20 must-hear albums of 2010

1. Gorillaz
Plastic Beach (EMI)
Loaded with at least a dozen audacious moments I can’t imagine any other band trying, let alone puliing off. Jamie Hewlett took it to another level, too.

2. Kanye West
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (Def Jam)
Two minor gripes: leaving off 'See Me Now' and the title. Alas, Das Racist used 'Shut Up, Dude' first.

3. The Walkmen
Lisbon (Fat Possum)
Timeless, sophisticated rock. No other band can hammer me with a mix of beauty and longing in its lyrics with ambience or with a mere horn blast.

4. Vampire Weekend
Contra (XL)
So bright and accessible, it’s easy to take for granted how creative and playful the band is being in its self-recorded tunes.

5. Das Racist
Shut Up, Dude / Sit Down, Man (self-released)
Adds weight to my theory that 50 percent of all great rap albums double as killer comedy records. So much inventive wordplay to chew on.

6. MGMT
Congratulations (Columbia)
As you can see, I love it when artists take a blank check and do crazy things with it. Though this is nowhere near as insane and tuneless as it was painted to be.

7. Beach House
Teen Dream (Sub Pop)
The soft, feminine counterpart to the Walkmen. Struck me as Lisbon meets Enya, and, yes, I mean that in a good way.

8. Javelin
No Mas (Luaka Bop)
Giddy polymath beat makers morph from tropicalia to throwback rap to new-wave to trip-hop. Gets my goat that Girl Talk gets more press.

9. Big Boi
Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty (Def Jam)
The sequence feels like a random grab bag, but no 2010 rap LP had so many great singles. Hidden gem: 'The Train Part II'

10. Erykah Badu
New Amerykah Part 2: Return of the Ankh (Motown)
Love songs trump the paranoid agitprop of Part 1. That Wings sample on 'Gone Baby' is so nasty.

11. Drake
Thank Me Later (Cash Money)
Pretty much what I said about Das Racist. Though I think this is a little less intentionally funny.

12. Autechre
Oversteps (Warp)
If you could teach an 808 drum machine to compose baroque chamber music, it’d sound like this stunning step into the future.

13. Free Energy
Stuck on Nothing (Astralwerks)
Stupid bubblegum bliss. The power-pop peak is fittingly called 'Bang Pop'. Ear candy never gets respect.

14. Black Keys
Brothers (Nonesuch)
The Ohio duo managed to strip down its recent overthought experiments and yet sound more expansive than ever. Restore you faith in rock.

15. Aloe Blacc
Good Things (Stones Throw)
A straight-up classic soul record that avoids the traps of retro nostalgia.

16. The-Dream
Love King (Def Jam)
I’ll see your 'Fuck You,' Cee-Lo, and raise you one 'Florida University'.

17. Budos Band
Budos Band III (Daptone)
Snake-charming grooves, equally heavy on East African jazz and ’70s funk.

18. Delphic
Acolyte (Dangerbird)
Bested Hot Chip at the rip-off-New-Order game.

19. Housse de Racket
Forty Love (Genepool)
A scrappy take on Phoenix and Daft Punk’s Parisian dance pop.

20. Dum Dum Girls
I Will Be (Sub Pop)
Reminded me of the Breeders, and not just because they have a song in German. Though I am a sucker for that. Put 'Bhang, Bhang' on repeat.

Did Brent get it right? Think he missed something essential? We'd love to read your comments below!