Say When? 2010!

Here they are ladies and non-ladies, the best songs of 2010. I made no effort to be fair and balanced (suck it Kanye) or thorough and exhaustive (although I picked up way more songs than I expected to). I tried to limit one song per artist, but of course there are some collaborations in there and one or two instances where I included a second song just because I liked it. I included two Cee Lo Green songs (because "Fuck You" was released early as a single and doesn't really seem to fit in with the rest of The Lady Killer) and two Gorillaz songs (because "Doncamatic" was released separately as a single and it's mostly a Daley song anyway).

Also, my selection from Sufjan Stevens is 25 minutes long. Oops! Anyway, here are the superlatives for this year:

Best Album: Heartland by Owen Pallett

This album is simply brilliant. Pallett has proved that he is just as imaginative in his songwriting as he is with his composing. Choosing a song from this album to include was the toughest challenge I faced in arranging this playlist, because there were several very strong contenders. In the end, I stopped trying to decide which song was best and went with an easier choice. I ended up picking "E Is For Estranged" not only is it one of the strongest tracks on the album, but also because it didn't really seem to belong on the album. It seemed to be something left over from an earlier era and didn't fit into the narrative of the album. Since the record is a concept album and follows a story line throughout, I thought it would be optimal to pick the song that best stood on its own, since not knowing the story might detract from listening to the other songs. SO BUY THIS ALBUM.

Best Rock Album: Sea of Cowards by The Dead Weather

This album kicks so much ass. Seriously, there's not a bad track on this record. Some of the best rock songs I've heard in a long time.

Best Rap Album: Devoir d'insolence by Z.E.P.

I have no idea what's being said on this record but I don't care, I just really like the music.

Best R&B Album: The Archandroid by Janelle Monáe

While this album isn't as catchy and immediately accessible as Cee Lo's The Lady Killer, it is easily one of the most imaginative and eclectic albums of the year.

Best New Artist: The Rubberbandits

Best Swedish Artist: The Tallest Man on Earth

And so here's the list! It's designed to fit on three audio CDs. Originally I planned to limit it to one disc but the thing totally blew up. I figured it would be better to just it super long than to have to make decisions and cut things out. The songs are arranged so that if you were to listen to them all on disc at once they would flow together nicely. So if you get all these songs you can make your own playlist and listen to them!

1. "O Death (Traditional)" by Lauren O'Connell

2. "The Wild Hunt" by The Tallest Man on Earth

3. "You Are" by Punch Brothers

4. "When I Decide" by My Terrible Friend

5. "A Simple Life" by Philip Selway

6. "You Are Not Alone" by Mavis Staples

7. "Thieves" by She & Him

8. "Too Many Miracles" by Badly Drawn Boy

9. "The Suburbs" by Arcade Fire

10. "Another Day" by Pomplamoose

11. "Cousins" by Vampire Weekend

12. "Latin Lover" by Mi Ami

13. "Trans-Continental Hustle" by Gogol Bordello

14. "I Can't Hear You" by The Dead Weather

15. "Better Things" by Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings

16. "Written In Reverse" by Spoon

17. "Tighten Up" by The Black Keys

18. "Fair Game" by The Like

19. "Stranger" by Dr. Dog

20. "Vaporize" by Broken Bells

21. "Drunk Girls" by LCD Soundsystem

22. "Rhinestone Eyes" by Gorillaz

23. "Fuck You" by Cee Lo Green

24. "How I Got Over" by The Roots featuring Dice Raw

25. "Tightrope" by Janelle Monáe featuring Big Boi

26. "She Needs Me" by Fyfe Dangerfield

27. "E Is For Estranged" by Owen Pallett

28. "Little Houdini" by Sage Francis

29. "Good Soldier" by Flobots

30. "Impossible Soul" by Sufjan Stevens

31. "Animal Arithmetic" by Jónsi

32. "No One But You" by Doug Paisley

33. "Take Me Back" by Aloe Blacc

34. "Hard Times" by John Legend & The Roots

35. "A Town Called Obsolete" by Andreya Triana

36. "Wildflower" by Cee Lo Green

37. "Horse Outside" by The Rubberbandits

38. "Come On Sister" by Belle & Sebastian

39. "Doncamatic" by Gorillaz featuring Daley

40. "It's On" by Roots Manuva

41. "Krylon" by Skyzoo & Illmind

42. "I Count the Ways" by Bostich + Fussible

43. "Nique la France" by Z.E.P.

44. "Tudo Bem" by Garotas Suecas

45. "The Glitter Prize" by The Posies featuring Kay Hanley

46. "Marken Lag Stilla" by Dungen

47. "Alphaville" by Working for a Nuclear City

48. "Goldskull" by Miniature Tigers

49. "Telephone" by The Black Angels

50. "Hey Cool Kid" by Cloud Nothings

51. "I'd Rather Be Alone" by Cheap Time

52. "Waterfall" by The Fresh & Onlys

53. "Chickens In Love" by Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros

54. "Adultery" by The Extra Lens

55. "Babies" by The 1900s

56. "So Sleepy" by Fiona Apple, Punch Brothers & Jon Brion

So that's the list! Go out and listen to some music!