Well, another year is drawing to a close. People are gearing up for the holidays and it’s almost time to start creating our New Year’s resolution lists. But before we begin looking to the future, let’s employ a different kind of list to help us appreciate the past. You know what I’m talking about. Yep, a Top Ten list! Each day I’m going to publish a different editor’s Top 10 albums of 2010 list for you to praise, completely disagree with, or just outright ignore.
Today’s list comes from Dying Scene album reviewer Jeremy Stacks and you can check out his picks for the 10 Best Albums of 2010 right here.
When I first thought about making my top ten for 2010 list I figured it was going to be difficult. There have been a whole bunch of ”OK” releases, and even a high number of “pretty good” ones this year, but a top ten list should be filled with “great” albums and at first I didn’t feel there were all that many albums that deserved to be on this list.
So I went through my iPod and wrote down all the recently released discs that I have been listening to often and found that I was wrong, 2010 has been a very good year for Punk Rock.
Here are my top 10 in order from most to least favorite.
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1. Against Me! – “White Crosses”
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A lot of people have been complaining about this band over the last several years, many people claim they have sold out; I’m not one of them. I’m a big fan of the way the band has evolved and I think “White Crosses” is their best album so far. I’m impressed by the range of styles that they show on this album, from straight up punk rock (Rapid Decompression) to slower, acoustic based songs (Ache With Me) to all the stuff in between (White Crosses) and that is why this album holds my number one spot this year.
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2. Flatfoot 56 – “Black Thorn”
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I’d only heard three songs from this band before seeing them open for the Street Dogs but now I’m a fan for life. After they left the stage I went straight to the merch booth, met the band and picked up this CD. I have been overplaying it ever since, I’m actually listening to it as I write this, and even played the album track “Shiny Eyes” at my wedding.
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3. Street Dogs – “Street Dogs”
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This is a great band that I have seen live several times but at first I wasn’t so sure about this release. After my first listen I was a bit disappointed, I felt it was a step back from what they did on “State of Grace” but the more I listened to it, the more I liked it. Now I feel it’s just as good as “State of Grace”, maybe even a little better.
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4. The Gaslight Anthem – “American Slang”
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This is another one that after the first listen, I was disappointed. “The ’59 Sound” was my favorite album from 2008; there are songs on there that I have listened to close to 100 times since it’s release and at first this album paled in comparison. But after hearing it a second time I saw “American Slang” for what it was, a great album. It may not be as good as “The ’59 Sound” but that doesn’t stop it from being better than almost every other disc released this year.
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5. The Bouncing Souls – “Ghosts On The Boardwalk”
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Now putting this on my list may be cheating since each of these songs were released as singles in 2009 but the Cd came out this year so I feel it’s justified. Now I love The Bouncing Souls, but to me they have not put out very many great albums. Sure, everything they have released has some awesome songs but rarely does this band put out a straight through solid disc; there is always some filler. But this album, with the exception of the song “Badass”, is great from start to finish making it one of my favorite releases from the band.
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6. Man The Change – “Weather The Storm”
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I had never heard this band before reviewing this release but I’m glad I know of them now. This unsigned band from Brooklyn play a loud fast style of punk similar in ways to NOFX and their debut album is incredible. Check out my recent review for more info.
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7. Devil’s Brigade – “Devil’s Brigade”
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After hearing “Vampire Girl” several years ago, I did not expect to like this album. I only bought it because I’m a big fan of Rancid and own everything else the band members have released but I gotta say I’m glad I picked it up. The sound is like Lars Fredericksen’s solo stuff crossed with some rockabilly and a little touch of country. It’s not something I listen to very often but I’m always happy when I do.
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8. Bad Religion – “The Dissent Of Man”
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This is not my favorite Bad Religion record by far. I actually like the previous two more but its still Bad Religion and that means it’s still good. There are some great songs on this disc (The Devil In stitches, Wrong Way Kids etc.) but it has the same problem that they have encountered on some other previous albums, everything starts to blend together as you listen to the whole disc. That’s not saying that all the songs sound exactly alike, just that nothing really jumps out and grabs your attention. This disc made my list simply because It’s a Bad Religion release and four or five good songs by them are better than a whole album of good music from almost any other band.
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9. Dropkick Murphy’s – “Live On Landsdowne, Boston, MA”
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Again, this one could be considered cheating since it’s a live album of (mostly) previously released music, but it’s been so long since we heard anything new from these guys that I found myself listening to this concert (and watching the DVD) over and over. The set list is almost exclusively made up of songs from their last three studio albums and does not have one song in common with their previous “Live on St. Patrick’s Day” live album. The iTunes version has several songs that would not fit onto a Cd, including a cover of The Who’s “Baba O’Riley”. While it might not be a new studio album, it did get me excited for what’s yet to come. Which, for now is apparently another tour.
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10. The Creepshow – “They All Fall Down”
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This is a really good album by a Canadian Horrorbilly band and the only female fronted group that made my list this year. I’ve been listening to this band since their first album “Sell Your Soul” came out in 2006 and they have improved with each release. If they keep this up their next release could end up at the top of my list. And a little side note… This was the first release that I reviewed for Dying Scene.
There’s my list. Now I’m looking forward to reading what other people thought were the best of 2010 maybe I’ll find some great bands that I’d never heard before, who knows.
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