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!
