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User
Reviews 1
Approval 100%
Soundoffs 8
Album Ratings 165
Objectivity 62%
Last Active 05-09-11 7:46 am
Joined 09-21-10
Review Comments 235
| Top 20 Albums Of 2010
Here it is, the moment none of you have been waiting for because I rbarely freakin post on this rsite. Leave your comments about how rboring/unorignal the list is or how questionable my taste ris below. Just rleave my girlfriend and/or mother out of it. | | 20 |  | Circa Survive
Blue Sky Noise
Favorite Tracks: Frozen Creek, Get Out.
Circa took to a poppier sound on Blue Sky Noise, which made it a really fun
listen at first, but it didn?t hold up well to multiple listens. | | 19 |  | The Roots
How I Got Over
Favorite Tracks: Walk Alone, Dear God 2.0.
I love the full band sound, as well as the brave choices of guest artists, but
ultimately the musical charisma outshines the vocal charisma. | | 18 |  | Big Boi
Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty
Favorite Tracks: Hustle Blood, Shine Blockas.
Big Boi brought an album full of inventive, original, and fun beats. I just couldn?t
connect with most of his flow or lyrics. | | 17 |  | Ceremony
Rohnert Park
Favorite Tracks: Into The Wayside Part 1/Sick, The Pathos.
Ceremony?s love-letter to 1984-era punk hardcore brought the entire genre into
greater perspective for me. | | 16 |  | Rick Ross
Teflon Don
Favorite Tracks: Tears of Joy, Free Mason.
Mostly great production with mostly great verses and choruses add up to a
mostly great album from Rossay. | | 15 |  | The Ghost Inside
Returners
Favorite Tracks: Greater Distance, Chrono.
The Ghost Inside haven?t reinvented their sound on Returners, but they have
certainly improved it. | | 14 |  | Kanye West
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Favorite Tracks: Runaway, Gorgeous.
Kanye?s Fantasy is full of huge singles that I wouldn?t mind hearing on the radio
or at parties for years to come. Unfortunately there are a few duds that keep
this album from being a ?beginning-to-end-er?. | | 13 |  | Ion Dissonance
Cursed
Favorite Tracks: This is the Last Time I Repeat Myself, You People Are Messed Up.
Crushing. Pissed. Loud. | | 12 |  | My Epic
Yet
Favorite Tracks: Lower Still, Perfector
Based on the bands they toured with and their name, I had always just
assumed My Epic was just some crappy post-hardcore band. The fact that they
are signed to Facedown didn?t exactly excite me either. I?m glad I listened
anyways. If I hadn?t, I would?ve missed out on some of the best music from this
vein of post-hardcore since Thrice?s Alchemy Index. | | 11 | | Trash Talk
Eyes & Nines
Favorite Tracks: Explode, Vultures.
I love Trash Talk because I don?t feel any pressure from them to take them too
seriously. They?re just some dudes playing fast and loud hardcore. They?re not
trying to push the boundaries of the genre or change the world. They just want
to let off some steam. And this makes Eyes and Nines an incredibly fun
hardcore record. | | 10 |  | Envy
Recitation
Favorite Tracks: Rain Clouds Running in a Holy Night, Worn Heels and the
Hands We Hold, A Breath Clad in Happiness.
I had the good fortune of seeing Envy live this fall, and they absolutely blew me
away. It doesn?t matter that all of their lyrics are in Japanese; their music
exudes all the emotion you would need. And even though the lyrics are either
spoken or screamed, it never sounds angry, or even sad for that matter. I could
explain their sound on a more technical level, but that would ruin the pleasant
surprise for those who haven?t heard it. | | 9 |  | Comeback Kid
Symptoms + Cures
Favorite Tracks: Crooked Floors, Get Alone.
I?ve never been that big of a fan of punk-style singing, but after listening to this
album I feel like I get it now; sometimes singing a chorus as loud as you can
just makes sense. It?s just emotionally heavier that way. There is more singing
in Symptoms + Cures than you can find in any other Comeback Kid record, but
this still manages to be as hard-hitting as the rest of their discography. | | 8 | | Dangers
Messy, Isn't It?
Favorite Tracks: I?ll Clap When I?m Impressed, Opposable.
I found this band this earlier this year and without listening to them much, I
dismissed them as another by-the-numbers powerviolence band that wishes
they were Ceremony. Then I heard Messy, Isn?t It? Not only is the music more
unpredictable and interesting than any powerviolence band could be, but the
lyrics are far more gripping and smart than you would expect from this genre.
Messy is angry, heavy, disturbing, political, and always fascinating. | | 7 |  | Vampire Weekend
Contra
Favorite Tracks: Horchata, Cousins.
So sickeningly catchy you?ll puke and then your stomach will be empty and
you?ll hunger for more Vampire Weekend. Contra is definitely a step up from the
self-titled instrumentally and melodically. Nearly every song has it?s own sound,
but they all manage to sound like Vampire Weekend. | | 6 | | Ray Lamontagne and the Pariah Dogs
God Willin' & The Creek Don't Rise
Favorite Tracks: God Willin? & The Creek Don?t Rise, Old Before Your Time.
I love Ray Lamontagne?s voice. I love it so much that I wanna take it behind a
middle school and get it pregnant. When you put that voice to work on some
high-quality folk/country/blues songs, you have God Willin? & The Creek Don?t
Rise. One of the brightest spots on the album is the title track, where a sparse
drum beat and a mournful slide guitar line crawl along until Lamontagne?s
smokey twang collides with them in one of my favorite choruses of the year. | | 5 |  | Band of Horses
Infinite Arms
Favorite Tracks: Way Back Home, Evening Kitchen.
One of my favorite bands, now complete with ridiculous production. As if that
wasn?t enough, Infinite Arms is also the most consistent effort from Band of
Horses thus far, as well as their most varied and interesting. | | 4 |  | The Dillinger Escape Plan
Option Paralysis
Favorite Tracks: Farewell, Mona Lisa, Room Full of Eyes.
It?s more Dillinger Escape Plan. And it?s as good as they?ve ever been. You don?t
need to say anything more. You either get them or you don?t. | | 3 |  | Sufjan Stevens
The Age of Adz
Favorite Tracks: The Age of Adz, Vesuvius.
When I heard Sufjan was coming out with a new album, I immediately
preordered it without thinking twice. After completing the order, I saw two
tracks from the album as well as an album description posted on his website. My
heart sank as I learned it would be an electronic album. I?ve never been a huge
fan of electronic music, whether it?s in interludes or in an entire album. I
thought Sufjan was going to turn into a soulless Animal Collective clone, or
worse, another Postal Service ripoff. But it turned out to be something much
weirder than either of those things. The Age of Adz is probably the weirdest
album I?ve ever heard. There are more sounds and intstruments in this beast
than even the most seasoned stick-shaking veteran would? shake a stick at?
But Sufjan makes it work. The album teeters on the brink of insanity (seriously,
autotune and a hip hop beat), which perfectly reflects Sufjan?s mental state as
evidenced by his lyrics. There is a compelling beauty in the Age of Adz?s
melancholy melodies and eccentric bleeps and bloops that could?ve only come
from Sufjan?s obviously disturbed mind. | | 2 |  | Underoath
Disambiguation
Favorite Tracks: In Division, My Deteriorating Decline.
Disambiguation is easily the best Underoath album yet. As it turns out, Aaron Gillespie was
holding UO back all along. The out-of-place, too-poppy choruses are gone,
replaced with darker, moodier ones that leave songs feeling more cohesive and
effective. New drummer Daniel Davison keeps up with the band in every regard.
Personally I prefer Davison over Gillespie, because Davison isn?t afraid to play a
beat with no frills when it is most effective. Ultimately this is the most cohesive,
dark, heavy, progressive, and enjoyable album Underoath has made. | | 1 |  | The Tallest Man on Earth
The Wild Hunt
Favorite tracks: The Wild Hunt, Love is All.
Everything about this album is perfect. Kristian Matsson croons his thoughtful,
introspective lyrics in a Dylan-like tone over some of my favorite guitar work of
all time. The Wild Hunt is immediately catchy, as well as deep and timeless.
There?s not much else I can say. You just have to hear it. | |
lukempls
12.10.10 | album art and question marks all screwed up n wutnot. | IN64
12.10.10 | I was with your girlfriend and/or mother last night... it was cool | lukempls
12.10.10 | chill even? | G3N3R1C
12.10.10 | Nice list. I've heard great things about 6, been meaning to look into that one. | KILL
12.10.10 | 2 sucks | lukempls
12.10.10 | it's some likable stuff, I'd recommend 6 to just about anyone. I think it got nominated for a grammy, not that that's always the greatest barometer for how good it is. | lukempls
12.10.10 | megadeth sucks. | Satellite
12.10.10 | not bad for a twins fan.
;) | EVedder27
12.10.10 | 1 is the only thing we have in common | KILL
12.10.10 | saying one of the greatest thrash bands sucks while you like 2 is silly billy | lukempls
12.10.10 | silly billy? pish posh.
but honestly megadeth rules, i was just tryna piss you off. i just dont thrash as hard or often now as i did in my glory days. | Wolfhorde
12.10.10 | The vocals of 20 seem actually pretty gay. Where's my cheese.. ? | lukempls
12.10.10 | yeah they take getting used to. or maybe just disgruntled acceptance of. | lukempls
12.10.10 | Sat, I was thinking to myself, "when is someone gonna make fun of me for being a twins fan?" then I realized you'd already posted. I might have to say goodbye to my boy carl pavano here soon. | Wolfhorde
12.10.10 | They're too high. There are way too much high vox in music. Especially anything related to Indie or Alt. Rock. | botb
12.10.10 | really glad to see 12 | trailofdead91
12.10.10 | Circa took to a poppier sound on Blue Sky Noise, which made it a really fun listen at first, but it didn?t hold up well to multiple listens.
Then why put it in a best of list? | lukempls
12.10.10 | cause i still enjoyed it more than alot of stuff I heard this yea I guess I should have mentioned that I'm a pretty big fan
of their older stuff. That's why I wrote about how it disappointed me. still good, just expected more. | GnarlyShillelagh
12.10.10 | wtf is 16 doing on here are you mentally retarded or just high | Comatorium.
12.10.10 | good job on 7 brah. | lukempls
12.10.10 | dude fuck what ya heard. 16 has some duds, but people just hate on him cause he's full of shit. but that doesn't make his beats any less awesome. | IAmHollywood
12.10.10 | Vampire Weekend isn't that good at all... | Wolfhorde
12.10.10 | Meh, if yer want good Hip Hop I'd rec ya Tech N9ne. | lukempls
12.10.10 | thanks for the rec, but im not much of a tech n9ne fan. I get this cheesey vibe from him. | Wolfhorde
12.10.10 | Well, if it comes to Hip Hop I focus more on technique than lyrics, 'cause mostly they are - except of some wordplays crappy as hell. | lukempls
12.10.10 | oh come now. thats not true, im sure you could find rappers with lyrics that you can connect to. POS is pretty relateable imo, but that might just be because he raps about minneapolis some. same goes for atmosphere. either way, both are down to earth and have some great lyrics. | Aids
12.10.10 | new Band of Horses is poopy. Good list otherwise. | therandomness
12.11.10 | vampire weekend, underoath, circa survive.
nice list | GnarlyShillelagh
12.11.10 | Sir Lucious Left Foot had great beats too, and even better lyrics. Shouldn't that be higher than Rick Ross then?
You can't base your decisions solely on beats, especially when the accompanying lyrics are:
My gun dirty, my brick clean
I'm riding dirty, my dick clean
She talk dirty but her mouth clean
Bitch I'm MC hammer
Not to mention half the time his shit don't make sense.
my top back like JFK
they wanna push my top back like JFK
So, So I JFK
Yeah you're right. This nigga's the truth. | cvlts
12.11.10 | 9 and 10 were so bad. 11, 13, 15, and 17 got old. | lukempls
12.11.10 | gnarly, since you have some sort of elitist hate towards rick ross, ill concede to you that he is in no way "better" than big boi. Big boi has better lyrics for sure, and some inventive beats. I just liked Ross' stuff more. I'm sorry, I'm not following the groupthink on this one.
but i never said he was "the truth". i said he was full of shit.
also, who the fuck tells other people how to make their decisions? nazis, thats who. I definitely didnt make these decisions based solely on who's beats i liked more, but who the fuck are you to say that I couldnt do that? fuckin fascists. | DDconjoined
12.11.10 | good list, but 2 is a christian album, just can''t get that!! | sollopsist
12.12.10 | Vampire Weekend suck so much |
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