The list of our top LPs and EPs of last year came with the sad news that our shift in blogger software earlier in 2010 had the unintended side-effect of swallowing the code we used to generate our annual readers’ choice Gummy Awards. We realized the gaffe too late in the game to recreate the template, but rest assured the template is recreateable — so while 2011 will see the return of the Gummys in their fully fleshed, flippant glory, today we reveal the results of 2010′s pared down vote that keyed in on only one, albeit essential, category: Album Of The Year.
This Top 10 presents the opportunity to see which records you hold most dear, and also gives us a chance to compare our likes with yours. Guess what Our Top 10s are strikingly similar (good job everybody, we should probably go out sometime?), with a healthy 70% overlap. Some notes on our respective Top 10s’ similarities and differences, via superlative:
MOST NOTABLE SWAP: Vampire Weekend (us) for The National (you)
BIGGEST JUMP: Titus Andronicus
The Monitor landed at #34 on our list, but you guys (and perhaps some zealous, coordinated portion of Titus’s fanbase) joined forces to place the Jersey band’s wonderful LP at an impressive #9.
MOST NOTABLE AGREEMENT ON A NEW “MAINSTAY”: Beach House
As mentioned after their year-capping stop off at Conan’s show, Beach House seems to have used 2010, and their excellent Teen Dream, to secure a spot as a new indie powerhouse. Coming in at #3 on our list and #2 on yours would be enough, but those facts are given heightened significance by the company the band is keeping on our respective Top 5s: Kanye West, Arcade Fire, Sufjan Stevens, The National, i.e. all bands you would expect to top year-end lists and polls before even hearing a note of their records. Beach House apparently is that club’s newest member.
MOST NOTABLE AGREEMENT ON THE EXCELLENCE OF AN ALBUM THAT MAYBE OTHER OUTLETS AREN’T QUITE AS HOT ON: Sufjan Stevens
Don’t get us wrong, The Age Of Adz is clearly a wonderful album, which is why it made both our and your Top 5s. But also don’t get us wrong, clearly Sufjan’s got some fans around here.
Without further ado, your Top 10 of the Gummys ’10:
10 Sleigh Bells – Treats
09 Titus Andronicus – The Monitor
08 Joanna Newsom – Have One On Me
07 Deerhunter – Halcyon Digest
06 LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening
05 Sufjan Stevens – The Age Of Adz
04 The National – High Violet
03 Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
02 Beach House – Teen Dream
01 Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
Thanks for voting, guys. This December we promise a return to a more fully realized Gummys experience. For now, for ease of position-by-position comparison, here’s the Stereogum editorial staff’s Top 50:
50 Emeralds – Does It Look Like I Am Here?
49 Small Black – New Chain
48 Sharon Van Etten – Epic
47 Baths – Cerulean
46 Frank (Just Frank) – The Brutal Wave
45 Perfume Genius – Learning
44 Field Music – Field Music (Measure)
43 Big Boi – Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty
42 Lower Dens – Twin-Hand Movement
41 Oneohtrix Point Never – Returnal
40 Glasser – Ring
39 Gold Panda – Lucky Shiner
38 Avey Tare – Down There
37 jj – jj nº3
36 the morning benders – Big Echo
35 Swans – My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky
34 Titus Andronicus – The Monitor
33 MGMT – Congratulations
32 Twin Shadow – Forget
31 Warpaint – The Fool
30 Das Racist – Shut Up, Dude
29 Matthew Dear – Black City
28 Delorean – Subiza
27 Janelle Monae – The ArchAndroid
26 Tame Impala – Innerspeaker
25 ceo – White Magic
24 Tamaryn – The Waves
23 SALEM – King Night
22 Marnie Stern – Marnie Stern
21 Liars – Sisterworld
20 Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Before Today
19 Flying Lotus – Cosmogramma
18 Abe Vigoda – Crush
17 Owen Pallett – Heartland
16 The National – High Violet
15 The-Dream – Love King
14 Yeasayer – Odd Blood
13 LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening
12 Crystal Castles – II
11 Joanna Newsom – Have One On Me
10 Deerhunter – Halcyon Digest
09 Wild Nothing – Gemini
08 Antony & The Johnsons – Swanlights
07 Vampire Weekend – Contra
06 Sleigh Bells – Treats
05 Robyn – Body Talk
04 Sufjan Stevens – The Age Of Adz
03 Beach House – Teen Dream
02 Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
01 Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
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Love that Beach House and Deerhunter did so well, but I just don’t get Joanna Newsom.
why downvote someone for stating an opinion? that is lame. I upvoted this because I also do not get Joanna Newsom. I’m not trying to be mean or make a negative statement about her or her fans. I just don’t get her.
I agree. I have friends who rave about Ys, and I have really tried to get into it. The songs are just two long and meandering for me. I have heard some songs that I think are decent, but I just feel like it’s maybe overhyped. I know there are a lot of fans of hers though, so no insult intended.
I don’t get Joanna Newsom at all. I don’t enjoy listening to her. I am glad people agree….now I don’t feel so alone in the world!!
I’m in the don’t get Joanna Newsom camp too. At the risk of putting a target on my back, here’s my stupid year-end list:
http://www.oldwaver.com/2010/12/top-30-albums-of-2010-10-1.html
you all need to listen to milk eyed mender….then form an opinion
Done. Still don’t get it.
I get Joanna Newsom. I love Joanna Newsom. I think she’s the best female songwriter working today.
Still, it took me numerous listens to get into Have One on Me. Yet when the album clicked, it clicked in a massive way. I understand that she’s not for everyone, but the album really requires time and an attentive listen. You can’t just listen once through your laptop speakers while multi-tasking on the internet. Eventually melodies stick, lines resonate, and the music becomes incredibly moving. Still, even if time proves her as something still to be understood, its near impossible not to appreciate her lyrics and musical talent. There’s simply no one else out there right now writing at her level.
I have listened to the “Milk-Eyed Mender” many many times … and formed my opinion on that album. (One of my favorites.)
“Ys” and “Have One On Me,” though, I have listened to numerous times and tried and tried and tried to get into, but simply cannot. I just really really have not enjoyed much of anything she’s done since “Milk-Eyed Mender.”
However, while it’s definitely not for me, I do respect the opinions of fans who are really into “Ys.”
And matt0009, I would have to respectfully disagree and suggest that Mirah is the best female songwriter working today.
i can see people not liking her voice, sometimes it grates me even (as a huge fan of hers), but i think it’s harder to critique her smart song arrangements and beautiful musical compositions, not to mention the wonderful imagery in her lyrics
I agree. I can totally appreciate her melodies and the string arrangements on Ys and Have One On Me, but her voice feels totally affected and grates on my nerves.
Glad that Vampire weekend isn’t there (I still don’t understand why it’s quite so high on all reviewers lists) and Kanye’s at a reasonable position now.
yawn
Now accepting votes for Indie Rock Crush, btw…
I think I speak for all those interested women when I say Alexandra Lawn.
my vote goes to that one out of the cults….not the man
i’ll second that.
alexandra, that is. not cults.
I guess this is the point where I say that Alex Scalley is dreamy and then I apologize for the pun, right?
Wait, I think I already made that pun on Sgum. Fail.
Oh, if only Alison Brie (Annie from “Community” and Trudy from “Mad Men”) made music …
But since she doesn’t, I’ll go with Annie Clark.
She actually sometimes sings backup in her Dad’s band, so I think she’s a safe pick!
Just when I thought she couldn’t get any more adorable!
Teresa and Jenny from Warpaint, clearly.
Call me crazy, but I kinda have a thing for Zola Jesus.
My vote goes to the ladies of Warpaint. Esp Jenny Lee Lindberg.
Call me lame but I’m voting for Alexis Kraus again this year.
I don’t get the copy/paste of your original list at the end of the post.
Why not include the Top 50 albums readers voted on, even if there’s a lot of overlap?
that’s what i thought that was until you pointed it out.
There were so few votes for albums beyond the top 10 that they wouldn’t be meaningful to share. Everybody loved Kanye/AF/Beach House/etc
Really?! That’s incredibly disappointing considering all the people who keep shouting out other artists.
Guess the single vote thing had something to do with it….
finally you little jerks give titus andronicus the credit they deserve
I can totally get down with this. I voted Titus because I knew everyone had Kanye and Arcade covered. Only exception is Joanna Newsom. She has a pretty voice and I’m sure she’s talented, but I can not get enough strength to digest her triple album or however long that shit is. Sufjan’s the best, bla, bla.
Here’s my top 25: http://thestrangulation.com/2010/12/22/the-strangulations-25-favorite-albums-of-2010/
don’t understand the LCD love, too repetitious for me…also sleigh bells is annoying after a while
Agree on Sleigh Bells. As for LCD, understandable critique… however, if you see them live it makes more sense. The repetitive grooves and slow builds are what make the big changes and releases that much more epic.
I don’t understand why the top 10 list isn’t just Kanye’s album 10 times…
snore…
talk about a solid list. this one is great. i agree with Dan Dollar; i don’t understand the LCD craze; pretty bland album (for me).
beach house is my #1! it’s a dream of an album!
There’s some great stuff on that Arcade Fire album, but I think it’s about 7 songs too long.
So0o true
Maybe it came out too late, or maybe you guys aren’t doing enough shtupping, but R. Kelly’s Love Letter is outstanding and should definitely be on this list somewhere.
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see
No, it’s one of the best.
LCD is not repetetive. That’s just crazy talk. Sleigh Bells IS annoying and way overrated. That’s called real talk.
BTW I understand the concept of opinions and blah blah, but really, as someone who really tries to appreciate any and all music, Sleigh Bells is just overhyped, overnoised and just not good.
I agree 100% I personally don’t care for Kanye’s MBDTF but I can at least understand why everyone likes it. With Sleigh Bells I’m left utterly confused.
I personally really like Sleigh Bells, but I can see how other people wouldn’t–the overblown sound can seem gimmicky or like a cheap thrill, their music can be pretty simplistic, the oohs and ahhs and just their general sound can get a bit repetitious, the lyrics are not all that great (I love “Kids,” but the lyrics kind of kill me).
However, at the end of the day, the songs are catchy as fuck, the beats and guitar can be just downright wicked, there’s a lot of energy, and well, they do a great job of making music that’s immediate and fun and in-your-face.
Granted, if the hooks and beats and noise don’t grab you, well then I can definitely see how all flaws like the ones I pointed out can reeeeally stand out.
So that is my explanation of why I at least like Sleigh Bells. I may not be Clarissa, so I doubt I’ve explained it all, but I hope I’ve explained at least some of it.
“(and perhaps some zealous, coordinated portion of Titus’s fanbase)”
Really? You can’t just accept that other people enjoyed something more that you guys did? You have to qualify it with a “perhaps” conspiracy theory?
Give credit where it’s due. Great album.
I know I haven’t been on Stereogum in a while but how did I miss the voting for this? In that case I feel the need to list my top 10.
10. Matt Costa – Mobile Chateau
9. She & Him – Volume Two
8. Spoon – Transference
7. Avi Buffalo – Avi Buffalo
6. Tung – …And Then We Saw Land
5. The New Pornographers – Together
4. Broken Bells – Broken Bells
3. The National – High Violet
2. Junip – Fields
1. Josh Ritter – So Runs The World Away
Here’s my top 10, with explanations: http://www.ucsdguardian.org/uncategorized/the-best-albums-of-2010/
Except for one album the rest are in alphabetical order.
No love for
Broken Bells (self-titled)
or
How To Dress Well (Love Remains)
or
The Roots (How I Got Over)
???
hard to believe anything that DJ Danger Mouse touches doesn’t get on ‘year end best of’ lists
and ‘Love Remains’ was VERY creative in a time when R&B artists are becoming stale. The Roots best album in years . . . maybe not making their lists is punishment for being on Fallon.
there are about 12-15 artists on the above lists I don’t see how they made it with those albums and feel like they got there on past merit. Big Boi’s cd was hard to listen to, MGMT and Das Racists? they gotta be there on hype, those albums are not ‘press play and no skipping’ albums.
and
it seems all readers agree on Sleigh Bells and Joanna Newsome
Ugh, there was a lot of good music this year, and somehow stuff like Vampire Weekend can still make these lists? What bland, uninteresting music they make. And really, I guess this is just me, but I think Sufjan Stevens is a joke, and that album sounds like about 3.5 hours worth of random button-pushing in his bedroom with overly ponderous new-agey crap sung over top of it. Things I also do not get: Joanna Newsom (there can be such a thing as too much earnest-ness…), Titus Andronicus to me seem rather generic… and I cannot abide the thought of kids out there thinking the guitar sample by Funkadelic from ‘Can you get to that?’ is actually being played by Sleigh Bells in that one song, arggghhh!!!
Caribou nowhere on this list, really?
I like pretty much the whole top 10 so can’t complain, don’t love any of them, but not sure if there is an album this year I have really loved.
Solid. But no wolf parade in the top 50?
Wow –
No Tallest Man on Earth, Radio Dept., Walkmen, Dr. Dog, Foals….
Read our list here….http://newbandday.com/2010/12/05/the-20-best-new-bands-of-2010/
http://newbandday.com/2010/12/05/the-20-best-new-bands-of-2010/