Friday, December 17, 2010

Pitchfork's 50 Best Albums of 2010

Pitchfork have released the majority of their 50 Greatest Albums of 2010 list (with the top 20 added tomorrow):

Here is how it currently stands, with my notable inclusions in BOLD

50. King of the Beach - Wavves


49. Gemini - Wild Nothing

48. Dagger Paths - Forest Swords

47. Public Strain - Women

46. Black City - Matthew Dear

45. I'm New Here - Gil Scott-Heron

44. Spiral Shadow - Kylesa

43. Innerspeaker - Tame Impala (#8 - One of my most played albums of the year. An awesome chill-out album inspired by 60's rock)

42. Thank Me Later - Drake

41. Subiza - Delorean

40. Crush - Abe Vigoda

39. Crazy For You - Best Coast

38. Teflon Don - Rick Ross

37. Stridulum - Zola Jesus

36. Does It Look Like I'm Here - Emeralds

35. Plastic Beach - Gorillaz

34. Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles

33. The Wild Hunt - The Tallest Man on Earth

32. Bastard - Tyler, The Creator

31. At Echo Lake - Woods

30. Love King - The-Dream

29. Play it Strange - The Fresh & Onlys

28. High Violet - The National (#9 - A tight, consistent alternative album that is immediately likable, and feels like a dream. No skipping is required)

27. There is Love in You - Four Tet

26. Forget - Twin Shadow

25. The Age of Adz - Sufjan Stevens (#4 - While not as memorable or addictive as Illinois, this is a new direction for Sufjan, and it's a beast)

24. One Life Stand - Hot Chip

23. Sit Down, Man - Das Racist

22. Broken Dreams Club EP - Girls

21. Lisbon - The Walkmen (A calculated and thoughtful recording with a few standouts, notably "Angela Surf City")

20-1 are to be released tomorrow and I expect to find How to Dress Well (Love Remains), Halcyon Digest (Deerhunter), Sir Luscious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty (Big Boi), Before Today (Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti), The Suburbs (The Arcade Fire), Teen Dream (Beach House) and My Dark Twisted Fantasy (Kanye West) included.

*UPDATED* (20/12)

20. Returnal - Oneohtrix Point Never

19. Love Remains - How to Dress Well (#10 - an emotional ride of ambient tunes, with near unintelligible lyrics, but you always find yourself completing the entire album in its entirety)

18. New Amerykah Part Two: Return of the Ankh - Erykah Badu

17. Swim - Caribou (A pretty decent dance album)

16. Treats - Sleigh Bells

15. Body Talk - Robyn

14. Cosmogramma - Flying Lotus

13. Everything in Between - No Age

12. The ArchAndroid - Janelle Monae

11. The Suburbs - The Arcade Fire (#3 - Easily as incredible as the bands preceding two works. I struggled to find a standout track on my first few listens, but you will discover this lengthy release is littered with them. Outstanding!)

10. The Monitor - Titus Andronicus (Yet to get into The Monitor, but it seems to be a rewarding experience)

9. Before Today - Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti (#5 - Was immediately my favorite album of the year on first listen, but I couldn't go past some other awesome releases in 2010. Still, this is a brilliant collaboration of moving but often creepy tunes in an experiment of mock-sophistication. 'Round and Round' and 'Butt House Blondes' are the standouts.

8. The Bells Sketch EP - James Blake

7. Have One on Me - Joanna Newsom

6. Contra - Vampire Weekend

5. Teen Dream - Beach House (#2 - A beautiful masterpiece highlighted by Victoria Legrand's melancholic vocals. 'Norway' is my favorite song of the year)

4. Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty - Big Boi (#6 - You can't avoid this one. It's a hip-hop masterpiece from Outkast's 'Other Guy' (NOT!) that sucks you in every time)

3. Halcyon Digest - Deerhunter (#7 - A gorgeous collaboration of alternative indie-rock gems that improves with every listen. The albums center-point, 'Desire Lines' is a monster)

2. This is Happening - LCD Soundsystem

1. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy - Kanye West (#1 - A gigantic achievement from one of the years most discussed artists. While he has never made a poor album, this stands above all others)

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