The best CDs of 2010
Let’s skip an intro about the state of music in 2010 and get right to it.
1. “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” by Kanye West – Forget about hip-hop. There aren’t many performers in any genre who’ve started a career with five CDs as strong as West’s. Jackass of the year? Maybe. But for this ranking, we’re talking about the CD, and no one else made a disc as clever and addictive as this one.
2. “Archandroid” by Janelle Monae – But Janelle came mighty close. She definitely had the best half of a disc of anyone in 2010. Mixing a bizarre sci-fi storyline and killer R&B songs, Monae dazzled on her first-full-length CD.
3. “The Lady Killer” by Cee-Lo Green – Not as inventive as the discs by West and Monae, but every bit as entertaining. The lead singer of Gnarls Barkley shows that he can make some crazy-good dance songs on his own.
4. “Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook” by Bettye LaVette – The comeback continues for LaVette, a soul singer who hit the charts in 1963 with “My Man (He’s a Loving Man).” This time out she rips through and reinvents some old favorites by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Animals and others. One of the great vocal performances of the year.
5. “Have One on Me” by Joanna Newsom – A wispy-voiced singer playing the harp? Not my usual cup of tea, but Newsom’s 2006 CD, “Ys,” really grew on me. This three-CDs set is a lot to take in, but it’s worth the exploration.
6. “How I Got Over” by the Roots – Best rap band? Yeah, sure, but these guys are in the running for best band … period. Just check them out any night on Jimmy Fallon’s show. The Roots’ collaboration with John Legend was solid, but this CD shows them at their best … tight, tough and talented.
7. “Preservation” by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band – A collection of ragtime and traditional jazz songs with guest vocals by Richie Havens, the Blind Boys of Alabama,, Steve Earle, Ani DiFranco, Tom Waits, Dr. John, Angelique Kidjo and others. Jazz is not my area of expertise, but this is just plain fun.
8. “The Promise” by Bruce Springsteen – Of Springsteen’s first eight studio albums, “Darkness on the Edge of Town” is the one I’ve listened to by far the least. But this two-CD set of resurrected songs from the “Darkness” recording sessions is enough to make me dive back into that era.
9. “Chandler Travis Philharmonic Blows” by the Chandler Travis Philharmonic – Add up the solo stuff, the Incredible Casuals, the Philharmonic and his other output, and Chandler Travis has put out a mammoth body of work. This one stands with any of them.
10. “Odd Blood” by Yeasayer – This sounds like Duran Duran on acid, which, surprisingly, is a good thing.
Honorable mention: “New Amerykah, Part 2: Return of the Ankh” by Erykah Badu, “White Crosses” by Against Me! “Astro Coast” by Surfer Blood, “Scratch My Back” by Peter Gabriel and “Downtown Church” by Patty Griffin
A few songs I never got sick of: “Fuck You” by Cee-Lo Green; “Airplanes” by B.o.B., featuring Hayley Williams; “Monster” by Kanye West, featuring Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj, Jay-Z and Bon Iver; “Tik Tok” by Ke$ha; and “Love the Way You Lie” by Eminem, featuring Rihanna
Looking for another look at the year’s best? Check out Ken Capobianco’s blog. Our lists overlap more than in years past, but that’s just because the top three CDs were just so far ahead of the pack.