For the past several years, I've compiled each of my year-end top 10 album lists thinking it might be my last. In the age of iPods and digital downloads, what place does the album format have? It's a relic of the vinyl LP era, and every year fewer artists release ones that truly hang together from start to finish.
So these days, here's the highest compliment I can pay to an album: it makes me want to turn off the iPod shuffle mode and listen to it all the way through. These 10 albums did that. In alphabetical order:
Arctic Monkeys
“Favourite Worst Nightmare” (Domino)The four likely lads from Sheffield remain the most exciting band on the Brit-rock scene, brutal, sinewy and immune to their own hype. At 21, Alex Turner has already proven himself as smart and original a frontman as Jarvis Cocker or Morrissey.
The bird & the bee
“the bird & the bee” (Blue Note)Singer Inara George and multi-instrumentalist Greg Kurstin bring a sleek, modern sensibility to classic Bacharach-style pop on this dazzling debut. You might not think the line “Would you be my f---ing boyfriend?” can sound beguiling, but trust me—it does.
Brother Ali
“The Undisputed Truth” (Rhymesayers)Call Ali’s consciousness-raising, soul-searching raps a throwback if you must. But his flow is undeniable and Ant’s dense production work, drawing heavily from old blues, soul and reggae samples, rewards repeat listens in a way that not even Kanye’s “Graduation” achieved.
Feist
“The Reminder” (Cherry Tree/Interscope)Even though I’m in the very small camp who still thinks “Let It Die” is the more enjoyable record, “The Reminder” is hard to deny. Leslie Feist’s relaxed, spacious folk-pop is the polar opposite of today’s overproduced radio fodder, and the fact that so many people got to hear it is a gift.
Bettye LaVette
“Scene of the Crime” (Anti-)It’s not Sharon Jones’ fault that the world apparently isn’t big enough for two middle-aged soul divas in the midst of late-career comebacks. Still, it’s a lowdown dirty shame that LaVette’s darker, grittier take on classic R&B got completely lost in all the Dap-Kings hype.
Office
“A Night at the Ritz” (New Line)Head Office dude Scott Masson’s influences are easy to spot—the Cars, ELO, XTC—but he nails them so convincingly, you can’t help but revel in the sheer bounciness of it all. The year’s most consistently entertaining pop-rock record, bar none.
Pinback
“Autumn of the Seraphs” (Touch & Go)Where most of today’s indie rock bands want to grab you by the throat, Pinback comes on with a seductive caress. Their densely layered pop hooks and off-kilter beats blur together more than ever here, revealing new patterns with each listen.
The Silver Seas
“High Society” (Cheap Lullaby)This originally came out in 2006 when the band was still called the Bees. They changed their name to the Silver Seas for legal reasons and reissued “High Society,” and you know what? It’s still amazing, a pitch-perfect amalgam of easy-listening, ‘70s AM radio sounds.
Amon Tobin
“The Foley Room” (Ninja Tune)Using mostly manipulated fragments of old movie soundtracks, field recordings and sound effects reels, British/Brazilian producer Tobin has created a postmodern masterpiece that blends drum ‘n’ bass, glitchcore, trip-hop and avant-garde composition into one beautiful and terrifying whole. The year’s best electronica album—if you can even call this stuff electronica.
Suzanne Vega
“Beauty and Crime” (Blue Note)I’ll lose my last remaining shreds of hipster cred by picking an album from the woman who sang, “My name is Luka,” but I don’t care. Vega’s latest is a revelation, the best work of her career and also the best post-9/11 portrait of New York City any songwriter has given us.
