#6 – Lonely Avenue – Ben Folds
Ben Folds’ collaboration with novelist Nick Hornby was my favorite album of 2010, and it hasn’t faded a bit in my estimation since.
I love the challenge Folds took on in morphing Hornby’s very literate lyrics into pop songs. As a follow-up to his disappointing solo album Way To Normal, this record was a refreshing return to form.
#7 – Fox Confessor Brings the Flood – Neko Case
2006 was a strong year, placing four titles in this top ten list. Neko Case’s Fox Confessor Brings the Flood placed fourth at the time and the seven years since have seen it rise up a notch.
More than any record on this list, Fox Confessor typifies the idea of an album as a unified statement, not just a collection of songs.
#8 – Continuum – John Mayer
John Mayer usually goes over about as well as Milli Vanilli on this blog, but that won’t keep me from putting him out there.
Mayer’s third album, 2006’s Continuum, is particularly praiseworthy, and a record I have returned to again and again in the seven years since its release.
#9 – See You On the Moon – Tift Merritt
I ranked Tift Merritt’s fourth album, See You On the Moon, at #3 on my 2009 year-end list, and now it’s one of two albums from that year to make this list.
The album it leap-frogged is Elvis Costello’s National Ransom, a fine record indeed but not one I find myself returning to often.
I’m interested in the way time transforms opinions. Looking back on top ten lists from previous years, it’s funny to see which films or albums went from cream of the crop to afterthought, and which lower-ranked works wound up as future favorites.
Sometimes a work makes a strong initial impression but I’m never moved to experience it again, so it fades. Perhaps if I did revisit it my original opinion would be renewed, but the fact that I don’t really want to probably means something.
Meet Me In Montauk 