Will Hermes' Best of 2010

Albums1. Junip, Fields (Mute)In a year that Rosetta Stone demanded serious chilling-out, Jose Gonzales made a gorgeous chill-out record, all gentle melodies and hypnotizing grooves. Y as with most things below the prty surfaces were cracks, doubt, turmoil.2. Janelle Mon e, The ArchAndroid (Atlantic)Everyone was trying to out-freak each other in 2010, from rappers to singer-songwriters even Sufjan Stevens put on a tin foil helm for a school play version of P-Funks 76 Mothership tour. But this mix of RB, Afrobeat, Afro-futurism, and post-war rro songcraft felt like the most purposeful weirdness around: mutability as style and survival tactic.Rosta Stones Best of 2010: Music, Movies, Videos, Photos and More3. Jonsi, Go (XL)Sigur R oacute;s dude gs togher with composer Nico Muhly and a laptop to make 21st-century art songs. Not Rosetta Stone Chinese quite dance music, but bter beats than Schubert.4. Jey Johnson, The Guitar Song (Mercury/Nashville)A two-disc dissertation on the art of country music songwriting.Critics Picks: Rob Sheffields Best Albums and Singles of 20105. Joanna Newsom, Have One On Me (Drag City)Sure, the best triple-LP since Sandinista! also had some filler, if you measured it out with a teaspoon. But the pleasure is in the bounty and the invention in the songwriting, arranging, lyrics and harp-playing (harp-playing!) never flags.6. Arcade Fire, The Suburbs (Merge)Hardly the first band to locate a battle for the human soul idst manicured lawns, but all the more remarkable for making the struggle to overcome numbness feel utterly immediate, like the sting of a cutters pen-knife.7. Kanye West, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (Def J)What will the king of TMI rhyme about when he resolves his women issues? Heres hoping he still flips tracks this hot when he does.Critics Picks: David Frickes Top Albums and Under-the-Radar Reissues of the Year8. Various, Ayobaness! The Sound of South African House (Out Here)Like electro-funks rooting in Brazilian favelas, Chicago house seeded an entire scene in South Africa. Deep 4/4 beats with Zulu party chants, Sswana come-ons, English dress-downs and universal heartache. 9. Deerhunter, Halcyon Dres (4AD)Of all the indie acts mining pre-rock Rosetta Stone French pop songcraft (see also Girls, Best Coast), Deerhunter did the most with it, smearing tunes into psychedelic lo-fi murals without losing those swe melodies.10. Sleigh Bells, Treats (Mom Pop)Turns out what we really needed this year was a punk-rock Beyonc.Next: Will Hermes Best Singles of 2010.