I’ve never made a list of my favorite albums of the year, and since I’ve seemed to discover a bunch of new music this year, I thought it’d be time to start.

10. The Rapture, Pieces of the People We Love – I could stick a number of albums here and be content. Some others that I enjoyed this year but didn’t make the list: Neko Case, Regina Spektor, Gnarls Barkley, Arctic Monkeys, and Joanna Newsom.

9. TV on the Radio, Return to Cookie Mountain – I like this album a lot, but not as much as some people. There are some great songs, such as “Wolf Like Me.” I predict that this album or Joanna Newsom’s Ys to be Pitchfork’s album of the year.

8. Tapes ‘n Tapes, The Loon – I started listening to this band after reading some music blogs. I think it technically came out in 2005, but didn’t get a major release until this year. I don’t have anything else to add, so I’ll list some albums I still need to listen to: Peter Bjorn & John, Writer’s Block; Grizzly Bear, Yellow House; Guillemots, Through the Windowpane; Mew, And the Glass Handed Kites.

7. Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins, Rabbit Fur Coat – This is the solo debut of Jenny Lewis, the lead singer of Rilo Kiley. I wrote a little bit about her in my post about the Death Cab concert.

6. The Decemberists, Crane Wife - I didn’t like this album quite as much as their 3 previous ones, but it’s still very good.

5. Clipse, Hell Hath No Fury – I thought I should include one rap album on this list, and I picked Clipse over Ghostface. I liked Fishscale, but don’t find me listening to it often enough to be an album of the year for me. Maybe I’ll grow tired of Hell Hath No Fury, too, but for now I’m loving the beats and biting lyrics.

4. Sunset Rubdown, Shut Up I’m Dreaming – Sunset Rubdown is the side project of Spencer Krug, better known for his work as the keyboardist / vocalist of Wolf Parade.

3. Voxtrot, Mothers, Sisters, Daughters & Wives – I think Voxtrot may be my band of the year. I hadn’t heard of them until this year. They haven’t put out a full-length album yet, just 3 EP’s, but every one of them is solid. They’re from Austin and have a brit-pop sound to their music. I think some people may find their music a bit light, but I still love it. You can find 3 MP3’s on their website.

2. The Knife, Silent Shout – I considered choosing this as my album of the year. The Knife are made up of a brother and sister duo from Sweden. I never thought I would be into electronic music, but this album changed my mind. My favorite track is “We Share our Mother’s Health.” Find songs by The Knife on the Hype Machine.

1. The Hold Steady, Boys and Girls in America – My album of the year. I started listening to The Hold Steady last year when they released Seperation Sunday, but never really got into it. I think this album is more approachable because each song stands alone as opposed to Seperation Sunday, which is a concept album about drugs and religion. The title of Boys and Girls is from a Jack Kerouac quote, “Boys and Girls in America have such a sad time together.” The entire CD deals with relationships between girls and boys, and while every track is solid, my favorite is “First Night.” If you were at all dissappointed with the Killers attempt to immitate Bruce Springsteen with a classic American rock sound, you should check out The Hold Steady. Download “Chips Ahoy” from Vagrant Records