Smack talk aside, let's get down to the methodology. Simply put, there isn't one. Last year's track-by-track, whole album, sum, divide by tracks+1 nonsense was time consuming and ultimately fruitless. I still would have ordered the albums the same, except The Suburbs would have been higher. Sorry, Winny-pooh.
20. The Civil Wars - Barton Hollow.
A wonderful little folk album. The title track brings the heat pretty good.
19. The Black Keys - El Camino.
It's good. So were the last seven Black Keys albums. Nothing ground breaking here, just good ol' high-energy, indie-power blues.
18. Friendly Fires - Pala.
Not as good as their debut, but it still keeps their signature energy, especially on "Live Those Days Tonight" and "Pull Me Back To Earth."
17. Explosions In The Sky - Take Care, Take Care, Take Care.
There's not much left to say for EITS. They're just good. Really, really good. Like "tweet-about-how-much-you-love-them-when-you're-feeling-introspective" good. Don't act like you haven't. CALLED OUT!
16. Bon Iver - Bon Iver.
I'm Justin Vernon and I'm too good for my natural vocal range. But he does write beautiful music. Incidentally, he also inspires introspective tweets. Keep it to yourself, people.
15. M83 - Hurry Up,We're Dreaming.
It's too long, but damn is it pretty. Inspired my favorite Hipster Runoff tweet of the year: "Hurry up, we're meming."
14. Foster the People - Torches.
Fun, fun music. You've never sung along to "Pumped Up Kicks"? I don't believe you.
13. Foo Fighters - Wasting Light.
Standard fare from the Foos. "Walk" is a great track.
12. Blind Pilot - We Are The Tide.
Folky, poppy, indie, Pacific Northwest-y.
11. Cage The Elephant - Thank You, Happy Birthday.
Quirky alternative with just a touch of freak-out. "Right Before Your Eyes" is a standout track.
10. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues.
I saw a lot of this album live at ACL and was thoroughly impressed. Then I couldn't find a torrent fi....Imean I couldn't scrounge up the 10 bucks for iTunes. Yeah, that's it. Seriously though, it's a nice little bit of American folk music.
9. Shabazz Palaces - Black Up.
Prog-Hop? Hip-Prog? Prog Rap? All of the above, with a side of holy s*** these guys make some seriously trippy beats and flows.
8. Coldplay - Mylo Xyloto.
Move along. Nothing to see here.
7. Jay-Z & Kanye West -Watch The Throne.
From the beat on "No Church In The Wild" to the Dubstep Rap of "Who Gon Stop Me", this collab bumps from beginning to end. Endlessly quotable. Racks on racks, indeed.
6. Death Cab for Cutie - Codes and Keys.
It's no Transatlanticism, but I'd argue that it's their best since.
These last five truly separated themselves from the pack. I could (and have) listen to these albums on continuous repeat for hours on end.
5. The Dodos - No Color.
Indie rock's power duo is back, and they've finally stripped out the avant-garde weirdness of past releases. Every song is intricately arranged and perfectly executed, but it keeps that signature raw energy that makes The Dodos so unique.
4. The Roots - undun.
Weren't The Roots number 4 last year as well with How I Got Over? Yep. Such a short time between albums will make it suffer, right? Nope. I think this is The Roots best album since Phrenology. ?uestlove truly is a master of hip hop artistry, and Black Thought brings it on every track. The guests are all on their game, as well. And to end it all there is a Sufjan Stevens inspired instrumental suite.
3. ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - Tao Of The Dead.
There are only two songs on the album. First is the 35 minute "Tao of the Dead", split into 11 tracks. The second song is the 16 minute "Strange News From Another Planet", which they elected to leave as one piece with five distinct sections. I had written a long description, but I want to keep this short. Trust me, it was a really long track by track breakdown. You know I nerd out for prog-rock.
2. My Morning Jacket - Circuital.
Whenever I listen to this album I automatically play it two or three times before I have to force myself to listen to something else. The title track is making a strong play for song of the year (coming soon! (maybe)), and the rest of the album just oozes awesome. Jim James is reminding me more and more of John Lennon, especially on "Wonderful" and "You Wanna Freak Out." You'll wanna freak out after listening. In the good way.
1. Radiohead - The King Of Limbs.
I don't even need to go into "Why Radiohead is the greatest band of all time, and why TKOL was the album of the year" mode. I could. Trust me, I could. I just don't want to. This race was over in February. Sorry I'm not sorry. It's Radiohead. It's me. You do the math.
Happy New Year.
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