2010 may have sucked when it came to substance and clear common sense. Chris Brown I’m talking you. And of course underage four loko lovers around the world. But at least we had a full 365 days of awesome music. I can’t say enough about the amount of exceptional material artists put out this year. Indie darlings like Theophilus London & J*DaVeY kept us content with the most ingenious tracks and music heavyweights like Kanye West & Cee Lo gave us albums. Yeezy’s twisted fantasy, Katy Perry’s sugar coated pop bliss, Gil Scott Hering’s rebel anthem, this is our soundtrack for 2010. Find out what albums made the top 9 of our list from Art Nouveau editor Kendrick Daye aka GreatEclectic and pop culture journalist Swiper Bootz.

08. Janelle Monae- The Arch Android

Swiper Bootz: janelle monae gets a 9.75 only not a 10 because of gil scot
scott and she’s young and i anticipate a masterful career

GreatEclectic: i’d give her a 7.5.

Swiper Bootz: haha please do tell before i reach through the screen

GreatEclectic: Honestly, and that’s based on her being a completely different artist. I admire what she’s doing. But, honestly the album is okay, I expected more. It had it’s moments. And then there was just space. trimmed down five or six tracks this would be more bearable. it’s tedious as hell this way.

Swiper Bootz: hahahaha “trim it down to dance or die and it’d be perfect” when you have overtures i understand it’s going to be a long trip. good moments dont get lost so much as highlighted. its a journey keep coasting along until you hit the sights, ride ride ride – oh look the eiffel tower! ride ride ride – oh look the aqueducts! ride ride ride – oh look the hub of the city! it’s another journey through metropolis
GreatEclectic: All I can hear is, Cold war, Come alive, Sir Greedown, Faster & Oh Maker.

Swiper Bootz: faster
57821
say youll go
come alive
but i like her
so it can stay

Final Rating: 8.375

07. Gorillaz – Plastic Beach

Swiper Bootz: 9

GreatEclectic: i’d give them a 8.

Swiper Bootz: okay fair enough, it’s a good good album

GreatEclectic: i wanted to give them a 7. #oops

Swiper Bootz: concept

GreatEclectic: :\

Swiper Bootz: #biteyourtongue

GreatEclectic: concept is awesome, but it’s lacking on something simple: enjoyable music

Swiper Bootz: true true but at least they pulled it off better than m.i.a. and they integrated conceptual features with mos def, the orchestras and such they cared about their concept and didnt mind it being too much so i could ride to it, it reminded me of gta vice city which i love as a game and as a soundtrack my little sister brought up a good idea sleazy remix with GaGa and minaj digress

Final Rating: 8.5

06. Black Keys – Brothers

Swiper Bootz: we needed that this year, we needed someone to slow it down and take it back and be timeless and lament but not whine. make the simple beautiful and show that music can be acoustic and not boring

GreatEclectic: agreed

Swiper Bootz: people are afraid to be that raw on record now, even when GaGa bleeds it’s glossed

GreatEclectic: she bleeds?

Swiper Bootz: in the midst of monster red glitter #soihear. she bleeds glitter and greatness. also the vocals did the electronic thing where they took a back seat with the black keys but it wasnt electronic airy it was like ben carson a bit

GreatEclectic: yeah, very indie

Swiper Bootz: the album cover made it awesome. umm… so this is what it is and the im so artsy i dont give a fuck
Kari: you cant say we didnt warn you attitude. this was definitely one of my favorite albums this year dont lie and say you thought it was taylor swift ummm but everyone said that so i dont want it to be one of my favorite albums of the year but it is

GreatEclectic: they are actually right this time lol

Swiper Bootz: “they”

GreatEclectic: 8.5

Swiper Bootz: i’ll give it an… an 8.5

Final Rating: 8.5

05. Kid Cudi – Man On The Moon 2: The Legend of Mr. Rager

Swiper Bootz: i thought it was a lot darker than the other one

GreatEclectic: much darker and to think i didn’t know you could get darker

Swiper Bootz: haha exactly it didnt seem like a proper release, but he released proper, well-proper it was raw. it was 808s and heartbreakish in concept he’s in a dark place, so he has to create which is a product of a kanye protege, compared to say

GreatEclectic: don’t say it

Swiper Bootz: a lil wayne protege

GreatEclectic: Ha, well when you are taught a certain way you act a certain way

Swiper Bootz: right but the key is to find someone you dont have to necessarily teach cudi had the baggage and material to work with kanye’s carving and crafting wayne is building from the ground up

GreatEclectic: kanye and wayne are two different egos wayne gets off on knowing all them wouldn’t exist without him, all of them are him kanye wants wats best but to have anyone,let alone his artists be compared to his greatness is not his idea of success for Cudi

Swiper Bootz: the first to say free weezy but then you gotta ask yourself… would weezy free me

GreatEclectic: but the album is insane…and the beats

Swiper Bootz: yep and it’s long and not in a gratuitous way in a cathartic way just releasing

GreatEclectic: well it’s made for a smoker too.

Swiper Bootz: come on, it’s like wiz khalifa for people who also read in their spare time… because they can read ok Cudi gets a 8.7 from me. wild’n cuz im young is great

GreatEclectic: is that a single? it should be. Cudi gets an 8.5

Final Rating: 8.6

04. Cee Lo Green – The Lady Killer

Swiper Bootz: it was maxwell with a splash of synth soul and it was what trey, usher, drake even couldn’t do

GreatEclectic: definitely. and that voice is ridiculous. let me turn off dirty money and play some cee lo lol i need a duet with him and solange now

Final Rating: 8.75

03. Ellie Goulding – Lights

GreatEclectic: Ellie’s album is the first album we’ve talked about today that i can listen to all the way through
every track

Swiper Bootz: hmmm maybe ross i could but definitely ellie effortless gapless feel without being gapless it’s a release like everyone else but calmer which is indicative of environments coming from cudi black man in america in the midst of american fame and celebrity and hiphop versus hipsterhop so to speak katy perry trying to be that teenager again for the market but speaking from a foreign place ellie is universal and authentically what she is, which is the market and britain is good at making artists make themselves and let the masses choose accordingly look at lily allen and duffy and adele and amy winehouse never wouldve happened in america theyre too real to make ideal but instead britain has the ideals stem from reality

GreatEclectic: muse, coldplay, radiohead.

Swiper Bootz: florrie who btdubs had a dope EP http://swiperbootz.wordpress.com/2010/11/14/sunday-best-florrie-introduction-ep/ just scroll to the download link, you know how i am if you read it it’ll just… yeah, she actually ended up reading the review on tgri and tweeted out a thank you but back to ellie it’s a great album.

GreatEclectic: That’s awesome when that happens

Swiper Bootz: isnt it!

GreatEclectic: ellie for me. 9.

Swiper Bootz: she entered the pop consciousness i’d give it a 9 as well maybe i should give it an 8.75 to diversify from devil’s advocacy.

Final Rating: 8.875

02. Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Swiper Bootz: that beautiful beast of burden umm it was moderate, no, obviously it was great and we all loved it
but – we all loved it and moreover we all loved it when power came out and each friday when we got a new track

GreatEclectic: i got on board after Monster….And for sure after Runaway, i understood everything then

Swiper Bootz: for me in 2010 i lived breathed ate slept sweated cried GaGa and Kanye it’s hard to talk about albums that explain themselves perfectly discussions would consist of lyrical dialogues answering his own questions

GreatEclectic: kanye’s ego won’t allow that

Swiper Bootz: it only allows for that

GreatEclectic: Kanye 9.5

Swiper Bootz: 9.25

GreatEclectic: duh duh duh

Swiper Bootz: someone’s going to come in my window and slit my throat a columnist from pitchfork or toure

GreatEclectic: at least they’ll be looking for you, you have to worry when they aren’t lol

Final Rating: 9.6875

01. Gil Scott-Heron – I’m New Here

Swiper Bootz: #obvs. t’s what every rapper aims to do – or should. it spoke for the culture from a place of authenticity and truth. and he didnt give a fuck he let it exist as a sonic snapshot

GreatEclectic: it should be nominated for grammys. like multiple grammys

Swiper Bootz: a soundtrack of his life. like – all of them basically whoever wins best new artist robbed gil

GreatEclectic: i would love to hear Beyonce or Jazmine Sullivan cover I’ll Take Care Of You. Album of the Year to me

Swiper Bootz: so the other thing about me, is that im subjective so i dont like calling anything an objective anything
but he is an album of the year easily thus is the burden of the pop brain i cant call it album of the year knowing how many havent heard it – and namely those who wouldnt understand or be able to relate.

GreatEclectic: i can understand that.

Swiper Bootz: yes, but can “they”

GreatEclectic: it’s either gil scott or be like everyone else and put kanye at 1. conundrum.

Swiper Bootz: in that case gil scott hah. 10

GreatEclectic: I’ll play devil’s advocate this time. 9.7

Final Rating: 9.85