Triangle Music: Justin's top albums, concerts & songs of 2010

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Justin's top albums, concerts & songs of 2010

At this time last year, I was anticipating the next year in music more than any other before. Broken Social Scene, The Hold Steady, The New Pornographers, Arcade Fire, and John Darnielle all released new music this year. These were the musicians the guided my journey from the classical music realm to college radio, but none of them had quite the impact on me today as they did then.

What (pleasantly) surprises me the about this list is that before 2010, I hadn’t heard many of these artists. I felt like every week I was discovering something I liked every week this year. That made this year’s list particularly difficult to compile and there are a ton of artists I would love to mention, but simply don’t have the space to.

Stay tuned as more best of 2010 lists will be hitting the blog each day this week. The readers' poll is open until Thursday, December 23 at noon (vote HERE if you haven't already).

Favorite albums
1. Justin Townes Earl - Harlem River Blues
2. Lost in the Trees - All Alone in an Empty House
3. Last Year’s Men - Sunny Down Snuff
4. Sharon Van Etten - Epic
5. Janelle Monáe - The ArchAndroid
6. Titus Andronicus - The Monitor
7. Clive Tanaka y su Orquesta - Jet Set Siempre 1°
8. Wolf Parade - Expo 86
9. Carolina Chocolate Drops - Genuine Negro Jig
10. Horse Feathers - Thistled Spring

Favorite Concerts
1. The Mountain Goats @ Durham Central Park, August 28
2. Megafaun presents a Seamless Night of Sound @ Kings, September 11
3. Megafaun, Fight the Big Bull, Justin Vernon & Sharon Van Etten @ Hayti Heritage Center, September 17
4. The Love Language, Light Pines, Shit Horse @ Cat’s Cradle, July 17
5. Titus Andronicus, Spider Bags, The Dry Heathens @ Local 506, April 18

Favorite EP
Schooner - Duck Kee Sessions

Favorite Songs
1. The Love Language - "Heart to Tell"