My Best Of 2010 Album Picks

The leaves are changing here in Ohio and it’s time to reflect on some of the best new artists and new albums to come out this year.  It’s been a truly unique year for good music and we’ve been introduced to a lot of great new songs.  There’s plenty of days where I miss doing Radio Revolution live on the radio, because there’s constantly new and exciting music coming out and I’d love to be sharing this stuff with you over the airwaves.

Make sure you click the titles of the artists/titles for my favorite song clips from the album you’re viewing!

Ted Leo & The Pharmacists’ “The Brutalist Bricks”

-  The first true rock album of 2010 in my opinion.  ”Bricks” is a shout out to old-school TL & Rx with a twist of the Ramones thrown in as well.  ”Bottled In Cork” is yet another troubadour ballad a la “The Ballad Of The Sin Eater.”  There’s been a lot of rumors around whether or not Ted and the guys will continue to tour after this year but I really hope they’re unfounded because Ted definitely has some unfinished business to address…this album is sensational live in concert and I can’t wait to see what he does next.

Arcade Fire’s “The Suburbs”

-  Maybe the best album of the year all around.  Not quite a concept album but it’s subject, the American suburbs, are described with amazing detail.  As someone who grew up in the suburbs, this is an easy record to relate to when you’re driving through the sprawl of suburbia.  ”We Used To Wait”, “Empty Room”, “Month Of May”, and “City With No Children” are just some of the great tracks you’ll hear on Arcade Fire’s latest masterpiece.  Admittedly I was never a huge listener of Arcade Fire until last year, and now that I’ve caught up and gotten their previous records, it makes me appreciate what a truly genius record this is.

Best Coast’s “Crazy For You”

- With its hip surfer sounds and 1950s beats, it’s hard not to enjoy this summer classic album.  Best Coast is known for putting out surprise EPs without warning, and most of them are really good.  Lead singer, guitarist, and the face of Best Coast, Bethany Cosentino makes use of her lo-fi guitar with added fuzz sounds to make a really interesting sound that makes you feel like you’ve heard an artist like this before, but then you listen to the lyrics and realize that these are not ordinary love songs.  In some ways they’re deeply depressing lyrics about a love that the singer can’t obtain but at the same time the beat of the song is out to trick you.  ”Boyfriend”‘s beat is surprisingly upbeat for a song about a girl that wishes the male counterpart knew she simply existed, but then a song like “When I’m With You” slowly creeps into your ears and makes you smile with upbeat lyrics like “Ever since I was a little girl, my momma told me there’d be boys like you, but when I’m with you I have fun.”

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros’s “Up From Below”

-  The whistling intro to “Home” is infectious, I dare anyone not to whistle along when this song comes on your iPod.  The lyrics seem stale at the beginning but then you listen all the way through the first line and realize how unique the songwriting is…”Alabama, Arkansas, I do love my Ma and Pa…not the way that I do love you.”  It’s impossible not to have some body part tapping or bobbing to this album; happy hippie music might be the best way to describe the sound of ES&MZ.  The band has also been creating videos to go along with the songs in spurts, at the moment there are two videos out and fans are anxiously waiting for more.  Alex, Jade, and the rest of the Magnetic Zeroes are truly a gift to see live too, they embody what your typical indie band is…climbing into the crowd and singing, staying around after the show to talk with fans…I’m very excited for the future of this band.

fun.’s “Aim & Ignite”

-  I initially heard about fun. through a friend of mine who had picked up the album.  The first time I heard them, I likened them to a mashup of Queen, Vampire Weekend, with undertones of The Format, obviously because the lead singer Nate Ruess was a former member of the aforementioned Format, currently on hiatus.  ”At Least I’m Not As Sad (As I Used To Be)” is like a modern-day “Bohemian Rhapsody” in my mind, with it’s exciting riffs and poppy lyrics-definitely worth the money I paid for the album.  I’m not usually a fan of the poppy sound but in fun.’s case I will gladly make an exception.  Live, this band blows the roof off any concert hall-everyone’s singing along happily and no pun intended, these guys make it a fun time.

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Of course this is only the best of my list, there were tons of great albums I heard this year but when I look back at 2010, these will be the albums that wrote my spring, summer, fall, and (soon to be) winter.  Disagree? Agree? Let me know in the comments and share your thoughts about the best albums of 2010!

- Tim

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~ by timothykilkenny on October 14, 2010.