very year, we are bombarded by new music from an increasingly large pool of artists. A select few albums are amazing; far more will merely test our patience. In an attempt to make sense of it all, our editors have compiled this list of the year's best. Read on, check them out, and make sure to vote for your favorite.
Fishscale
Ghostface Killah
The most consistent member of the Wu-Tang Clan, Ghost comes through with another outstanding solo shot. Backed by stellar production from Pete Rock, MF DOOM, and Dilla, Tony Starks flexes his inimitable hyperlyricism throughout, full of vivid rhyme schemes and street-savvy wisdom.
1st
41%
(1,223 votes)
Monotheist
Celtic Frost
Celtic Frost returned with one of this year's most anticipated albums. Monotheist explores the avant-garde underbelly of metal, providing a unique journey through black-thrash, gothic doom, cave-dwelling auditory hallucinations, and semi-industrial beauty. Celtic Frost has made a triumphant return.
2nd
20%
(598 votes)
Return to Cookie Mountain
TV on the Radio
The Brooklyn-based group TV on the Radio serves up its major label debut, which shines with post-punk themes, dabs of electronics, and atmospheric embellishments. At the risk of sounding dramatic, it is entirely possible that the popularity of Return to Cookie Mountain may prove that the times are a changin' in popular music. Probably not--but we can dare to dream, no?
3rd
12%
(344 votes)
Gulag Orkestar
Beirut
Listening to Gulag Orkestar is like swinging open a pair of dusty saloon doors into an Eastern European time warp. Nineteen-year-old singer/songwriter Zach Condon stretches beyond his years and produces a gorgeous album, brimming with an eclectic mixture of old-world folk, mariachi trumpets, Latin rhythms, and so much more.
4th
8%
(240 votes)
Expressions
Dudley Perkins
Previously known as Declaime, Dudley Perkins is a soul man in the truest sense of the term. On his second album, he croons, talks, and mumbles over heady, laid-back funk beats from fellow Oxnard representative Madlib. Simultaneously charming, bizarre, and fresh, this record is unlike any other you've ever heard.
5th
5%
(144 votes)
Universal Truth
Andy Caldwell
Though it took five years, Andy Caldwell has crafted a water-tight album that probably could not have been made in any less time. Universal Truth skitters across multiple genres, utilizing an infinite palette of instrumentation and production techniques to create an album that neither loses its flow nor bores with 4/4 predictability. Perfect
6th
4%
(128 votes)
Human Animal
Wolf Eyes
Wolf Eyes have never produced delicate music. They create frequencies that shatter your eardrums and then your mind. Darlings of noise fanatics, warehouse kids, and drunken nonacademic avant-gardes, Wolf Eyes have produced a foul, ugly, and simultaneously gorgeous album that proves musical beauty is truly in the ear of the beholder.
7th
3%
(76 votes)
Drum's Not Dead
Liars
From hyperkinetic noise-rock to sonic witchery and pagan ritualism, Liars have spanned a lot in just three albums. With Drum's Not Dead, the group explores the heart attack-inducing struggle between debilitating psychological slavery and total creative freedom. This album continues the theory that Liars are one of today's most underappreciated recording groups.
8th
2%
(71 votes)
Savane
Ali Farka Toure
Like many brilliant artists before him, Ali Farka Toure's best work was his last. The Malian singer, known as the "African John Lee Hooker," died in March of bone cancer at the age of 66. He recorded this album right up to his last days, but his haunting voice and hypnotic guitar licks are as spine-tingling as ever
9th
2%
(66 votes)
Live and Learn
Mekalek
The DJ/producer behind indie hip-hop favorite Time Machine, Mekalek goes all out here, unleashing a sonic tidal wave of neck-breaking drums, obscure samples, and furious cuts. The featured emcees also shine, with solid verbalism coming from BX icon Percee P, plus up-and-comers, like Cool Calm Pete and Fedd Hill.
10th
2%
(65 votes)
