2010 was a great year for albums. While I spent alot of the year listening to 2009 releases by Tegan and Sara, Animal Collective, Real Estate, and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, and rediscovering older favorites like Joni Mitchell, Wilco, Pavement, Sleater-Kinney, and Buddy Holly, I was frapped by the sheer number of 2010 releases that felt like instant classics to me. Here is my breakdown of the best albums released in 2010.
1. Kanye West, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy 
I was really torn about whether to put this album first or not for a couple reasons. It came out really late in the year and therefore I don’t yet have the same nostalgia attached to it as I do to alot of the other albums on the list. And also, it’s Kanye Fucking West. I’ve always been a fan of his songs but not usually his albums as entities and it always bothers me when an artist gets more attention for their antics than for their music, like Kanye has in the past couple years. All that said, though, I can’t resist this album. It’s number 1 on my list because it works so well as a unit and because, even if I have more of a sentimental attachment to the She and Him album, for instance, casually putting Dark Twisted Fantasy on Thanksgiving weekend was definitely the single most frapping listening experience I’ve had all year. From Nicki Minaj’s bizarre opening on “Dark Fantasy,” to the infectious guitar sample in “Gorgeous,” through the insanity that is “Monster,” song after song the first half of the album blew my mind. And the rest of it isn’t too bad either. The sensitivity of “Runaway” and the presence of Bon Iver re-working “The Woods” on “Lost in the World” work surprisingly well with Kanye’s simultaneously self-aggrandizing and self-deprecating sentiment. No one man should have all that power.
2. She and Him, Volume Two 
I was eagerly awaiting this album when it came out in March. 2008‘s Volume One was so important to me and just so good that I was excited for what they would put out next but also concerned that it wouldn’t have the same effect. Volume Two did not let me down. While I preferred the demo version of “Thieves” that I’ve had for a couple years already (sup Lux?) to the album version and I thought that the first single “In the Sun” was just pretty good and not phenomenal, the rest of the album really hit me. “Don’t Look Back,” “Lingering Still,” “Me and You,” and “Over It Over Again” struck a very personal note when I needed it most. Upon first listen I knew that “Home” would occupy a special place in my heart right next to the Edward Sharpe song of the same title. Volume Two reminded me of summertime while I was cold in England and it was the first thing I put on when I couldn’t sleep in hostels in Bruges and Rome. I can always count on Zooey Deschanel’s voice to make my ears feel hot and to frap my sentimental heart.
3. Mumford & Sons, Sigh No More 
I first heard the first 6 tracks of this album play when I was sitting in a cafe in Prague with Brianna. The songs immediately stood out to me, reminding me of the Fleet Foxes -esque type of boy-folk-rock that I have a special affection for. When “White Blank Page” came on, I knew that I would have to look the band up when I returned to England. I found the band by searching the lyrics that struck me the most: “You desired my attention but denied my affections.” Sigh No More reminds me of walking down Banbury Road in Oxford in the early spring feeling simultaneously sad and empowered. “Sigh No More,” “The Cave,” “Winter Winds,” and “Little Lion Man” are sometimes even hard for me to listen to I find them so beautiful and nostalgic. The lyrics are extremely sentimental and the music will go from soft and slow to urgent within one song. For me, this album stands alongside Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago, and Up From Below by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes as a certain type of record that holds a special place for me.
4. Erykah Badu, New Amerykah Part Two: Return of the Ankh
This is another album that reminds me of walking around Oxford in the spring. I put it so high on the list because, unlike Sufjan and Arcade Fire who I have a special bias toward, I was only peripherally into Erykah’s music before hearing this album. So, this is definitely another example of the frap effect. This album is extremely cohesive, the more upbeat answer to 2008’s New Amerykah Part One, but it also fluctuates between sexy, playful, and serious. Standout tracks include: “Window Seat,” “Turn Me Away (Get MuNNY),” and “Umm Hmm.”
5. Sufjan Stevens, The Age of Adz
I love Sufjan so much and I can’t really explain why. I was a little bit reluctant going into this album because I kept hearing how different it was from his other material and how he had gone “electronic.” Then I fell in love with “I Walked” without the context of the rest of the album. What I realized upon listening to it through was that, even with the use of electronic sounds and without the backdrop of an American state, it still sounds like Sufjan. It’s still his voice and his lyrics and his sense of cohesion. Standout tracks: “Too Much,” “I Walked,” and “Now That I’m Older.”
6. Arcade Fire, The Suburbs
Nothing will ever really surpass Funeral in my mind, but Arcade Fire always puts out really solid albums. I love the concept behind The Suburbs and I do think that there are some standalone tracks, like “Modern Man,” “Suburban War,” “We Used to Wait,” and “Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)” that rival their best.
7. Joanna Newsom, Have One on Me
It’s so beautiful and part of me thinks it really should be higher on the list but the thing is, it’s so long and there’s so much to it that I don’t think I’ve really listened to the entirety of it enough. For “Good Intentions Paving Company” and “Does Not Suffice” alone, though, I have to call this 2-hour triple-album wonderful. Other standouts: “Easy,” “’81,” and “Soft As Chalk.”
8. Jenny and Johnny, I’m Having Fun Now
It is hard for me to call anything Jenny Lewis has done less than gold. Her voice affects me in the same way that Zooey’s does. This album recalls some of my favorite elements of Rilo Kiley: “My Pet Snakes” beginning with “And…” and poignant lyrics standing out in the middle of a lighthearted pop song (“I am the biggest fake” in “Just Like Zeus). What Johnny brings to the table is great, too. The call-and-response bit of “My Pet Snakes” is irresistible, and his voice sounds great on the unique but catchy “Slavedriver.”
9. The National, High Violet
I think that this album is defining the transition from 2010 to 2011 for me. If I had fully listened to it earlier in the year it would definitely be higher on the list. “Bloodbuzz Ohio,” “Sorrow,” “Anyone’s Ghost,” and especially “England” are beautiful songs that hit me in that certain place much like “Slow Show.”
10. Jakob Dylan, Women and Country
Jakob continues to frap me even after all this time. I saw him perform most of this album this summer at the Pleasantville Music Festival. Standing right in front of the stage, I was struck by more than the fact that, yes, his eyes really are that blue. His voice is calm but so powerful and his lyrics are thoughtful without being overly political. Plus, Neko Case sings backup on some of the album tracks.
other mentions:
Best Coast, Crazy For You
Beach House, Teen Dream
Nicki Minaj, Pink Friday
These are all albums that I’ve enjoyed alot but haven’t really given there fair amount of time yet. I think the Best Coast album is so infectious but I haven’t decided if I think it’s valuable as anything more than fun surf pop. I think that half of the Nicki Minaj album is both fun and interesting but there is alot of it that still kind of feels like filler. And the Beach House… I’ve tried so hard to break into it, and I really do love some of the songs, but I still feel like I don’t entirely “get” it.
T-Dawg
