10: LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening
James Murphy is quite the cynic - so it kind of came as a surprise when some didn't get the joke that was the song "Drunk Girls" C'mon, he doesn't have to be the only 40 year old dancing in the corner. He wants you to join him, and to "Dance Yrself Clean" while doing it. He's too shy of a front man to boast like the best of em', so he finds his voice amongst the swirl and swoosh of his electronic world. From there he emotes some of the more personal songs you'll hear all year - and you just might have a good time while doing it.
9: The National - High Violet
I tried to write a proper review on this album by the brooding bunch of Brooklyn rockers, but it never came about simply because I didn't know how to put their music into the proper terms. Their songs are sad and spacious, and even if you don't relate to the their woes, you can still get lost in the beautiful chords and booming voice of front man Matt Beringer.
8: Cee Lo Green - The Lady Killer
Cee Lo proved he was bigger than Gnarls Barkley with the viral hit "Fuck You", but he's too professional to not follow through on the promise of such a would-be gimmick. So he put his soul power to use and made an album of expert showmanship and pure mojo. Each song has a groove, and stratospheric melody, and he lives up to his self proclaimed title as a "Lady Killer" on songs like "Wildflower" and "Satisfied". Watch out fellas...
Top Tunes: "Fuck You" "Bright Lights Bigger City" "Satisfied"
7: Big Boi: Sir Lucious Left Foot - Son of Chico Dusty
An album put on the shelf due to red tape on his former label's behalf, Big Boi (half of OutKast) moved to DefJam and was finally able to prove his worth as a solo act. While T.I. claims to be "King of the Souf", Big Boi not only met his bet, but raised him double on songs like "Turns Me On", "Be Still" and "Shutterbug". He may promise to be a P.I.M.P, but at least you can take him home to mom and dad.
6: The Roots - How I Got Over
They saved Jimmy Fallon until he got his feet under him, then they invited some friends to help make the best record that dealt with the troubled times we find ourselves in. They aren't necessarily rapping about social injustices, as they are often want to do. Instead they're struggling with how to pay the bills and wondering if God is on our side - if he's even there at all. Its low key approach may not be what some are expecting if you watch them on Late Night, but in a world of Biebers and GaGas, it was the closest to realism pop got in 2010.
5: Vampire Weekend - Contra
When these Ivy Leaguers burst onto the scene in 2008, their critics found them out of touch and, with song titles like "Mansard Roof" and "Oxford Comma", too snooty for their own good. This year's Contra continues in the same vein with rhymes like "Horchata" and "Balaclava". Sure it's upper crust pop, but these youngsters are doing what all great musicians do - sing about what they know. Their sound may be brittle, but the lyrics and smugness come with a profound bite.
4: Gorillaz - Plastic Beach
Damon Albarn resurrected his dormant band of animated rockers, who have sold 20 million copies worldwide, for their third outing Plastic Beach. The paranoid dub feel of their previous work has been shed for their most accessible pop record yet. While you may not get the album's anti-consumerist vibes, the sheer warmth of the songs, and the guests they feature (including Lou Reed, Snoop Dogg and Bobby Womack) will have you dancing until the polluted end of the world.
3: Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
All the critics jumped on Kanye West's return from exile like it was John Lennon raised from the dead. "It's good because he made an ass out of himself.. yet he's STILL GOOD AT MAKING MUSIC!" Don't be stupid, see through the hype. Not everything in West's Fantasy clicked - like "Gorgeous" and "Hell of a Life". But when the ingredients came together, the results were nothing short of the best pieces of music you heard all year long. Yet for how big and sophisticated the songs are, the more earnest tone of his previous work suits him better. Bigger is not always better, but Ye is the exception to the rule.
Top Tunes: "Monster" "Power" "Runaway" "Lost in the World"
2: Janelle Monae - The ArchAndroid
An up and comer from Kansas City, Janelle Monae mixed and matched genres the way some artists blend colors. Her debut album, which tells a futuristic story of love set in a robot world, bounced between funk, hip hop, soul and techno with the greatest of ease. Yet the singular vision on the part of Monae holds the whole thing together. I still don't know what's better, the music, or her hair. Hmmm.
1: Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
Win Butler and his patchwork gang of Montreal rockers never go for subtlety. Look no further than their first album Funeral, which is filled to the brim over the top gang vocals and heartfelt lyrics aimed straight at the stars. The Suburbs, the year's best album, is a scathing set of songs about memories, loss and the fear of growing older in a distant world. At times the band are at their angriest ("Month of May"), their most energetic ("Empty Room") and at others their most fragile ("Suburban War"). All Butler wants to do is have a child and "show her some beauty before (the) damage is done," but knowing his prayers go unanswered, he, and the rest of Arcade Fire, started a fire and watched the whole thing burn.
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