It's been an interesting year in CD buying for me (i.e. I bought way too many of them). I definitely discovered how wonderful the Amazon marketplace is for cheap CD purchases, especially when I get into an older artist. I was doing a lot of catching up on on artists that I had somehow previously overlooked during my musical journeys, but I still managed to get my hands on some excellent albums released this year, as shown below.
1. Roll With You, Eli "Paperboy" Reed & The True Loves. Another shameless plug for these guys. What can I say? I love 'em. This is such a good album of original soul that sounds like its been around for ages. It runs the gamut from ballads to dance tunes and Eli's voice is amazing. It's hard to believe he is only my age.
2. Jim, Jamie Lidell. This album combines soul and electro. Clearly it was designed especially for me, since my tastes have tended to linger most in those two categories. It was hard to pick a favorite song from this album, because they all have such great little touches to them. I hear something new with every listen.
3. Apocalypso, The Presets. I had kind of ignored these guys until I saw them open for Cut/Copy and then I was hooked. They have a bit of Depeche Mode in them, a little bit of The Killers, a little bit of Nine Inch Nails. They are very dark, and yet very dancey at the same time. Electro you can rock out to. Several blogs commented on how clever the title of the album is, but Jimmy Buffett got to it first with a song on Fruitcakes, which came out in 1994.
4. The Renaissance, Q-Tip. This CD sent me on a bit of a hip-hop jag. But the thing about this album is it has a lot of funk to it, which ties into my whole disco thing that I've got going with LCD Soundsystem, Hercules & Love Affair, etc.
5. Sam Sparro, Sam Sparro. This album also falls into the electro-soul genre. Sam is somewhere between Calvin Harris and Jamie Lidell. "Cottonmouth" may not be the best song ever, but "Black and Gold," "Cut Me Loose," "Sally," and several other tracks make it an extremely worthwhile disc.
6. This Is Alphabeat, Alphabeat. Fun, fun, fun 'til daddy takes the '80s away. So danceable. Love it.
7. All or Nothing, The Subways. Just a good solid Brit-rock album. Since they were fantastic live, I enjoy the album even more.
8. Glasvegas, Glasvegas. Scottish rock that is ready for a hard night down the pub. Not for the easily offended. Their Christmas EP, A Snowflake Fell (And It Felt Like A Kiss), is also worth a listen.
9. Hercules & Love Affair, Hercules & Love Affair. Disco for the new millennium with fab beats and top notch vocals from Antony and Nomi.
10. Join With Us, The Feeling. An album that is best listened to as a whole. I tried to put some songs on my shuffle and they didn't fare well on their own. However, every time I listen to the album in its entirety, I wonder why I don't listen to it more often.
5 more noteworthy albums:
* We Sing We Dance We Steal Things, Jason Mraz
* The Legend of Kung Folk Part 1 (The Killing Bite), Ben Taylor -- also possibly the most ridiculous title of the year
* 22 Dreams, Paul Weller
* Right Now, Leon Jackson
* Spirit, Leona Lewis
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