2010. Fin… well almost.

From a personal standpoint, in many ways I couldn't say goodbye and good riddance fast enough to 2010. In many other ways, 2010 has left its mark in positive ways. No other way moreso than the music that was released and I had the opportunity, and more often than not, the pleasure of listening to. 2010 was a hell of a year for music, in particular after what I considered an extremely "down" year for music in 2009, and I have the feeling that I was exposed to only a fraction of the good stuff that was put out this year [hint hint, tell me what I missed please].

There's no good way to put out a "best of" or "favorite" list - any way you conjure up the list - there are major f*cking holes, and it's about as subjective as you can get. And everyone's a critic. Take Rolling Stone's list for example, a list that while, of the albums in their top 10 that I actually heard, I really can't dispute said top 10 [other than Drake - get out of there Drake], but this list has some awful inclusions. These are their top 30 albums, and they're a f*cking music publication, albeit a shadow of their former self, they still have access to whatever music they want, which is pretty much EVERYTHING. So shame on them for including albums like Kid Rock's and Kings of Leon's in their overall top 30. Apologies for anybody that liked those albums, but I heard one song from Kid Rock's album (during his halftime performance at the Pats/Lions Thanksgiving Day game) and while I thank him for being patriotic, good god, the only things that were missing from that song was a "Palin: 2012" campaign sign, a case of Busch Light and a Chevy truck. It was only one song, but the cheesy, forced, and clichéd theme of the song tells me that the rest of his album was probably something along the same lines - a way to pad his wallet as certain parts of the US just eat that sh*t up. And Kings of Leon - I'll say this, this album wasn't horrible, per se. I listened to it on the MOG player a few times, did not purchase it though I own all their other stuff, because again, while this album was not horrible, it can't hold a candle to Aha Shake Heartbreak nor Because of the Times. The regression into a top-40 band started with their last album, and this album doesn't really move the needle further into that territory, but it certainly doesn't move it back out of that realm either. Shame really.

Anyway, those are opinions, and I'm guessing that some people reading this will definitely disagree, and who am I to judge? Therefore, because even I couldn't tell myself outright what my favorite album was of 2010, I got geeky and put together a formula. I gave a bunch of the albums I listened to a lot this year ratings across 8 categories, ratings ranging from -5 to +5. Then I took the average score and put them in order from lowest to highest. Hear are the categories:

· LYRICS

· MUSIC/BEATS

· INNOVATION/CREATIVITY

· PROGRESSION FROM PRIOR ALBUM (debut albums got an N/A)

· ALBUM COHESION

· RE-LISTEN-ABILITY

· ISLAND ALBUM POSSIBILITY

· THROW-AWAY SONGS

I had a few more categories at first but even this might have been getting a little carried away, especially with the 44 albums on this list. Over the last few weeks, I listened to each of these albums one more time (or more than once) and jotted down my ratings. Before I even got started, I had a general feeling that I knew the albums that would make my top 5, and I wasn't really shocked except for a couple, giving albums 2^nd or 3^rd or 4^th or 89^th listens was a great experience - some of the higher ranked ones on my list snuck in and I didn't even see them coming… there's also a couple albums technically released in 2009, but were either released very late (in the US) in '09 or actually didn't hit shelves in the US until 2010.

Couple random observations:

· Only 2 albums had an average score of 4 or above

· Only 14 albums had an average score of 3 or above

· One album had a -5 in a category yet still rated fairly high overall

· The bottom 6 albums were clear-cut poor performers in my ratings, but then it kinda leveled off for a bit

· The "Island Album Possibility" category probably should have gotten tossed out, but it really separated the albums that I will listen to forever from those that will probably collect dust and/or serve as coasters

Anyway, on to the list:

44. Interpol - Interpol. Far & away the lowest rated album I listened to. Biggest pro? Literally nothing. Biggest con? Regression from prior album(s)

43. Kings of Leon - Come Around Sundown. No shocker here. Biggest pro? Music/Beats. Biggest con? Lyrics

42. Black Milk - Album of the Year. Not quite. Biggest pro? Music/Beats. Biggest con? Regression from prior album(s)

41. Band of Horses - Infinite Arms. Let down here. Biggest pro? Music/Beats. Biggest con? Throw-Away songs

40. Gorillaz - Plastic Beach. Wasn't feeling this album from listen #1. Biggest pro? Innovation/Creativity (and that Stylo video). Biggest con? Regression from prior album(s)

39. Blitzen Trapper - Destroyer of the Void. Another major letdown after Furr. Biggest pro? Album Cohesion. Biggest con? Island album possibility

38. Rogue Wave - Permalight. 'Generic-ness' wore on this album. Biggest pro? Music/Beats. Biggest con? Re-listen-ability

37. Sufjan Stevens - Age of Adz. Soof's Kid A or Amnesiac, and not in a good way, borderline shark-jumping here. Biggest pro? Lyrics. Biggest con? Progression from prior album(s)

36. Josh Ritter - So Runs the World Away. Biggest pro? Album cohesion. Biggest con? Island album possibility

35. Nas & Damien Marley - Distant Relatives. Some standout tracks, but inconsistent. Biggest pro? Music/Beats. Biggest con? Island album possibility

34. The New Pornographers - Together. Biggest pro? Album cohesion. Biggest con? Island album possibility

33. Reflection Eternal - Revolutions Per Minute. Waited too long for this I think, what a bummer. Biggest pro? Music/Beats. Biggest con? Regression from prior album

32. Big Boi - Sir Lucious Left Foot… Biggest pro? Music/Beats. Biggest con? Island album possibility

31. B.O.B. - The Adventures of Bobby Ray. Oh god that song with Rivers Cuomo done this album in. Biggest pro? Innovation/creativity. Biggest con? Island album possibility

30. Vampire Weekend - Contra. Guys - please learn to write lyrics that make sense. Biggest pro? Music/Beats. Biggest con? Lyrics

29. matt pond PA - The Dark Leaves. Biggest pro? Music/Beats. Biggest con? Island album possibility

28. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Beat the Devil's Tattoo. Biggest pro? Album cohesion. Biggest con? Island album possibility

27. Cee-Lo Green - The Lady Killer. I don't care how overplayed it is, F*ck You! is awesome. Biggest pro? Innovation/creativity. Biggest con? Island album possibility

26. Delta Spirit - History From Below. Biggest pro? Album cohesion. Biggest con? Progression from prior album

25. B. Dolan - Fallen House, Sunken City. Biggest pro? Innovation/creativity. Biggest con? Island album possibility

24. Broken Social Scene - Forgiveness Rock Record. Biggest pro? Innovation/creativity. Biggest con? Island album possibility

23. She & Him - Volume Two. M. Ward is a personal fave, and Zooey's voice is great but it is a bit of a small doses situation. Biggest pro? Album cohesion. Biggest con? Island album possibility

22. John Legend & The Roots - Wake Up! I expected a bit more here, but still enjoy this album. Biggest pro? Album cohesion. Biggest con? Island album possibility

21. KiD CuDi - Man on the Moon 2: The Legend of Mr. Rager. Smoking weed would probably move this album into the top 3. Biggest pro? Album cohesion. Biggest con? Island album possibility

20. Ted Leo & the Pharmacists - The Brutalist Bricks. Not on the album, but go watch their cover of Everybody Wants to Rule the World. Biggest pro? Music/Beats. Biggest con? Island album possibility

19. Spoon - Transference. Biggest pro? Lyrics. Biggest con? Progression from prior album(s)

18. Yeasayer - Odd Blood. Biggest pro? Innovation/creativity. Biggest con? Island album possibility

17. Dr. Dog - Shame, Shame. Retro-rockers do it again, but Fate is still my go-to. Biggest pro? Music/Beats. Biggest con? Progression from prior album(s)

16. Girl Talk - All Day. One could argue (myself included) that this doesn't belong on this list, and generally I am not a mash-up dude, but damn, this pulled it off. Go get it. Biggest pro? Innovation/creativity. Biggest con? Lyrics (because of the mash-up thing, had to knock this down)

15. The Roots - How I Got Over. It hurts me that an album from Illadelph's finest is not in my top 5 as my love for these guys is well documented. Biggest pro? Lyrics. Biggest con? Island album possibility

14. Broken Bells - Broken Bells. Dangermouse continues to impress. Biggest pro? Innovation/creativity. Biggest con? Island album possibility

13. Deer Tick - The Black Dirt Sessions. Biggest pro? Re-listen-ability. Biggest con? Barely anything. This is where I begin to be conflicted on giving any of these next albums cons.

12. Freelance Whales - Weathervanes. Brilliant debut. Biggest pro? Innovation/creativity.

11. Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest. Biggest pro? Lyrics

10. Eminem - Recovery. Finally… he proves he can still do it, and I'll go so far as calling this his masterpiece. The honesty in his lyrics is amazing and impressive. Biggest pro? Progression from prior album(s)

9. Frightened Rabbit - The Winter of Mixed Drinks. If it's not Scottish, it's crap, and this album is from some talented Scots. Biggest pro? Music/Beats

8. The Morning Benders - Big Echo. From second one of this album, you'll be hooked. Biggest pro? Innovation/creativity

7. The National - High Violet. Get the expanded edition if you haven't bought this yet, and see these guys live. Biggest pro? Re-listen-ability

6. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs. Traditionally, I am a staunch-anti-Arcade Fire-type-guy. But I can't say anything bad about this album goddammit. Biggest pro? Music/Beats

5. Mumford & Sons - Sigh No More. Uhh, need more of these guys stat. Biggest pro? Re-listen-ability

4. Florence & the Machine - Lungs. Hot red-head with an amazing voice. Love. Biggest pro? Album cohesion

3. Menomena - Mines. These guys are so awesomely bizarre and incredibly talented musicians. Biggest pro? Innovation/creativity (and they sing about sharks…kinda)

2. Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Yo - I'm really happy for you Kanye, this is your greatest album of all-time. Every time I talk about this album, myself and the other person in the conversation say the exact same things "I really hate Kanye, but this album is amazing." Biggest pro? Re-listen-ability (and Blame Game's schizo-moments when Kanye's multiple personalities really come out)

1. The Black Keys - Brothers. If you don't have this album, you're a complete idiot. I'm not kidding. This album will appeal to anyone. ANYONE. And these guys make the best videos. Evidence here, here, here & here. Biggest pro? Every-f*cking-thing. Go get this album or I will punch you. And f*cking pay for it.

So people, lemme ask ya - PLEASE let me know what albums I missed [and must get] and what do you agree/disagree with?