Pitchfork's Top 50 Albums of 2010

Pitchfork's Top 50 Albums of 2010

Original Source →

50.

August 3, 2010
Critic Score
75
29 reviews
On this strong return after a tough year, Nathan Williams enlists Jay Reatard's backing band, polishes his sound, and embraces pop-punk clarity.

49.

May 25, 2010
Critic Score
77
15 reviews

Though some of indie's brightest leading men have come through Virginia's halls of higher education (Steve Malkmus, David Berman, Travis Morrison), your average college rock band in the Old Dominion area probably sounds more like Agents of Good Roots. So if you live in a place like Blacksburg, Va., home of the Virginia Tech campus and not much else, and you want to be in a tropical punk act (Facepaint), an introspective singer-songwriter project (Jack & the Whale), or a band that covers Kate Bush instead of Dave Matthews (Wild Nothing's breakthrough rendition of "Cloudbusting"), you'll probably have to do what Jack Tatum did and start them yourself.

48.

March 1, 2010
Critic Score
75
4 reviews
On this impressive record, the UK producer's haunted sound evokes faded memories, ghostly auras, and dream states but also remains grounded and forceful.

47.

September 28, 2010
Critic Score
78
20 reviews

The group's sophomore effort, Public Strain, pushes forward in both directions-- the hooks are noisier, the noise is hookier, and both are fogged over with enough reverb to make Felt records seem bone-dry by comparison.

46.

August 17, 2010
Critic Score
76
21 reviews

If you've followed Matthew Dear over the years, then you know he doesn't like to stay in one place for very long. Even as a primarily electronic artist in the early 2000s, Dear hopped from label to label, switched aliases often, and made everything from steely microhouse to harder Detroit techno. But his biggest departure was 2007's Asa Breed, the record where he stepped out from behind the decks and reached for the mic. Singing on tracks and leaning more heavily on song structure, he built strange hybrid music that had one foot in techno and the other in pop.

45.

February 9, 2010
Critic Score
80
31 reviews
The influential singer-songwriter returns after many years with a powerful album that mixes spoken word, folk, and blues over roughed-up sonics.

44.

October 26, 2010
Critic Score
83
8 reviews
One of the best metal bands around proves its worth once again with another outstanding, crossover-friendly record of hooks and noise.

43.

May 21, 2010
Critic Score
76
21 reviews

Innerspeaker demonstrates a subtle yet encompassing sense of control, never obstructing the grander motifs while still offering a variety of odd details that guide you back to the album's hooks.

42.

June 15, 2010
Critic Score
71
24 reviews

Drake sings or raps the word "I" 410 times on his debut album. Even in the realm of hip-hop-- a style famous for its unswerving solipsism-- this is a feat. For comparison's sake, noted mirror watcher Kanye West managed to work only 220 "I"'s into the verses and hooks of his big break, The College Dropout. Illmatic; 210. Reasonable Doubt; 240. With Thank Me Later, Drake attempts to enter the pantheon of those rap game-busters by the sheer force of first person singular pronouns. All eyes are on him-- especially his own. But considering this mixed race, half-Jewish, all-Canadian "Degrassi: The Next Generation" alum looks and sounds unlike any major rap star before him, betting the house on nothing but himself turns out to be a wise gamble.

41.

June 8, 2010
Critic Score
74
18 reviews

The band whose Ayrton Senna EP helped define last summer's bright, beachy sound gains momentum with a beautifully surging, shimmering trance-pop LP.

40.

September 28, 2010
Critic Score
70
18 reviews

The songs may sound more conventional, but they're no less complex. The music is hard-wired and overflowing with activity, even in the record's sparsest moments.

39.

July 27, 2010
Critic Score
75
31 reviews
California's Bethany Cosentino delivers on the promise of her noisy early singles with a richer-sounding album that highlights the power of her voice.

38.

July 20, 2010
Critic Score
73
16 reviews
His first two records were lousy, but Rick Ross has found his niche by presiding over a luxurious rap fantasy out of step with the current moment.

37.

August 23, 2010
Critic Score
78
11 reviews

36.

June 8, 2010
Critic Score
79
13 reviews

Describing Emeralds' music feels a little like capping that underwater oil spill must: how do you get your hands around this stuff? The Cleveland trio may favor methodical cadences in their music, but their releases come fast and furious. According to Discogs.com, they've put out around 40 releases in just four years, most of them CDRs and cassettes. There are variations of mood and intensity, and each major release has its own particular signature, owing in part to changes in gear and technique, and in part to being a band that improvises and records non-stop. Any given album feels like a snapshot of the band in time.

35.

March 3, 2010
Critic Score
82
40 reviews

Ex-Blur frontman Damon Albarn ditches the idea of writing pop songs a cartoon band might front and makes one of his most gorgeous pop records in years.

34.

April 23, 2010
Critic Score
73
30 reviews
Crystal Castles return with a second self-titled album, embracing a more direct pop sound while retaining the sharp edges that made their debut so compelling.

33.

April 13, 2010
Critic Score
79
27 reviews

Matsson is both a romantic and a realist, and on The Wild Hunt, he uses the barest of pop-folk settings to give mundane moments-- another break-up, another tour, another change of season, another Dylan comparison-- a grandeur so disproportional that it's difficult not to identify and sympathize with him.

32.

Tyler, The Creator - Bastard
December 25, 2009
Critic Score
72
2 reviews

31.

May 4, 2010
Critic Score
77
14 reviews

Lo-fi heroes graduate to crafting country-inflected indie pop that's part Wowee Zowee and part Workingman's Dead.

30.

June 29, 2010
Critic Score
77
18 reviews
On his third album, the influential R&B singer/songwriter comes into his own as an album artist, getting over on his impeccable sense of craft.

29.

The Fresh & Onlys - Play It Strange
October 12, 2010
Critic Score
71
15 reviews

But this one finds them starting to pull all those ideas into something a little more focused, something easier to digest.

28.

May 10, 2010
Critic Score
84
37 reviews

High Violet is the sound of a band taking a mandate to be a meaningful rock band seriously, and they play the part so fully that, to some, it may be off-putting.

27.

January 26, 2010
Critic Score
83
34 reviews

Driven by dance-inspired beats and ghostly sampled voices, the new Four Tet album is the most focused in Kieran Hebden's catalog, and also among his best.

26.

September 28, 2010
Critic Score
80
23 reviews

The songs may be catchy, but their intricacy and thoughtful storytelling makes them stick.

25.

October 12, 2010
Critic Score
77
34 reviews

But instead of succumbing to trends, Stevens barrels through with another long-form work that requires-- and rewards-- time and devotion.

24.

February 9, 2010
Critic Score
77
38 reviews

Dialing back some of their eccentricities and embracing personal songwriting, Hot Chip have crafted their most consistent album yet.

23.

September 14, 2010
Critic Score
83
12 reviews
They came on the scene with online novelty hit "Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell", but there's a lot more to this New York rap outfit on their new mixtape.

22.

November 22, 2010
Critic Score
79
17 reviews

If Broken Dreams Club is indeed an honest glimpse of what's ahead, it sounds as though Girls have much more to give.

21.

September 14, 2010
Critic Score
79
31 reviews

And that brings us to "Angela Surf City", the song on this album that deserves a place alongside "The Rat" and "In the New Year". It starts off tense and withdrawn, Leithauser singing about some relationship without ever letting us in on what, exactly, is going on. Underneath, there's a tense, withdrawn surf-rock beat. And when the chorus starts to well up, the music underneath keeps surging upward, becoming huger than anything the song should be able to handle, then getting even huger from there, as Barrick lets off relentless Bonham-level thundercracks.

20.

June 21, 2010
Critic Score
82
11 reviews
Having softened his attacks and smeared his notes into indefinite shapes, he seems to sever the music from any kind of causality, so that it simply floats freely, morphing, rippling in a dance of infinite regeneration, like some perfect lifeform.

19.

October 19, 2010
Critic Score
77
21 reviews

How to Dress Well is to my mind the biggest breakthrough in home-recorded lo-fi in years. It feels brave, like it's going places a lot of artists in this sphere are afraid to go.

18.

March 30, 2010
Critic Score
82
23 reviews

After the fury of the stunning New Amerykah Part One, Badu returns to creating relaxed, personal funk that feels more like a sketchbook than a record.

17.

April 20, 2010
Critic Score
82
35 reviews

After drawing from IDM, krautrock, and sunshine pop, Dan Snaith's project sets its sights on dark and intricate dance music, with dazzling results.

16.

May 11, 2010
Critic Score
83
38 reviews

The New York duo's debut full-length is a wildly fun noise-pop thrill-ride, delivering on the promise of last year's widely circulated demos.

15.

November 22, 2010
Critic Score
83
20 reviews

With Body Talk, Robyn ups the ante for pop stars across the radio dial and raises her own chances of appearing on yours.

14.

May 4, 2010
Critic Score
85
35 reviews
The L.A. producer's head music, which pulls from jazz, hip-hop, videogame sounds, IDM, and more, is more dense and rewarding than ever.

13.

September 28, 2010
Critic Score
79
28 reviews

Simply a sonically chameleonic, musically generous, seriously compelling record from a couple guys who've once again got all their pedals in a row.

12.

May 18, 2010
Critic Score
86
33 reviews

Where many concept albums run a high risk of being pompous, cryptic, and self-important, Monáe keeps things playful, lively, and accessible.

11.

August 3, 2010
Critic Score
88
43 reviews

It's a satisfying return to form-- proof that Arcade Fire can still make grand statements without sounding like they're carrying the weight of the world.

10.

March 9, 2010
Critic Score
81
29 reviews

It all turns out so ridiculously fun-- with Ken Burns-style readings of speeches from Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, daguerreotype cover art, and song titles all participating in the reenactment-- that it never even begins to approach the pretentiousness these elements might suggest.

9.

June 8, 2010
Critic Score
79
25 reviews

Ariel Pink's best songs are surprising, and there's a real sense of musical delight on Before Today; the sections sound logical but never predictable, and there are wild bridges and short bits that emerge seemingly randomly but wind up taking the song somewhere unexpected.

8.

October 10, 2010
Critic Score
82
4 reviews

Few artists are stretching the boundaries of dance music wider than this UK producer, who follows CMYK with another excellent EP.

8.

May 31, 2010
Critic Score
82
4 reviews
The prodigious London electronic producer, still only 21, crafts intricate music that's both deeply retro and futuristic.

8.

James Blake - The Bells Sketch
March 15, 2010
Critic Score
90
2 reviews

7.

February 23, 2010
Critic Score
85
34 reviews

The best songs feel more like conversations rather than artworks to be hung on the wall and admired from several paces away. Newsom seems to sing from somewhere deep inside of them, and her earthy presence has a way of drawing you in, bringing you closer to her music than you've been before.

6.

January 11, 2010
Critic Score
79
37 reviews

Contra works because of its juxtapositions-- of natural sounds to processed ones; of manners to tantrums; of party rhythms to deadpan poetry; of black music to white music.

5.

January 26, 2010
Critic Score
83
36 reviews

This is both the most diverse and most listenable of their three full-lengths, and yet it never seems like a compromise. 

4.

July 6, 2010
Critic Score
81
31 reviews
After years of label drama and leaked tracks that hinted at something great, the OutKast MC exceeds high expectations on his proper solo debut.

3.

September 28, 2010
Critic Score
83
37 reviews

Halcyon Digest is a record about the joy of music discovery, the thrill of listening for the first time to a potential future favorite, and that sense of boundless possibility when you're still innocent of indie-mainstream politics and your personal canon is far from set.

2.

May 18, 2010
Critic Score
83
38 reviews

Even considering his bold-name touchstones for This Is Happening, it would be shortsighted to cry rip-off; Murphy is remaking essential 70s art-rock in his own hyper-modern, self-aware image.

1.

November 22, 2010
Critic Score
91
45 reviews

As a result, the record comes off like a culmination and an instant greatest hits, the ultimate realization of his strongest talents and divisive public persona.

Original Source: http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/7893-the-top-50-albums-of-2010/
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