1. Arcade Fire, Neon Bible
I'm not listening to this in the heavy rotation I had with Funeral this long after its release, but it's still damn impressive, and when I think of the "weight" of everything released this year, Neon Bible still hits the hardest.
2. LCD Soundsystem, Sound of Silver
This may very well wind up at #1 by the end of the year. I probably listen to it more than anything else, and if it's not as profound as my current top-slotter, it's not just some party record. It has some of the sound and feeling of 1980's New Order. I imagine if I manage to see Murphy live in concert they're going to inch ahead.
3. Amy Winehouse, Back to Black
Bitch got pipes! I haven't been this impressed by purely someone's vocal abilities in quite some time. You combine this with the great lyrics and retro music and I'm thinking it's the best female R&B album since The Miseducation of Lauren Hill. One note is that I always listen to B2B with the (UK only?) bonus track "Addicted" tacked onto the end, and I think it may be better than everything else on the album. Without that song this maybe hits #5.
4. White Stripes, Icky Thump
This is much better than Get Behind Me Satan, IMO, and though not as ass-kicking as Elephant, they're still great enough to get this high up.
5. Bjork, Volta
Not listening to this TOO much, and maybe I'm just rating it high because I was so disappointed with the last two albums. Whatever. People expect something as good as Homogenic again but really, this is about as close as she's going to get.
6. Kings of Leon, Because of the Times
Don't know what to tell you. Never was a fan before. But I'm very impressed. A couple songs too long maybe, but if that's the worst crime you've commited, I can forgive.
And the rest of the 10, not in order as I can't distinguish at this point:
Midnight Movies, Lion the Girl (Los Angeles-based band that should be getting much more attention)
Feist, The Reminder
Spoon, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Wilco, Sky Blue Sky
I'm slightly disappointed in the Spoon, especially coming off their last tour-de-force, and the Wilco...I have such a hard time getting it up for this band even though I like what they do. Yeah, they're great and all that blah blah blah. I'm a bit sick of everyone singing their praises all the time, and they've got to be, from an image and personality standpoint, one of the most boring great bands in memory. Even when they were doing more experimental stuff like A Ghost is Born (which I like better than Sky Blue Sky OR Yankee Hotel Foxtrot). That sounds shallow, but whatever. Rock and roll.