THE BEST

10) "The Age of The Understatement" by The Last Shadow Puppets: So often side projects seem self-indulgent and watered down--or worse: utterly irrelevant.  "Age of the Understatement" is that rare bird that transcends the work that its component parts produce at their day jobs.  Here's hoping the Rascal's Miles Kane and The Arctic Monkeys' Alex Turner find time to come together again and deliver a follow up to this unlikely masterpiece.

9) "The Rhumb Line" by Ra Ra Riot: One of the hottest young bands around.  Ra Ra delivers the goods in the wake of the tragic drowning death of original drummer and major creative influence John Pike.  The album has a fittingly funereal mood that may come as a surprise to fans of the group's energetic live performances.  Even given the change of pace, there's no denying the promise this group shows on their debut--who knew bands not named Arcade Fire could do strings?

8) "Exit" by Shugo Tokumaru: Think Animal Collective drawn in Anime style and you have a pretty good idea of what Shugo Tokumaru is doing.  Hectic, melodic, and unrelentingly creative.  Exit is a treat for any music fan.

7) "Oracular Spectacular" by MGMT: Probably the only straight up pop album to make this list.  MGMT has a proven track record of writing intoxicating hooks that keep their audiences coming back for more.  On their debut LP you get all the electronica infused pop you might expect--definitely one to watch going forward.

6) "Dear Science" by TV on The Radio: 2006's "Return to Cookie Mountain" was a rock n' roll tour de force.  Filled with pounding bass lines, aggressive drumming, and gritty vocals TV produced an album befitting their inner city Brooklyn scenester origins.  Dear Science delivers a much more upbeat experience infused with identifiable funk influences that have always being clawing at the perimeter of TV's work.  Not one scintilla of musicality is lost in the transition.

5) "Fate" by Dr. Dog: Indie darling Philadelphia retro outfit Dr. Dog never really gained the mainstream traction they were looking for.  If major label attention is what they are indeed questing after then "Fate" is certainly a step in the right direction.  On their fourth full length the "Beatles of The New Millenium" completely emerge from their humble lo-fi beginnings to produce rocking beast of an album with all the fancy pants touches of a modern studio and without losing any of their 60s pop-rock charm.  If you've never heard a single DD song Fate is the logical place to begin.

4) "Made in The Dark" by Hot Chip: Hot Chip gained a reputation on the festival circuit as a powerful live act, a reputation that always seemed to support a band that never quite translated their energy into album form.  Though you'd still be hard pressed to describe "Made in The Dark" as headphone music, there is a marked improvement in the band's songwriting that ultimately into a more complete, and still unavoidably danceable, listening experience.

3) "Saturdays = Youth" by M83: WOW, fans of shoegaze your 21st century messiah has arrived and his name is Anthony Gonzalez.  Although not as bombastic as its predecessor, Saturdays = Youth benefits from its subtlety creating intricately layered textures of sound that merge in beautiful ways you never thought possible.  Old M83 fans may initially be disappointed by some perceived lack of intensity but "Saturdays = Youth" is a different kind of album, the kind of introspective work that revels in understatement, and its ultimately stronger for it.

2) "Fleet Foxes" by The Fleet Foxes:  The Beach Boys for a new generation.  I never thought I could be a fan of folk music until I first heard the Fleet Foxes EP "Sun Giant".  Their major label follow continues in the same beautiful vein.  Filled with more musical ideas than the band seems to know what to do with, the Fleet Foxes rattle off four part harmonies as if they were some Gregorian Madrugal Choir.  This is some of the prettiest music I have ever heard.

1) "In Rainbows" by Radiohead: Can any other band ever hope to be the standard bearer in a year where Thom Yorke and crew drop an album.  Even ignoring the revolutionary success of "In Rainbows" marketed without the backing of a major label, this is the esoteric minstrels' most accessible work since the mid nineties.  To listen to "In Rainbows" is to experience pure bliss.  Close your eyes and thank whatever higher power you believe in that you have the good fortune to live in the time of Radiohead.