Best of 2010

Well, 2011 is upon us. That must mean that it's time for me to impress you with my awesome taste in music. Overall, '10 was a pretty lackluster year for music. There was no Feel Good Together. No Forget The Night Ahead. No Primary Colours. No record that immediately grabbed you, and didn't let go for months on end. When Arcade Fire and Kanye West are considered the cream of the musical crop, you know it was a disappointing year.

That being said, 2010 wasn't a total loss. There were several exceptional records that struck a chord. Those are listed below.

Since I acquire hundreds of records every year, it's nearly impossible to limit my selections to a mere top 10. Deal with it.

As usual, the first five albums are those which I consider the absolute best of 2010. The records which most impressed me, and have been on semi-regular rotation since the time of their release. The others are what I consider "the rest of the best." I'll list those alphabetically since it'd be far too difficult to assign each one an individual ranking. I already put way too much thought, time, and energy into this list. This shit wouldn't be done until 2012 if I had to decide which was number 6 and which was number 25.

If you plan on picking up any of these albums, I urge you to actually leave your homes and go get them from your local independent music store. If that idea sounds completely archaic to you, please download these from a paid download site. For the most part, the following bands deserve, and could actually use the money.

So, without further ado, here are the best records of 2010.

1. Smoke or Fire
The Speakeasy
(Fat)
Personal, political, and catchy as hell, The Speakeasy is Smoke or Fire's crowning achievement. After a brief hiatus, the Richmond, VA melodic punk stalwarts deliver their most mature and consistent record to date. No easy feat considering their previous album, The Sinking Ship, was one of the best records of 2008.

2. Die! Die! Die!
Form
(Flying Nun)
These New Zealand post-punk revivalists blindsided me with this bombastic, chaotic collection of songs. Where the hell did this record come from? And how did it slip by so many people?

3. Leatherface
The Stormy Petrel
(No Idea)
Sunderland, England's grandfathers of gruff melodic punk return with their best album since 1991's groundbreaking, Mush. Lyrically, Frankie Stubbs continues to mix the sublime with the absurd. Musically, the band covers head-bobbing, sing-along punk anthems, mid-tempo ballads, and everything in between. All with exciting results.

4. Ten Kens
For Posterity
(Fat Cat)
3 months after first listening to this album, I still can't wrap my head around it. Ten Kens seem to have created a sub-genre of math rock to call their own, creating complex, dissonant songs with frequent time changes, jagged guitars, and doomy vocals. This record would probably be closer to number 1 on this list if I wasn't still so happily confused by it.

5. Amusement Parks On Fire
Road Eyes
(Filter)
Beautifully textured sonic shoegaze from this British quintet. These guys continue to expand their sound with each release. If the opening notes of "Flashlight Planetarium" don't get you hooked, there's something wrong with you.

The Rest of the Best
Troy Von Balthazar How To Live On Nothing (Third Side)
Blonde Redhead Penny Sparkle (4AD)
Calories Basic Nature (Tough Love)
Dessa A Badly Broken Code (Doomtree)
Stephen Egerton The Seven Degrees Of Stephen Egerton (Paper + Plastick)
The Electronic Anthology Project The Electronic Anthology Project (Self Released)
Envy Recitation (Temporary Residence)
Sage Francis Li(f)e (Strange Famous)
Interpol Interpol (Matador)
Killing Joke Absolute Dissent (Fontana/Spinefarm)
The Kissaway Trail Sleep Mountain (Bella Union)
Les Savy Fav Root For Ruin (French Kiss)
Me You Us Them Post Data (Triple Down)
Nachtmystium Addicts: Black Meddle Part 2 (Century Media/Candlelight)
The National High Violet (4AD)
The Prids Chronosynclastic (Velvet Blue Music)
The Sainte Catherines Fire Works (Anchorless)
Sweet Cobra Mercy (Metal Blade)
The Twilight Sad The Wrong Car EP (Fat Cat)
Two Cow Garage Sweet Saint Me (Suburban Home)
We Were Promised Jetpacks The Last Place You'll Look EP (Fat Cat)
White Lung It's The Evil (Deranged)
Wild Nothing Gemini (Captured Tracks)