There’s no getting around it. 2010 was a parade of disasters, natural and otherwise. Oil spills, earthquakes, and Republicans all conspired to up the suck quotient on the new decade. But musically, the year was an embarrassment of riches and narrowing this list down to fifty was an exercise in frustration. Outside of the top ten, there’s no real meaning to the order, so take it the listings with a grain of salt.
A zip file of all 50 tracks can be found here, and my lists from 2009 and 2008 are here and here.
THE TOP FIFTY SONGS OF TWENTY TEN
________________________________________
50 | Gil Scott-Heron / New York is Killing Me
from || I’m New Here
49 | Surfer Blood / Swim
from || Astro Coast
48 | How To Dress Well / Ready for the World
from || Love Remains
47 | Record Club / I Need You Tonight
from || Kick
45 | Crystal Castles feat. Robert Smith / Not in Love
from || Crystal Castles
44 | Mountain Man / Soft Skin
from || Made the Harbor
41 | Gold Panda / Quitter’s Raga
from || Quitter’s Raga
40 | Tennis / Marathon
from || Cape Dory
39 | Spoon / Written in Reverse
from || Transference
38 | A Trak / Whatever You Shoot
from || Dirty South Dance 2
37 | MNDR / I Go Away
from || E.P.E.
36 | Dominique Young Unique / Blaster
from || Domination Mixtape
35 | Matthew Dear / Honey
from || Black City
34 | The Roots feat. Joanna Newsom / Right On
from || How I Got Over
33 | Wavves / When Will You Come?
from || King of the Beach
32 | Gucci Mane / Excuse Me (Diplo Remix)
from || Diplo Presents: Free Gucci (Best of the Cold War Mixtapes)
31 | Caribou / Odessa
from || Swim
30 | She and Him / Gonna Get Along Without You Now
from || Volume Two
29 | Deer Hunter / Helicopter
from || Halcyon Digest
28 | Flying Lotus / Dance of the Pseudo Nymph
from || Cosmogramma
27 | Dr. Dog / Stranger
from || Shame, Shame
26 | Ratatat/ Neckbrace
from || LP4
25 | LCD Soundsystem / Pow Pow
from || This is Happening
24 | Kid Cudi / Please Don’t Play This Song
from || Man on the Moon II: Mr Rager
23 | Jónsi / Go Do
from || Go
22 | Major Lazer and La Roux ft. Gucci Mane / I’m Not Your Lemonade + Heroes n’ Villains Remix
from || Major Lazer and La Roux Present Lazerproof
21 | Big Boi / Back Up Plan
from || Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty
20 | Gorillaz / Stylo
from || Plastic Beach
19 | Janelle Monae / Tight Rope
from || Archandroid
18 | Vampire Weekend / Contramelt A
17 | Das Racist / You Oughta Know
from || Shut Up, Dude
16 | The Books / A Cold Freezing Night
from || The Way Out
14 | Aloe Blacc / I Need a Dollar
from || Good Things
13 | Local Natives / Wide Eyes
from || Gorilla Manor
12 | Pogo/ Wishery
11 | Arcade Fire / Sprawl II
from || The Suburbs
10 | Cults / Go Outside
from || Cults 7”
9 | Best Coast / Boyfriend
from || Crazy For You
8 | Perfume Genius / Learning
from || Learning
7 | Cee-Lo Green / Fuck You
from || Lady Killer
6 | Robyn / Criminal Intent
from || Body Talk Pt. 2
5| Frightened Rabbit / Swim Until You Can’t See Land
from || The Winter of Mixed Drinks
4 | Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti / Revolution’s a Lie
from || Before Today
3 | Sleigh Bells / Rill Rill
from || Treats
2 | Free Energy / Free Energy
from || Stuck on Nothing
1 | Kanye West / Power
from || My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
