Bullz-Eye.com's 2010 Year End Music Review, The Year In Music
2010 Winter Movie Preview

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This is what the whole 'private universe' aspect to the consumption of music has come to: if two writers list the same artist on their list, it counts as group consensus. It doesn't matter if the band isn't name-checked by a single other writer on the staff – if two people were listening to the same thing, that's a big deal. And the last time we checked, there wasn't a single album or song that appeared on more than two of our writers' lists this year, with the sole exception of the subtitle of this piece. Cee Lo = awesome.

Still, that lack of commonality seems pretty messed up, doesn't it? And yet, that sums up music's state of affairs as well as anything. Downloading and the instant accessibility of music has produced a ton of minor hits but few major ones (we're obviously not talking about the Taylors and Carries and Rihannas of the world with that statement), and while this staff loosely had an identity five years ago, we are all islands today. This is good in that we can all browse each other's lists and hunt down albums or songs we had previously missed in the endless barrage of press releases, but it's bad in that it results in staffers wrestling for control of the tunes at the company holiday party. And really, you don't want to get in between the music editor and the stereo after he's had a few. He gets testy.

All kidding aside, there was lots of good music to be found this year; it just takes a lot more effort to find it than it used to. Comb the lists below, and see what jewels we uncovered.

Mark RonsonDavid Medsker
#1 ALBUM: Mark Ronson: Record Collection

If I get to heaven, this is what the radio station will sound like.

Fade Like a ShadowWill Harris
#1 ALBUM: Tom Jones, Praise & Blame

There's no song by Bono and the Edge nor uber-hip production from Future Cut. There's just Tom Jones, age 70…and, by God, he's still got it.

Foxy ShazamJames Eldred
#1 ALBUM: Foxy Shazam: Foxy Shazam

Foxy Shazam aren't just a band; they are a force of nature that will kick your ass, steal your lunch money and make sweet love to you all at the same time.

The Silver SeasMike Farley
#1 ALBUM: The Silver Seas: Chateau Revenge

The Silver Seas continue to make some of the best music that, unfortunately, most people have never heard. So do something about that. Go buy the Silver Seas' music, and tell them I sent you.

Ellie GouldingCarlos Ramirez
#1 ALBUM: Ellie Goulding: Lights

While there isn't anything on Lights that is as obviously radio-baiting as Katy Perry's inescapable "California Gurls," there are at least six or seven tracks that top it in quality.

School of Seven BellsGreg M. Schwartz
#1 ALBUM: School of Seven Bells: Disconnect from Desire

There's no other album that made me feel like I was hearing a new sound.

The Gaslight AnthemTed Asregadoo
#1 ALBUM: The Gaslight Anthem: American Slang

The Gaslight Anthem are able to use the old wine skins that have influenced their music and make a new wine that's tasty, taut, and thunderous.

Rob Smith
#1 ALBUM: The Roots: How I Got Over

It is my fervent hope that Steven Tyler's defection to television does what 20 years of shitty Aerosmith records was unable to do—namely, stick a fork in a band that has rattled on long past its expiration date.

Fade Like a ShadowScott Malchus
#1 ALBUM: "Fade Like a Shadow," KT Tunstall

Fade Like a Shadow' has everything you want in a single: a passionate delivery, a great melodic hook, and a unique rhythm that helps it stand out from other songs.

Kanye West: Twisted FantasyMike Heyliger
#1 ALBUM: Kanye West: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

As much as Kanye's childish tirades infuriate me, I'll be damned if his music doesn't always win me over.

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