I love year-end list making, it's awesome. However, it does bother me that I inevitably miss things or come to love certain albums later on that revealed themselves slowly, which means I don't get a chance to honor them because it's a new year and I have to make a new list. But since I have this blog, I do have a chance to revisit my 2010 albums list and share how it looks after another year of listening. So that's what I'm going to do right now.
Last year, my 2010 Top 5 Most Dug Albums list looked like this:
5. [Tie] Best Coast – Crazy For You & The Soft Pack (self-titled)
4. Wye Oak – My Neighbor / My Creator EP
3. Beach House – Teen Dream
2. The National – High Violet
1. Broken Social Scene – Forgiveness Rock Record
Looking at this, I would say numbers 4 and 5 were lucky to get in and did so because I honestly was not too up on all the latest releases. After the year ended, I picked up some things I missed that I really enjoy and feel belong on a list of favorites, if we are to think of it in a "timeless" sense.
Here's my new list.
5. Sufjan Stevens – The Age of Adz
Sufjan Stevens – Futile Devices
4. The National – High Violet
3. Beach House – Teen Dream
2. Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
1. Broken Social Scene – Forgiveness Rock Record
I do still like Crazy For You and if this were a longer list, it would be number 6 on a Top 7 along with Arcade Fire – The Suburbs. I'm less into The Soft Pack album now, I mostly just like a few songs a lot. The Wye Oak EP – as much as I do love it – is kind of out of place since it's not really an album.
The Age of Adz took some time for me to get into, there's just so much going on and it's full of lengthy songs (including a 25 minute closer!). But I came to really dig it and realized how much I missed listening to Sufjan. I think High Violet is a great album but I had to bump it down because Teen Dream was equally great and had more personal connections; I come back to that one a little more frequently. It seems crazy to say, but I just didn't get around to My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy during 2010. After seeing its ubiquity on year end lists, I knew I needed to check it out. As you all probably know by now, it's amazing. Very compelling and full of many highlights. It came really close to unseating Forgiveness Rock Record but that one stuck with me well into this year and I still love it a lot, so it stays on top.
So there you have it. I'm ready to leave 2010 behind now. Stay tuned for my 2011 picks!