2010’s Best Music: MySpace Music Picks The Top 50 Albums

Idolator Staff | December 3, 2010 4:07 pm

What do Kanye West and Nicki Minaj have in common with a bunch of great bands most people have never heard of? They’re all included amongst MySpace Music’s Top 50 Albums of 2010! The Grammys this ain’t, which is why you won’t find the likes of Katy Perry, Eminem, or Taylor Swift anywhere amidst MySpace’s annual accolades. (Xtina’s Bionic didn’t make the cut, either. Shocking!) A few familiar faces did muscle their way in with the more obscure critical darlings, however. Click here to check out the list.

MySpace Music’s Top 10 Albums of 2010:

10. Deftones – Diamond Eyes 9. Circa Survive – Blue Sky Noise 8. Crystal Castles – Crystal Castles II 7. Vampire Weekend – Contra 6. Sleigh Bells – Treats 5. LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening 4. B.o.B. – The Adventures Of Bobby Ray 3. The Arcade Fire – The Suburbs 2. Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy 1. Yeasayer – Odd Blood

While MySpace’s Top 50 is diverse enough to include hip hop and some pop, it is definitely heavily skewed toward critically lauded indie bands that mainstream music lovers aren’t likely to be familiar with (Sleigh Bells, Broken Bells – any band involving bells, really) as well as several who ride the fine line between critical and commercial success (such as Vampire Weekend and The Arcade Fire, who both fully deserve their placement here thanks to stellar albums). And then there are a number of choices whose albums even the most music-savvy likely haven’t heard.

Given the positive reception of their buzzy offerings, it’s no shock to find Minaj’s debut Pink Friday at #30 and especially West’s monstrous My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy riding high at #2. We are particularly overjoyed to see Idolator faves Bruno Mars (#30) and Drake (#23) weren’t too poppy or popular to make the cut, either.

On the other hand, it’s something of a surprise that MySpace isn’t so above partying like a G6 that they’d omit Far East Movement’s Free Wired (#41) and that B.o.B.’s The Adventures Of Bobby Ray (#4) is ranked so highly. Meanwhile, sorta beloved soundtracks by Daft Punk (TRON: Legacy) and Trent Reznor (The Social Network) failed to show despite being admirable, noteworthy departures from what we’ve heard from these artists before. Perhaps MySpace didn’t feel film scores can be judged by the same criteria as other albums? (Or — and hey, we can appreciate this — it might’ve been a little awkward to show much love for a movie about Facebook.)

But the real crime is Robyn’s epic Body Talk — the best dance-pop album of the year, hands down — is nowhere to be found in the Top 50! Can we assume it was disqualified due to its unconventional, three-part release? We think the quirky Swedish pop pixie (and sometime blogger) would fit right in with the other under-championed artists MySpace has chosen to highlight here, and frankly, we’re a little sore about it.

Any other glaring omissions? Head over to Myspace to view the full Top 50 (and some pretty cool minimalist re-imaginings of the cover art, too).