A difficult year to limit picks to anything like a top 10 as few stand out from all the great music I heard. So I have created 3 groups of 7. The first 2 groups are virtually interchangeable; the 3rd group is new releases by personal faves that hung around the playlist all year. Plus a special shout-out to The Beatles Mono Box Set, a wondrous success in bringing the Fab Four into the digital age.
First 7
A Place To Bury Strangers - Exploding Head - Swirling noise that seen live may actual cause some heads to explode.
Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion - A brilliant mixture of experimental soundscapes tethered to a more accessible rock idiom.
The Decemberists - The Hazards Of Love - An intriguing song cycle that hearkens back to 1970s British folk rock.
Great Lake Swimmers - Lost Channels - Toronto singer-songwriter Tony Dekker's beautiful folk-pop songs shine in this, his 4th release.
Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest - String quartets and choral arrangements duel with acoustic guitars and vocal harmonies, sometimes rock, sometimes folk-jazz, always fun.
Lightning Dust - Infinite Light - A side project of Black Mountain fronted by vocalist Amber Webber highlighted by my personal song of the year, Take It Home.
The Warlocks - The Mirror Explodes - Taking a name used by the early Velvets and Dead, LA-based Bobby Hecksher blends shoegaze and Brit-pop to great effect.
Second 7
Built To Spill - There Is No Enemy - The lastest from guitar god Doug Martsch continues a wonderful tradition of scintillating rock and roll.
Doves - Kingdom Of Rust - Manchester Brit-pop thrives as Doves makes my list for the 4th time in 4 releases.
Green Day - 21st Century Breakdown - A worthy follow-up to their Broadway-bound mega-smash American Idiot.
Heartless Bastards - The Mountain - Erika Wennerstrom moved from Cincinnati to Austin, replaced her 2 bandmates, and crafted another great disc.
Bob Mould - Life And Times - From Husker Du to Sugar (to writing wrestling scripts) Mould returns to his guitar roots with this follow-up to last year's District Line.
The Von Bondies - Love Hate And Then There's You - A 5-year hiatus did not dim the power of this Detroit quartet's hard-edged rock.
Wussy - Wussy - Chuck Cleaver of Ass Ponys joins with Lisa Walker in a rootsy, rollicking set.
Third 7
Neko Case - Middle Cyclone - The voice of The New Pornographers continues to produce gorgeous solo albums.
The Church - Untitled #23 - The Aussie masters of jangly guitar not only released this wondrous record, but also gave one of the best live shows of the year.
Peter Holsapple/Chris Stamey - Here And Now - The duo behind the dB's reunite for their second album and nearly top their masterful Mavericks.
Mark Knopfler - Get Lucky - Everything that comes out of Knopfler's guitar is worth hearing, and this release is among the best he has done, including the Dire Straits years.
AC Newman - Get Guilty - The other half of The New Pornographers also released a terrific sole set this year.
Sonic Youth - The Eternal - Now joined by Pavement's Mark Ibold, SY continue to crank out fantastic music.
Yo La Tengo - Popular Songs - Hoboken lives and thrives in the latest opus from Ira, Georgia and James.
