1. The Immediate - In Towers and Clouds
2. Islands - Return To The Sea
3. Danielson Famile - Ships
4. Jeremy Warmsley - The Art of Fiction
5. Beirut - Gulag Orkestar

1. Ellen Allien + Apparat - Orchestra of Bubbles
2. Hot Chip - The Warning
3. The Pipettes - We are the Pipettes
4. Schneider TM - Skoda Mluvit
5. Peter Bjorn and John - Writers Block

Hmmm... it's tricky this year. I believe there's been a lot of patchy, disappointing releases.

My 5 best are (in no particular order):-

1) The Trials of Occupanther - Midlake
2) I Am Not Afraid of You - Yo La Tengo
3) Alright - Lily Allen
4) Corner of Miles and Gil - Shack
5) Moo, Yo Bloody Choir - Augie March

Disappointments of the year go on and on! The new Dylan (more of the same - the same could be said for Sparklehorse, Beck, Ed Harcourt, The Frames, Lambchop and others), Flaming Lips (too much going on, too harsh sounding)....

1. a renewed interest in happiness - the frank and walters (by a country mile)
2. in towers and clouds - the immediate
3. the lemonheads - the lemonheads
4. i am not afraid of you and i will beat your ass - yo la tengo
5. neosupervital - neosupervital

it's difficult, isn't it?...

...but here's the first five that come to mind:

joanna newsom - Ys
the decemberists - the crane wife
volcano! - beautiful seizure
camera obscura - let's get out of this country
charalambides - this vintage burden

1 joanna newsom/ ys *
2 nina nastasia/ on leaving
3 the decemberists / the crane wife
4 nalle / by chance upon waking
5 sparklehorse/ dreamt for light years in the belly of a mountain


with honourable mentions to james blackshaw and the six organs of admittance.




* by a country mile

must check out the joanna newsom album

PQ

In no particular order:

Fujiya & Miyagi - Transparent Things (i know it's a collection of EPs but released this year to my ears)
Sunset Rubdown - Shut Up I Am Dreaming
YLT - I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass
Spank Rock - YoYoYoYoYo
Islands - Return to the Sea

I reserve the right to completely change my mind :-]

Tool - 10,000 Days
Band Of Horses - Everything All The Time

I'll leave the other spots open for now.

Oh my God! Band of Horses. How could i have omitted them. How could I!!!!

Sorry, Sunset Rubdown, you'd better make room i'm afraid and don't look at me with those cow eyes. Just cut it out................!!!!!!

Well, I iTuned it on the strength of this thread ... only 5 tracks on the album.

They're loooong tracks (one track runs at 17 minutes I think)

Lots of good albums this year, I probably enjoyed these though more than most

Band of Horses - Everything All The Time
The Hidden Cameras - Awoo
Jarvis Cocker - Jarvis
Islands - Return to Sea
Belle & Sebastian - The Life Pursuit


Haven't had a chance to listen to The Crane Wife yet

And what no Arctic Monkeys from anyone???
and no Tapes n' Tapes or Clap Your Hands Say Yeah?
or Yeahs Yeahs Yeahs?

I think the Raconteurs- Broken Boy Soldiers merits a mention here.

Nathan Fake - Drowning in a Sea of Love
Asobi Seksu - Citrus
Film School - Film School
Serena Maneesh - Serena Maneesh
The Beatles - Love

1. Yeah Yeah Yeahs
2. Arctic Monkeys
3. Joanna Newsom
4. Howling Bells
5. Various (Production)

Yep, a tough one. In no particular order:

The Panda Band - This Vital Chapter
Dallas Crane - Factory Girls
You Am I - Convicts
Drive-By Truckers - A Blessing And A Curse
The Sleepy Jackson - Personality: One Was A Spider. One Was A Bird

A good year for the Aussies, 4 out of 5!

Speaking of Aussie bands, Mixta.... have you heard the new Augie March?

I loved Lovers by Sleepy Jackson, but I've found Personality very difficult indeed.