Ok everyone after toiling over the list I have come to this my final decision. It was tough as this was another exciting year for music. Not including any of the bands in the Top 10 does not denote their music at all and again this is just my own personal list. Do not miss the notable mentions for some other great music by bands that will probably not make the Rolling Stone or Spin Top 10.
To explain why I decided to give The Horrors and Bombay Bicycle Club top honours along with the rest of the Top 10 well it's due to the fact that both these albums surprised me with how good they were. Both bands released solid previous efforts but nothing prepared me for the sheer brilliance of the new albums. The Horrors recorded and produced the album by themselves which also gives them extra points in my books. Bombay Bicycle Club made a poppy/sad/dancey album that demanded your attention and brought you back for more. Kasabian has had solid releases so I expected the new album to be as good as West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum or better. Also Radiohead at first surprised me with their choice for the direction of the new album but after repeat listens there was no way not to appreciate the subtle nuances that crept out upon multiple listens. S.C.U.M. are a brand new band and I have to say their album caught me off guard and remained in constant rotation for good reason. White Lies made a perfect 2nd effort and hopefully they keep the momentum going because they have only continued to get better. Glasvegas definitely took a risk releasing such a strange follow up to their highly successful 1st album but it paid off in a heartbreakingly honest record that shone through the strangeness and revealed the beauty underneath. Ryan Adams again did an about face and made one of his best albums in a while. The Vaccines made a bold statement by making guitar bands cool again and harkening back to old school rock n' roll to shake up the current blandness of pop music. Finally The Arctic Monkeys "Suck It And See" saw the band mature and write some love songs along with some psychedelic numbers that came from working with Josh Homme on previous album Humbug.
I have been doing this for a while now and always like the feedback and the reminders of things I might have missed cause it's so hard to keep up with all the great music out there. I hope you all can concoct your own lists cause I would be interested to see what everyone else's Top 10's were. Until next year ladies and gentlemen keep your ears to the ground and your eyes on the skies. Cheers all!!
1. The Horrors - Skying
2. Bombay Bicycle Club - A Different Kind Of Fix
3. Kasabian - Velociraptor
4. Radiohead - The King Of Limbs
5. S.C.U.M. - Again Into Eyes
6. White Lies - Ritual
7. Glasvegas - Euphoria ///Heartbreak\\\
8. Ryan Adams - Ashes & Fire
9. The Vaccines - What Did You Expect From The Vaccines
10. Arctic Monkeys - Suck It And See
Notable mentions:
Beady Eye - Different Gear, Still Speeding
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds - Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds
Friendly Fires - Pala
Coldplay - Mylo Xlyoto
Brett Anderson - Black Rainbows
Hard-Fi - Killer Sounds
Big Talk - Big Talk
British Sea Power - Valhalla Dancehall
The Boxer Rebellion - The Cold Still
And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - Tao Of The Dead
Cut Copy - Zonoscope
PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
The Dears - Degeneration Street
Yuck - Yuck
Elbow - Build A Rocket Boys!
R.E.M. - Collapse Into Now
The Suzukis - The Suzukis
The Strokes - Angles
The Pigeon Detectives - Up, Guards and At 'Em!
Foo Fighters - Wasting Light
TV On The Radio - Nine Types Of Light
Explosions In The Sky - Take Care, Take Care, Take Care
Gorillaz - The Fall
Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
The Antlers - Burst Apart
Matthew Good - Lights Of Endangered Species
Sons & Daughters - Mirror, Mirror
Battles - Glass Drop
Bon Iver - Bon Iver
Adele - 21
The War On Drugs - Slave Ambient
Washed Out - Within And Without
The Airborne Toxic Event - All At Once
The Young Knives - Ornaments From The Silver Arcade
Young Rebel Set - Curse Our Love
ZAZA - Sacred Geometry
Red Hot Chili Peppers - I'm With You
Zola Jesus - Conatus
Fool's Gold - Leave No Trace
Bjork - Biophilia
Kill It Kid - Feet Fall Heavy
Young Galaxy - Shapeshifting
Young Brother - Young Brother EP
Yellowbirds - The Color
Wu Lyf - Go Tell Fire To The Mountain
Wooden Shjips - West
The Wombats - This Modern Glitch
The Wild Swans - The Coldest Winter For A Hundred Years
Silversun Pickups - Seasick EP
Wilco - The Whole Love
White Fence - Is Growing Faith
White Denim - D
The Whip - Wired Together
Wet Paint - Woe
We Were Promised Jetpacks - In The Pit Of The Stomach
We Made God - It's Getting Colder
Waylayers - Weightless EP
Viva Brother - Famous First Words
The Violet May - TV EP
The Vines - Future Primitive
The View - Bread and Circuses
The Victorian English Gentlemen's Club - Bag Of Meat
The Veils - Troubles Of The Brain EP
The Tunics - Dabbler's Handbook
Troubadour Dali - Let's Make It
Tribes - We Were Children EP
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross - The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Soundtrack
Torpedo - We
Tom Vek - Leisure Seizure
This Will Destroy You - Tunnel Blanket
Thirteen Senses - Crystal Sounds
Tennis - Cape Dory
Surfer Blood - Tarot Classics
Sug(r)cane - It's Like A Monday But It's Not
The Subways - Money and Celebrity
Subrosa - No Help For The Mighty One
The Strange Boys - Live Music
Still Corners - Creatures Of An Hour
SPC ECO - You Tell Me
Sparkadia - The Great Impression
Sons & Daughters - Mirror, Mirror
The Soft Province - The Soft Province
Soft Kill - An Open Door
Snow Patrol - Fallen Empires
Smith Westerns - Dye It Blonde
Smith and Burrows - Funny Looking Angels
Skint and Demoralised - This Sporting Life
Sisters Of Your Sunshine Vapor - Spectre Spirit
Sin Fang - Summer Echoes
She Wants Revenge - Valleyheart
A Second Of June - Psychodrama
Say Hi - Um, Uh Oh
The Sand Band - All Through The Night
Royseven - You Say, We Say
Royal Bangs - Flux Outside
The Rifles - Freedom Run
Real Estate - Days
The Ravenonettes - Raven In The Grave
The Rapture - In The Grace Of Your Love
Puscifer - Conditions Of My Parole
UFO Club - UFO Club/Night Beats Split 10"
Night Beats - UFO Club/Night Beats Split 10"
Vacant Lots - Confusion/Cadillac
Pete And The Pirates - One Thousand Pictures
Parlotones - Eavesdropping On The Songs Of Whales
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - Belong
Our Ceasing Voice - When The Headline Hit Home
One Night Only - One Night Only
Neon Indian - Era Extrana
My Morning Jacket - Circuital
Mutemath - Odd Soul
Moving Units - Tension War
Moonbeams - The Daisy Chain
Monogold - The Softest Glow
Mona - Mona
Mogwai - Earth Divisions EP
The Moderns - Descartes
Model Morning - Model Morning
Minks - By The Hedge
Mind Spiders - Mind Spiders
Miles Kane - Colour Of The Trap
Metronomy - The English Riveria
Mammoth Grove - Mammoth Grove EP
M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
M.A.G.N.U.S. - Transformations EP
Lowline - Lowline
Lower Heaven - Today Is All We Have
Low - C'mon
Locksley - Locksley
Little Comets - In Search Of Elusive Little Comets
Little Barrie - King Of The Waves
Blackout Lights - Blackout Lights EP
Lily Of The Valley - Aquatree
Let's Wrestle - Nursing Home
Le Albatross - Monticello
Le Albatross - Farmington
Ladytron - Gravity The Seducer
The Kooks - Junk Of The Heart
The Kills - Blood Pressures
Kid Congo & The Pink Monkey Birds - Gorilla Rose
Kele - The Hunter EP
Kaiser Chiefs - The Future Is Medieval
The Joy Formidable - The Big Roar
Jónsi - We Bought A Zoo Soundtrack
Iroha - Iroha
Incubus - If Not Now, When?
IAMX - Volatile Times
I Break Horses - Hearts
Hyde And Beast - Slow Down
Howling Bells - The Loudest Engine
Howler - This One's Different
Gypsy & The Cat - Jona Vark EP
Guillemots - Walk The River
Gruff Rhys - Hotel Shampoo
Gruff Rhys - Atheist Xmas EP
The Nix Dicksons - Red Fox EP
Black Phoenix Orchestra - Black Phoenix Orchestra EP
Go For The Eyes - Go For The Eyes
Go For The Eyes - One Through Four EP
Girls Names - Dead To Me
Ganglians - Still Living
Frightened Rabbit - Frightened Rabbit EP
The Fresh And Onlys - Secret Walls EP
Frankie & The Heartstrings - Hunger
Foster The People - Torches
Flying Fox And The Hunter Gatherers - Hans My Lion
Florence And The Machine - Ceremonials
Flashguns - Passions Of A Different Kind
The Flaming Lips - Gummy Song Skull
Five Seconds To Leave - SoundScapeLandTracks
Final Days Society - Ours Is Not A Caravan Of Despair
The Features - Wilderness
Falcon - Disappear
Esben And The Witch - Violet Cries
Eleanor Friedburger - Last Summer
Efrim Manuel Menuck - Plays 'High Gospel'
Echo Lake - Young Silence
Dutch Uncles - Cadenza
Dum Dum Girls - Only In Dreams
The Duke Spirit - Bruiser
The Drums - Portamento
Dreams - Forgotten Thoughts
Does It Offend You, Yeah? - Don't Say We Didn't Warn You
DJ Shadow - The Less You Know, The Better
Disappears - Guider
Dirty Beaches - Badlands
Digitalism - I Love You, Dude
Devotchka - 100 Lovers
Delay Trees - Before I Go Go
The Decemberists - The King Is Dead
Death In Vegas - Trans-Love Energies
Death Cab For Cutie - Codes And Keys
Dead Skeletons - Dead Magick
Dead Electric - This Mind Of Yours
A Dancing Beggar - Follow The Dark As If It Were Light
Cut Off Your Hands - Hollow
Cults - Cults
Cuba Cuba - Where Else Is Safe But The Road?
Crystal Stilts - In Love With Oblivion
The Crookes - Chasing After Ghosts
Cold War Kids - Mine Is Yours
Cold Cave - Cherish The Light Years
Chikini - Bitten
Charles Bradley - No Time For Dreaming
Chapel Club - Palace
Cat's Eyes - Cat's Eyes
Cast - Troubled Times
Cage The Elephant - Thank You, Happy Birthday
Bush - The Sea Of Memories
Black Pistol Fire - Black Pistol Fire
Black Lips - Arabia Mountain
The Black Keys - El Camino
The Beets - Let The Poison Out
Beastie Boys - Hot Sauce Committee Pt. 2
Bass Drum Of Death - GB City
Austra - Feel It Break
Asobi Seksu - Florescence
Art Brut - Brilliant! Tragic!
The Appleseed Cast - Middle States
Alexander Ebert - Alexander Ebert
Alex Turner - Submarine EP
Alberta Cross - The Rolling Thunder EP
Acrylics - Lives And Treasures
