Originally written by Sean Adams · 1 December 2010
Yesterday, we began our year-end countdown of the 75 albums Drowned in Sound staff recommends for the year twenty-ten. Or two zero one zero, if you haven't learnt to count above 5 stars.
Whilst one big site-defining list, with somewhat arbitrary positionings, full of compromises and a whiff of fair-play politics is all well and good, the far more fascinating thing is the ONE album people believe stands on a column, far above all others. Over the past 10 years, this has usually been pretty much the same four or five albums topping people's list, making the job of picking the top five albums of the year, somewhat easier. Not in tweeny-ten, oh no. This year, as you'll see below, has been the least lacking in consensus since records began (ok, as we're sure you know as we keep banging on about it, it was only 10 years ago we launched, so this clearly isn't the most scientific of research!).
Anyhoo, I found this really interesting, symptomatic of our times perhaps, and I thought you all might find it interesting too. Feel free to share your number one album of the year in the comments section down below and check back tomorrow for our albums of the year 50-11, and the top 10 will be revealed on Friday afternoon.
Senior Staff
Sean Adams, DiS Founder: Deftones Diamond Eyes Andrzej Lukowski, Reviews Editor: The Knife w/ Mt Sims & Planningtorock Tomorrow, In A Year Luke Slater, News Editor: White Hinterland Kairos Dom Gourlay: Arcade Fire The Suburbs Wendy Roby, Singles Columnist: James Blake CMYK EP Cate Blanche, Features Editor: Perfume Genius Learning Mike Diver, Former Editor: Drake Thank Me Later Rob Webb, DrownedinEvents: Arcade Fire The Suburbs
Contributors
Rory Gibb, Columnist: Forest Swords Dagger Paths Billy Hamilton: Pantha du Prince Black Noise Kevin E.G. Perry: John Grant Queen of Denmark Jonathan Falcone: Neil Hamburger Hot February Night Thomas Perry: The National High Violet Bruce Porter: Menomena Mines Brad Barrett: Deftones Diamond Eyes Dave Kerr: Deftones Diamond Eyes Jazz Monroe: Roky Erickson & Okkervil River True Love Cast Out All Evil Gideon Brody: Four Tet There Is Love in You William Grant: Caribou Swim Sean Thomas: Hot Chip One Life Stand Hayden Wooley: Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti Before Today Nick Neyland: Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti Before Today James Lawrenson: Los Campesinos! Romance is Boring Paul Brown: Los Campesinos! Romance is Boring David Pott-Negrine: Drake Thank Me Later David Renshaw: LCD Soundsystem This Is Happening Philip Bloomfield: Flying Lotus Cosmogramma Alexander Tudor: Shearwater The Golden Archipelago James Skinner: Shearwater The Golden Archipelago Neil Ashman: These New Puritans Hidden Robert Ferguson: Gorillaz Plastic Beach Sam Lewis: Woods At Echo Lake Kyle Ellison: Mount Kimbie Crooks and Lovers Dannii Leivers: Blood Red Shoes Fire Like This Finn Scott-Delaney: Janelle Monae The ArchAndroid Si Truss: Big Boi Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty Christoper Nicolls: The Besnard Lakes...Are The Roaring Night Alex Hegazy: Liars Sisterworld David Edwards: Arcade Fire The Suburbs Sam Cleeve: Sufjan Stevens Age of Adz Michael Wheeler: Sufjan Stevens Age of Adz Ally Brown: Joanna Newsom Have One On Me Tom Edwards: High on Fire Snakes for the Divine Thom Gibbs: Wavves King of The Beach Alex Baker: Caribou Swim Dan Cooper-Gavin: Sharon Van Etten Epic Adam Johns: Drake Thank Me Later Noel Gardner: Extra Life Made Flesh Paul Davey: Helen Stellar If The Stars Could Speak, They Would Have Your Voice Brianna Saraceno: Happy Birthday Happy Birthday Paul Clarke: Four Tet There Is Love in You