Sonic Youth Gossip - NR Top Ten 2010

a bit delayed but oh well. The usual disclaimer: I'm not talking about "the best" or most interesting, or most impressive, or most anything albums. Just the albums I listened to the most. Seriously.

1. Lil Wayne - Rebirth
I talked a lot about this one this year. It's a fucked up mess. Seriously. It's not even Wayne's best album of the year, as really I AM NOT A HUMAN BEING is a way more solid album. But this one is the most "keeping it real" thing I've heard a super-star due in a long time. This is self-destruction. It's so fucking bad that I can't help but equate it with brave. Or ballsy. Or honestly stupid. And that made it endearing to me. Yes Wayne made what he thought was a rock album. More than anything rock to him was KoRn or something and that's the full extent. The shit is hilariously off, but in a sense that's great. Call it the biggest name in music making something totally outsider. I really love it, from Wayne's emo-singing and terrible guitar solo's and super slick production. I don't give a fuck. Mostly it's just as throwaway and catchy as a Blink-182 album. But we all need to have some fun sometimes. This was my fun album. It was my soundtrack to yard sales. And to quote myself, it was a trainwreck falling off a cliff into an ocean of piranhas and razord blades on fire. I just couldn't help but pay attention.

2. Drake - Thank Me Later
I put off buying this one for months. I was a huge fan of Drizzy's mixtapes, but I think I was really nervous that he couldn't pull this off. He couldn't live up to the hype -- even my own. But he did. This album is so fucking solid and impressive that the backlash was obvious. This dude is always on, and always sounds honest and humble even when bragging. He's able to switch flows on a dime and even go from trading verses with Jay-Z to crooning one of the most heartbreaking tracks on a major label hip hop album since... I dn't know what ("Karaoke"). This kid is for real.

3. Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Where the fuck did this come from? Seriously. Maybe I (like many people) assumed that the Taylor Swift shit and the GOOD Friday tracks and the Twitter tantrums were all that Kanye had left in him. But this is what's sick -- he combined the perfected glossy hip hop of GRADUATION with the total experimental nature and primal scream therapy of 808 AND HEARTBREAK and melded them into The FUcking Album He Will Always Have To Live Up To From Here On Out. This shit is unreal. It's glossy and dirty. It's clubby and raw. It's smooth and agressive. It's honest. Brutal. Funny. Sad. Even when he says "No one man should have all that power" you can't help but think he's looking in the mirror. I've always LIKED Kanye, but now I cannot help but stand and applaud.

4. Record Club - Kick
As a huge Beck fan I've downloaded every Record Club album. Each has been a mixed bag. But I've always been pleased with a free collection of new tracks. But this. This is something else altogether. First of all, I had no idea that I apparently loved a lot of INXS songs that I didn't even realize were INXS, but this one is just full of genius interpretations. I've listened to it so many times and still never gotten remotely tired. This is perhaps my favorite Beck album in many years.

5. Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest
Yeah whatever, I love this band. No surprises there. But honestly, my first listen of this was like "okay -- this is a great album." There was no "getting into it." It sounds classic to me. It sounds like fucked up doo-wap. It's beautiful and warm and familiar in a great way.

6. Earl Sweatshirt - Earl
Thank God the Earl Of Slander kept pm'ing me and insisting I download this thing. It took me months to get around to listening. On first listen I was disgusted. On second listen I was a fan of Odd Future. For a brief while I couldn't help but read and re-read their blog, google anything I could to find out more about them and dissect even the most fucked up of lyrics. This is the future of hip hop guys. Pay attention.

7. Meth, Ghost & Rae - Wu Massacre
You can check the thread: on first listen I was let down. But the more I kept listening, the more I realized this was a classic. It's concise. It's lean. It's sharp. There's no fat, save for a couple short skits. This is all just the best each MC has to offer, and although there's not enough of them together, even the guests are in top form. This is what the Wu sounded like back when quality control was a big issue. A must-own.

8. Lil Wayne - I Am Not A Human Being
I'm not sure how someone in prison was able to release two major label albums in the same year that both ended up on my list, but here it is. What's awesome about this one is that it's actually the most "Southern" sounding album he's put out since pre-CARTER. It's certainly not as good as any of the CARTERs, but it's no doubt solid. It has guest spots from Young Money that never get in the way (unless you count bonus tracks) and is a great setup for CARTER IV.

9. Gucci Mane - Free Gucci: The Best Of The Cold War Mixtapes
Diplo put this together and released it for free through Mad Decent's website. It's basically a whole bunch of weird electro-remixes of Gucci Mane but it works surprisingly well. And although I followed Gucci very closely in 2010 (it was really his big year for mixtapes), this is the one that got the most play from me over and over. Diplo's own remix of "Danger's Not A Stranger" may just well be my favorite Gucci track of all time. Dig in.

10. Christina Aguilera - Bionic
This shit is awesome. It's pop but it's not. Tons of great electronic productions, work with Annie, Le Tigre, MIA, etc. It's fucking dirty (Xtina and Nicki Minaj create an ode to oral, and then Miss A flips it with "Sex For Breakfast"), and yet she also delivers her absolute best ballad ever recorded with "You Lost Me." This shit is amazing, proving that this girl can Sing and that she is never scared to reinvent herself, especially considering it was released the same year as her BURLESQUE musical soundtrack which was filled with BACK TO BASICS pop/hiphop/jazz tracks.