Our Editor Amanda Macchia shares her top 10 albums of 2010 as our album listings wrap for the year.
10) The Tallest Man On Earth - The Wild Hunt
Kristian Matsson stayed true to his folk roots on this sophomore record. Pairing his bright acoustics with his unconventional vocals, Matsson made The Wild Hunt an album not only a pleasure to listen to, but downright interesting as well.
9) Vampire Weekend - Contra
It’s probably true that Vampire Weekend is a taste which many people will never acquire, but it’s fair to say that the heightened quirkiness of their songs and the Ivy League lyrics featured on their second album make for a pretty fun record, whether you’re willing to admit it or not.
8) The Love Language – Libraries
Unlike their first record and much of the work of their lo-fi peers, The Love Language found a perfect balance on Libraries of minimal audio quality and great pop songs.
7) Dum Dum Girls - I Will Be
Yes, their album cover is the poor man’s version of Contra, but beyond the record sleeve is an impressive collection of catchy shoegaze pop, all the way from California.
6) Best Coast – Crazy For You
Although criticized for its overly-simplistic chord progressions and lyrics, Crazy For You clearly resonated with music-listeners this year as Best Coast took it easy with the reverb for their full length debut, and stuck to their redundant, but relatable, themes of the beach and boys.
5) Beach House - Teen Dream
It’s been said time and time again, but Beach House really hit the nail on its head this time around, producing an album consistent in its dreaminess and synthetic sounds, unheard in the same fashion anywhere else.
4) Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
There were obviously high expectations for the release The Suburbs, and thankfully the Arcade Fire did not fail to disappoint. This album is one with an abundance of characters and plots – a thorough story set to quality sounds.
3) The Walkmen – Lisbon
Similarly to The Suburbs, The Walkmen demonstrated their undeniable ability to use songwriting as a vehicle for creating a picturesque collection of music, painting a different picture with each song on the tracklist.
2) Zeus - Say Us
With their debut LP, Zeus proved that it’s possible to bring The Beatles and The Band into the 21st Century and transform their sound into something that is still current and developed enough that it can stand on its own as an innovative spin on classic rock.
1) The Black Keys - Brothers
For 2010, The Black Keys take the cake. Brothers is evidence that sophisticated blues-rock is still very much alive, and that it is possible to sound cool for a 15-track duration.
