My Favorite Music of 2010

So it's nearing the end of the year, which means it's time for an onslaught of best/worst this/that of-the-year lists. Here are what I thought to be the best songs and best album of 2010:

Songs (in no particular order)

Martina Topley-Bird - "Phoenix"

It's hard to describe this song in words, but I'll attempt by throwing out "minimal yet haunting." Her albums Blue God and Some Place Simple put her on my list of favorite female singer/songwriters. I find it difficult to listen to this song once and not play it on repeat.

Tanlines - "Real Life"

Ethereal, 80s-sounding new wave pop, done so well that Tears for Fears could have written it themselves. A 2010 song, but it manages to give me that sweet nostalgic feeling, and I can't resist it.

Miike Snow - "Billie Holiday"

Driving beat? Check. Epic dirty synthy goodness? Check. Lovely vocal production with a killer hook? Check. That about covers it.

Joanna Newsom - "You and Me, Bess"

The harp is such an under-rated instrument. Mixed with a spare horn accompaniment, Newsom melodically weaves and plucks through enthralling chords with spine-tingling dynamics and imagery-rich lyrics.

Flying Lotus - "Zodiac Shit"

This song really makes more sense within the context and flow of the album (Cosmogramma), but is a stand-out nonetheless. Like Dilla before him, Flying Lotus has the ability to produce instrumental hip-hop music so stunning that lyrics would only get in his way.

Brad Mehldau - "The Falcon Will Fly Again"

If I had to speak in terms of specific genres, Mehldau's Highway Rider would easily be the best jazz album of the year. Brad Mehldau + Jon Brion producing = forget about it. This track certainly isn't the best representation of this lushly orchestrated, sprawling album as a whole, but it's the one I keep coming back to. To me, Mehldau and saxophonist Joshua Redman are the best duo in the game right now, and this minimal piece serves as their showcase.

Erykah Badu - "Window Seat"

I'm a huge Erykah Badu fan, and this might be my favorite song that she's written to date. The perfect combination of jazz and soul, delivered by maybe the most beautifully raw and soulful voice since Billie Holiday (the singer, not the Miike Snow song from before).

Album of the Year

The Roots - How I Got Over

I surprised myself somewhat with how little thought I needed to put into this. Game, set, match, Roots. Not since Passion Pit's

Manners last year have I listened to an album so obsessively. I don't consider myself a connoisseur of hip hop by any means, especially within the past decade or so, but I know what I like, and I like this. The Roots have been my high water mark for good hip-hop music for a long time, and they exceeded even my high expectations by crushing it big time with How I Got Over. There's not a single misstep to be found. This is their masterwork. They got back to the basics of their style with more stripped-down instrumentation, tasty and creative arrangements, and culturally relevant and meaningful lyrics (which are unfortunately all too rare in modern rap and hip-hop). The album is simultaneously modern and reminiscent of vintage soul, and for my money, Black Thought has about the tightest flow in the emcee business. I could say more, but these are all just afterthoughts. It's all there in the music.

The Roots - "Radio Daze" (feat. Blu, P.O.R.N., Dice Raw)

The Roots - "Right On" (feat. Joanna Newsom)

The Roots - "Dear God 2.0" (feat. Jim James)