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Noah: I have a love/like relationship with LCD Soundsystem. Many of their songs (All My Friends, Daft Punk is Playing at My House, North American Scum, Dance Yrself Clean) are just plain awesome, but I admit I find myself occasionally bored with them over the course of a full album. All that said, This Is Happening came in at 13 on my list.

Number eight on my list is Ra Ra Riot's The Orchard. I went into some detail about this album and my love of Ra Ra Riot in my recent Album Killer post, so I won't repeat myself too much. But aside from You And I Know, The Orchard is a worthy successor to their classic first album The Rhumb Line.

Steve: What I loved about The Orchard, which coincidentally was also my number eight album this year, was how they were able to switch up their sound so effectively with just a few small stylistic choices. I loved the risk singer Wes Miles took by singing in a higher register for much of the album. Oh, and unlike you, "You and I Know" was one of my favorite songs on the album - it's an absolute pot boiler of a song, and by the time it kicks in it really pays off the slow build with some soaring, emotional interplay between the guitar and the vocals.

Noah: Overall it's a really nice evolution for Ra Ra Riot and makes me look forward to their next album. My number seven album of 2010 is from a band we both love - The New Pornographers. Together is certainly not their best album, but I thought it was excellent. I wish there were more Twin Cinema-level intensity, but even low-key Pornos are better than almost anything else.

Steve: I give the NPs credit for exploring what their sound can be but they haven't really rocked out since Twin Cinema and I'm anxious for more guitar-driven songwriting from A.C. Newman. I will concede that Together had probably my favorite set of Dan Bejar songs of any NPs album. In particular I liked "If You Can't See My Mirrors", which featured some nice lyrical interplay between Bejar and Neko Case.

Steve: I'm skipping ahead to my number five record, with the comment that readers can get our full list in follow up posts to come in the next week or so. The second album in two years by The Dead Weather - Sea of Cowards, is my fifth favorite from 2010. By recognizing The Dead Weather I'm essentially reinforcing my impression that Jack White, in whatever incarnation he happens to be taking at the moment, is one artist who consistently delivers, with no missteps, each and every time out. There's no one more prolific, and there's no one more interesting. I think by mixing it up and working within different band and sound dynamics he's managing to keep it fresh. Every time you turn around this guy is involved in another incredible batch of music.

Noah: I love Jack White in certain settings, but Dead Weather just does not do it for me. Okay, I'll skip over my number six (Los Campesinos! - Romance is Boring) to join you at number five: Grinderman - Grinderman 2

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