!VAR HAGENDOORN

The Best Albums of 2010

2010 was another good year for music, but perhaps, as in the past four years, this reflects the fact that I sampled more albums. As before, in deciding my favourite albums I weigh two factors: how often I play the album and a subjective value judgment.

1. Arcade Fire: The Suburbs
2. Four Tet: There is love in you
3. Robyn: Body Talk
4. Sufjan Stevens: The Age of Adz
5. Pantha du Prince: Black Noise
6. Janelle Monae: The ArchAndroid
7. Gil Scott-Heron: I'm New Here
8. The Black Keys: Brothers
9. Joanna Newsom: Have One on Me
10. Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti: Before Today
11. Deerhunter: Halcyon Digest
12. DeepChord Presents Echospace: Liumin
13. Big Boi: Sir Lucious Left Foot... The Son of Chico Dusty

The American music press hailed the new album by Kanye West, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, as a masterpiece, Pitchfork even gave it a 10. European music critics were less impressed. Gorgeous is a great track, but otherwise it failed to make an impression on me.

Pitchfork's list of the top 50 albums of 2010. British magazine Uncut's list of the same. The best albums of 2010 according to Dutch music critics.