Leks's Top 5 of 2010

2010 has been a helluva year, simple as that. From great times with amazing people, to travels around the world, to getting my feet wet with life after college, it's been a year of changes, but ones that have always seemed to leed to new adventures. No matter where I've been or what I've been doing, I'm always looking for jams, and these albums have been the soundtrack to this past year. Here are my top 5 of 2010.

#5 Yeasayer-Odd Blood

Odd Blood makes me really really happy every time I listen to it. It's an exuberant album, one that sounds just as good on a road trip as it does at a bumping party. Spurred by a relentless energy that seems to manifest itself into a choir of strange noises and beats, the album often sounds like it's about to explode, held together with undeniable catchiness and an ear for the exotic.

Download "I Remember"




#4 FreshlyGround-Radio Africa

The soundtrack to an amazing World Cup experience, FreshlyGround's (a great South African band) newest album is a wild medley of life. Listening to the album feels like walking through a vibrant neighborhood where life is played out on the streets. Everything from Mugabe to parties to prostitution is talked about, and the multiethnic band provides grooves which soar. Great stuff.

 . by jammininthenameof 

#3 Kanye West-My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

The top of nearly every list in the blogosphere, Kanye put out a masterpiece with this one, a showcase of technical precision, vibrant beats, and dope lyricism. Probably the most important album of the year, it loses some points because of how often I listened to the tracks which dropped on GOOD Fridays, and appeared almost identical on the album. That doesn't take away from this showcase of a master at work, and Kanye finishes up a turbulent year for himself that people will be talking about for a long long time.

Download "Lost in the World"




#2 The Tallest Man on Earth-The Wild Hunt

The Wild Hunt is an album that never fails to surprise. Only ten songs and thirty five minutes deep, with nothing but the TMOE, his guitars, and a piano, the album is a young artist truly finding his voice. Facing a lifetime's worth of emotions and situations head-on, this is an album that will have you constantly changing your favorite; luckily each of the ten tracks are rich in honesty, poetry, and are complex yet instantly relatable. Better live, the TMOE is a master storyteller, with lifetimes of wisdom is his tracks.

Download "The Wild Hunt"




#1 Big Boi-Sir Luscious Left Foot...The Son of Chico Dusty

The best album of the year goes to Big Boi, hands down. This album came out in little parts, with songs randomly (or purposefully) leaking bit by bit, almost as if we saw a painting coming together in small sections When it finally came out this summer, Big Boi's often delayed vision came together beautifully. Keeping the Outkast sound alive while managing to inject freshness with a retro tinge, Big Boi's album is hard, funny, funky, classic, soulful, and shines brighter than any on a year full of great albums. Big Boi is an old dog who can learn new tricks, bringing in many of his friends who push him to even higher heights. While each does a great job on their individual tracks, no one outshines Big Boi on this album, his uppercut to a music industry that has doubted his individual skills for too long.

Download "Be Still"