Today must be opposite day. I thought NPR listeners liked Bach and Mozart, and operas. All the things white, bland people love. Yet I have been terribly misinformed. They love hip things, like Hall and Oates. And MGMT, Ratatat, and The Gorillaz. And because this list of the top 50 favorite albums (of NPR listeners) for the first half of 2010 has so many hip goodies, I’m posting this. Because everyone, including me, better have all of them by next week. No excuses.
I bolded what are the most obvious indie/hip albums. These are the bare necessities for any aspiring musical d-bag/elitist like myself to have.
50 David Byrne: Here Lies Love
49 Bettye LaVette: Interpretations: The British Songbook
48 Laura Marling: I Speak Because I Can
47 Sade: Soldier Of Love
46 Corinne Bailey Rae: The Sea
45 Kings Go Forth: Outsiders Are Back
44 Quasi: American Gong
43 Owen Pallett: Heartland
42 Erykah Badu: New Amerykah Pt. 2, Return Of The Ankh
41 Ratatat: LP4
40 The Flaming Lips: Dark Side Of The Moon
39 Blitzen Trapper: Destroyer Of The Void
38. Four Tet: There Is Love In You
37 Laura Veirs: July Flame
36 Jakob Dylan: Women And Country
35 Charlotte Gainsbourg: IRM
34 Freelance Whales: Weathervanes
33 Massive Attack: Heligoland
32 Hold Steady: Heaven Is Whenever
31 Gaslight Anthem: American Slang
30 Crystal Castles: Crystal Castles (II)
29 Dead Weather: Sea Of Cowards
28 Caribou: Swim
27 Dr. Dog: Shame, Shame
26 Surfer Blood: Astro Coast
25 Frightened Rabbit: The Winter Of Mixed Drinks
24 Janelle Monae: The ArchAndroid
23 Josh Ritter: So Runs The World Away
22 Joanna Newsom: Have One On Me
21 MGMT: Congratulations
20 Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings: I Learned The Hard Way
19 Broken Social Scene: Forgiveness Rock Record
18 The Knife: Tomorrow, In A Year
17 Jonsi: Go
16 Band of Horses: Infinite Arms
15 She & Him: Volume Two
14 Flying Lotus: Cosmogramma
13 The New Pornographers: Together*
12 Yeasayer: Odd Blood
11 Local Natives: Gorilla Manor
10 Sleigh Bells: Treats
09 Spoon: Transference
08 Mumford And Sons: Sigh No More
07 Beach House: Teen Dream
06 Vampire Weekend: Contra
05 LCD Soundsystem: This Is Happening
04 Broken Bells: Broken Bells
03 The Black Keys: Brothers
02 The National: High Violet
01 Gorillaz: Plastic Beach
*Here is a video from the band on Letterman. Always great, even after 13 years of weird indie power-pop.
