What were YOUR favorite albums of 2010?

I know we have a rolling thread that is aggregating critics' lists and that many of our pros have posted links to their lists there. It got me wondering, what were the rest of us geeking out over last year?

It may go against the spirit of the "best of 2010" poll thread to start this while voting is happening; if you do not want to ruin surprises there, I understand. Mostly, I was just curious and wanted to see what people were into outside of the necessarily constrictive format of a poll. In fact, maybe you could use this thread to campaign for albums up for votes in the 2010 poll (assuming that thread hasn't started already).

Mostly I'm just exhausted from messing up my sleep schedule while on vacation and can't concentrate on work. ^_^

Taylor Swift - Fearless

My ten favorite, ripped from the sporadically-updated blog run by jjjusten and me:

Massive Attack - Heliogoland
Owen Pallett - Heartland
Janae Monae - The Archandroid
Big Boi - Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty
Underworld - Barking
Abe Vigoda - Crush
Sleigh Bells - Treats
We Love - We Love
These New Puritans - Hidden
Vampire Weekend - Contra

honorable mentions:

M.I.A. - MAYA
Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Erykah Badu - New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh)
LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening
Kokayi - Robots and Monsters
The Knife/Mt. Sims/Planningtorock - Tomorrow, in a year
Notic Nastic - It's Dark But It's Okay
Bloody Mary - Black Pearl
Third Eye Foundation - The Dark

btw, I strongly strongly STRONGLY recommend the Kokayi album to everyone; the only reason it missed my top 10 is because I got it literally last week:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kF75sEl1YJU&feature=related

1. Taylor Swift – Speak Now
2. Vampire Weekend – Contra
3. Big Boi – Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty
4. The-Dream – Love King
5. LCD Soundsystem – This is Happening
6. Rick Ross – Teflon Don
7. Curren$y – Pilot Talk 2
8. Against Me! – White Crosses
9. Javiera Mena – Mena
10. Four Tet – There is Love in You
11. M.I.A. – MAYA
12. Diddy Dirty Money – Last Train to Paris
13. Merle Haggard – I Am What I Am
14. Elizabeth Cook – Welder
15. No Age – Everything in Between
16. Robyn – Body Talk
17. Jayce Everett – Red Revelations
18. Tracy Thorn – Love & Its Opposite
19. Lindstrøm & Christabelle – Real Life is No Cool
20. Jerrod Niemann – Judge Jerrod and the Hung Jury
21. Kylie Minogue – Aphrodite
22. Laurie Anderson – Homeland
23. Vaselines – Sex With An X
24. Drive-By Truckers – The Big To-Do
25. Shabazz Palaces – EP’s

lol I am tired and forgot an honorable mention:

Glasser - Ring

my 'lphabetic 15 o'2010

ANBB: Alva Noto & Blixa Bargeld «Mimikry» (Raster-Noton)
Paolo Angeli «Tibi» (ReR)
DJ Roc «The Crack Capone» (Planet Mu)
Steffen Basho-Junghans «IS» (Architects of Harmonic Rooms)
Kreatiivmootor «Kaleidoskoop» (Kreatiivmootor)
Barbara Morgenstern «Fan No.2» (Monika)
Joanna Newsom «Have One On Me» (Drag City)
Arvo Pärt «Symphony No.4» (ECM)
Quack Quack «Slow As An Eyeball» (Cuckundoo)
Jüri Reinvere «Requiem» (re:pi:n)
Jonathan Uliel Saldanha «The Earth as a Floating Egg» (Soopa)
Sone Institute «Curious Memories» (Front&Follow)
Suurõ Pilvõ (Celia Roose, Tuule Kann, Robert Jürjendal, Arvo Urb)
Tilbury/ Duch/ Davis «Cornelius Cardew: Works 1960-70» (+3db)
Toog «Goto» (Karaoke Kalk)

still a bunch of things from 2010 that i haven't gotten around to but here are a few of my faves
rangda - false flag
robyn hitchcock - propellor time
elisa randazzo - bruises and butterflies
spoon - transference
cave - pure moods
endless boogie - full house head

hey t**t, what's that bash-junghans record like? totally missed that he had a new one.

more Kokayi:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QExurasgY-k&feature=related

xpo

b-junghans is (i suppose:) quite his usual self, unhurried, floaty, 'tmospheric...

from my blog

Mount Kimbie, Crooks & Lovers
James Blake, CMYK
Baths, Cerulean
Fantastic Mr. Fox, Evelyn
Gaslamp Killer, Death Gate
Erykah Badu, Nu-Amerykah pt 2
Spirituals, s/t
LCD Soundsystem, This Is Happening
James Blake, Klavierwerke
Dave King, Indelicate

I dunno if I even HEARD 10 new albums in 2010. off the top of my head:

E-40 - Revenue Retrievin (both Day Shift and Night Shift)
Glasser - Ring
MIA - MAYA (lol I just got this yesterday. it's great!)
LCD - This is Happening
Big Boi - Luscious Left Foot
Vampire Weekend - Contra
Arthur Presents - BLACKOUT

cave - pure moods

!!! didn't even know this was out. Psychic Summer was awesome

just an ep (three long-ish songs) but it is killer.

School of Seven Bells' Disconnect From Desire as my clear-cut favorite. After that it's a bit of a mix of things. But unsurprisingly a lot of crossover with Dan's there.

My favorite ended up being Bear Hands - Burning Bush Supper Club

Twelve that I liked, kind of in order:

Graham Smith - Accept the Mystery
Owen Pallett - Heartland
The Chap - Well Done Europe
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Before Today
Nellie McKay - Home Sweet Mobile Home
of Montreal - False Priest
The Divine Comedy - Bang Goes the Knighthood
Das Racist - Shut Up, Dude
Momus - Hypnoprism
Kristian Hoffman - FOP
Mike Patton - Mondo Cane
Chilly Gonzales - Ivory Tower

I really liked the Kokayi album and came VERY close to nominating it for the poll, sadly only heard it after I'd done all my nominations but I nearly asked to have them changed. It's great, and I referred to it on an ILX thread the other day ('The State Of Hip-Hop' iirc)

'Nicotine' is a greeeat song

my favs probably autechre, pan sonic, actress and neil young

Actually, the only thing that really stopped me from nominating Kokayi was the fact he'd stuck a HORRIBLE rock-rap song ('Roxtar') really early on in the album - kills it completely in a bad way for 4 minutes - and IDC if it's meant as parodic, it's still horrid

the rest is gr8 tho and I wish I cd vote for it ;_;

"Roxtar" is the single IIRC and I don't think the Bounce Mix is particularly rap-rocky (obv the remix later on is but really all it does is remind me of NERD)

this seems to be the only top [x] list I've put together that's limited to genres or what a particular publication reviewed... I feel like I'd already change a few of these positions around but ehh

1. EXTRA LIFE ‘Made Flesh’ (LOAF)
2. CHRISTIAN MISTRESS ‘Agony & Opium’ (20 BUCK SPIN)
3. WOLF PEOPLE ‘Steeple’ (JAGJAGUWAR)
4. LINDSTROM & CHRISTABELLE ‘Real Life Is No Cool’ (SMALLTOWN SUPERSOUND)
5. RANGDA ‘False Flag’ (DRAG CITY)
6. KREIG ‘The Isolationist’ (CANDLELIGHT)
7. DJ NATE ‘Da Trak Genious’ (PLANET MU)
8. SWANS ‘My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky’ (YOUNG GOD)
9. SAHG ‘III’ (INDIE)
10. BLACK BREATH ‘Heavy Breathing’ (SOUTHERN LORD)

Faun Fables, Never Again, DJ Roc, Automelodi, Mob Rules, Cough and Waka Flocka Flame would get the 'honourable mention' treatment I think

should say "that's *not* limited to genres" at the start there - proof your posts, me

Ah, preempting the ILM vote tally to post our ballots. No huge surprises here: I'm a child of 4AD & art pop, a bit allergic to both insular/atavistic genres and the lyrical concerns of the mainstream.

1. Beach House — Teen Dream
2. We Love — We Love
3. Trentemøller — Into the Great Wide Yonder
4. Various Artists — Radio Rothko Mix by Deadbeat
5. Grum — Heartbeats
6. Glasser — Ring
7. Delphic — Acolyte
8. Gil Scott-Heron — I'm New Here
9. These New Puritans — Hidden
10. Warpaint — The Fool
11. Zola Jesus — Stridulum II
12. Tamaryn — The Waves
13. Grand Valley State New Music Ensemble — In C
14. Sleigh Bells — Treats
15. School of Seven Bells — Disconnect From Desire

if i vote my ilm ballot will probably look p different but this is the eoy ballot i put together like a month ago:

01 Jana Winderen - Energy Field (Touch)
02 Tyler, the Creater - Bastard (self-released)
03 BJ Nilsen - Draught #1 (Ash International)
04 Beach Fossils - s/t (Captured Tracks)
05 C V L T S - Black hole, Hi five (Atelier Ciseaux)
06 e-40 - Revenue Retrievin': Day Shift (Heavy on the Grind Ent./Jive)
07 Com Truise - Cyanide Sisters EP (self-released)
08 Daniel Menche - Raw Fall (Tapeworm)
09 Games - That We Can Play EP (Hippos in Tanks)
10 Emeralds - Does it Look Like I'm Here? (Editions Mego)

11 Outer Limits Recordings - Foxy Baby (Not Not Fun)
12 Blondes - Touched EP (Merock)
13 bvdub - We Were the Sun* (Quietus)
14 Nicholas Szczepanik - Dear Dad (Goat Eater Arts)
15 MellowHype - BlackenedWhite (self-released)
16 Ikonika - Contact, Love, Want, Have (Hyperdub)
17 Kyle Bobby Dunn - A Young Person's Guide To... (Low Point)
18 Yellow Swans - Going Places (Type)
19 We Love - s/t (Bpitch Control)
20 James Ferraro - Last American Hero (Olde English Spelling Bee)

1. Queen Of Denmark - John Grant
2. Hidden - These New Puritans
3. Seasons Of My Soul - Rumer
4. Ali & Toumani - Ali Farka Toure & Toumani Diabate
5. Holkham Drones - Luke Abbott
6. Sky At Night - I Am Kloot
7. Ring - Glasser
8. Gothic Road - Jackie Leven
9. Genuine Negro Jig - Carolina Chocolate Drops
10. Timbuktu Tarab - Khaira Arby

11. We Love - We Love
12. One Life Stand - Hot Chip
13. Gift - Eliza Carthy & Norma Waterson
14. I Speak Because I Can - Laura Marling
15. Chamber Music Society - Esperanza Spalding
16. Dust - Ellen Allien
17. Head First - Goldfrapp
18. Through Light And Trees - Smoke Fairies
19. San Patricio - The Chieftains / Ry Cooder
20. There Is Love In You - Four Tet

21. Quadron - Quadron
22. Deep And Meaningless - Ron Basejam
23. Heartland - Owen Pallett
24. Handmade Life - Chris Wood
25. The ArchAndroid - Janelle Monae
26. Niwa - Ripperton
27. The Sea - Corinne Bailey Rae
28. Black Noise - Pantha Du Prince
29. I'm New Here - Gil Scott-Heron
30. Grey Oceans - CocoRosie

31. Relayted - Gayngs
32. Contra - Vampire Weekend
33. Afrocubism - Afrocubism
34. Swim - Caribou
35. Contact, Love, Want, Have - Ikonika
36. Measure - Field Music
37. En Fin Tid - Diskjokke
38. Wake Up The Nation - Paul Weller
39. Night Work - Scissor Sisters
40. Rising Sun - The Souljazz Orchestra

41. Acolyte - Delphic
42. Tradi-Mods vs Rockers (Alternative Takes On Congotronics) - Various
43. Transference - Spoon
44. She Was Coloured In - Solar Bears
45. Before Today - Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti
46. Soldier Of Love - Sade
47. I And Love And You - Avett Brothers
48. Praise & Blame - Tom Jones
49. Earthology - The Whitefield Brothers
50. LP4 - Ratatat

Call Back the Giants S/T
Way Down South - Bill Orcutt
Funeral Mariarchi - Sun City Girls
False Flag - Rangda
The Rocker - Jailbreak
Patience - The Dead C
Ancestral Star - Barn Owl
Returnal - Oneohtrix Point Never
My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky - Swans
Sax Solo Performance at Subway in NY - Tamio Shiraishi