Introduction to This Year's Top 10

It has been an interesting year for me and the music I listen to. Overall, I think it was just an okay year for albums. The span between my runner ups and top ten was so small, I almost expanded the list to top 15.

The music I listen to reflects my life. This year I spent a lot of time somewhat reflective and quiet due to the accident in July. For most of the summer all I could do was listen to music. I couldn't concentrate enough to read and at times, TV was just too much. The music I listened to reflected that. The list is quieter than usual.

Also, I probably bought fewer albums than I have in the past. Rdio allowed me to listen to almost everything that I wanted to hear and it caused me to raise the bar for what I was willing to buy.

Here are the honorable mentions and runner ups for this year's top ten list.

Honorable Mention

The Vaccines – Come of Age – I always love good British power pop.

The Lumineers – The Lumineers – A solid album with better songs than Mumford and Sons.

Jessie Ware – Devotion – Beautiful and haunting electronica

Saint Etienne – Words and Music by Saint Etienne – Good music by highly skilled musicians. It is such a quiet album that it got lost in the shuffle this year.

Blackberry Smoke – Whipporwill Wind – I wasn't aware that we needed a replacement for Lynrd Skynrd until this came out. Somebody needs to play old fashioned southern rock.

Bob Dylan – Tempest – His voice is shot, his songs are written in a very narrow genre and he is still great.

Best Coast – The Only Place – They turned down the reverb and made an album that is much more accessible. The single, The Only Place, was great. It should have been the song that dominated the summer, not Call Me Maybe.

Caetano Veloso and David Byrne – Live at Carnegie Hall – This was recorded in 2005. It is half, quiet brazilian music, half David Byrne. It would have been ranked higher if they had turned down the applause between songs.

Rodrigo y Gabriela – Area 52 – They continue to move forward by working with a band this time around.

Runner Ups – Not in order

Alabama Shakes – Boys & Girls – From the moment you hear Brittany Howard's voice in front of their Southern tinged rock, it reminds you of Janis Joplin and Amy Winehouse. She is a force.

The Avett Brothers – The Carpenter – This came really close to the top ten. They make great songs about sad things and they do it better than any of the other pop folk bands.

Gaslight Anthem – Handwritten – They polished up their production and produced a really good rock record.

Patti Smith – Banga – Yes, the spoken word thing gets a little heavy handed at times, but you knew that going in. Her songs still reach you and her band is great.