Here goes the Top 39 of 2010. Significance of 39? Absolutely none. Enjoy!


39. The Morning Benders - Big Echo : A good album with a most notable song made for television commercials.

38. The Hold Steady - Heaven Is Whenever : Yet another solid album by Minneapolis' finest, complete with a standout opening track.

37. Tift Merritt - See You On The Moon : A very nice girl with a very nice voice...and a very nice appearance by Jim James.

36. Sharon Van Etten - Epic : The new blood of somewhat morose female singer-songwriters.

35. The Autumn Defense - Once Around : Extremely easy-going Wilco side-project that bridges the gap until their next masterpiece.

34. Spoon - Transference : Even more stripped down and less rock-driven than before. It's good, but further movement in this direction could take minimalist to a new place.

33. Band of Skulls - Baby Darling Doll Face Honey : See this blog.

32. Belle & Sebastian - Write About Love : Welcome return of a great band that hadn't been heard from in a while. Interesting guest appearance by Norah Jones. Even more interesting guest appearance by Carey Mulligan (the actress).

31. The Soft Pack - s/t : San Diego band formerly named The Muslims. Probably a wise move to change names...and release a great record.

30. Black Mountain - Wilderness Heart : Not quite on the level of In The Future, but still good.

29. Sufjan Stevens - All Delighted People EP / The Age of Adz : The EP served as a nice transition to the "new" Sufjan, which sounds like a remix of old Sufjan. This new stuff was better than feared, but definitely sad to see the banjo replaced by synth on the full-length. Nice to have Sufjan releasing new material, though.

28. The Besnard Lakes - ...Are The Roaring Night : "Albatross" is epic and the rest of the album isn't far behind.

27. Shearwater - The Golden Archipelago : Once you come around on Jonathan Meiberg's uniquely dramatic vocals, this albums just keeps giving you more and more to like.

26. Justin Townes Earle - Harlem River Blues : A good album with an unquestionably great opener/title track.

25. Josh Ritter - So Runs the World Away : Another solid record from one of the most consistent (and charismatic) artists in the singer-songwriter universe.

24. Phosphorescent - Here's To Taking It Easy : After an opener titled "It's Hard To Be Humble (When You're From Alabama)", it never really mattered what the rest of it sounds like. Thankfully, it's not a let-down.

23. The Fresh and Onlys - Play It Strange : A relative late-comer to the list that starts stronger than it finishes. Hints of the Clearlake albums from a few years back, if any of you remember those on the Best of '03 and '06 compilations.

22. Broken Social Scene - Forgiveness Rock Record : About what you'd expect from a creative group of approximately 47 Canadians, in a good way.

21. The New Pornographers - Together : More large assemblages of creative Canadians, including the three-headed monster of greatness that is Carl Newman, Neko Case (actually an American) and Dan Bejar.

20. Midlake - The Courage of Others : Seemingly forgotten release that might not have the immediate appeal of Van Occupanther, but certainly not far behind on overall quality.