I’ve been looking through some “best albums of 2010″ lists over the past few weeks. It might just be me, but for every year the blogging community does this, the lists become more homogenous, slightly reordered versions of the same lists. We’re all listening to the same ten albums. Music critics are becoming a singularity, which goes against what it means to be a critic in the first place: pointing out unique gems and curating music for those who share similar preferences with the critic in question. Furthermore, it’s not helping support all those arguments about the internet being a home for individuality. But those are thoughts for another day.

So, instead of my favorite records of 2010, here are some records I loved that didn’t get the attention they deserved.

The Hold Steady: Heaven Is Whenever

They’ve been a mainstay among the fist-pumping classic rock lovers for a few years now but, aside from a decent amount of publicity right when it came out, this album seems to have fallen flat for a lot of people compared to past successes. Granted, Heaven Is Whenever was a stylistic departure from past albums. But after four releases of fairly straightforward American bar band rock and roll and heavy touring, a band with die-hard fans should be permitted a chance to try something new.

Sonic evolution aside, the writing on this album is some of the best Craig Finn and company have concocted thus far. Finn has consistently produced some of the most honest and soul-searching wordplay that’s seen the light of day in recent years.

Listen: The Hold Steady – “We Can Get Together”

Various Artists: Get Darker Presents: This Is Dubstep Vol. 2

Posting a compilation might be cheating, but considering my attraction to all things electronic this year, the Get Darker This Is Dubstep series — a who’s who in the UK dubstep scene — was both thrilling and educational for me. Get Darker pulled together a grab bag of club bangers, remixes and some of the darker, headier material most of America’s “bro-step” fans tend to overlook. Highlights include Caspa’s remix of TC’s “Where’s My Money?” and Chasing Shadows’ Weezy-sampling track “Ill.” To top it off, DJ Darkside then took all fourty (yes, fourty) tracks on this two-disc set and make continuous DJ mixes out of them. Start to finish it works great as energetic background working music or the soundtrack to a killer dance party.

Listen: Chasing Shadows – “Ill”

Four Tet: There Is Love In You

Minimal techno at its finest. Four Tet gained some attention for a few Radiohead remixes a while back, and his own material only continues to improve. “Love Cry” was one of my most-played songs of the year, and the album as a whole is a finely crafted work of art that is compelling, intricate, delicate and worthy of any introvert’s headphones.

Listen Four Tet – “Love Cry”

Flying Lotus: Cosmogramma

I never could get into jazz, but a blood relative of the Coltranes who collects off-kilter beats, Dilla-worthy hip-hop production, impressive collaborations and an Adult Swim sense of humor is hard to ignore. It has a Coltrane spirit to it in a very psychedelic, new age sort of way. Also, if you’re looking to kill some time, FlyLo is one of the most compelling producers to watch do his thing live.

Listen: Flying Lotus: “Clock Catcher”

Local Natives: Gorilla Manor

Like it or not, “indie” has a formula now. The big record labels know it sells and people making iPod commercials and films for twentysomethings take full advantage of the ubiquity of The Indie Band. Local Natives somehow fits this cookie cutter quite well, but simultaneously uses the stage in a pretty clever way. I couldn’t really tell you what makes this dance-friendly guitar pop different than your average indie band, but they manage to maintain a unique sound within that bubble. They also put on one hell of a show.

Listen: Local Natives – “Airplanes”

Gold Panda: Lucky Shiner

Some are calling it glitch or a fun take on the dubstep craze. I’m not sure what to call it, but Gold Panda does it well. His remixes are worthy of some attention, but Lucky Shiner, his debut LP full of jumpy beats and tweaked vocal samples, is better than all those remixes from start to finish.

Listen: Gold Panda – “You”

Max Richter: Infra

Richter spans the gap between modern minimalist classical and ambient. Infra is going to please anyone who likes that chunk of the musical spectrum. It’s of a type normally reserved for background music, but Richter manages to keep it interesting and yawn-free. Think of it as expanding on the territory where Philip Glass began.

Listen Max Richter – “Infra 1″

Infinite Body: Carve Out the Face of My God

Another entry in the ambient spectrum. This is more droney, using a lot of toothy synths and gritty pads that are clearly electronic but flirt with the edges of more guitar-based drone and sludge. Again, this is another one good for background music. But I would submit that such music is good for anyone doing knowledge work where long periods of focus are essential.

Listen Infinite Body – “Dive”

Freelance Whales: Weathervanes

It’s quaint, quirky, modern, relevant to a young twentysomething, merges folk and light electronics and is delightfully lighthearted. Shoot me in the face, right? Yeah, probably. But it’s good. And it’s entertaining. And repeated listens reinforce how damn good every song on the album actually is.

Listen Freelance Whales – “Hannah”

Junip: Fields

If I didn’t know better, I’d just call this José González’s next album. You might know him from his impressive solo work — which is mostly acoustic folk with some simple precussion — or his collaborations with semi-supergroup Zero 7 — who is mostly known for being a total snoozefest that causes me fall asleep. But Junip is great. It’s upbeat and folky all at once, and González’s vocals and lyrics are a gentle, yet driving, force of nature.

Listen Junip – “Sweet & Bitter”

Salem: King Night

I literally just found this one a couple weeks ago. Right in the nick of time. People are tossing it into this whole witch house genre, which is basically a bullshit way to pigeonhole people making electronic music that sounds evil, spooky and often a bit campy. However, I don’t particularly care what you call Salem as long as you call it good. It sounds like someone making a “chopped and screwed” hip hop remix album on even more quaaludes than a normal “chopped and screwed” remixer would be taking, then filtered through some toothy synths from your favorite Halloween sound effects record that got warped when you left it out in your mom’s hot garage.

Listen Salem – “Sick”

Hammock: Chasing After Shadows…Living with the Ghosts

They’re a Nashville favorite and they belong in that ever-growing ambient genre. This record came out days after my move to Nashville, which also happened to be mere days after a massive flood, which turned out to be a pretty good time for this record to come out. While not as strictly backgroundy as their last record, this one had a great, watery, 80s new wave/gothy vibe thatfelt dark and uplifting all at once. Also, I kind of like that a member of Hammock is also a member of The Choir, and they collaborated with a member of The Church on this record.

Now, if only we could get them to play a show in their own hometown.

Listen Hammock – “The Backward Step”

I guess you could say July was a busy month. I had ear surgery at the end of the month, so I think my brains were trying to get in as much music before I’d be down for the count for a few weeks while my hearing comes back. Sucks to be me.

The beginning of the month brought a re-run epiphany that Pavement succeeded at what Nirvana was trying to do. Long story for another post. And then I found the This Is Dubstep comps and got hopelessly lost in electronic music for the rest of the month. I only took breaks for some new releases, like the new New Pornographers, the new M.I.A., Admiral Radley, Acacia Strain, Best Coast and Max Richter. And in the middle there somewhere was a phenomenal Hold Steady/Whigs show in Memphis. Needless to say, I’m a bit music saturated in my current environment and I am not going to complain about it.

1. Pavement – “Here” (Slanted and Enchanted)
2. Chasing Shadows – “Ill” (GetDarker Presents: This Is Dubstep 2)
3. Tes La Rok – “Darkness Falls Upon Us” (GetDarker Presents: This Is Dubstep)
4. Drumsound & Bassline Smith – “R U Ready (Dubstep Mix)” (GetDarker Presents: This Is Dubstep 2)
5. Fused Forces – “Chemical Reaction” (GetDarker Presents: This Is Dubstep 2)
6. Lung – “Afterlife” (GetDarker Presents: This Is Dubstep 2)
7. The New Pornographers – “Crash Years” (Together)
8. The New Pornographers – “Valkyrie In the Roller Disco” (Together)
9. The Hold Steady – “Positive Jam” (Almost Killed Me)
10. The Whigs – “Right Hand On My Heart” (Mission Control)
11. M.I.A. – “Teqkilla” (MAYA)
12. M.I.A. – “Meds and Feds” (MAYA)
13. Admiral Radley – “I Heart California” (I Heart California)
14. The Hold Steady – “Soft In the Center” (Heaven Is Whenever)
15. Beach House – “Walk in the Park” (Teen Dream)
16. The Acacia Strain – “Btm Fdr” (Wormwood)
17. Max Richter – “Infra 5″ (Infra)
18. Best Coast – “Summer Mood” (Crazy For You)

And here is your playlist, as usual.

Happy July! I don’t even know what to say about my musical selections for June. I reviewed some albums for Ghettoblaster (Sarah Jaffe), continued to get stoked on the new Hold Steady album, saw David Bazan and mewithoutYou live and crept into a major electronic music phase, which I am currently entrenched in. My monthly playlist for July will be packed with it, don’t you worry.

1. Mumford & Sons – “Winter Winds” (Sigh No More)
2. Wye Oak – “That I Do (Mickey Free remix)” (My Neighbor / My Creator EP)
3. The Polyphonic Spree – “Section 2 (It’s the Sun)” (The Beginning Stages of…)
4. N.A.S.A. – Spacious Thoughts (feat. Tom Waits & Kool Keith)” (The Spirit of Apollo)
5. Iron & Wine – “Peace Beneath the City” (The Shepherd’s Dog)
6. This Will Destroy You – “Brutalism & the Worship of the Machine” (Field Studies)
7. The Hold Steady – “Rock Problems” (Heaven Is Whenever)
8. Sarah Jaffe – “Clementine” (Suburban Nature)
9. mewithoutYou – “Timothy Hay” (it’s all crazy! it’s all false! it’s all a dream! it’s alright)
10. Zomby – “Spliff Dub (Rustie remix)” (Mu5h / Spliff Dub single)
11. Burial – “Shutta” (Ghost Hardware EP)
12. Sleigh Bells – “Tell ‘Em” (Treats)
13. Wye Oak – “For Prayer” (The Knot)

And, of course, here’s your free, streaming playlist of all the songs above.

Oh hey. I guess it’s June now. When did that happen?

New albums from Roky Erickson, The Hold Steady, The National, LCD Soundsystem, Gayngs and Horse Feathers ruled the month, it seems. Otherwise it was a fairly quiet month.

1. Roky Erickson with Okkervil River – “Please, Judge” (True Love Cast Out All Evil)
2. Horse Feathers – “Thistled Spring” (Thistled Spring)
3. The Hold Steady – “We Can Get Together” (Heaven Is Whenever)
4. The National – “Bloodbuzz Ohio” (High Violet)
5. Gayngs – “The Last Prom On Earth” (Relayted)
6. Earth – “The Bees Made Honey In The Lion’s Skull” (The Bees Made Honey In The Lion’s Skull)
7. Avi Buffalo – “What’s In It For?” (Avi Buffalo)
8. Jesse Malin and the St. Marks Social – “Burning the Bowery” (Burning the Bowery)
9. LCD Soundsystem – “Dance Yrself Clean” (This Is Happening)
10. Sufjan Stevens – “Redford (for Yia-Yia and Pappou)” (Michigan)
11. Zomby – “Daft Punk Rave” (Where Were U in ’92?)
12. Iyaz – “Replay” (Replay)
13. Jason DeRulo – “Whatcha Say” (Jason DeRulo)

And, and always, you can listen here:

Oh, hello there. How’s your family? I live in Nashville now. How’s that for crazy? Hopefully that whole moving-across-the-country thing is a good enough excuse for my lack of writing output. I’ll be back to it soon, I promise.

April was an exciting month, and not only due to my move. Not only did Jónsi, of Sigur Rós fame, release his first solo album, but I also got to go up to Amoeba Records in San Francisco to see him play a live acoustic set for Record Store Day a few days before my move. And the week before that, I was lucky enough to see Beach House perform to a sold-out crowd in town. A great goodbye from California, if I may say so.

The rest of the month was spent driving and visiting and driving and moving boxes and painting furniture and other such things, so the list is a bit more slim than usual. I hope you are enjoying your day as much as I’m enjoying mine.

1. Jónsi – “Go Do” (Go)
2. The Sight Below – “Splénétique” (It All Falls Apart)
3. Radiohead – “I Am A Wicked Child” (Com Lag: 2plus2isfive)
4. Wye Oak – “For Prayer” (The Knot)
5. Beach House – “Zebra” (Teen Dream)
6. Beach House – “Take Care” (Teen Dream)
7. Mimicking Birds – “The Loop” (Mimicking Birds)
8. The Tallest Man On Earth – “A Lion’s Heart” (The Wild Hunt)
9. The Hold Steady – “Slapped Actress” (Stay Positive)

And now you can listen to (most of) these tracks, because it’s just a good idea.

This was a funky month for music. I saw The Antlers and Minus the Bear and Vampire Weekend live, so those were obvious adds. Jay-Z and Oceana put out great videos for “Empire State of Mind” and “The Family Disease,” respectively. And a box set of the entire works of Buddy Holly, flaws and all, came out last week. Not bad, not bad.

1. The Antlers – “Thirteen” (Hospice)
2. Minus the Bear – “Knights” (Planet of Ice)
3. Julian Casablancas – “Out of the Blue” (Phrazes for the Young)
4. The Drive-By Truckers – “The Three Great Alabama Icons” (Southern Rock Opera)
5. Floating Action – “50 Lashes” (Floating Action)
6. Burial – “Fostercare” (5: Five Years of Hyperdub)
7. Oceana – “The Family Disease” (Birth.Eater)
8. Bellwether – “Miss You Twice” (7&6)
9. The Mountain Goats – “Against Pollution” (We Shall All Be Healed)
10. Vampire Weekend – “Horchata”
11. Jay-Z – “Empire State of Mind” (The Blueprint 3)
12. The High Strung – “Standing at the Door of Self Discovery” (Ode to the Inverse of the Dude)
13. The Hold Steady – “Slapped Actress” (Stay Positive)
14. Buddy Holly – “Midnight Shift (false start/alternate)” (Not Fade Away: The Complete Studio Recordings and More)

Here be my monthly autobiography in the form of a list of songs I liked during this 31-day period. It was a month that involved a weekend trip to see my girl in Nashville, remembering how much I love the Gaslight Anthem and the Hold Steady, and finally starting to come to terms with the fact that I actually like No Age, and thus noise rock in general.

Speaking of the No Age thing, I’ve always been frustrated at my lack of love for Pavement. It might be time for me to go back to try them again. Perhaps a recent reading of the book Love is a Mix Tape has something to do with this. More on that later.

1. Eels – “Hey Man (Now You’re Really Living)” (Blinking Lights and Other Revelations)
2. Eels – “Things the Grandchildren Should Know” (Blinking Lights and Other Revelations)
3. Dead Man’s Bones – “Buried in Water” (Dead Man’s Bones)
4. The Raveonettes – “Bang!” (In and Out of Control)
5. No Age – “You’re a Target” (Losing Feeling)
6. No Age – “Eraser” (Nouns)
7. Silversun Pickups – “Growing Old is Getting Old” (Swoon)
8. Will Hoge – “Even If It Breaks Your Heart” (The Wreckage)
9. Bruce Springsteen – “Jersey Girl” (Live/1975–85)
10. The Gaslight Anthem – “The ’59 Sound” (The ’59 Sound)
11. Bruce Springsteen – “Devils & Dust” (Devils & Dust)
12. Frightened Rabbit – “Keep Yourself Warm” (Midnight Organ Fight)
13. The Hold Steady – “Stuck Between Stations” (Boys & Girls in America)
14. The Two Man Gentlemen Band – “Fancy Beer” (Drip Dryin’ with the Two Man Gentlemen Band)
15. Devendra Banhart – “Can’t Help But Smiling” (What Will We Be)
16. Glasvegas – “S.A.D. Light” (Glasvegas)

Now, I think this is funny and true just like the next guy (and, admittedly, I was/am a fan of Linkin Park’s first album; I was into them way before they got radio play [spoken like a true music snob]), but I’ve always wondered: why do we criticize artists whose songs all sound the same?

We pan artists for being too one-dimensional, then we go off and fawn over a band that sounds just like another band from 10 years ago.

I’m just as guilty as anyone else, but what’s the root cause? What are the similarities and differences between songs and artists that make them okay or not okay to listen to? Is there a sliding scale based on certain characteristics that will get a band more or less made fun of?

The trickiest part with bands like Linkin Park is that a lot of people do like them, so it’s not a universal rule. But I’m sure a lot of their fans would make fun of, say, the Hold Steady for the same reason.

Us humans, we’re a confusing bunch.

BONUS POINTS: Someone find me that mp3 where two Nickelback songs are played at the same time, one in each speaker. Maximum comedy right there.

Hey, it’s half a month late, but at least it’s here. I’m back from Thailand (plenty to share, but I’ll get to that later), so here’s June’s playlist. It’s full of good old classic rock sounds and a few randoms from new releases and old favorites. And the Bruce/Wilco closers were what I played in the Land of Smiles when I was thinking about home.

1. Dr. Dog – “The Old Days” (Fate)
2. Paolo Nutini – “Keep Rolling” (Sunny Side Up)
3. Aesop Rock – “Nickel Plated Pockets” (Daylight EP)
4. M83 – “Gone” (Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts)
5. Radiohead – “Lucky” (OK Computer)
6. The Knife – “We Share Our Mothers’ Health (Trentemoller remix)” (We Share Our Mothers’ Health single)
7. Dirty Projectors – “Useful Chamber” (Bitte Orca)
8. The Hold Steady – “Citrus” (A Positive Rage)
9. edIT – “Artsy Remix (feat. The Grouch)” (Certified Air Raid Material)
10. The Gaslight Anthem – “The ’59 Sound” (The ’59 Sound)
11. Mathew Good – “Champions of Nothing” (Hospital Music)
12. Manchester Orchestra – “Colly Strings” (I’m Like a Virgin Losing a Child)
13. Passion Pit – “Moth’s Wings” (Manners)
14. The Veils – “Sit Down by the Fire” (Sun Gangs)
15. mewithoutYou – “Allah, Allah, Allah” (it’s all crazy! it’s all false! it’s all a dream! it’s alright)
16. The Dear Hunter – “Mustard Gas” (Act III: Life and Death)
17. Bruce Springsteen – “Born to Run” (Born to Run)
18. Wilco – “I’m the Man Who Loves You” (Yankee Hotel Foxtrot)

Regular posts return this week as I slowly collect my brains post-travel and try to spit them out for you to read. Meanwhile, enjoy the music!

Jeez, is it May already? April flew by real quick.

Of these twenty songs that made up the audio journey of April 2009, about half were highly Coachella-influenced. The rest are present thanks to my constant exploration the musical landscape. Same old, same old.

1. Glasvegas – “It’s My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry” (Glasvegas)
2. Eels – “Things the Grandchildren Should Know” (Blinking Lights and Other Revelations)
3. Los Campesinos! – “We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed” (We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed)
4. Silversun Pickups – “Lazy Eye” (Carnavas)
5. Okay – “Natural” (Huggable Dust)
6. Blitzen Trapper – “Furr” (Furr)
7. Grand Duchy – “Come On Over to My House” (Petits Fours)
8. TV on the Radio – “Stork & Owl (Gang Gang Dance remix)” (Read Silence EP)
9. Stone Temple Pilots – “Sour Girl” (No. 4)
10. My Brightest Diamond – “Feeling Good” (Dark Was the Night)
11. The Hold Steady – “Citrus” (Boys and Girls in America)
12. The Veils – “Sit Down by the Fire” (Sun Gangs)
13. Cage the Elephant – “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked” (Cage the Elephant)
14. Fucked Up – “Crooked Head” (The Chemistry of Common Life)
15. Antony and the Johnsons – “Kiss My Name” (The Crying Light)
16. Radiohead – “I Am Citizen Insane” (Go to Sleep)
17. The Hold Steady – “Stuck Between Stations” (Boys and Girls in America)
18. Camera Obscura – “French Navy” (My Maudlin Career)
19. Silversun Pickups – “Growing Old is Getting Old” (Swoon)
20. Radiohead – “Let Down” (OK Computer)

And for those interested, I made an imeem playlist so you can check the whole thing out. Enjoy.

Or just listen to it here.