“Best of” 2010

Best-of lists stress me out.  Making them always causes me such anxiety … it’s as if I’m afraid of offending someone by leaving their album off the list or putting them in the wrong spot, which is rather egotistical–and just plain silly.

That being said, I would like to extend my apologies to all the bands and records that I didn’t get to listen to in 2010.  This year marked a major disconnect between myself and the music world, as it was the first time since 2004 that I wasn’t working in the radio industry (outside of hosting NR).  I didn’t know until today, for instance, that The Alps and Max Richter had releases this year.  I’ve already begun a list of albums I need to catch up on.

The list below features, in alphabetical order, the top 10 albums and EPs released in 2010 that I spent a lot of time with and loved in their entirety.  My first podcast will highlight my favorite tracks of the year, but this will have to do until I get more settled.

Nomadic Reverie’s Top 10 Albums of 2010 (alphabetical)

Active Child – Sun Rooms (Mirror Universe Tapes)

 
Angel Olsen – Strange Cacti (Bathetic Records)

 
Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Before Today (4AD)

 
Beach House – Teen Dream (Sub Pop)

 

Bjork + Dirty Projectors – Mount Wittenburg Orca (self-released)

 
CocoRosie – Grey Oceans (Sub Pop)

 
Grimes – Geidi Primes (Arbutus Records)

 
Joanna Newsom – Have One on Me (Drag City)

 
Mountain Man – Made the Harbor (Bella Union/Partisan)

 
Nite Jewel – Am I Real? EP (Gloriette)

 

 

2010 Runners Up (alphabetical)

Highlife – Best Bless EP (The Social Registry)
Mahjongg – The Long Shadow of the Paper Tiger (K Records)
oOoOO – oOoOO EP (Tri Angle)
Sharon Van Etten – Epic (Ba Da Bing!)
Wildbirds & Peacedrums – Rivers (Leaf)

 

Whoomp:  There it is.