alright, again, i don’t buy nearly enough albums in a year to consider this a definitive list, nor is it objective or based on the artistic merit from an unbiased reviewer. these are more like, ‘albums that spent the most time on my ipod once i uploaded them and got skipped the least when they came on shuffle’. but hey, that just proves that all these are extremely likeable and hold up to several listenings.

mashups are on the wane, and sure, this album can be a little ADD when listened to end to end, but i swear if you’re in the right mood it’s like a music junkie’s wet dream: an hour-long game of ‘name that sample’ from all over hip hop, dance, pop and indie rock. where the hell else are you gonna hear dj’s sampling neutral milk hotel and the rentals? also, surprisingly good music to exercise to, not that i’m any sort of authority on that. it can make a commute feel much more like a dance party though, that’s for sure.

total surprise. they opened at a cursive show and were so fun to watch i picked up the disc, and ended up loving the whole album. it really tickles my ‘used to be into a lot of punk in high school’ bone in a way that doesn’t annoy my more mature indie tastes of today, so i found it a hugely satisfying rock album. plus there’s hardly a skip-worthy track, which in itself is a huge deal these days.

normally the goats would be fighting for the one or two spot, but although it’s still a great album, it’s so much more somber than i’m used to it fell a few notches on the favorites list. still wonderful writing but give me a little more frustration and bitterness with the heartbreak or you veer dangerously close to making a ‘sleepy’ album. not that that’s always bad — i’m just hoping it isn’t a permanent trend

may have come out originally last year, but i didn’t get a hold of it until this spring, at which point i rode this sucker into the ground. mostly the stephen merrit style vocals and the sweeping music that both sets it apart from everything else i listen to and makes it a great lovesick pop album.

like some people i know, i appreciated these guys before, but this album really turned me around into active love. the songs are just so clean and beautiful and warm and the soft crooning vocals mix in to make wonderful feel-good songs. then when they turn out to be about anything but feeling good with their dark and troubled lyrics, you’ve really got a treat of a song worth listening to over and over.

this is probably my pick least likely to crack anyone else’s ‘best of’ list, not because it’s so obscure and hip, but the opposite. and you know what, this might be a radio-friendly power-pop album, but i really need one of those once in a while that’s just fun to listen to and sing along with. bonus points if it’s all about getting drunk and screwing up with girls and easily relatable to almost every earthly male. super extra bonus points for the guys in the band being really clever and sarcastic in general, putting out funny music videos, a website that actually makes me laugh, and the best promo sticker i’ve ever seen on the front of their album in the form of a mad lib saying “The (laudatory adjective) debut album featuring the (overblown superlative) single ‘Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt.” this is my kind of band, whether that costs me your respect or not.

i’m so in love with this band these days they really can do no wrong in my eyes, so i don’t know what i can say that will be taken seriously. all i know is that this album felt so well-realized musically and lyrically that the stories it tells come out big and important and i can’t stop listening to them.

sorry guys. maybe next time.