Top Albums, 20-11

20. LCD Soundsystem- Sound of Silver (considering the trendy devotion to the album, I did not want to like it as much as I did. If I were throwing a traditional party, this would be the main mix tape. I would need nothing else. Very cool dance music for everyone with a pulse)





19. Josh Ritter- The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter (a departure after the focused and brilliant Animal Years. This is a raucous- for folk- fun filled album, which is quite risky for Ritter. It will not be remembered for years and has nothing on it that compares to Thin Blue Flame or Girl in the War, but it is still excellent)





18. Kings of Leon- Because of the Times (maybe you have to be an Indy Rocker from the South to truly appreciate these guys, which I am. If you like dirty rock and roll, just listen without prejudice. This is their best album, and in another era the Kings would be the biggest band in the USA)





17. Beirut- The Flying Club Cup (more Paris than Eastern European this time by way of New Mexico. It is a strange little album, the natural progression from its debut. The weirdest thing about Beirut is how accessible they are)






16. The Good, the Bad and the Queen- self-titled (a British super group making wonderfully focused, very English album. There is a lot of the 1980's new wave coursing through the music, yet it sounds very fresh and quite cool)






15. Spoon- Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (what more can be said about this album? It is soulful rock and roll music, simple and direct. The spooky single, The Ghost of You Lingers is the prefect melding of music and lyric of the year, while You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb could have been written in the early 1960s and become a classic)




14. Bright Eyes- Cassadega (while I am no advocate of Spiritualism as a treatment for unfocused, arrogant songwriting, it seems to have done Oberst good. After the terribly disappointing and overrated I'm Awake and Digital Ash, he returns to form with a new found affair with traditional music that should have been there from the beginning. I still think Lifted is better, but this is a solid album)




13. The Real Tuesday Weld- The London Book of the Dead (I am not well versed in British music of the early 20th Century, but this album makes me want to learn about it. Whereas most artists wanting to live in the past stick to a familiar formula, this album sounds like nothing I have ever heard, except in a Tim Burton film. It is difficult to explain, so find it and listen. It is the freshest album of the year)





12. The Avett Brothers- Emotionalism (it should probably be little higher, but I am having difficulty with rankings as I go higher. It is not really bluegrass, but there are elements. It is banjo driven rock, with a touch of Neutral Milk Hotel. Paranoia in B flat Major is one of the year's finest songs and anyone that likes traditional music but the energy of rock will love this thing)





11. Amy Winehouse- Back To Black (once more, you should believe the hype. She is that good. I imagine Lauren Hill and Billie Holiday spending the night at a seedy bar and doing blues covers with a turntablist after binge drinking. If she lives, we will hear much more from her than Lily Allen)