The year in music—My favorite albums of 2010

I used to post much more often about music here at WTBHNN, but I thought I would at least continue the tradition of my yearly favorites list. See my annual reviews dating back to 1998 here.

Before I get to the list, some observations about purchasing, streaming, and sharing music.

For many years I purchased around 100 albums years, give or take 10 or so. With the “digital revolution” my album purchases have trended upward, for example: 110 (2007); 158 (2008); 149 (2009); and 188 (2010). (Unlike my teenage son, I rarely buy single tracks. Although I did buy two 7″ vinyl releases from Robert Pollard this year).

Only 73 of my 188 album purchases were actual cds, so I’m downloading over 70% of the music I buy (and the majority of that is from eMusic).

I’m streaming music more than ever. I have a subscription to Napster and stream their 2.5 million tune catalog and internet radio throughout my home. I’ve also recently subscribed to Sirius radio. I continue to share music among friends, but even taking all that into account, I’m spending more than ever on recorded music. Hmmm…

View my 2010 cd collection here. You’ll see I did a little back catalog purchasing of Rolling Stones releases (particularly the 1994 Virgin cds, since the 2010 remasters don’t sound nearly as good.)

E. Wayne’s Favorite Albums of 2010
(I don’t claim these are the best albums of the year, but they’re the ones kept going back to. And I know there are many albums I picked up this year that just haven’t gotten the attention they deserve, so I reserve the right to change my mind in the future.)

The Top Ten
1. Bettye LaVette – Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook
2. Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse – Dark Night of the Soul
3. Robert Plant – Band of Joy
4. JJ Grey & Mofro – Georgia Warhorse
5. Solomon Burke – Nothing’s Impossible
6. Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings – I Learned the Hard Way
7. Broken Bells – Broken Bells
8. Boston Spaceships – Our Cubehouse Still Rocks
9. The Black Keys – Brothers
10. Shelby Lynne – Tears, Lies, and Alibis

Honorable Mentions
Los Lobos – Tin Can Trust
Massive Attack – Heligoland
Galactic – Ya-Ka-May
Charlie Musselwhite – The Well
Porcupine Tree – The Incident (released in 2009, but PT was my most listened to band of the year)

The 2010 Mixtapes

Wayne’s 2010 Faves – Rock/Post-Rock

1. Silk Rotor – Robert Pollard
2. Breakdown Into The Resolve – Ryan Adams & The Cardinals
3. We Used to Wait – Arcade Fire
4. Tender Heart – Alejandro Escovedo
5. Angel Dance – Robert Plant
6. Vaporize – Broken Bells
7. Revenge (feat. The Flaming Lips) – Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse
8. Paradise Circus – Massive Attack
9. The Blind House – Porcupine Tree
10. Written In Reverse – Spoon
11. 27 Spanishes – Los Lobos
12. I Believe In You – Black Dub
13. Kong – Bonobo
14. Hunted By A Freak – Mogwai
15. John the Dwarf Wants to Become an Angel – Boston Spaceships
16. The Money Shuffle – Richard Thompson
17. Stereo (Remastered) – Pavement
18. Feeling In the Dark – Dwight Twilley Band
19. Valleys of Neptune – Jimi Hendrix

Wayne’s 2010 Faves – Rhythm

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