Mario Solis

Alright, this is year 3 of me posting what I believe to be the best albums released in the year 2010… enjoy discovering new music or reading about what good music really is.

1. Plastic Beach by Gorillaz

I pretty much knew it when I heard this album the first time. I had heard of Gorillaz before and I love “Clint Eastwood”  but when I heard “Stylo” I knew I had to go out and buy the album, which I did. It’s a nice mixture of alternative rock and hip-hop. Listen to “Empire Ants” and “White Flag.”

2. Big Echo by The Morning Benders

This is a solid alternative-rock and pop album. There are some catchy melodies and the music is all around good.I think this is the more universally accessible album on this list. I seriously love listening to this album anytime, but especially when I go for a walk… it’s so fulfilling. Listen to “Excuses” and “Promises.”

3. Teen Dream by Beach House

Aziz Anzari made a five song playlist including “Lover of Mine” by this band, which I heard and then decided to buy the album. This is definitely the album on the list that I listened to the most (pretty much all the way on my drive to and from Texas). At first I actually thought the singer was a man because of the way she sang in such a low tone, but it is definitely a woman. Listen to “Walk in the Park” and “Lover of Mine”

4. Volume Two by She & Him

I had the pleasure of seeing this band live earlier this year. M.Ward is amazing on guitar and production while Zooey Deschanel does a great job with the lyrics and singing her heart out. This album is full of easy listening tunes that just can’t help but make you feel happy. Listen to “Gonna Get Along Without You Now” and “Lingering Still.”

5. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy by Kanye West

This is the only rap album I bought this year and I love it. Kanye West is a musical genius and his collaborations are great (Justin Vernon of Bon Iver and Jay-Z amongst others). It’s funny that I used to write off Kanye West and now I see him as the most important man in hip hop. I find myself constantly defending him to those who think he’s just an egoistic jerk. Listen to “Devil in a New Dress” and “Monster”

6. The Suburbs by Arcade Fire

This band has delivered their third (and best) album with some great songs. My favorite might be “Rococo” just because it’s a preemptive attack against the hipsters that praised them in their obscure days but are likely to write them off now that they have reached the mainstream. Listen to “Rococo” and “Modern Man”

7. The Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World Soundtrack

From my favorite movie of the year(and one of my favorites of all time) comes this soundtrack full of awesome songs that fit perfectly with the themes in the movie. PLEASE watch this awesome movie if you can. Listen to “Scott Pilgrim” and “Black Sheep.”

8. Brothers by The Black Keys

Probably the band I’ve seen featured in the most commercials, promos and TV shows ever, these guys make some pretty sweet blues-style rock music. Listen to “Tighten Up” and “Too Afraid to Love You.”

9. Halcyon Digest by Deerhunter

This is the last album I bought from 2010 and I’m glad I did. These guys sound a lot like MGMT and I can’t wait to get into their back catalogue. Listen to “Revival” and “Basement Scene.”

10. Come Around Sundown by Kings of Leon

The Kings of Leon are back and they made a very good southern rock album. It’s nice to see that the mainstream has not made them any less good at what they do. Listen to “Beach Side” and “Mi Amigo.”

11. Archive 2003-2006 by Department of Eagles

Grizzly Bear didn’t put an album out this year but this side project from one of their members kept me satisfied. If you like this compilation of unused songs from Department of Eagles, you should definitely go get the album In Ear Park by them. Listen to “While We’re Young” and “Deadly Disclosure.”

12. Contra by Vampire Weekend

Their second album is not as overall good as their first, but it still has some great songs, ESPECIALLY “Diplomat’s Son” which is a really, really awesome song. Listen to “Diplomat’s Son” (obviously) and “Run.”

13. Congratulations by MGMT

I thought Flash Delirium was a crappy song to pick for their first single, but the album has some good stuff in it. Listen to “Someone’s Missing” and “Song for Dan Treacy.”

14. OMNI by Minus the Bear

I heard “My Time” and knew I had to check this band out. I like their name and the album. Listen to “My Time” and “Excuses.”

15. Interpol by Interpol

I was looking forward to this album but was overall let down. I thought they could do much better but the album had some songs that were too repetitive and not much in the album sounded all that great… at least not relative to what I expected from this awesome band. Despite my relatively negative review of the album as a whole, do check out my picks because they are worth it: Listen to “Barricade” and “Memory Serves.”

 16. Hands All Over by Maroon 5

This album didn’t have much that I thought was great, but it did have a lot of good songs. Unfortunately a third of the album isn’t good, but the rest is worth it. Listen to “Misery” and “Just a Feeling.”

Alright, that’s a wrap for 2010 although once again I couldn’t afford to buy all the albums I wanted. I missed out on albums by Band of Horses, Rogue Wave, Broken Bells, Circa Survive, Weezer, Klaxons, Brandon Flowers, Guster and also the Eclipse soundtrack (as well as a few others.)

I also listed my favorite songs from this year that weren’t on albums that I purchased.

 Good Morning (The Future) by Rogue Wave

 I Should Have Known It by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

 Fools Rush In by She & Him

 Find Your Love by Drake (released as a single on my birthday!)

 Baby (El-P Death Mix) by Justin Bieber, El-P

 Double Knots by The Living Sisters

 Fuck You by Cee Lo Green

*Special Thanks to Kelsey Welsh for helping me out with getting this list done*

dachesterfrench:

Leonard Cohen - Famous Blue Raincoat by dawallach

I really like this song. I’ve heard Leonard Cohen is an amazing songwriter, but aside from Hallelujah, I hadn’t heard anything from him really. This song makes me wonder what I’m missing… it’s so good… soothing with a troubling undertone, I feel like this song contains a novel’s worth of story, a lot of it between the lines of course.