In 2010, my favorite moments in music came not from the releases themselves but from the personalities making the music. This is due mostly to Kanye West's inspired tweets (i.e. "I hate when I'm on a flight and I wake up with a water bottle next to me like oh great now I gotta be responsible for this water bottle") and M.I.A. freaking out on a New York Times reporter (both artists you'll see on this list). It wasn't my favorite year for music, but a lot of great stuff was put out. Here are my picks for the top 10 best albums of 2010.
To view Web Producer Jeff Israel's picks CLICK HERE
To view Editor Mike Cloherty's picks CLICK HERE
10. Die Antwoord - $0$
Die Antwoord is on this list not because of the music they put out - in fact, the universal consensus was that their debut album $0$ sucked. Even so, their bizarre image, viral YouTube videos and Yo-Landi Vi$$er's enigmatic mullet (see photo) were enough to make them one of the most talked-about bands this year. Most of the discussion around these South African rave-rappers dwelled on whether or not their music and videos were joke or if they were actually serious. Watch the video Zef Side as a kind of "Die Antwoord 101" before delving into "Enter The Ninja" (their only good song) to decide. KEY TRACK: " Enter the Ninja " and ZEFSIDE
9. of Montreal - False Priest
Of Montreal frontman Kevin Barnes has gone through many stages as an artist, as artists do. From the twee Coquelicot in the Poppies of 2001 to the 2008's Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? Barnes has escalated from whimsical lovebird to a sex-crazed, serenading, love god. I prefer the whimsy of Barnes' earlier stylings, but False Priest takes all the chaos to a more soulful level, welcoming smooth vocal accompaniments from Solange Knowles and Janelle Monae, who released the critically-acclaimed album ArchAndroid this year. KEY TRACK: " Sex Karma (feat. Solange Knowles) "
8. Joanna Newsom - Have One on Me
Speaking of whimsy, here's Joanna Newsom. The harp-playing songstress is for some (read: me) a good-enough replacement until Fiona Apple puts out her next album. This album is perfect for putting on if you want to be transported to the quaint, mystical garden in your mind. Start with - KEY TRACK: " '81 "
7. Gorillaz - Plastic Beach
KEY TRACK : " Stylo "
6. Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
What's really left to say about this album? The entire world (a.k.a. people on Twitter who follow @kanyewest ) witnessed his REBIRTH from spoiled, outspoken, exiled rapper to spoiled, outspoken, liked-again rapper. It all happened in one hours-long tweet stream in which he apologized to Taylor Swift and let everyone in on his freaky thought process. We all felt sorry for poor Kanye. And then, the album he put out as the finish line to all of this is truly great. But it's not THAT great. Like Jeff Israel aptly put it, if this out-there album had not been executed as well, it would have been embarrassing. It's one of the weirdest albums I've heard in a while, but it wasn't 10.0 material. Ahem, Pitchfork. KEY TRACK: " Monster (feat. Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj & Bon Iver) "
5. Liars - Sisterworld
This album was mostly overlooked on year-end album lists. It's certainly not the best LP Liars have put out, but even still, it beats out Kanye. Listening to tracks "Scarecrows on a Killer Slant" or "Scissor" while driving home on a dark night is, quite frankly, frightening. In the best possible way. KEY TRACK : " No Barrier Fun "
4. M.I.A. - / \ / \ / \ Y / \
Despite putting out this glorious album in 2010, it wasn't the best year for ole' M.I.A. She had a tough act to follow coming off Kala, which garnered Rolling Stones' #1 Album of 2007. / \ / \ / \ Y / \ (an artistic spelling of her first name Maya) was released to mixed-reviews, but in the same way Kanye West's real-life personality influenced positive reviews of his album, M.I.A. had the same thing happen to her, except in a negative way. Her conspiracy theories about the government spying on us via Google and a spat with a New York Times reporter after an unflattering feature piece (which culminated with M.I.A. tweeting the reporter's private cell phone numner), the general consensus is a little off on Maya, but the album still rulz. (It's great for running to, by the way. It's almost impossible not to feel invincible while running to a song that uses power tool sounds as its beat. See: K EY TRACK : " Steppin' Up "
3. Best Coast - Crazy For You
Thus begins my Top 3 albums of 2010, all by bands with lead female vocalists. And none are so girly as Bethany Cosentino, the leader of surfer-band Best Coast. This album so perfectly encapsulates what it's like to be a girl who misses their boyfriend while he's at work for the day or who feels just a little insecure about their relationship. So it's a little whiny, yes, and the lyrics a little arbitrary, but the album is
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