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[vatstep]

Great year. Then again, almost every year is great for music, and if you think otherwise, you're probably not looking hard enough for the good stuff. I loved all of these records, but there were many more that I liked quite a bit — I just couldn't possibly post them all.

maudlin of the Well - Part the Second
Converge - Axe to Fall
Krallice - Dimensional Bleedthrough
Pyramids with Nadja - Pyramids with Nadja
Bloody Panda - Summon

Doomriders - Darkness Come Alive
Sunn O))) - Monoliths & Dimensions
White Mice - Ganjahovahdose
Disappearer - The Clearing
Ulcerate - Everything Is Fire

Eagle Twin - The Unkindness of Crows
Celeste - Misanthrope(s)
Coalesce - OX
Portal - Swarth
Insect Warfare - Noise Grind Power Death

 

[Lafiel]

Animal Collective - MPP
Mono - Hymn to the immortal wing
Appleseed cast - Sagarmatha
My three absolute favorites this year. Though i definitely missed alot of stuff, looking at some of other posters lists here.

 

[ThanksVision]

Awesome stuff that hasn't been mentioned.

 

[DeathbyVolcano]

That Black Kids album came out last year.

But fuck yes at Vapours. Probably my number two of the year.

 

[Prince]

 

[Ronald_mcd]

 

[siddx]

need to throw this on there as well

Was also really surprised at the Wale album. I didn't like anything I had heard from him before so I wasn't expecting much. But his album was really really good.

 

[muttyeah416]

top 5:

Yeah Yeah Yeah's - It's Blitz
Islands - Vapours
Wild Beasts - Two Dancers
fun. - Aim and Ignite
Atlas Sound - Logos

the rest:

Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
The xx - xx
The Antlers - Hospice
The Dodos - Time to Die

 

[Salazar]

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121103815

All Songs Considered top 25. Pretty good.

 

[MorisUkunRasik]

Raekwon - Only Built For Cuban Linx Part 2
RX Bandits - Mandala
Cursive - Mama, I'm Swollen

Favorite 3, next year is shaping up to be a good one.

 

[polyh3dron]

Top 5:
1. Mew
2. Miike Snow
3. Raekwon
4. Grizzly Bear
5. Phoenix

Honorable Mention to The XX and Little Dragon

And that Cursive album was fucking HORRIBLE. They go from making their best album yet (Happy Hollow) to that half baked piece of shit.

 

[MorisUkunRasik]

And that Cursive album was fucking HORRIBLE. They go from making their best album yet (Happy Hollow) to that half baked piece of shit.

I completely disagree with everything you just said. Happy Hollow is good and I personally think its underrated but MIS is not that bad. I didn't really dig it at first but after a few listens it really grew on me, but The Ugly Organ and Domestica are by far their best work.

 

[polyh3dron]

I completely disagree with everything you just said. Happy Hollow is good and I personally think its underrated but MIS is not that bad. I didn't really dig it at first but after a few listens it really grew on me, but The Ugly Organ and Domestica are by far their best work.

From The Hips, I Couldn't Love You and Mama, I'm Satan represent some of their best work. Everything else is halfassed whether it's boring melodically or lyrically monotonous.

IMO every one of their amazing prior albums topped the one that came before it and they fell off hard with the latest one.

 

[Lambtron]

Hey I won't be the only person with UGK in my list. That's good.

My list will come sometime later after I can review 2009 shit.

If I can stop listening to Gucci Mane for a few days.

 

[polyh3dron]

Where the fuck is the love for Mew though??

 

[Frawdder]

Was a good year for albums, but these two stood out for me. Karnivool's Sound Awake is simply amazing and I've hardly stopped listening to it since its release in June.

Other albums that I enjoyed (in no order):
Little Birdy - Confetti
Eskimo Joe - Inshalla
Rammstein - Liebe ist für alle da
Arctic Monkeys - Humbug

All of these really grew on me throughout the year

And if The Beatles re-releases count, then that too.

 

[Cosmic Bus]

Alphabetical tiers.

1 - 5
Alphabeat - The Spell
Margaret Dygas - Invisible Circles/Frankly
Jacaszek - Pentral
Mono - Hymn to the Immortal Wind
Mungolian Jetset - We Gave It All Away and Now We Are Taking It Back

6 - 10
Big Blood - Already Gone I + II
Electrik Red - How to Be a Lady, Vol 1
Matthew Good - Vancouver
SunnO))) - Monoliths and Dimensions
The Swell Season - Strict Joy

11 - 15
Peter Broderick - Music for Falling from Trees
Emptyset - s/t
Falcao and Monashee - s/t
Tim Hecker - An Imaginary Country
Major Lazer - Guns Don't Kill People, Lazers Do

16 - 20
Crippled Black Phoenix - The Night Raiders/Resurrectionists
Ekca Liena - Orb Night
Lucero - 1372 Overton Park
Pet Shop Boys - Yes
Shrinebuilder - s/t

21 - 25
Annie - Don't Stop
Idlewild - Post Electric Blues
Moby - Wait for Me
Themselves - Crownsdown
The XX - s/t

 

[McNei1y]

 

[Eric Hall]

Top 15:

1) Brand New: Daisy
2) Between the Buried and Me: The Great Misdirect
3) Kid Cudi: Man on the Moon -- The End of Day
4) Grizzly Bear: Veckatimest
5) Phoenix: Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
6) Manchester Orchestra: Mean Everything to Nothing
7) Arctic Monkeys: Humbug
8) Mastodon: Crack the Skye
9) Rihanna: Rated R
10) Where the Wild Things Are Official Soundtrack
11) Mewithoutyou: It's All Crazy! It's all False! It's All a Dream! It's All Right
12) Them Crooked Vultures: Them Crooked Vultures
13) Dethklok: Dethalbum 2
14) Every Time I Die: New Junk Aesthetic
15) RX Bandits: Mandala

 

[Fletcher]

I'll post some more once I remember when they were released.

The Hunches-Exit Dreams
Obits-I Blame You
Dinosaur Jr.-Farm
Death-...for the Whole World to See
No Age-Losing Feeling
The Reigning Sound-Love and Curses
The Spits
Social Circkle-City Shock

 

[themustardman]

Animal Collective: Merryweather Post Pavilion
Dan Deacon: Bromst

 

[Toy Soldier]

For me, the most essential release of the year was Britney's The Singles Collection box set. I've said this elsewhere, but it's the definitive chronicle of one of the most iconic entertainers we'll see in our lifetime. It's history through pop, an instant smile, a legacy worth treasuring eternally. One for the permanent collection.

That being said, just looking at the top 10 original albums this year, I'd say these:

1) Pet Shop Boys - Yes

Building a Wall, All Over The World, Vulnerable

2) Lily Allen - It's Not Me, It's You

Fuck You, Who'd Have Known, The Fear

3) Jeffree Star - Beauty Killer

Louis Vuitton Body Bag, Lollipop Luxury, Get Physical

4) Adam Lambert - For Your Entertainment

Music Again, If I Had You, A Loaded Smile

5) Depeche Mode - Sounds of The Universe

Fragile Tension, Peace, Perfect

6) Backstreet Boys - This is Us

All of Your Life (You Need Love), Straight Through My Heart, Bigger

7) Shakira - She Wolf

Good Stuff, She Wolf, Men In This Town

8) Robbie Williams - Reality Killed The Video Star

Difficult For Weirdos, Last Days of Disco, Won't Do That

9) Space Cowboy - Digital Rock Star

Falling Down, Party Like Animal, Invisible

10) Miley Cyrus - The Time of Our Lives

Party in The USA, Talk is Cheap, Kicking and Screaming

It's been an awesome, consistent year. My favorites were pretty evenly distributed throughout the year, though the top two came very early on.

 

[Chamber]

Too lazy to look for album art.

1) Pure Reason Revolution - Amor Vincit Omnia
2) Ed Harrison - Neotokyo OST
3) Metric - Fantasies
4) Tegan and Sara - Sainthood
5) John Frusciante - The Empyrean
6) Bat For Lashes - Two Suns
7) Silversun Pickups - Swoon
8) Röyksopp - Junior
9) Lily Allen - It's Not Me, It's You
10) Colin Munroe - Colin Munroe is the Unsung Hero
11) Mew - No More Stories
12) La Roux - La Roux
13) Lady GaGa - The Fame Monster
14) Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Its Blitz
15) The Dear Hunter - Act III: Life and Death
16) Them Crooked Vultures - Them Crooked Vultures
17) Fischerspooner - Entertainment
18) The Dead Weather - Horehound
19) Brand New - Daisy
20) OceanLab - Sirens of the Sea Remixed

 

[CygnusXS]

My Top Five:

1)
Transatlantic - The Whirlwind

Everything Else)
Phideaux - Number 7
Devin Townsend Project - Ki
Porcupine Tree - The Incident
IQ - Frequency

Yep, good year for Prog.

 

[see5harp]

What is really shocking to me is the lack of Camera Obscura or Neko Case on some people's lists and the truly shocking amount of people who also loved the Miike Snow album. I remember posting that in the listening thread and only one other guy responded.

 

[bjaelke]

Honorable mentions:
Them Crooked Vultures - Them Crooked Vultures
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz!
Editors - In This Light And On This Evening
Grand Avenue - Place To Fall
Mew - No More Stories

 

[vulva]

Amesoeurs - Amesoeurs is probably my number 1 for this year. Overall a good year of music though. Too lazy to rank it all, so I just lumped them in good/bad. Some of the good is only mostly good, but all of the bad is god awful unlistenable garbage.

EDIT: Forgot these two in the good pile
Parallels - Ultralight EP
Rakim - The Seventh Seal


Good:
OOIOO - Armonico Hewa
Yoshimio - Bor Cozmik
John Zorn - Alhambra Love Songs
Waves - Wavvves
Venetian Snares - Filth
U.S Girls - Me + Yoko 7"
Thunderheist - Thunderheist
Soulsavers - Broken
Sonic Youth - The Eternal
Converge - Axe To Fall
Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Pt II
PJ Harvey & John Parish - A Woman A Man Walked By
Norah Jones - The Fall
Napalm Death - Time Waits For No Slave
N.A.S.A. - Spirit Of Apollo
Mike Patton - Crank 2 Soundtrack
Doom - Born Like This
Meth Teeth - Everything Went Wrong
Megadeth - Endgame
John Zorn - O'o
Mayer Hawthorne - A Strange Arrangement
Ghostface Killah - Ghostdini Wizard of Poetry in Emerald City
Fuck Buttons - Tarot Sport
Emeralds - What Happened
Black Moth Super Rainbow - Eating Us
Dead Prez - Pulse Of The People
Zu - Carboniferous
Boris/9dw - Golden Dance Classics split
Beck - The Velvet Underground & Nico
Magik Markers - Balfry Quarry
Irepress - Sol Eye Sea I
Jesu - Infinity
Slayer - World Painted Blood
Portal - Swarth
K-Os - Yes
Charlotte Gainsbourg - IRM
Coeur De Pirate - Coeur De Pirate
Asobi Seksu - Hush
Lady Gaga - The Fame Monster
Alice In Chains - Black Gives Way To Blue
Sunn O))) - Monoliths & Dimensions
Lights - The Listening
wumpscut - fuckit
Celan - Halo
Devin Townsend Project - Ki
Amesoeurs - Amesoeurs
Nouvelle vague - 3
Depeche Mode - Sounds Of The Universe
AIDS Wolf - Dustin' Off The Sphynx

Bad:
Municipal Waste - Massive Aggressive
Kreator - Hordes Of Chaos
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz!
Combichrist - Today We Are All Demons
Dinosaur Jr. - Farm
HEALTH - Get Color
Voivod - Infini
Them Crooked Vultures - Them Crooked Vultures
Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse - Dark Night Of The Soul
GMPD - Dreamscape
Prodigy - Invaders Must Die
The Lonely Island - Incredibad
Katatonia - Night Is The New Day
Pearl Jam - Backspacer
Tori Amos - Abnormally Attracted To Sin
Tori Amos - Whatever the fuck that Christmas shit was called

 

[Staccat0]

Neko Case- Middle Cyclone
White Denim- Fits
Dark Was the Night
St. Vincent- Actor
Jay z's new joint

What is really shocking to me is the lack of Camera Obscura or Neko Case on some people's lists and the truly shocking amount of people who also loved the Miike Snow album. I remember posting that in the listening thread and only one other guy responded.

I agree

 

[pjberri]

Pretty boring list; neglecting a lot of stuff, but:

Dunno how I feel about Radric yet, but I've listened to so much Gucci this year that it gets a nod anyway. Jewellery and Memoirs probably aren't that good, either, but I feel the former deserves praise and the latter is underrated.

 

[Teknopathetic]

Phonat - Phonat

 

[MickD]

Favorites
*Rakim - The Seventh Seal*
*Rual Alberta Advantage - Hometowns*

No order + Mixtapes
Health - Get Color
Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Pt 2
Major Lazer - Guns Don't Kill People, Lazers Do
Mick Boogie & Adele - 1988
Pretty Lights - Filling Up The City Skies
Placebo - Battle for the Sun
Phideaux - Number 7
Jay Dee - Jay Stay Paid
Girls - Album
I Come to Shanghai - I Come to Shanghai
Gang Gang Dance - Saint Dymphna
Freddie Gibbs - midwestgangstaboxframecadillacmuzik
Fluent - All Natural
Fatgums and Bambu - A Peaceful Riot
Evidence - The Layover E.P.
Clint Mansell - Moon OST
Blue Scholars - Oof EP
Asher Roth - Asleep in The Bread Aisle
Alchemist - Chemical Warfare

Biggest letdown *Clipse - Till The Casket Drops*

 

[xrich]

fuck, i dont recognize ONE artist in the OP

 

[fistfulofmetal]

Mastodon - Crack the Skye
Sacrifice - The Ones I Condemn
Dream Theater - Black Clouds and Silver Linings
Megadeth - Endgame

 

[Peru]

Great list, pjberri. It can't be said enough times how GROUNDBREAKINGly great The-Dream's "Love vs Money" is.

 

[bloke]

I think this is the stuff i listened the most, some of it is bit crap though....

 

[JCX]

Passion Pit - Manners Sleepyhead, Let your love grow tall, Little secrets

Lady Gaga - The Fame Monster Bad Romance, Teeth, Telephone, Speechless

K-Os - Yes! I wish I knew Natalie Portman, The Avenue, Burning Bridges

The Lonely Island - Incredibad I'm on a boat, Dreamgirl, Natale rap, Ras Trent

Death Cab for Cutie- The Open Door EP My Mirror Speaks, I was once a loyal lover

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

Vatstep-- awesome list as always dude. Cosmic-- fuck yeah on the Shrinebuilder love.

There are a few things I haven't heard, but fuck it, let's do this. Once you get past the first five albums or so, there really isn't a set order in terms of my preference.

1. Eagle Twin - The Unkindness of Crows
2. Sunn O))) - Monoliths & Dimensions
3. Tim Hecker - An Imaginary Country
4. The Ruins of Beverast - Foulest Semen of a Sheltered Elite
5. Bloody Panda - Summon
6. Pan Sonic & Keiji Haino - Shall I Download a Black Hole & Offer it to You
7. Mount Eerie - Wind's Poem
8. Sean McCann - Phylum Sigh
9. Skyramps - Days of Thunder
10. Evangelista - Prince of Truth

11. Future of the Left - Travels With Myself and Another
12. YOB - The Great Cessation
13. Funeral Mist - Maranatha
14. Nadja & Black Boned Angel - s/t
15. Emeralds - s/t
16. Skullflower - Vile Veil
17. Zs - Music of the Modern White
18. A Place to Bury Strangers - Exploding Head
19. Nadja - Numbness
20. Natural Snow buildings - Daughter of Darkness

21. LSD March - Under Milk Wood
22. Loser Life - Friends With a Demon
23. Manatees - Icarus, the Sunclimber
24. Super Furry Animals - Dark Days / Light Years
25. James Blackshaw - The Glass Bead Game
26. Krallice - Dimensional Bleedthrough
27. The Raveonettes - In and Out of Control
28. Feral - Welcome to the Graveyard
29. Shrinebuilder - s/t
30. Emptyset - s/t

31. Converge - Axe to Fall
32. Nurse With Wound - The Surveillance Lounge
33. Grunt - Petturien rooli
34. Jackie-O Motherfucker - Ballads of Revolution
35. Mark McGuire - A Pocket Full of Rain
36. Aidan Baker & Thisquietarmy - A Picture of a Picture
37. The White Mice - Ganjahovahdose
38. Destroyer 666 - Defiance
39. Grave Miasma - Exalted Examnination
40. Drudkh - Microcosmos

41. TV Ghost - Cold Fish
42. Blank Dogs - Under and Under
43. Death - For the Whole World to See
44. St. Kilda - s/t
45. Ancestors - Of Sound Mind
46. Blut aus Nord - Memoria Vetusta II: Dialogue With the Stars
47. Ulcerate - Everything is Fire
48. Death - ...For the Whole World to See
49. Æthenor - Faking Gold & Murder
50. Raspberry Bulbs - Finally Burst... With Fluid

 

[Scythesurge]

In no order, the albums that stuck with me through this year.

Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Girls - Album
Washed Out - Life of Leisure
Flaming Lips - Embryonic

In no order, the albums that I liked but doubt will really stick.

Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion/Fall Be Kind
The Avett Brothers - I and Love and You
Passion Pit - Manners
Julian Casablancas - Phrazes For The Young
Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career

This year was more digging into the past for me, exploring 80s stuff.

I like these choices a lot! Very similar to my picks.

 

[7Th]

The order of the following list is completely irrelevant.

Mono - Hymn to the Immortal Wind
toe - For Long Tomorrow
From Monument to Masses - On Little Known Frequencies
The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble - Here Be Dragons
perfect piano lesson - Wanderlust
Ling Tosite Sigure - just A moment
Tyondai Braxton - Central Market
Sleeps In Oysters - We Kept the Memories Locked Away in Matchbooks Like the Beetles of Our Childhood
Paniyolo - I'm Home
Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career

 

[Dope Skill]

Not in any order at all.

The Rebel Yell. K'naan. J Dilla.

Dumhi. DOOM. Bassnectar.

Brother Ali. Black Keys. Wu-Tang Clan.

Tanya Morgan. Philadelphia Slick. Raekwon.

Q-Tip. Nneka. Mos Def.

M.O.P. The Mean. Methodman & Redman.

Things that could be up there if they get a listen: Kid Cudi, Major Lazer, Maxwell, Brother Ali.

 

[squidhands]

Bad:
Them Crooked Vultures - Them Crooked Vultures

How can you call this bad? I realize it's all subjective, but if you know who the people are that are involved I can't see how you'd think this isn't a great album. What were you expecting?

my list is short; I'll probably be checking some of these other albums out.

 

[maliedoo]

In no partucular order...

Kid Cudi - Man on the Moon
Raekwon - Only built 4 cuban linx pt II
Jay-Z - The blueprint 3
Del & Tame One - Parallel Uni-Verses
Souls of Mischief - Montezuma's Revenge
FELT 3: A Tribute to Rosie Perez
Eminem - Relapse



and CDs that should have never been released....

Now.32

50 Cent - Before I self destruct

Lil Wayne - Rebirth

Drake - So Far Gone

KRS-One - Survival Skills
and the list goes on.......

 

[Alucard]

So, a buddy of mine got this for me for Christmas...

This is an absolutely phenomenal record! It's filled with youthful exuberance, energy, rage, passion, love, fear, and humanity. And it's just two guys that somehow manage to make it sound like they're a four-piece. Dang. Easily top 5 material, and I've only listened to it twice so far. I'd love to see them live!

 

[Cohsae]

How can you call this bad? I realize it's all subjective, but if you know who the people are that are involved I can't see how you'd think this isn't a great album. What were you expecting?

Supergroups pretty much never make music as good as the music that the members made in their old bands. I thought TCV was pretty meh, mostly because the songs are just too damn long. They'll start with a good riff, then play that riff with hardly a change for like 5 minutes.

 

[Expendable.]

Islands
Grizzly Bear
Phoenix
Animal Collective



like last year, this year sucked balls.

 

[Tashi]

U2 - No Line on the Horizon

Company of Thieves - Ordinary Riches

Tegan & Sara - Sainthood

Eminem - Relapse

This is really all I listened to this year. I absolutely the instant classics that are on U2's latest and the debut album from Company of Thieves is just amazing. I've listened to it almost everyday since I bought it in April. Unreal.

 

[Lambtron]

Islands
Grizzly Bear
Phoenix
Animal Collective



like last year, this year sucked balls.

Only if you have boring ass taste. And that's fairly obviously the case given this list. Guess there weren't enough Audioslave, Yellowcard, or O.A.R. albums for you this year.

 

[swoon]

1. Melissa Nadler - Little Hells
2. Girls- Album
3. Califone - All My Friends are Funeral Singers
4. John Vanderslice - Romanian Names
5. Julie Doiron - I Can Wonder What You Do With Your Day
6. Anthony and the Johnsons - Crying Light
7. Vic Chesnutt - At The Cut
8. Evangelisa - Prince of Truth
9. Dan Deacon - Bromst
10. Cass McCombs - Catacombs

11. Bonnie Prince Billy - Beware
12. Neko Case - Middle Cyclone
13. Real Estate - S/T
14. Strange Boys - And Girls
15. Circulatory System - Signal Morning
16. The Smith Westerns - S/T
17. Mount Eerie - Wind Poem
18. Fiery Furnaces - I'm Going Away
19. Pissed Jeans - King of Jeans
20. Yacht - See The Mystery Light

21. Bowerbirds - Upper Air
22. Bill Callahan - Sometimes I Wish I Was An Eagle
23. Cortney Tidwell - Boys
24. Mi Ami - Watersports
25. Future of the Left - Travels With Myself and Another
26. Major Lazer - Guns Don't Kill People - Lazers Do
27. Vetiver - Tight Knit
28. Washed Out - Life of Leisure
29. The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - S/T
30. Atlas Sound - Logos

31. Raekwon - Only Built for a Cuban Linx II
32. Mount Eerie - White Stag
33. Obits - I Blame You
34. Wavves - S/T
35. Japandroids - Post-Nothing
36. Whitest Boy Alive - Rules
37. Wilco - The Album
38. The Xx - Xx
39. Ducktails - Landscapes
40. Doom - Born Like This

41. Jay Reatard - Watch Me Fall
42. Mayyors - Deads
43. Busdriver - Jhelli Beam
44. Lee Fields - My World
45. Cold Cave - Love Comes First
46. Big Blood - Already Gone I & II
47. Ty Seagall - Lemons
48. TV Ghost - Cold Fish
49. Jackie-O Motherfucker - Ballads of Revolution
50. Lotus Plaza - The Floodlight Collective

another good year. i'm excited to see how glo-fi turns out next year. maybe b-more will come back.

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

Only if you have boring ass taste. And that's fairly obviously the case given this list. Guess there weren't enough Audioslave, Yellowcard, or O.A.R. albums for you this year.

Well, i was going to shit on him for having extremely boring taste and condemning an entire year, but you pretty much shut the shit down.

I'll just put it out there-- if you think ____ year was a shit year for music, then you aren't fucking looking hard enough. Ugh.

 

[swoon]

at least his music and movies tastes are pretty consistant.