i practically only come around once a year at this point

oh, hai

i have put together a list of my favorite albums of 2010. not because i think anyone cares. i did it partly because i like lists, partly because i feel like my grandchildren will swoon over this, and mostly in order to avoid a really stressful fiasco in january of 2020 such as i experienced last year [planning ahead]. it was a little tricky trying to narrow it down to 10 because 2010 was, in my opinion, a phenomenal year for music.

notice i said "favorite albums" and not "the best." that's because there are some runners up that, while i consider them to be superior quality overall, they still didn't make my favorite 10. for example, i think This is Happening and Swim are both better albums than The ArchAndroid, but Janelle Monáe got way more play time because i just had more fun with her album.

i came up with my favorite ten by using an extremely complicated algorithm that i developed involving number of song/album plays, quality and strength of emotions the album evoked, how often it was put on repeat, how long before the magic of the first listen wore off, etc (this is so that in 10 years, when i think The Wild Hunt is terrible and wonder what i was thinking i will know exactly what i was thinking [this is just an example, i do not actually anticipate that happening in any way. however, i probably didn't think that about One More Try by Timmy T in 1991 either when i'd sit obsessively by the radio waiting for it to come on so i could tape it.)

so, anyway, here they are. in order. i have included one track from each album should you like to have a listen.

10. The ArchAndroid - Janelle Monáe
Here is Come Alive (War of the Roses)
favorite line: "that's when I come alive like a schizo running wild, that's when I come alive now let's go wild"



9. The Head and the Heart - The Head and the Heart
here is Down in The Valley
favorite line: "Lord have mercy on my rough and rowdy ways"




8. The Wild Hunt - The Tallest Man on Earth
here is Love is All (one of my most repeated songs of the year)
favorite line: "love is all from what i've heard but my heart's learned to kill"



7. Heartland - Owen Pallett
here is Lewis Takes Off His Shirt
favorite line: "my senses are bedazzled by the parallax of the road"



6. How I Got Over - The Roots
here is Right On (feat. Joanna Newsome)
favorite line(s):
"It's the Orion of the Hop, the new star of the Hip
I shine a light for the future so my presence a gift
It's evident I'm heaven sent with Thomas Edison elements"



5. Halcyon Digest - Deerhunter
here is Helicopter
favorite line: "could you pray for us? we know he loves you the best"



4. High Violet - The National
here is Lemonworld
favorite line: "I gave my heart to the Army, the only sentimental thing I could think of"



3. Teen Dream - Beach House
here is Better Times
favorite line: "been a fool for weeks 'cause my heart stands for nothing and your soul's too weak"



2. The Age of Adz - Sufjan Stevens
here is Age of Adz
favorite line(s):
"When I die, when I die, I'll rot
But when I live, when I live
I'll give it all I've got"



1. The Suburbs - Arcade Fire
here is Suburban War
favorite line(s):

"And my old friends
I can remember when
You cut your hair
We never saw you again
Now the cities we live in
Could be distant stars
And I search for you
In every passing car"



seriously that is the best album. you should listen to it millions of times.

some runners up that brought much pleasure to my 2010:

Plastic Beach - Gorillaz
Winter of Mixed Drinks - Frightened Rabbit
Big Echo - The Morning Benders
The Ladder - Andrew Belle
Contra - Vampire Weekend
Swim - Caribou
This Is Happening - LCD Soundsystem

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