Top five off the top of my head, no particular order...

LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
Good, Bad and the Queen - S/T
Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
Blonde Redhead - 23
Radiohead - In Rainbows

I've heard of exactly five of those bands.

Where's Devendra Banhart? Who wrote this list?

danduran: Arcade Fire - Neon Bible

Radiohead - In Rainbows

Yes and Yes.

Although as a huge and long time Radiohead fan, I think "In Rainbows" is a slight dip in form.

And I have heard of not a single one of those albums, and of the entire list, the only artist I have ever even heard of is Amy Winehouse.

What? Fergie was nowhere to be found. And what about Nickleback?

They get the most airplay, they must be the best.

What are things? Never heard of things. When?

hillary: Where's Devendra Banhart? Who wrote this list?

devendras in my living room doing lsd and playing the sitar

Ha! I have these:

In Rainbows by Radiohead
Neon Bible by The Arcade Fire
Mirrored by Battles
Boxer by The National
Copia by Eluvium
The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse by The Besnard Lakes

The one I listen to the most is Battles. They are remaking Math rock in a good way I think.

Am I the only one who thinks that LCD Soundsystem sucks? I like "All My Friends," but I feel like the rest of it is just some indie kid scared to show any real passion in his music.

also, how the faruck is 45:33 and sound of silver on the same best of the year list? i should make my own best of the year list.

1. trout mask replica
2. let it bleed
3. surfer rosa
4. up the bracket
5. shadows collide with people

oh wait a list of the best albums of the year means the albums release date falls within the year? what a novel concept. subby and writer are retards. RETARDS.

That list is all wrong. There's no mention of "Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?" by Of Montreal.

Kevin578: Am I the only one who thinks that LCD Soundsystem sucks? I like "All My Friends," but I feel like the rest of it is just some indie kid scared to show any real passion in his music.

You wouldn't think that if you saw him & the band live.

O.M.G.

That said, End-of-Year Top Albums lists suck. Enjoy whatever you enjoy. Though I was very glad Andrew Bird cracked at least one of them...

TelefunkenU47: The one I listen to the most is Battles. They are remaking Math rock in a good way I think.

This. I always hated Math Rock until a friend of mine made me listen to Mirrored.

at least it's a balance of the underground and mainstream.


that said, I don't get all the hype for A Place to Bury Strangers. I like Skywave's last album (APtBS' vocalist/guitarists' old band) even if it was a little too in debt to The Jesus and Mary Chain, but the A Place to bury Strangers album was kind of crappy. Let me know when they get better production and I might be all over it.

Kevin578: Am I the only one who thinks that LCD Soundsystem sucks? I like "All My Friends," but I feel like the rest of it is just some indie kid scared to show any real passion in his music.

I bought the debut album in '05 and thought it sucked... maybe they got better

Wow, Elliott Smith is on the list?
Brilliant man but the album should have been called "When record companys cash in on the dead"

Wait just a darn minute here....I've heard of some of these albums! Metacritic, you're slipping. Next year you better get back to albums released by autistic midgets only available in Micronesia like we're used to

And here I was thinking that Fear of A Blank Planet was pretentious enough to make a list like this. Guess I was wrong. I can live with that.

Raising Sand is actually pretty damn good.

1. Burial - Untrue
2. Pinch - Underwater Dancehall
3. DeepChord Presents Echospace - Vantage Isle

Enomai: And here I was thinking that Fear of A Blank Planet was pretentious enough to make a list like this. Guess I was wrong. I can live with that.

Great record. It's on my top 8.

Here's the rest (not like any of you hipster fanboys care):

Korpiklaani - Tervaskanto
Baroness - Red
High on Fire - Death is the Communion
Turisas - The Varangian Way
Opeth - The Roundhouse Tapes
Porcupine Tree - Fear of a Blank Planet
Megadeth - United Abominations
Exodus - The Atrocity Exhibition... Exhibit A

Kevin578

Go back and check out the song Someone Great on the LCD Soundsystem album. If that doesn't get to you emotionally, you have no soul.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iW5U4i-Z74

/all choked up, lump in throat

RagingLeonard: Great record. It's on my top 8.

Hey.. Stay out of my cd collection!

z_gringo: And I have heard of not a single one of those albums, and of the entire list, the only artist I have ever even heard of is Amy Winehouse.

listen to them, all of them.

RagingLeonard: Here's the rest (not like any of you hipster fanboys with taste in music care):

FTFY

:D

Never heard of a bunch of those albums, but "Sound of Silver" by LCD Soundsystem, "In Rainbows" by Raidohead both deserve to be up there. I'd never heard LCD Soundsystem before and bought it on a recommendation, and I haven't yet been disappointed.

And I was really surprised not to see "The Good the Bad and the Queen" on the list as someone else suggested. Awesome album.

Jeebus, I must be so out of it ...

Looks like I have my work cut out for me...

I would like to add UNKLE-War Stories to the list please.

Having owned most of Radiohead's releases, I purchased/downloaded the new album because everyone has been raving over it. However after a couple listens I deleted it. I think they're music has gotten (or maybe always has been) blah and melodramatic. I felt like dialing the wahmbulance.

Will definitely check out the new LCD Soundsystems though.

My year-end top ten list:

10. (tie) The Redwalls - self titled
10. Interpol - Our Love to Admire
9. Bruce Springsteen & the E-Street Band - Magic
8. Soundtrack - "I'm Not There"
7. Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
6. Radiohead - In Rainbows
5. Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha
4. Porcupine Tree - Fear of a Blank Planet
3. New Pornographers - Challengers
2. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
1. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga

TheDuderino: also, how the faruck is 45:33 and sound of silver on the same best of the year list? i should make my own best of the year list.

45:33 only came out on CD in November.

To those of you saying the list is pretentious/not pretentious enough - the main list is an average of several reviews of major publications done throughout the year - so if your extremely obscure act isn't on there, it's because no one reviewed it and it didn't catch Metacritic's attention.

Hence why the list is a mix of obscure and well-known stuff -the list is compiled mathematically, so no one's extreme bias gets in the way, unlike some of the individual publications' lists.

I usually take a look at Metacritic if I am interested in purchasing specific CD's to get a feel for what they might be like.

It's a useful guide, but I do have a few quibbles. First they should weight specific publications and websites in aggregating scores. A website that gets a few hundred looks a week should NOT be weighted the same as one that gets thousands or millions of impressions. Secondly for the sake of contararian hipster douchebag critics, they should throw out extreme high and low scores, I've seen too many albums get glowing reviews only to have some jerk piss all over something, lowering the average score, simply so some ff critic can claim moral superiority. Toronto's alt weekly Now is the worst offender.

Math Rock? You mean like "I got six, that's all there is?"

/See that prince over there, huh! The one with the fuzzy hair. He got six rings on every finger. He don't wash no dishes. Not with sixty diamonds...

Metacritic is biased towards suicide-inducing music.

Should be up there as well.

Alter Bridge - Blackbird

steve_s: I usually take a look at Metacritic if I am interested in purchasing specific CD's to get a feel for what they might be like.

It's a useful guide, but I do have a few quibbles. First they should weight specific publications and websites in aggregating scores. A website that gets a few hundred looks a week should NOT be weighted the same as one that gets thousands or millions of impressions. Secondly for the sake of contararian hipster douchebag critics, they should throw out extreme high and low scores, I've seen too many albums get glowing reviews only to have some jerk piss all over something, lowering the average score, simply so some ff critic can claim moral superiority. Toronto's alt weekly Now is the worst offender.

They do. Read their FAQ.

assegai: Should be up there as well.

Yep. I think so too. Too bad so many people suck the d i c k that is major label bull shiat. Flip it to the kids. They instantly recognize this as being good music. Old farkers want to hear some RAWK or some crap.

You're dead.

Play some Adam Freeland to a 10 year old and watch the response. Kid's eyes will light up, and it's the best thing he's ever heard. Teach the kid how to mix records and it's the greatest thing in the world.

My list:

1. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
2. The National - Boxer
3. Kanye West - Graduation
4. The Weakerthans - Reunion Tour
5. Feist - The Reminder
6. Band of Horses - Cease To Begin
7. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
8. The Shins - Wincing the Night Away
9. Wintersleep - Welcome to the Night Sky
10. Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?

Oh, and "Pouah! Ours Savant Edit' is the farking most great track this year, or any year.

Everyone loves this track, especially the ladies...!!!

What is the fascination with LCD Soundsystem? I'm pretty schooled in electronica and sundry similar artists. I heard his first CD and tossed it. I even gave "Sound of Silver" a couple of spins based on the "rave" reviews it received. Still didn't dig the dude. There's nothing special here save a guy who likes to drop a lot of pop-culture references and names with the occasional attempt at quirky turns of phrase. At least Daft Punk have heard of hooks. LCD have none.

FileUnderCS: What is the fascination with LCD Soundsystem? I'm pretty schooled in electronica and sundry similar artists. I heard his first CD and tossed it. I even gave "Sound of Silver" a couple of spins based on the "rave" reviews it received. Still didn't dig the dude. There's nothing special here save a guy who likes to drop a lot of pop-culture references and names with the occasional attempt at quirky turns of phrase. At least Daft Punk have heard of hooks. LCD have none.

He's not from an electronica background, so if you're listening to it that way, you're not going to get much out of it. He used to play in punk/grunge bands, then one day decided the most punk thing to do would be to make dance music. I came across LCD from previously being into Talking Heads/New Order/Franz Ferdinand, with a little Underworld and Daft Punk for seasoning, and think he's farking awesome.

Moby 2.0?
Not that there's anything wrong with that
/go

I Shall Exterminate Everything Around Me That Restricts Me From Being The Master

Electric Six (Artist)

Gunny Highway: tunedintomusic.files.wordpress.com

I dont read the bible
I dont trust disciples
even if they're made of marble
or Canal Street bling!

star_topology: Alter Bridge - Blackbird

Second. That album rocks.