My Favorite Songs of 2010

I'm glad that Deer Tick used this as their album cover instead of an actual deer tick.

Wow. This was either a good year for music, or I was just loose with the ole’ wallet. I bought 286 songs in 2010. I think a big part of it is due to the iTunes Genius widget–it’s eerily good at recommending new songs, and then once I find a new song I like, I listen to more songs from that band, and then I buy several of them. Well done, Steve Jobs. You win again.

Another part of it is that a lot of people have recommended great songs and new artists to me this year. This list isn’t complete, but I know that Kris, Eric, Gabby, Trev, Bob, Matty, Tori, Penelope, Regan, Anna, and Entertainment Weekly have been great at recommending new artists that I like.

Keep in mind that some of this music was released before 2010, but I attained it this year, so it’s going on this year’s playlist. If you notice any trends on this list and have a band to recommend, let me know a few songs of theirs and I’ll check them out.

Here’s the list. The songs I’ve listened to the most are at the beginning of the list, but that is not to discredit the songs at the end, many of which I bought more recently. My artists for the year are Deer Tick, Arcade Fire, and Phoenix.

  1. The Wanting Comes in Waves (The Decemberists)
  2. Maps (Yeah Yeah Yeahs)
  3. Islands (The XX)
  4. Congratulations (MGMT)
  5. Easy (Deer Tick)
  6. Rome (Phoenix)
  7. My Number (Tegan and Sarah)
  8. The Twist (Frightened Rabbit)
  9. Half Light II (No Celebration) (Arcade Fire)
  10. Come Downstairs and Say Hello (Guster)
  11. Flightless Bird, American Mouth (Iron and Wine)
  12. This Dance Is Out of Your Hands (The Steelwells)
  13. Ashamed (Deer Tick)
  14. We Used to Wait (Arcade Fire)
  15. Rainbows in the Dark (Tilly and the Wall)
  16. Two Blind Eyes (Fallen Flag)
  17. Zebra (Beach House)
  18. Ready to Start (Arcade Fire)
  19. On My Way Back Home (Band of Horses)
  20. Rio (Hey Marseilles)

Also, you’ll be hard pressed to find the Fallen Flag song online. This is from a friend’s band’s demo CD that recently blew me away. It may not even be the best song on the album, but it’s the one that’s gotten in my head the most.

What were your favorite songs of 2010? Here’s last year’s list.

12 thoughts on “My Favorite Songs of 2010”

    • I like album, and I definitely reviewed those songs when selecting this list, but none of them made the cut. The closest for me was (I think this is right) Valkerie in the Disco.

      Reply
  1. Phoenix is also one of my new favorite bands of the 2010! The kettle bells instructor played them during class and something about the beat of the music really had me going!

    Reply
  2. Let me be the first to thank Jamey for the shout-out on his best of 2010 list. I can only assume that Colin Meloy, Sam Beam, and Sophia Coppola’s boy-toy will follow suit.

    The Iron & Wine and Band of Horses records have also been in heavy rotation for me this year, and they are outstanding from beginning to end. My other faves include Bon Iver’s “For Emma, Forever Ago”, Mavis Staples’ “You Are Not Alone”, Leon Russell and Elton John’s “The Union”, and Justin Townes Earle’s “Harlem River Blues.” Check ’em out!

    Reply
    • You earned it, Aaron. Great work, and I hope you keep on creating music.

      Thanks for the recommendations–I look forward to sampling them.

      Reply
  3. Thanks for the shout out; great list!

    I am also really surprised you didn’t add Valkyrie in the Roller Disco to the list! I’ll have to think about my top 20. So much good music this year!!

    Reply

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