My Top 10 Albums of 2010

Well it's that time of the year when countless top 10 lists get announced. It is with great pleasure that I bring you once again, Joe's Top 10 Album's of The Year. Too be honest, the list seems to be lacking for 2 reasons. 1) Not the best year for new music and releases. 2) ever since I started working 40 hrs a week, my music discovery time has dwindled leaving many undiscovered bands out there. Anyhow, enjoy! Post in the comments some of your favorite albums of 2010.

My Top 10 Albums of 2010

You will notice that this year I have included a stream of my favorite song off of each album.

10. Iration - Time Bomb

The cali-reggae band Iration starts the list this year. Their release Time Bomb definitely had some great tracks on it. Not their best effort but still a solid one. I will always look forward to new releases from these guys. Perfect summer tunes.

9. Minus the Bear - OMNI

If it wasn't for me stumbling into a live show of these guys 3 years ago, I never would have gotten into them. Am I glad I did. OMNI is a great album from start to finish. 

8. Conditions - Fluorescent Youth

Probably the least familiar band to make the list this year. Can't even remember how I discovered these guys last year. They are a solid rock/punk/hardcore band and Fluorescent Youth is their first full-length album. It is a fiery pump up the entire way through. For fans of Saosin, Dead Poetic, Circa Survive.

7. Stick Figure - The Reprise Sessions

Not much introduction needed here. Any music friend of mine knows Stick Figure is at the top of my list when it comes to up and coming reggae acts. The Reprise Sessions is the first album made by Stick Figure (Scott Woodruff) backed with a full band. Many of the songs on the album were remakes so not a whole bunch of new material. Unfortunately, not as good as Burnin' Ocean or Smoke Stack, two albums to make the top 2 spots on my 08-09 lists. Either way, Stick Figure is still putting down tunes and the fan base is rapidly growing. I wish them nothing but the best in 2011 and hopefully I will finally get a chance to see them live.

6. Circa Survive - Blue Sky Noise

This one was one of my most anticipated albums for the year and Circa Survive delivered. This band continues to put out solid work and have been one of my most played artists in the past few years. The lead singer Anthony Green is a beast and is one of the best live performers I've seen. His studio work ain't bad either.

5. Mishka - Talk About

Mishka has finally made way into my top 10 list this year with his latest release album, Talk About. Such a mellow and feel good album. Considered reggae/roots/surf music. For fans of Jack Johnson. 

4. Secret and Whisper - Teenage Fantasy

Another so called wild-card to make this list. This band has quickly become one of my favorites in the past 2 years. Teenage Fantasy is the band's 2nd album and it picks up right where their debut album Great White Whale left off. This album is a head shaker and has some super catchy melodies. For fans of Saosin, Circa Survive. 

3. Chiodos - Illuminaudio

You will find that my top 3 albums to make the list this year have all been released within the last 3 months. I tried my best reviewing for the whole year but it was hard to ignore these 3 as they were in heavy rotation on my iPod lately. Chiodos worried me going into this album. They had parted ways with their old singer Craig Owens and I thought there was little hope for the band. When they announced they picked up the lead singer of Yesterday's Rising (a band I used to thoroughly enjoy) I got a bit excited. This album has received alot of positive and negative feedback. All I can recommend is listen to this album as whole. The entire feel of the album is powerful and illuminating. Fans will always wonder how good this album would have been if the old singer was still with the band. This could have very easily made number 1. 

2. Senses Fail - The Fire

What I liked about this new release from Senses Fail was that there were no surprises. Time after time I have had my favorite bands try to change up their sound to stay fresh and things backfire. Senses Fail has kept to their true sound and has delivered another solid release. For fans of The Used, Finch, Thursday.

1. UnderOath - Ø (Disambiguation)

Another album, another #1 on Joe's album of the year list. I've said it before and I'll say it again, UnderOath is the heaviest band in my music collection and there is just something about their sound that captures me everytime. Maybe not their best album but a damn good one. Without their old drummer Aaron that used to provide the pop, this may be their deepest and darkest album yet.

My Honorable Mentions

• Valencia - Dancing With A Ghost
• Xavier Rudd - Koonyum Sun
• Cas Haley - Connections
• Eminem - Recovery
• John Wayne and the Pain - Follow Through

My Most Disappointing Album of The Year

Linkin Park - A Thousand Suns  My heated review: WTF was that Linkin Park? I enjoyed 1 song on the entire album. Huge let down.

My Most Anticipated Albums of 2011

• Red Hot Chili Peppers
• The Used
• Yellowcard
• Rise Against
• Blink-182
• Dr. Dre
• Sublime with Rome

Thanks for the music 2010! Keep the good music vibrations coming. 

Sports Video of The Day

Grooveshark - The Best Streaming Music Site On The Internet

Move aside Pandora, Last.fm, and even YouTube Music. Grooveshark is your new favorite streaming music site on the internet. If you are an avid Pandora fan, I challenge you to try out grooveshark. You have nothing to lose - it's FREE. Don't get me wrong, I was a huge Pandora fan a few years ago. I found almost all my new bands through Pandora. But the interruptions, the audio ads, the inability to skip more than 3 songs.....it all added up and I slowly turned away from Pandora. It was until about 6 months ago when a friend mentioned Grooveshark to me. From that point on, my internet music life has never been the same. No lame audio ad interruptions and definitely no 3 song skip limit. In simple terms, Grooveshark is the entire iTunes store with full song previews. You can save and create your own playlists, create your own radio stations and listen to any song you are looking for with a simple search. A few banner advertisements is all you will have to deal with. Pretty minimal if you ask me.

The site has been around for 3 years but is just now starting to see the traffic and recognition it deserves. It is the most complete free online music service out there. It gives you the ability to integrate with Facebook/Twitter, buy songs off iTunes/AmazonMp3, and the best yet...create your own playlists and save your favorite songs. As Grooveshark's popularity rises, so do the legal questions. In 2009, EMI filed a lawsuit on Grooveshark due to copyright infringement. The lawsuit was later dropped and EMI signed a licensing deal with Grooveshark and now provides them with a catalog of their music. Grooveshark is growing fast, seeing about 250 million songs played a month by its 27 million users. Currently, Grooveshark's only funding is from advertisements and its VIP service ($6-$9 a month).

You don't know what your missing until you try it.  http://listen.grooveshark.com

Click here to listen to my current playlist.

"Music is the Most High"

Music Tuesdays - My Top 5 Favorite Christmas Songs

Christmas is coming and the music that goes with it is all over the airwaves. I've taken some time to mention some of my favorite holiday songs from the bands I like. All the classics can easily make this list, but here are some tunes that I actually have in my music collection and you don't hear on the radio(except Lennon). Enjoy countless repeats of the Christmas Story on TBS!

Notable Mention

The Entire Home Alone Soundtrack...some great xmas songs on there



5. Saosin - Mookie's Last Christmas



4. The Almost - Awful Direction



3. John Lennon - Happy Xmas (War is Over)



2. Valencia - Pennsylvania Holiday



1. The Used - Alone this Holiday

Dr. Dre's New Song and Video

This post is a tribute to the 1% of my music collection that is rap/hip hop. The rap legend Dr. Dre has just released his first single from his highly anticipated "Detox" album. Pretty good music vid and liking the new tunes.