1. Circle Takes The Square - As The Roots Undo
2. Murs - The 9th Edition
3. MF Doom - MM Food
4. Typical Cats - Civil Service
5. Black Eyes - Cough
6. Qwel and Maker - The Harvest
7. CLOUDDEAD - Ten
8. Smoke And Smoke - Love Suffers Long
9. Coachwhips - Bangers vs. Fuckers
10. Mountain Goats - We Shall All Be Healed
11. Banhart, Devendra - Rejoicing In The Hands
12. Single Minded Pros - From Now On
13. Crimson Spectre - s/t
14. One AM Radio - A Name Writ In Water
15. Robust - Potholes In Our Molecules
16. Stevens, Sufjan - Seven Swans
17. Get Fucked - s/t
18. Madvillain - Madvillainy
19. West, Kayne - The College Dropout
20. Grae, Jean - This Week

Robust and Typical Cats and Qwel

<3 Galapagos.

though none of those are on my top 50, let alone 20.

1. Death From Above 1979 You’re A Woman, I’m A Machine
2. Franz Ferdinand s/t
3. Hot Snakes Audit In Progress
4. Jens Lekman When I Said I Wanted To Be Your Dog
5. Mclusky The Difference Between Me And You Is That I’m Not On Fire
6. Rachael Yamagata Happenstance
7. RJD2 Since We Last Spoke
8. MF Doom Mm Food
9. Liars They Were Wrong, So We Drowned
10. This Moment In Black History Midwesterncuttalistic
11. Junior Boys Last Exit
12. The Go! Team Thunder, Lightning, Strike!
13. Interpol Antics
14. Diplo Florida
15. The Hold Steady Almost Killed Me
16. Les Georges Leningrad Sur Les Traces De Black Eskimo
17. Pidgeon From Gutter W/Love
18. John Wilkes Booze Five Pillars Of Soul
19. Coachwhips Bangers Vs. Fuckers
20. Ohno The Disrupt

Good to see Oh No getting some love.

why's that?

Idk, didn't listen to them that much? It's been a weird year for me and hip hop. Last year I was all about Galapagos4, Qn5, and Peanuts & Corn, and this year I'm embracing people like Cam'ron and Snoop.

Qwel & Maker barely missed the top 50. They would've been like 58.

I haven't listened to the Typical Cats album more than once yet.
And basically the same with Robust.

Oh well though.

1. Blonde Redhead - Misery Is A Butterfly
2. Wilco - A Ghost Is Born
3. TV On The Radio - Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes
4. Modest Mouse - Good News For People Who Love Bad News
5. Byrne, David - Grown Backwards
6. Waits, Tom - Real Gone
7. Walkmen, The - Bows + Arrows
8. CLOUDDEAD - Ten
9. Liars - They Were Wrong, So We Drowned
10. Fiery Furnaces, The - Blueberry Boat
11. Califone - Heron King Blues
12. Wainwright, Rufus - Want Two
13. Bjork - Medulla
14. Beta Band - Heroes To Zeroes
15. Interpol - Antics
16. Air - Talkie Walkie
17. DJ Danger Mouse - The Grey Album
18. Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra - Who Is This America?
19. Of Montreal - Satanic Panic In The Attic
20. Clinic - Winchester Cathedral

I guess I can post of it, since none of you really care that much. But I am currently writing up my top 50. (Similar format to Pitchfork's) Anyway, I'll make a post when it's done. It's been a ton of work.

1. Madvillain - Madvillain
2. Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - Shake The Sheets
3. Max Richter - The Blue Notebooks
4. Elliott Smith - From A Basement on the Hill
5. Annie - Anniemal
6. Interpol - Antics
7. Wilco - A Ghost Is Born
8. Air - Talkie Walkie
9. TV on the Radio - Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes
10. De La Soul - The Grind Date
11. Drive-By Truckers - The Dirty South
12. Espers - Espers
13. Joanna Newsom - Milk-Eyed Mender
14. Animal Collective - Sung Tongs
15. Frausdots - Couture, Couture, Couture
16. Yesterday's New Quintet/Monk Hughes - A Tribute To Brother Weldon
17. Jason Forrest - The Unrelenting Songs Of A 1979 Post Disco Crash
18. Devendra Banhart - Rejoicing/Nino Rojo
19. Ty - Upwards
20. John Legend - Get Lifted

1. Arcade Fire - The Funeral
2. Nick Cave - Abbatoir Blues/Lyre of Orpheus
3. Kevin Tihista Red Terror - Wake up Captain
4. Mark Lanegan Band- Bubblegum
5. Futureheads - The Futureheads
6. Augie March - Strange Birds*
7. Features - Exhibit A
8. Ted Leo & the Pharmicists - Shake the Streets
9. Aloha - Here comes everyone
10. Little Wings - Magic Wand
11. Jim White - Drill a hole in the substrate and tell me what you see
12. The Concretes - The Concretes
13. DrugMoney - Mtn Cty Jnk
14. Czars - The Goodbye
15. Sophia - People are like seasons
16. Joseph Arthur - Our Shadows will remain
17. Anders Parker - Tell it to the dust
18. TV on the Radio - Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes
19. Woven Hand - Consider the birds
20. Hope of the States - The Lost Riots

*technically, Augie March's "Strange Birds" was released in Austrailia in 2002. Parasol released this album in 2004 domestically and it's beyond great. I'll take the chance that it will be disqualified if turns someone on to them that might never have heard them.

I'm really digging what I've heard of the Camron album as well, but I don't think it really touches the Qwel or Typical Cats records. That's odd that you've only listened to Civil Service once, I initially didn't think too high of it, but found myself remembering something about it, be it one line or one song that made me have to listen to it again. Same went with the Robust, it wasn't near my top 20 for a while, but I gave it a few more chances and now listen to it sort of regularly, though I could see where a lot of people wouldn't care for it as much. That Qwel record I loved right from the first listen on. "Broken Wings" and "Ruby Ragdollene" are two of my favorite songs of the year, and I guess the statue of liberty one too. I guess you might be more inclined to listen to something from your hometown too, but whatever, that's cool if you're not into g4 as much any more, but I'm practically interested in every release now(due to this year alone almost). Though, admitingly I wasn't too impressed by the Offwhyte tracks I heard and have been lazy on getting that Butchershop Quartet record(which I know I'll love).

Are you into any other Chicago based hip hop(sans Kanye, Twista, Qualo)? I've been sleeping on a lot of the Molemen stuff, unfortunately, because there's a lot of good stuff from what I've heard.

Ah, geez I have to brush up on my Chicago stuff. Capital D & Moleman are definitely wicked though. They put out an excellent album last year.

yeah i had to add it considering it's been pretty much all i've been listening to for the past week and i haven't listened to pretty toney since june.

His beats are crazy.

Thanks. Young Prayer was an album that came along at the right time for me. I know it's somewhat ridiculous to base a year end list on any sort of pesonal attachment to an album but I couldn't resist. The album exemplifies (at least in my eyes) beauty, intimacy, and hope. It showcases all threee things in a very simplistic way (which I believe adds to the intimacy factor) aswell.

As for Charalambides, I do think they let Christina sing to much on this record, but the musical depth of each song somewhat outweighs that flaw. I put this on driving home from Haleiwa the other day and decided it's about the perfect rainy Hawaiian day album.

I'm happy to see how many people are listing Jim White's Drill A Hole In That Substrate And Tell Me What You See

Very underrated, if you ask me.

Read it and/or weep.

1. Kayne West - The College Dropout
2. Joanna Newsom - The Milk-Eyed Mender
3. cLOUDDEAD - Ten
4. Wolf Eyes - Burned Mind
5. Mark Lanegan Band - Bubblegum
6. Prince Po - The Slickness
7. Mastodon - Leviathan
8. Eyvind Kang - Virginal Co Ordinates
9. Cee-Lo - Cee-Lo Green Is the Soul Machine
10. Liars - They Were Wrong, So We Drowned
11. Animal Collective - Sung Tongs
12. TV On The Radio - Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes
13. Secret Machines - Now Here Is Nowhere
14. Tom Waits - Real Gone
15. Ghostface - The Pretty Toney Album
16. Hair Police - Obedience Cuts
17. Murs - Murs 3:16: The 9th Edition
18. Melvins/Lustmord - Pigs Of The Roman Empire
19. Dillinger Escape Plan - Miss Machine
20. Sunburned Hand Of The Man - Rare Wood

seeing the names kanye west and joanna newsom right next to each other made my eyeballs catch on fire.

Joanna is hip-hop, dunny. She's got rhymes like dimes. Not kidding.

i didn't say it was a bad thing. besides, after the flames subsided i was fine.

We may not have much in common but we both love us some Blonde redhead...

be glad he never makes it to the post office, kids.

The hexes heat covertly/like a slow low-flying turkey/
Like a Texan drying jerky/but his meaty mitts can’t hurt me.

Tell me that's not on some MF Doom shit.

1. Mark Lanegan Band, Bubblegum
2. Eyvind Kang, Virginal Co-Ordinates
3. TV On The Radio, Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes
4. Melvins/Lustmord, Pigs Of The Roman Empire
5. PJ Harvey, Uh Huh Her
6. Modest Mouse, Good News For People Who Love Bad News
7. Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds, Abattoir Blues/The Lyre Of Orpheus
8. Sufjan Stevens, Seven Swans
9. James Yorkston & The Athletes, Just Beyond The River
10. Frog Eyes, The Folded Palm
11. Max Richter, The Blue Notebooks
12. Iron And Wine, Our Endless Numbered Days
13. Interpol, Antics
14. Blonde Redhead, Misery Is A Butterfly
15. The Secret Machines, Now Here Is Nowhere
16. American Music Club, Love Songs For Patriots
17. Adem, Homesongs
18. Trevor Dunn’s Trio Convulsant, Sister Phantom Owl Fish
19. Isis, Panopticon
20. Autolux, Future Perfect

Have not heard these.

probably my final version:

1. Newsom, Joanna - The Milk-Eyed Mender
2. Fiery Furnaces, The - Blueberry Boat
3. Blue Nile, The - High
4. Hitchcock, Robyn - Spooked
5. Destroyer - Your Blues
6. Cave, Nick & The Bad Seeds - Abattoir Blues/The Lyre Of Orpheus
7. Frog Eyes - The Folded Palm
8. Bjork - Medulla
9. Liars - They Were Wrong, So We Drowned
10. Drive-By Truckers - The Dirty South
11. Wilson, Brian - Smile
12. Banhart, Devendra - Rejoicing In The Hands
13. Waits, Tom - Real Gone
14. Sigmatropic - Sixteen Haiku & Other Stories
15. Iron & Wine - Our Endless Numbered Days
16. Mirah - C'Mon Miracle
17. Moviola - East Of Eager
18. Wilco - A Ghost Is Born
19. Concrete Blonde - Mojave
20. Tangle Eye - Alan Lomax's Southern Journey Remixed