Sonic Sunday: The Rest of 2010's Best Albums

And now, the continuation of my July post, The Best Albums of the Year...So Far. Just to jog your memories, the first five albums on the list were:

• Infinite Arms, Band of Horses
• Broken Bells, Broken Bells
• Head First, Goldfrapp
• Plastic Beach, Gorillaz
• Together, The New Pornographers

There were also some "honorable mentions," so if you want to see those, please check out the whole post. I'd just like to correct something, though: I take back my honorable mention for Paul Weller's Wake Up the Nation. While I love Paul and think he had one of the best singles of the year (more on that next week), the entire album turned out to be rather disappointing. I think I hastily gave it a nod because the few songs I heard at that point were pretty good and I was just excited that Paul had something new out.

The first five (as well as this five) were in alphabetical (by artist), not preferential, order. But as it happens, that gorgeous Band of Horses album is my absolute favorite of the year. If you don't own it yet...WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

Here now are the rest of the best albums of the year:

Brothers, The Black Keys

As you might remember from my Lollapalooza post, I wasn't even familiar with The Black Keys until I caught their set at Lolla this year. They left a huge impression on me (I believe I described their live show as a "face-melting, ovary-exploding sonic blast"), so I immediately picked up this album and as much of their older stuff as I could get my hands on.

Listen to "Tighten Up."

Other choice cuts: "Everlasting Light," "The Only One," "Ten Cent Pistol"

The Lady Killer, Cee Lo Green

Like everyone else in the world, I became instantly hooked on Cee Lo's bubbly single, "Fuck You!," a song that, despite its title and F-bomb laden chorus, managed to become a mainstream hit. (Of course, if I never hear it again on the radio it will be too soon, because the sanitized version really needs to, well, fuck off.) I bought the entire record based on the strength of that one amazing song, cringing all the while in anticipation of this being yet another case of one gem tucked into a sea of filler. However, I'm happy to report that The Lady Killer is an absolute delight. While no other track can touch "Fuck You!" (and no one could really expect that), the record is full of Motown throwbacks and sexy soul numbers, making it an ideal companion for driving, dancing or you-know-whatting. And despite my slight aversion to covers, Cee Lo's unexpected R&B reworking of Band of Horses' "No One's Gonna Love You" really knocked me out.

Listen to "It's OK."

Other choice cuts: "Fuck You!," "Wildflower" "No One's Gonna Love You"

Heaven is Whenever, The Hold Steady

I have never liked The Hold Steady. But because all the cool kids (and even some of the uncool ones) talked incessantly about how great they were, I tried to get into them. After giving them several chances, I still JUST. DIDN'T. GET. IT. Then, of course, the praise started up again when they released Heaven is Whenever, but I staunchly refused to listen to any of it. So, imagine my surprise when I was grooving along to an unknown song one day on my beloved WYEP and the DJ said it was something new from The Hold Steady. OK, so one song was decent. It was probably a fluke, right? No. After hearing about 3-4 songs from this record, I had to begrudgingly admit that it sounded pretty damn good. And then once I bought it, there was no longer anything begrudging about my love for it. It's just a fantastic album. Craig Finn's voice doesn't even annoy the hell out of me on this go-round. I don't know what they're doing differently, but I hope it continues.

Listen to: "Our Whole Lives."

Other choice cuts: "Hurricane J," "The Weekenders," "Soft in the Center"

Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook, Bettye LaVette

As I mentioned before, I'm not a huge fan of cover songs. So, normally, I would never give a whole album of covers such high praise, but Bettye's latest—an homage to some very deserving Brit Rockers—is worthy. Sure, some songs work better than others; the "All My Love" cover kind of rubs me the wrong way, but that could just be because I'm a giant Zeppelin freak. But the tracks that do work (and that's the bulk of them) are fantastic. The first of these songs that I heard (aside from her stunning version of "Love Reign O'er Me," which she performed at the Kennedy Center Honors a couple of years ago) was the cover of Ringo Starr's "It Don't Come Easy," which is so perfectly transformed that I didn't even recognize it.

Listen to: "It Don't Come Easy."

Other choice cuts: "Love Reign O'er Me," "Nights in White Satin," "Salt of the Earth"

Love it to Life, Jesse Malin & The St. Marks Social

While I think Jesse is a good songwriter (palling around with Bruce Springsteen and Ryan Adams has gotta be good for something), he's never been able to keep my interest for more than a few songs. (It may have something to do with his clothespin-on-the-nose style of singing.) However, his first single "Burning the Bowery" really won me over, so I checked out the album's song samples on Amazon. It didn't take me very long to decide to buy the whole thing. This record certainly isn't going to change the world (or even the roots rock/alt-country world) but it will make your morning commute totally bearable.

Listen to: "All the Way from Moscow."

Other choice cuts: "Burning the Bowery," "St. Mark's Sunset," "The Archer"