[Pedro]

This is about the singles since I dont know the albums...

Something was off about Loud compared to Rihanna's previous efforts

Totally right, Loud was a disappointment, anyway! You have some awesome songs and great points, "Commander" was so underrated, poor Kelly! Kesha, Willow, P!nk <333

[Dr. Spaceman]

The Top 40 albums begins! Hooray!

Great start, Watson. Girl Talk is the greatest, and was yet another solid outing for him. While, the other albums are ones I haven't heard. I did quite like that last Lillix album. Inside The Hollow? Whatever that was called. Anyway, your description of it makes it sound like a lot of fun. Indie Lillix! I think we know what Santi's favorite album of 2010 is.

I quite enjoyed The Watson Twins (or rather, your sisters) on the Jenny Lewis album, but can't recall if I have ever heard them on their own. I really should. Lucy Schwartz sounds great, and anything with an Arrested Development connection is great by me. And that Fitz and The Tantrums album sounds something totally up my alley, so yet another album I should check out.

Great, unique choices, great writeups. Just GREAT! Looking forward to what is coming up.

[Red]

Girl Talk albums are always good for at least one listen, and this last one was no different. I really do need to check out the rest, THOUGH I did check out some of Fitz and the Tantrums, and by god, you were not kidding when you said they sound like they are stuck in the '60's. More importantly, stuck in the GOOD '60's.

[AshleeSimpsonFan]

Lillix my fave from this set

[eteru]

Lillix love them!

[I Got Soul]

Not familiar with the albums - but I truly enjoy reading your write ups.
I can't believe Lilix still makes music. What was that song they had... "its about life, its about fun"... wasn't that like 10 years ago? Crazy.

[TC]

PROGRESS: Winter · Spring · Summer · Fall · #40-36 · #35-31 · #30-26 · #25-21 · #20-16 · #15-11 · #10-6 · #5-1




Thanks everyone for your support! It's time to continue with parts 6 and 7, which will take us from #35 through #26...




The Hold Steady first made an appearance on my year-end lists in 2007 with Boys And Girls In America, a truly excellent album that I totally missed out on when it was released the previous year but discovered later thanks to a certain Spaceman. That particular album was so much of an experience that it remains my favorite Hold Steady album to this day, but their continued efforts have still managed to register on my scale of the best music. I've always enjoyed the unique storytelling style of The Hold Steady's music, and this album is no different in that regard. Songs like "The Weekenders", "Our Whole Lives", and "The Sweet Part Of The City" make Heaven Is Whenever a keeper.




I've been a casual fan of Ted Leo and the Pharmacists for many years now, ever since I spotted the video for "Where Have All The Rude Boys Gone?" back in early 2003 or so, but I think it's fair to say I've never been a dedicated follower of the band. I gave a quick listen but otherwise didn't pay much attention to their follow-up efforts in '04 and '07. That all changed this year with The Brutalist Bricks, a powerhouse of an album that would turn anyone into an Rx faithful. Tracks like "Even Heroes Have To Die" and "Where Was My Brain?" demonstrate that Ted Leo and friends are still going strong, and with The Brutalist Bricks, they have managed to put out their best release in a long time.




Courtney Love took a page out of the Billy Corgan playbook last year when she decided to resurrect "Hole" as the name of her band despite the fact she was the only remaining member and everyone else would be newcomers. The assumed goal, of course, was to give her work more visibility than it would get as just "Courtney Love" alone, and that definitely happened. But with Nobody's Daughter, we also saw a return to a more focused Love, one who knows how to record top quality music, has an offbeat and oddly charming stage presence, and appears to be in control. Genuinely enjoyable tracks from Nobody's Daughter like "Skinny Little Bitch", "Samantha", and "Pacific Coast Highway" are proof positive that no matter the name of the band, it's time to take Courtney Love seriously again.




Despite the fact KT Tunstall's debut album Eye To The Telescope was recorded in 2004, it didn't make its way to the U.S. until '06, setting us up for two great albums in as many years, what with the release of Drastic Fantastic in '07. Since then, however, things were quiet in the world of KT Tunstall. Once her Drastic Fantastic tour wrapped up, she spent some time traveling the world, particularly the Arctic, South America, and India, all of which gave her the inspiration behind some of the songs on this year's Tiger Suit, particularly the opener "Uummannaq Song", named after the town in Greenland. Much of the album tends to follow an electronic path, but it doesn't stray too far from expectations. "Fade Like A Shadow" and "Still A Weirdo" are classic KT, and you can't really argue with that. Tiger Suit is pretty solid.




The Black Keys have come a long way since the days of "10 A.M. Automatic", which was already more than half a decade ago, believe it or not. They earned their massive commercial hit with "Tighten Up" this year, a track that you've likely heard dozens of times even if you think you've never heard of The Black Keys in your life. It couldn't have happened to a better band. Brothers is modern rock 'n roll at its best and a welcome diversion from whatever else has been playing on rock radio the last few years. While I'm here, let me also say I greatly enjoyed "Ohio", an unreleased tune from the band's contribution to Record Store Day back in April, a bonus 7" record known as Greetings from Akron, Ohio. You know who else showed up on that record? Akron's finest. No, not Ike Bart. They've been around over 30 years, and they're coming up later.

[TC]

PROGRESS: Winter · Spring · Summer · Fall · #40-36 · #35-31 · #30-26 · #25-21 · #20-16 · #15-11 · #10-6 · #5-1




Sea Of Cowards marks a change in the expected order of things from Jack White. In recent years, we've seen him alternate between his projects, but this time we got two albums in a row from The Dead Weather. That threw off my expectations, so I let the album sit for most of the year without giving it a fair chance. Luckily, I managed to right that wrong in the final few days of the year. I sat down with Sea Of Cowards and let it play many times. The result? I learned that this album is insane. Tracks like "Die By The Drop" are a bit unbalanced, but others like "I'm Mad" are just plain deranged. Alison Mosshart goes off the rails in ways you must hear for yourself to understand. Jack White himself is out of control, too. You might think he'd turn blasé and settle down as the years go by, but you would be wrong, my friend. You would be so wrong.




Glasser is Cameron Mesirow, a musician from California that got her start by firing up GarageBand and singing over a wild combination of the included beats and loops. That earned her a spot on an eMusic compilation nearly two years ago, and her star has been rising slowly but surely ever since. How do you describe Glasser? Well, her music is a little bit Bat for Lashes and a little bit Florence & The Machine, but there's something about it that feels looser, less packaged. There's a display of unfiltered individual creativity happening on Ring that feels at once spooky, nostalgic, and artful. I first discovered her song "Mirrorage" thanks to its accompanying video, the visuals of which are a perfect match for the ambience of her music. Some other top tracks to check out include "Apply" and "Home", but really, while you're at it, just listen to the whole album. Ring is something you need to take the time to experience for yourself.




I feel like the rest of the world has already told you everything you might ever need to know about LCD Soundsystem, so instead I'll just tell you about my personal experience. Nearly six years ago, "Daft Punk Is Playing At My House" introduced me to the project, and I was sold right away. Later firebrand tracks like "North American Scum" kept me on board. In recent years, I've started to appreciate the more sincere works like "All My Friends" even more so than I did originally. This Is Happening brought more of the best of both worlds, epitomized by "Dance Yrself Clean", the nearly 9 minute long monster production. James Murphy says This Is Happening is the last LCD Soundsystem album. I don't know if that's true, but one way or the other, no matter what he decides to call it, I hope Murphy sticks around to bend the limits of various genres and challenge our expectations in the variety of unique, memorable ways he has brilliantly pioneered.




Broken Bells is the pairing of James Mercer, the lead singer of The Shins, with Danger Mouse, the seemingly infallible producer behind Gnarls Barkley and a veritable cavalcade of modern rock albums in recent years. Knowing this, you might expect Broken Bells to be one of the best albums of the year, and you'd be right! Hence, its placement on the list. Whether it's the psychedelic aura of "Citizen", the falsetto reaches of "The Ghost Inside", or the highly addictive quality of my own favorite track "October", you can't go wrong with Broken Bells. With any luck, this self-titled effort from Broken Bells will be just the first of many albums we're lucky enough to get out of this project.




The newest album from French pop singer Charlotte Gainsbourg, IRM was the first item labeled "2010" that mysteriously made its way into my personal music collection before the year even began. It was released in France near the end of 2009, and then it came to the UK and the U.S. in the first few weeks of 2010. With it being on the borderline like that, I decided to hold off until now to consider it for my top 40 albums. I'm glad I made that decision, as it gave me a full year to appreciate the album. The title IRM is the French equivalent of the acronym "MRI", the medical imaging technology that helped save Charlotte's life after she suffered a brain hemorrhage in 2007 from a water skiing accident. She turned to Beck to write and produce the music for IRM. The lead single "Heaven Can Wait" features him; its haunting music video was excellent beyond words. IRM explores the themes of fear, mystery and anxiety in an enduring way that only Beck can imagine and Charlotte can realize. This is an album that means so much more once you understand how it came to be.



Great news! We've passed the half-way point, with 7 parts done, 5 remaining. Coming soon, albums #25 through #21!

[Dr. Spaceman]

These are your best two sets yet!

Ted Leo/Rx, Hold Steady, Black Keys, Dead Weather, Hole, LCD, Broken Bells, Charlotte Gainsbourg. What an array of amazing albums. The two I didn't list are the two I haven't heard. I quite liked KT Tunstall's earlier songs, so I would probably enjoy this new album as well. The Glasser album sounds interesting too.

If this is just the earlier albums, I can't imagine the greatness that will be in the next 25. Good stuff!

[Calvin McHobbes]

So much great stuff here it seems pointless to single out any individual artist.

Random memory, but remember when you got banned from IRC wizchat or whatever it was for using Daft Punk Is Playing At My House for every answer? That was hilarious.

[I Got Soul]

Was so happy to re-discover the Black Keys this year. You are right about them being the perfect representation of 'modern rock'. I need to listen to more Hold Steady and Ted Leo, obviously.

And I completely agree with your Broken Bells blurb, the pairing was destined for success.

[AshleeSimpsonFan]

Kt Tunstall, LCD Soundsystem & Broken Bellos

[mathuss]

I've only heard two of those albums:
"This Is Happening", which curiosly was #28 on my list, too .
"Broken Bells", which is an amazing album also, and definitely the one you mention is their best track. It should've been higher, though.

[Razzle]

KT

[eteru]

Hole, KT, Black Keys, LCD My favorite however is Broken Bells!

[Red]

This is happening, you know.

I'm always a fan of The Hold Steady, which makes it even more sad that I have not heard that particular album. I keep saying that I'm not a big fan of new Dead Weather, but everybody keeps raving about it, so I'll have to check it out again. Broken Bells, on the other hand, has always been awesome, and you cover the album perfectly.

Top 25 is coming! GET STOKED!

[JDM]

Dead Weather and Broken Bells ^_^

I also enjoyed that Hole album, most importantly the title track, which sounds straight out of 1994. Two other songs in 2010 have accomplished sounding just like a band's older material pre-2000 — "Pop a Pill" by Korn and "CMND/CTRL" by Deftones.

[Sunderland 4ever]

Nice set; however, I need to check many artists of your set

Tiger Suit, Brothers

I'm glad to see This Is Happenning here, same as Broken Bells. The Ghost Inside was a great track!

Gotta check your numbers 29, 33, 34, and 35

[Nimrod.]

This is happening & Broken Bells I've only heard the singles, though.

[Delta]

Your taste is