Blog

Introduction:
1. It's my subjective opinion. There is nothing to discuss^^ If you don't agree It's your opinion. Tastes are different :)
2. I start the ranking with the least good [worst] and end with the best album
3. I didn't rank the Hip-Hop/Rap Albums of 2009 I listened because they are only from a very small spectrum of the scene and I didn't want to mix them with the usual stuff I listen.(Post-Hardcore, Emo and so on)

ok here we go:

26. Taking Back Sunday - New Again
Genre: Alternative Rock, Emo

25. Alexisonfire - Old Crows / Young Cardinals
Genre: Post-Hardcore, melodic Hardcore, Alternative Rock

24. The Assassination of... - Birth Of A Hero
Genre: Post-Hardcore, Emocore

23. A Skylit Drive – Adelphia
Genre: Post-Hardcore, Emocore

23. The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus – Lonely Road
Genre: Alternative Rock, Pop Punk

22. Dance Gavin Dance – Happiness
Genre: Post-Hardcore, Experimental

21 The Blackout - The Best In Town
Genre: Post-Hardcore, Emocore

20. Hopes Die Last – Six Years Home
Genre: Post-Hardcore, Emocore

19. Enter Shikari - Common Dreads
Genre: Post-Hardcore, Trance

18. Blessthefall – Witness
Genre: Post-Hardcore, Emocore

17. LoveHateHero – America Underwater
Genre: Post-Hardcore, Emocore

16. Paramore – brand new eyes
Genre: Alternative Rock, Pop Punk

15. The Audition - Self-Titled Album
Genre: Alternative Rock, Pop Punk

14. Thursday – Common Existence
Genre: Post-Hardcore

13. Fightstar – Be Human
Genre: Post-Hardcore, Alternative Rock

12. Burden of a Day - OneOneThousand
Genre: Post-Hardcore

11. Drop Dead, Gorgeous - The Hot N' Heavy
Genre: Post-Hardcore, Emocore

10. Eyes Set to Kill - The World Outside
Genre: Post-Hardcore, Emocore

9. Aiden - Knives
Genre: Emocore, Punk

8. Meg & Dia - Here, Here and Here
Genre: Alternative Rock, Pop

7. Say Anything - Say Anything
Genre: Alternative Rock, Pop Punk

6. A Day to Remember - Homesick
Genre: Post-Hardcore, Pop Punk

5. Madina Lake - Attics To Eden
Genre: Post-Hardcore, Alternative Rock, Pop Punk

4. Intohimo - Us; The Hollows
Genre: Post-Hardcore, Emocore

3. Silverstein - A Shipwreck In The Sand
Genre: Post-Hardcore, Emocore

2. Asking Alexandria – Stand Up And Scream
Genre: Post-Hardcore, Metalcore, Trance, Deathcore

1.Adept - Another Year Of Disaster
Genre: Post-Hardcore, Emocore

roflsaurusrecks's top albums (12 months) 1. Edan - Beauty and the Beat (339) 2. Scar Symmetry - Dark Matter Dimensions (305) 3. He Is Legend - It Hates You (303) 4. Skold vs. KMFDM - Skold Vs. KMFDM (301) 5. KMFDM - Blitz (277) 6. Caliban - Say Hello To Tragedy (245) 7. Killswitch Engage - Killswitch Engage (239) 8. Subtle - ExitingARM (213) 9. Themselves - theFREEhoudini (213) 10. Disarmonia Mundi - Fragments of D-Generation (211) 11. It Dies Today - Lividity (208) 12. Twelve Tribes - Midwest Pandemic (203) 13. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion (188) 14. Maylene and the Sons of Disaster - III (186) 15. Rammstein - Liebe ist für alle da (182) 16. Odd Nosdam - T.I.M.E. SOUNDTRACK (176) 17. Faith No More - The Works (172) 18. Evergreen Terrace - Almost Home (168) 19. Boards of Canada - The Campfire Headphase (164) 20. Nine Inch Nails - The Fragile (Left) (148) 21. Arkaea - Years In The Darkness (143) 22. Subtle - A new white (141) 23. Boards of Canada - Trans Canada Highway (139) 24. Just Surrender - If These Streets Could Talk (139) 25. Shadows Fall - Retribution (137) 26. Sonic Syndicate - Only Inhuman (126) 27. Dance Gavin Dance - Happiness (125) 28. At All Cost - Circle Of Demons (124) 29. Lacuna Coil - Shallow Life (122) 30. Boards of Canada - Geogaddi (112) 31. DJ Shadow - Endtroducing... (110) 32. Thursday - Common Existence (110) 33. Disarmonia Mundi - The Isolation Game (107) 34. Twelve Tribes - The Rebirth of Tragedy (103) 35. Odd Nosdam - Vol.8 (103) 36. Harshrealm - She/Underwater (101) 37. A Day to Remember - Homesick (100) 38. Every Time I Die - New Junk Aesthetic (99) 39. I Killed the Prom Queen - Music For The Recently Deceased (97) 40. Threat Signal - Vigilance (94) 41. RJD2 - Deadringer (85) 42. Enter Shikari - Common Dreads (82) 43. Maylene & The Sons Of Disaster - II (82) 44. Brand New - Daisy (80) 45. Haste the Day - Dreamer (76) 46. KMFDM - Angst (74) 47. Odd Nosdam - pretty swell explode (72) 48. Rammstein - Reise, Reise (66) 49. Apocalyptica - Worlds Collide (65) 50. KMFDM - Nihil (65)

So as the year comes to an end it's that time where everyone picks what they think are the top 10/20/whatever albums of the year. I though think that's too easy and a bit of a cop-out. Picking a top 10 is easy most of the time, determining how every new release you listen to stacks up against one another though is a bit more difficult of a challenge. So like last year, I present my complete list of albums released over the past year organized from worst to first (minus EP's, compilations, live albums, etc. because if I did, the complete 'Neverender' boxset by Coheed and Cambria would take #1 by itself because of it's total and complete amazingness). Unlike last year though where I had the relatively low number of 112 albums to compare, this year had almost double the number albums to sort through, so either click back or brace yourself cause this might take a while to get through (and as always agree/complain/whine/whatever down in the comments. Useless trolling though will get you nowhere).

204. Burden of a Day – OneOneThousand
203. Neaera – Omnicide: Creation Unleashed
202. Emmure – Felony
201. Suicide Silence – No Time to Bleed
200. Apoptygma Berzerk – Rocket Science
199. Red – Innocence & Instinct
198. Carbon Leaf – Nothing Rhymes With Woman
197. Nightmare of You - Infomaniac
196. Crooked X – Crooked X
195. Eyes Set to Kill – The World Outside
194. The Flaming Lips - Embryonic
193. 311 – Uplifter
192. American Me – Siberian Nightmare Machine
191. Blue October – Approaching Normal
190. Heartless Bastards – The Mountain
189. Hide The Knives – Savior For Sale
188. The Used – Artwork
187. Static-X – Cult of Static
186. The Autumn Offering – Requiem
185. Weezer – Raditude
184. Burn Halo – Burn Halo
183. Kill Hannah – Wake Up the Sleepers
182. We Came As Romans – To Plant a Seed
181. Marilyn Manson – The High End of Low
180. Oceana – Birth Eater
179. Papa Roach – Metamorphosis
178. Our Lady Peace – Burn, Burn
177. The Almost – Monster Monster
176. Blackened – This Means War
175. The Devil Wears Prada – With Roots Above and Branches Below
174. HORSE the band – Desperate Living
173. DÅÅTH – The Concealers
172. Breaking Benjamin – Dear Agony
171. The Dangerous Summer – Reach For the Sun
170. The Mars Volta – Octahedron
169. ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead – The Century of Self
168. The Blackout – The Best In Town
167. Burnt by the Sun – Heart of Darkness
166. Chickenfoot – Chickenfoot
165. Hatebreed – Hatebreed
164. Kasabian – West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum
163. Leathermouth - XO
162. Drop Dead, Gorgeous – The Hot N’ Heavy
161. A Plea For Purging - Depravity
160. PsyOpus – Odd Senses
159. It Dies Today – Lividity
158. Trophy Scars – Bad Luck
157. Foundation – Hang Your Head
156. Julien-K – Death to Analog
155. Franz Ferdinand – Tonight: Franz Ferdinand
154. 3 – Revisions
153. Thy Will Be Done – In Ancient of Days
152. Confession – Cancer
151. The Dead Weather – Horehound
150. Job for a Cowboy – Ruination
149. Winds of Plague – The Great Stone War
147. Big Business – Mind the Drift
147. The Red Chord – Fed Through the Teeth Machine
146. Chimaira – The Infection
145. The Black Atlantic – Reverence For Fallen Trees
144. Cursive – Mama, I’m Swollen
143. Five Finger Death Punch – War is the Answer
142. Memphis May Fire – Sleepwalking
141. As Cities Burn – Hell or High Water
140. Say Anything – Say Anything
139. Silverstein – A Shipwreck in the Sand
138. Architects – Hollow Crown
137. within the ruins – Creature
136. Farewell to Freeway – Only Time Will Tell
135. Earth Crisis – To the Death
134. Throwdown – Deathless
133. Showbread – The Fear of God
132. Lacuna Coil – Shallow Life
131. These Green Eyes – Relapse to Recovery
130. Evans Blue – Evans Blue
129. The Prodigy – Invaders Must Die
128. Texas in July – I Am
127. Narrows – New Distances
126. Divine Heresy – Bringer of Plagues
125. Puscifer – "C" Is For (Please Insert Sophomoric Genitalia Reference Here)
124. The Fall of Troy – In the Unlikely Event
123. Green Day – 21st Century Breakdown
122. Placebo – Battle For the Sun
121. Rancid – Let the Dominoes Fall
120. Salt The Wound - Ares
119. Sick Puppies – Tri-Polar
118. Coalesce – OX
117. Porcupine Tree – The Incident
116. Flyleaf – Memento Mori
115. You Say Party! We Say Die! – XXXX
114. Ace Enders And A Million Different People – When I Hit the Ground
113. Closure In Moscow – First Temple
112. The Sleeping – What it Takes
111. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz!
110. Telefon Tel Aviv – Immolate Yourself
109. mewithoutYou – It’s All Crazy! It’s All False! It’s All a Dream! It’s Alright
108. The Riverboat Gamblers – Underneath the Owl
107. AFI – Crash Love
106. Wilco – Wilco (The Album)
105. Sabertooth Zombie – …And Your Fathers Are Dead in the Ground
104. Miss May I – Apologies Are For the Weak
103. The Kris Norris Projekt – Icons of the Illogical
102. DevilDriver – Pray For Villains
101. Metric - Fantasies
100. God Forbid – Earthsblood
99. Mudvayne – Mudvayne
98. The Lonely Island – Incredibad
97. Rodrigo y Gabriela – 11:11
96. Taking Back Sunday – New Again
95. Moneen – The World I Want to Leave Behind
94. Three Days Grace – Life Starts Now
93. Killswitch Engage – Killswitch Engage
92. Death by Stereo – Death Is My Only Friend
91. Dance Gavin Dance – Happiness
90. The Black Dahlia Murder – Deflorate
89. Dead by Sunrise – Out of Ashes
88. Great Northern – Remind Me Where the Light Is
87. The Sounds – Crossing the Rubicon
86. Mew - No More Stories…
85. Manchester Orchestra – Mean Everything to Nothing
84. Stray From the Path – Make Your Own History
83. The Killer and the Star – The Killer and the Star
82. Emery – …In Shallow Seas We Sail
81. Megadeth – Endgame
80. Bury Your Dead – It’s Nothing Personal
79. Death Before Dishonor – Better Ways to Die
78. Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
77. Hester Prynne – The Goswell Divorce
76. Therefore I Am – The Sound of Human Lives
75. For the Fallen Dreams – Relentless
Essential Track: Two Twenty Two

74. Paramore – Brand New Eyes
Essential Track: Ignorance

73. Baroness – Blue Record
Essential Track: War Wisdom and Rhyme

72. iwrestledabearonce – It’s All Happening
Essential Track: I’m Cold and There Are Wolves After Me

71. The Number Twelve Looks Like You – Worse Than Alone
Essential Track:…If They Holler Don’t Let Go

70. Tegan and Sara – Sainthood
Essential Track: Red Belt

69. Rammstein – Liebe ist für alle da
Essential Track: Rammlied

68. Dream Theater – Black Clouds & Silver Linings
Essential Track: The Shattered Fortress

67. 32 Leaves – Panoramic
Essential Track: Erase All Memory

66. Them Crooked Vultures – Them Crooked Vultures
Essential Track: Caligulove

65. Forever In Terror – The End
Essential Track: Overboard

64. ZAO – Awake?
Essential Track: Entropica

63. Sleep Serapis Sleep – The Dark Awakening
Essential Track: Destiny is Met on the Path That Betrays It

62. Raised Fist – Veil of Ignorance
Essential Track: Friends and Traitors

61. Isis – Wavering Radiant
Essential Track: Stone to Wake a Serpent

60. Zeromancer – Sinners International
Essential Track: Doppelgänger I Love You

59. Parabelle – A Summit Borderline/A Drop Oceanic
Essential Track: Are You Alaramed?

58. Propagandhi – Supporting Caste
Essential Track: Potemkin City Limits

57. Heartsounds – Until We Surrender
Essential Track: Highway Robbery

56. Bomb the Music Industry! – Scrambles
Essential Track: 25!

55. Saosin – In Search of Solid Ground
Essential Track: The Alarming Sound of a Still Small Voice

54. NOFX – Coaster
Essential Track: The Quitter Download

53. Take It Back! – Atrocities
Essential Track: Hollow Eyes

52. Gallows – Grey Britain
Essential Track: Queensberry Rules

51. Hurt – Goodbye to the Machine
Essential Track: Fighting Tao

50. Billy Talent – Billy Talent III
Essential Tracks: Rusted From the Rain, The Dead Can’t Testify

49. Poison the Well – The Tropic Rot
Essential Tracks: Celebrate the Pyre, Without You and One Other I Am Nothing

48. Austrian Death Machine – Double Brutal
Essential Tracks: I Need Your Clothes Your Boots and Your Motorcycle, It’s Simple If it Jiggles It’s Fat

47. He Is Legend – It Hates You
Essential Tracks: Party Time!!!, Cult of She

46. Celesty – Vendetta
Essential Tracks: Greed & Vanity, Legacy of Hate Pt. 3

45. Enter Shikari – Common Dreads
Essential Tracks: Step Up, Antwerpen

44. Atreyu – Congregation of the Damned
Essential Tracks: Stop! Before it's Too Late and We've Destroyed it All, Bleeding is a Luxury

43. Endwell – Consequences
Essential Tracks: Avoidant: Ghost Will Haunt, As Low as a Life Can Get: Jumping the Shark

42. Polar Bear Club – Chasing Hamburg
Essential Tracks: Boxes, Light of Local Eyes

41. Alexisonfire – Old Crows/Young Cardinals
Essential Tracks: Midnight Regulations, Emerald Street

40. Dethklok – Dethalbum II
Essential Tracks: The Gears, Burn the Earth

39. Slayer – World Painted Blood
Essential Tracks: Unit 731, Psychopathy Red

38. Mute Math – Armistice
Essential Tracks: Spotlight, Armistice

37. Strike Anywhere – Iron Front
Essential Tracks: South Central Beach Party, First Will and Testament

36. Reign Supreme – Testing the Limits of Infinite
Essential Tracks: Mother Superior, Crushed by the Weight

35. August Burns Red – Constellations
Essential Tracks: Ocean of Apathy, Marianas Trench

34. The Eyes Of A Traitor – A Clear Perception
Essential Tracks: Escape These Walls, Misconceptions

33. Strung Out – Agents of the Underground
Essential Tracks: The Fever and the Sound, Jack Knife

32. Set Your Goals – This Will Be the Death of Us
Essential Tracks: Gaia Bleeds (Make Way For Man): Our Ethos: A Legacy to Pass On

31. Kylesa – Static Tensions
Essential Tracks: Scapegoat, Running Red

30. The Ghost of a Thousand – New Hopes, New Demonstrations
Essential Tracks: Moved as Mountains Dreamt of by the Sea, Running on Empty

29. Catherine – Inside Out
Essential Tracks: Fresh Air, Meaning

28. Arsonists Get All The Girls – Portals
Essential Tracks: The 42nd Ego, Saturnine

27. Shadows Fall – Retribution
Essential Tracks: My Demise, King of Nothing

26. CKY – Carver City
Essential Tracks: Imaginary Threats, Old Carver’s Bones

25. Dead and Divine – The Machines We Are
Essential Tracks: The Sugar Sickness, Chemical Valley, D.R.U.G.S.

24. Lamb of God – Wrath
Essential Tracks: In Your Words, Contractor, Everything to Nothing

23. Born of Osiris – A Higher Place
Essential Tracks: Now Arise, A Descent, Faces of Death

22. Street Sweeper Social Club – Street Sweeper Social Club
Essential Tracks: 100 Little Curses, Clap For the Killers, Promenade

21. Alice in Chains – Black Gives Way to Blue
Essential Tracks: Check My Brain, Your Decision, Acid Bubble

20. 30 Seconds to Mars – This is War
Essential Tracks: Night of the Hunter, Hurricane, Stranger in a Strange Land

19. Silversun Pickups – Swoon
Essential Tracks: There’s No Secrets This Year, It’s Nice to Know You Work Alone, Panic Switch

18. A Day to Remember – Homesick
Essential Tracks: My Life For Hire, I’m Made of Wax Larry What Are You Made Of?, Holdin’ it Down For the Underground

17. Maylene and the Sons of Disaster – III
Essential Tracks: Settling Scores by Burning Bridges, Step Up (I’m On It), Oh Lonely Grave

16. Every Time I Die – New Junk Aesthetic
Essential Tracks: The Marvelous Slut, After One Quarter of a Revolution, Buffalo 666

15. The Chariot – Wars and Rumors of Wars
Essential Tracks: Impress., Never I, Daggers

14. Evergreen Terrace – Almost Home
Essential Tracks: Enemy Sex, Hopelessly Hopeless, I’m a Bulletproof Tiger

13. Thrice – Beggars
Essential Tracks: The Weight, Doublespeak, At the Last

12. Hexes – White Noise/Black Sound
Essential Tracks: Eyes Like Knives, Sirhan Sirhan Sirhan, Lipgloss Ghosts

11. Darkest Hour – The Eternal Return
Essential Tracks: The Tides, Transcendence, Into the Grey

10. Brand New – Daisy
Essential Tracks: Bed, At the Bottom, Sink, Bought a Bride

9. Chevelle – Sci-Fi Crimes
Essential Tracks: Sleep Apnea, Mexican Sun, A New Momentum, This Circus

8. dredg – The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion
Essential Tracks: Gathering Pebbles, Information, I Don’t Know, Quotes

7. Muse – The Resistance
Essential Tracks: Undisclosed Desires, Unnatural Selection, MK Ultra, Exogenesis: Symphony Part 2 (Cross-Polination)

6. Thursday – Common Existence
Essential Tracks: Friends in the Armed Forces, Beyond the Visible Spectrum, Love Has Led Us Astray, You Were the Cancer

5. Mastodon – Crack the Skye
Essential Tracks: Oblivion, The Czar, Ghost of Karelia, The Last Baron

4. Animals as Leaders – Animals As Leaders
Essential Tracks: Tempting Time, Soraya, CAFO, Inamorata

3. Between the Buried and Me – The Great Misdirect
Essential Tracks: Obfuscation, Disease Injury Madness, Desert of Song, Swim to the Moon

2. It Prevails – Capture and Embrace
Essential Tracks: Today is Yesterday’s Tomorrow, Brothers to the Flames, Trial and Tribulation, A Martyr’s Journey

1.Converge – Axe to Fall
Essential Tracks: Dark Horse, Reap What You Sow, Wishing Well, Cutter

Закончился 2009 год и как всегда составляю топ года :)

Top 10 - 2009.
1. Argument 5.45
2. dredg
3. Marschak
4. Enter Shikari
5. Everything Is Made in China
6. Thursday
7. Belle Epoque
8. CANDID8
9. Dance Gavin Dance
10. Flawless Victory

Статистика на 01.01.2010:
Прослушано трэков: 102659
Библиотека: 3 828 исполнителей

За год музыкальные вкусы практически не поменялись. Было много интересных и качественных релизов, надеюсь в 2010 будет не меньше :)

Всех с наступившим 2010 годом и всех благ :)

What the title says. My cute little list. :)

Sonny Moore
Random Conflict
Exit Ten x2
Chiodos
The Perfect Crime
Scrapbook Heroes
Visions
Hour hands
Portugal. The Man x2 (most enjoyable shows)
Prince Harry
clowns (I have to say I regret this)
Adept
Dance Gavin Dance (dislike, they whined and stepped on me.)
A Skylit Drive
The Mars Volta (the best, hands down)

..and a few others here and there.
Bring on 2010!

...Как же я не люблю составлять топы топов, сравнивать музыку разных стилей, чтобы выявить доменанту. Любой артист, подходящий к создании музыки с умом, достоен уважения за проделанный труд. Уходящий год в отличие от предыдущего увеличил поток прослушиваемой музыки раз в десять, а значит любимой музыки прибавилось значительно. Не долго думая, отсортировав в айтюнсе альбомы с пометкой 2009, я составил слегка ироничный по номинациям (не места же присваивать), но все же топ тех исполнителей, которые чаще всего задерживались в айподе и вот список (a-z):





813
/ рашн трип-хоп года

Adrian Younge
/ соулфанк года

Akira Kiteshi
/ апокалипсис года

Bjork
/ репит года / лучший live в записи

Bon Iver
/ бородач года

charlyne yi
/ приятная нелепость года



Daedelus
/ улыыбка года

Dam-Funk
/ баунсер года

Dance Gavin Dance
/ хардкор года

Darkstar
/ плачь микросхемы

Democracy And Hot Dogs
/ перспектива года

devonwho
/ комфортные биты




Dimlite
/ индивидуальность года

DJ Mitsu The Beats
/ джаз-хоп года

Dorian Concept
/ микрокорг года

El Michels Affair
/ джазовое переосмысление wu-tang

Electric Wire Hustle
/ спейсек года

Fever Ray
/ knife года



Fink
/ гитара года

Floating Points
/ продакшн года

Flying Lotus
/ продюсер года

Hudson Mohawke
/ самый ожидаемый лонгплей / дебют года

Ikonika
/ вонки года / лучший диджей

Jabberloop
/ nu jazz года

James Blake
/ дабстеповый сонграйтер года

Joker
/ лучшие синглы / ремиксы года

Jose James
/ джентельмен года

Junior Boys
/ мечтатели года





Kings of Convenience
/ акустическая гармония года

Loops Haunt
/ открытие года

Massive Attack
/ лучший seen live

Max Richter
/ композитор года

MNDSGn
/ klipm0de года

Mono/Poly
/ BEATch года



Motohiro Nakashima
/ воздух года

Mount Kimbie
/ самый легкий дабстеп

Natasha Khan
/ нос года / лучший поп-альбом

Nicola Conte
/ джазовый продюсер года

Nosaj Thing
/ альбом года (drift) / лучшие визуалы

Olafur Arnalds
/ сердцебиение года



Omar Rodriguez Lopez
/ многостаночник года

Peter Broderick
/ нео-классика года

Prefuse 73
/ папа года

Raffertie
/ wobble года

Ras G
/ airhorn года




Rokkurro
/ слезы года

Ryuichi Sakamoto
/ пианист года

Samiyam
/ бит-новатор года

Shuta Hasunuma
/ чистый глитч года

Skye
/ comeback года

Slugabed
/ kick ass beats года





Soap&Skin
/ истерика года

Sofus Forsberg
/ инженер года

Starkey
/ двойник года

Superturbo
/ жвачка со вкладышами года

Taxi Taxi!
/ близнецы года / indie pop года

Teebs
/ художник года

the Gaslamp Killer
/ псих года



The Invisible
/ афророк года

The Long Lost
/ нежность года

Think About Life
/ оптимизм года

TOKiMONSTA
/ битмама

Toro y Moi
/ chillwave года



YUKIMI NAGANO
/ голос года

Zee Avi
/ feist года

Zomby
/ арпеджии года

Zooey Deschanel
/ харизма года

Ночные грузчики
/ поэзия года




+ перечень исполнителей, альбомы которых для меня безоговорочно удались от и до.

4dust / Bibio / Boozoo Bajou / Bosques de mi Mente / Bugge Wesseltoft / Chris Clark / Discovery / Doom / Fennesz / Four Tet / Kero One / Lusine / Lymbyc Systym / Maximo Park / My Brightest Diamond / Nitin Sawhney / P.O.S. / Passion Pit / PPP / Prisma / Regina Spektor / Savath & Savalas / Shafiq Husayn / sleepy.ab / The 49ers / The Gentleman Losers / The Lide Force Trio / The Whitest Boy Alive / Wax Tailor / Yeah Yeah Yeahs / Yppah / Zero 7




оригинал в lj

50. The Appleseed Cast: Sagarmatha
49. In Case of Fire: Align the Planets
48. Weezer: Raditude
47. Thursday: Common Existence
46. Tegan & Sara: Sainthood
45. Alexisonfire: Old Crows/Young Cardinals
44. Japandroids: Post-Nothing
43. Dinosaur Jr.: Farm
42. Camera Obscura: My Maudlin Career
41. The Flaming Lips: Embryonic
40. Muse: The Resistance
39. Noah and the Whale: First Days of Spring
38. The Temper Trap: Conditions
37. Dance Gavin Dance: Happiness
36. NOFX: Coaster
35. Sonic Youth: The Eternal
34. Thrice: Beggars
33. Grammatics: Grammatics
32. Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band: Outer South
31. The Decemberists: The Hazards of Love
30. Girls: Album
29. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
28. Eels: Hombre Lobo
27. Lightning Dust: Infinite Light
26. Wild Beasts: Two Dancers
25. Cursive: Mama, I'm Swollen
24. Metric: Fantasies
23. Stellastarr*: Civilised
22. Green Day: 21st Century Breakdown
21. Pissed Jeans: King of Jeans
20. Flood of Red: Leave Everything Behind
19. White Lies: To Lose My Life
18. The Cribs: Ignore the Ignorant
17. Gallows: Grey Britain
16. Grizzly Bear: Veckatmist
15. Fake Problems: It's Great To Be Alive
14. Mumford and Sons: Sigh No More
13. Propagandhi: Supporting Caste
12. The Twilight Sad: Forget the Night Ahead
11. Twin Atlantic: Vivarium

10. Biffy Clyro: Only Revolutions

It may not manage to reach the lofty heights of 'Puzzle' but then, when you've made one of the very best records of the last twenty or so years, it's always going to be a bit of a challenge to follow it. Still, 'Only Revolutions' is a mighty fine album and one that's more than worthy of your undivided attention. The opening salvo of 'The Captain', absolutely the pop song of the year, and 'That Golden Rule', probably the rock song of the year (check out that orchestral closing minute!) is freaking orgasmic. And then there's the ludicrously anthemic 'Bubbles', the beautifully tender 'God and Satan', last year's greatest rock record 'Mountains', epic ballad 'Many of Horror', the utterly absurd, but unfathomably brilliant, 'Born on a Horse'... the list goes on and on. This is an album packed to the brim with opulence; with delicious feasts for the ears. Forget your reservations, Biffy purists, and let its playful charm sweep right over you. You'll feel better for it. Honest.

9. Sucioperro: Pain Agency

‘Pain Agency’ is an utterly terrifying record, delving deep into decidedly disturbing thematic territory and unleashing a tidal wave of criminally intense, magnificently harrowing guitar noise to soundtrack it. This is certainly no easy listen, but this is exactly what gives the record its power. From the lilting acoustic sway of ‘Conception Territory’ to the death metal tones of the thoroughly evil ‘Mum’s Bad Punk Music’, ‘Pain Agency’ refuses to be pigeonholed, taking the listener on a gloriously sporadic sensory journey and, for all the ride may be a harrowing one, it proves all the more rewarding for it. Pain never sounded, or felt, quite this good.

8. Idlewild: Post Electric Blues

For album number six, Idlewild tend to stick to what they do best, marrying larger-than-life hooks with glitzy, punchy guitar pop. 'Post Electric' owes more to 'Warnings/Promises' than previous release 'Make Another World'; its palate is less immediate and sonically intense, embracing the folky introspection of Woomble's solo work as much as providing guiltless rock thrills, but this only makes the album that much more interesting. Rod's wonderful guitar stabs are often accompanied by tinkles on the ivories, as in the lovely 'City Hall'. There are experiments with brass and unusual percussion, elements that make lead single 'Readers and Writers' such a joy, and there is female vocal accompaniment, provided by the effortlessly talented Heidi Talbot, which adds a fresh dimension to the band's sound. She accentuates the power of wistful ballad 'Take Me Back to the Islands' but, perhaps more impressively, actually manages to make something glorious out of a series of 'la la la's, which is all she provides on 'Younger than America', the album's superlatively anthemic opener. Somehow, her minuscule contribution seems gargantuan, giving the track a sort of rapturous feel that sends shivers down the spine. It may take a few listens but it'll soon become apparent that yet again, the Scotsmen have created something truly special.

7. Silversun Pickups: Swoon

Swooning its way into our hearts (hah... see what I did there? *tumbleweed*), Silversun Pickups' latest offering is a veritable treasure trove of musical delights, taking the listener on a roller coaster ride that's highly demanding on the emotions. The eerie melodrama of 'There's No Secrets This Year' soon gives way to the full throttle agony of 'The Royal We' and 'Panic Switch', before taking in the tragically quiet despair of 'Draining' and 'Catch and Release'. There's crushing agony too: 'It's Nice To Know You Work Alone' has probably one of the greatest hooks of the year, but singer Brian Aubert's creepily high pitched vocal transforms it into something unrelentingly terrifying. A wonderfully rich and expertly demanding record that ultimately provides many, many rewards.

6. Future of the Left: Travels With Myself and Another

Jack Egglestone is an angry man. Quite what he’s angry about, however, is anyone’s guess. The latest batch of aggressive, scuzzy noise rock to come out of the Future of the Left camp is as deliciously oblique and frustratingly nonsensical as always; traversing a minefield of guttural rants without really explaining just what on Earth’s got the boys so incredibly riled. Listening to ‘Travels with Myself and Another’ is sort of like wandering into a blistering domestic row halfway through, and not knowing anything about any of the parties involved. The lyrics are replete with didactic, accusatory exclamations, often directed at specific individuals (the stingingly pinpointed Rick of ‘Arming Eritrea’, ‘Throwing Bricks at Trains’’ Reginald J. Trucksfield) and contain frankly bizarre concepts: ‘Drink Nike’? You what? ‘He’s one of a kind/He’s got chin music’? Excuse me? Would someone mind explaining to me just what the fudge is going on? Of course, it doesn't matter really. Fact is, 'Travels' rocks like one hell of a bastard, spunking all over your poor unsuspecting stereo for thirty five purely visceral minutes. F-ing fantastic.

5. The Xcerts: In the Cold Wind We Smile

Scotland's barren, bitter landscapes have given us the criminally underrated Idlewild, the enigmatic Biffy Clyro, the gargantuan Sucioperro and the evocativce Glasvegas, as well as some of the year's most promising upstarts in these whipper-snappers, Aberdeen's quite unbelievably teenage Xcerts. Surely there must be something in the water? (Let's just forget that Texas ever happened, shall we?) 'In the Cold Wind We Smile' is a surprisingly assured release from such young minds. Its lyrics are thankfully bereft of the usual hyperbole that typify teenage writing, and the musical accompaniment is a glorious mix of the best elements of the original emo bands (Get Up Kids, Sunny Day Real Estate, Saves the Day) and output from various contemporary Scottish acts (Biffy, Jetpacks et al.) It's an expressive, cathartic piece with a massive heart and a tonne of ambition. Domestic strife never sounded so thrilling.

4. Manic Street Preachers: Journal For Plague Lovers

It seems almost clichéd to suggest it, and doubtless there will be those who claim that it’s just a load of smoke being blown further up the arse of a man who has practically achieved God-like status in the fourteen years since his disappearance, but fuck me, ‘Journal for Plague lovers’ is fantastic. Somehow, some way, James Dean Bradfield, Nicky Wire and Sean Moore have done their lost friend all the justice they could, and then some. The music matches the lyrics so wonderfully, evoking exactly what the oft-beguiling words seem to suggest, that it appears almost effortless, as if they were intrinsically aware of what was needed without having to consciously think about it, like the interpretation just tumbled out of them, ready made and bloody marvellous. ‘Journal’ works both as a testament to a hugely talented man and as a thrill-packed rock record, full of beautiful melodies, gorgeous guitar wizardry and air-punching intensity. At times, it feels prudent to cast aside all thoughts of Richey altogether; as Christian Bale says in the first ten seconds of the album, ‘we know so little about [him]’, after all. But it doesn’t matter; Manic Street Preachers have made a record that surpasses these concerns, cutting past the distractions in trying to seem authentic and simply allowing the words to stand on their own. It's got the album sleeve of the year too...

3. We Were Promised Jetpacks: These Four Walls

As well has having probably the coolest name on the planet, Glasgow’s We Were Promised Jetpacks make one hell of a fantastic racket. ‘These Four Walls’ sounds absolutely monumental, a towering inferno of cacophonous instrument rape built on a penchant for the most intense sort of crescendo known to man. Virtually all of the album’s eleven tracks are addictively restless, starting out quiet but curiously sporadic, goading the listener into keeping a spasmodic sort of time when there is none being kept within the song. This lends a raw flavour to the music, augmented by a smattering of jagged, scattershot guitars and unusual timbre, upon which the band add layer after layer of sound with each passing minute, before finally reaching a sort of cathartic apex; the auditory orgasm, if you will. It’s the same tactic that’s allowed The Arcade Fire to become such critical stalwarts, except enhanced tenfold by the sheer bombast of the noise that the band make. They’re more like a comprehendible Die! Die! Die! or pretenders to Biffy Clyro’s throne, using the less radio-friendly song structures of their earlier material. ‘These Four Walls’ is an absolute gem, a record dripping with visceral delights that demand you return again and again, seeking the same thrills but all the while discovering spectacular new ones. It claws its way out of its own four walls, restlessly hammering at your eardrums until you just can’t help but fall hopelessly in love with it. You can have your jetpacks guys; we’ll take your music.

2. Brand New: Daisy

‘Daisy’ is a miserably aggressive horror show of a record that trawls the darkest depths of the human psyche, exploring a world of desperation, loss and emotional catastrophe. Play this beast at a party and your guests are likely to start bashing each others’ brains in with the furniture. The album takes the misery and hopelessness of 2006’s astounding ‘The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me’ and reimagines it through musical cacophony; ‘heavy’ doesn’t even begin to describe the raw, distorted guitars and abrasive, crashing drums that pound at your earlobes throughout. This is less the sound of the defeated and more the sound of the disgusted: instruments are assaulted rather than played, and Jesse screams like Frank Carter’s demented second cousin twice removed over most of the tracks, obliterating any semblance of melody. It sounds like a horrific listening experience but actually, it’s quite the opposite. Like a good car crash, you just can’t help but be fascinated by ‘Daisy’; to want to stare, self-destructively, at its twisted, repugnant carcass. This is an album that demands multiple listens, that won’t escape from your CD player for months, no matter how much you may want it to. It’s another almighty swerve from a band that just won’t sit still, that refuse to be what everyone wants them to be, and for that, they should be applauded. Fuck partying guys, let’s smash shit up.

1. Manchester Orchestra: Mean Everything To Nothing

There’s something of a buzz surrounding Manchester Orchestra; following 2006’s impressively mature debut, ‘I’m like a Virgin Losing a Child’, the Georgia five-piece have become critical dahlings, and for once, it’s wholly justified. With ‘Mean Everything to Nothing’, the band have produced their magnum opus, a superlative distillation of their quintessentially bleak, yet unquestionably anthemic, sound. At times, it's a difficult listen; its despondency is initially unwelcoming and takes some time to truly appreciate, but, as with all good things, perseverance pays dividends. The album harnesses the kind of emotional gravitas and packs the same incredibly stomach-churning punch as tour mates Brand New’s phenomenal ‘The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me’ and that really is no small feat. Manchester Orchestra splatter heart, soul, blood and guts all over this record, giving you everything they’ve got, and for that, they should mean everything to everyone. An undisputed classic.

Manchester Orchestra
Brand New
We Were Promised Jetpacks
Manic Street Preachers
The Xcerts
Biffy Clyro
Silversun Pickups
Future of the Left
Idlewild
Sucioperro
Twin Atlantic
Girls
The Twilight Sad
Weezer
Fake Problems
Propagandhi
Wild Beasts
Green Day
Mumford & Sons
Grizzly Bear
The Appleseed Cast
In Case of Fire
White Lies
Flood of Red
Gallows
The Cribs
Pissed Jeans
Japandroids
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Cursive
Thrice
Dance Gavin Dance
Thursday
Alexisonfire
stellastarr*
Metric
Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band
The Decemberists
Lightning Dust
Grammatics
Eels
Tegan & Sara
The Temper Trap
NOFX
The Flaming Lips
Camera Obscura
Muse
Noah and the Whale
Sonic Youth
Dinosaur Jr.