List: The best of 2010 (so far)

Soooo, 2010 is half over. Weird, right? Also weird is how much good music I've come across in just six months.

What's your favorite music this year? I want to know. Tell me in the comments.

In no particular order, here's my favorite stuff from 2010, so far:

Frightened Rabbit — “The Winter Of Mixed Drinks”
I don’t think anyone expected these Scots to match their last record, the phenomenal “Midnight Organ Fight.” But they did it anyway, filling up this record with enough masculine angst and uncertainty to fill a frat house.

Listen: "Swim Until You Can't See Land"


Titus Andronicus — “The Monitor”
Punk rock anger, volume and energy combined with excellent lyricism is the best way to describe Titus Andronicus. Mixing aggression with poetry? I guess the band’s name is appropriate, being William Shakespeare’s most violent work.

Listen: "A More Perfect Union"


Free Energy — “Stuck On Nothing”
The world needed more bouncy, fun rock songs that recall the energy and classic rock stylings of groups such as Thin Lizzy. And Free Energy was more than happy to provide.

Listen: "Bang Pop"


The Hold Steady — “Heaven Is Whenever”
Sounds like another collection of bar rockers, which some critics have derided as being more of the same. But how can you resist 10 new solid rocking tunes by the Hold Steady? I, for one, cannot.

Listen: "Hurricane J"


Sleigh Bells — “Treats”
Featuring one of the best opening tracks of an album that I’ve heard in a long time, this record kicks off with “Tell Em,” a song that makes you want to roll the windows down and drive real fast. Catchy stuff.

Listen: "Tell Em"


The Black Keys — “Brothers”
Another candidate for “best opening track,” “Brothers” also has the best album art I’ve seen in awhile, simply stating “This is an album by The Black Keys. The name of this album is Brothers.”

Listen: "Everlasting Light"


The Mynabirds — “What We Lose In The Fire We Gain In The Flood”
Laura Burhenn told me she wanted to make a Neil Young-styled soul record. And she succeeded, making a soulful record that’s a delight to listen to over and over again.

Listen: "What We Gained In The Fire"


Yeasayer — “Odd Blood”
Rocking, but with a definite groove to it, “Odd Blood” isn’t an album I thought I would like when I first cracked it open. But now I can’t stop listening to “O.N.E.” or “Ambling Alp.”

Listen: "O.N.E."


Satchel Grande — “Dial M For Mustache”
This whole record, especially “Them from ‘Dial M For Mustache,’” is so funky that it makes me feel like I’m in a ‘70s cop drama. And I mean that in a really good way.

Listen: "A.M. Gold"


Honorable mentions: Blitzen Trapper, Delorean, The Gaslight Anthem, Broken Bells, New Pornographers, Tim Wildsmith