There are some fine CDs and digital files in the world; we should all be grateful. Special thanks to Lake County's wonderful libraries, especially the Round Lake Area Library (call my legislator to preserve Interlibrary Loan!); the MSN Listening Booth; and, believe it or not, MySpace! They're not just for pederasts anymore.
1. Ke$ha--Animal
2. DMX--The Best of DMX (REISSUE) (and a seemingly redundant one, since his label just put out a DMX best-of a couple years ago; nonetheless, this demonstrates what flabbergasting skills the guy possesses) (and also what jawdropping misogyny...)
3. Diana Reyes--Amame, Besame
4. WASP--Babylon
5. Grong Grong--To Hell 'n' Back ('09 REISSUE)
6. Frightened Rabbit--The Winter of Mixed Drinks
7. Fela Kuti--Koola Lobitos/The '69 L.A. Sessions (REISSUE)
8. The Like--Release Me
9. Marvin Sapp--Here I Am
10. Drive-By Truckers--The Big To-Do
11. Various Artists--Fire In My Bones: Raw, Rare & Otherworldly African-American Gospel (1944-2007) ('09 REISSUE)
12. Vampire Weekend--Contra
Have I really not linked to any Vampire Weekend on here? They're beautiful and spunky. (And, if you believe the guy from Xiu Xiu, they are "fake Ivy League Afropop rip-off assholes who are, as their wealthy grandparents before them, plundering race without any consideration for the implications." But why would you believe the guy from Xiu Xiu?) Here's "Giving Up the Gun":
13. Daddy Yankee--Mundial
14. Mary J. Blige--Stronger With Each Tear ('09)
15. David Bowie--A Reality Tour
16. Gary Allan--Get Off On the Pain
17. Los Titanes de Durango--Los Locos del Corrido
18. Art Museums--Rough Frame (apparently I need to listen to more Television Personalities; like, more than none)
19. Intocable--Classic ('09) (also for further research: Los Relampagos del Norte, who originally did the songs on this album)
20. New Pornograpers--Together (I confess to only remembering the first three songs, which are amazing; hope to hear the whole thing again soon...)
21. Youssou N'Dour--Music from the Motion Picture I Bring What I Love
22. Josh Turner--Haywire (concept album about what an awesome husband and father he is)
23. Ludacris--Battle of the Sexes
24. Meth, Rae, & Ghost--Wu-Massacre
25. This Moment in Black History--Public Square
26. Hold Steady--Heaven is Whenever (I think; this one's kind of in the same boat as the Pornographers, only no songs were flat-out amazing)
27. XP8--Drop the Mask
28. Nneka--Concrete Jungle
29. Carolina Chocolate Drops--Genuine Negro Jig
30. Spoon--Transference
Have I really not linked to "Mystery Zone" yet? We'll set that right today!
31. Alicia Keys--The Element of Freedom ('09)
32. Matthew Shipp--4D
33. Los Tucanes de Tijuana--Retro-Corridos
34. Blake Shelton--Hillbilly Bone
35. Gary Lucas & Dean Bowman--Chase the Devil
36. Ray Wylie Hubbard--A. Enlightenment B. Endarkenment (Hint: There is no C)
37. Was (Not Was)--Pick of the Litter (1980-2010) (REISSUE)
38. Midlake--The Courage of Others
39. Various Artists--Minimal Wave Tapes (REISSUE) (I go back and forth on those last three.)
Four Tet's in there somewhere, too; I just listened yesterday to that groovy electronic gentleman, and he was very charming. Not charming enough for the Top 20, probably, but he knows what he's doing.
Exempt from the ranking is good friend Kyle Gray Young, whose Songs for the Moon is a lovely classic rock record, chopsier than he's been in the past.
Somewhere around here there's a "Not Worth It" list, approximately as long, available upon request. It's not completely dire; some of it has sounded pretty good to other ears, but it's just not stuff I'd wanna subject myself to on a regular basis. And some of it is completely dire.
On to singles! I'm not quite as sure about these right now--lots I heard once or twice and haven't heard since, but they sounded good at the time. That's a pretty solid top ten, though. Thanks to Singles Jukebox for recommending and thinking!
"Your Love Is My Drug"--Ke$ha
"Praise You Forever"--Marvin Sapp
"Babylon"--Congorock
"Soldier of Love"--Sade
"Wile Out"--DJ Zinc ft. Ms. Dynamite
"Take That"--Wiley & Chew Fu
"Baby"--Justin Bieber feat. Ludacris
"Hipnotika"--A.B. Quintanilla's All Starz
"Wavin' Flag"--K'Naan
"Shutterbugg"--Big Boi
"Born Free"--M.I.A.
"Speechless"--Lady Gaga
"American Saturday Night"--Brad Paisley
"Hard"--Rihanna
"Swim Until You Can't See Land"--Frightened Rabbit
"I'm Ready"--Alicia Keys
"Stinkin' Rich"--Gappy Ranks
"Bedrock"--Young Money
"Tik Tok"--Ke$ha
"Crash Years"--New Pornographers
"Call Me Dragon"--These Monsters
"Estamos En Algo"--Intocable
"Falling"--I:Cube
"Why Don't We Just Dance"--Josh Turner
"Bricks and Mortar"--Editors
"Chase the Tear"--Portishead
"Ala Freakin' Bama"--Trace Adkins
"Wrong Baby Wrong Baby Wrong"--Martina McBride
"Rainy Days at the Beach"--Sable
"A Little More Country Than That"--Easton Corbin
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