralds
Beach House
The National
Gil Scott-Heron
Joanna Newsom
How to Dress Well
Menomena
Liars
Caribou
Here We Go Magic
Sufjan Stevens
Blackbird Blackbird
Broken Social Scene
The Radio Dept.
Tame Impala – Innerspeaker
The Walkmen
Sufjan Stevens
Owen Pallett
The Tallest Man on Earth …
I didn’t like the Beach House Teen Dream as much.
Arcade Fire- The Suburbs
The National- High Violet
Deerhunter- Halcyon Digest
Beach House- Teen Dream
please give ryan bingham some love and we are all set. thanks Scott.
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