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I guess it's a little ironic that, in contrast to your choice of the epic (some would say sprawling, and some others would say that's the point) 16-track opus from Arcade Fire, my favorite album of 2010 was one I described as "a brisk masterpiece" - American Slang by The Gaslight Anthem. For my money The Gaslight Anthem are peaking with this effort. American Slang is the sound of a band finding their own voice and confidently making music that is evocative, compelling, exuberant, and with driving emotion but at the same time grounded in relatable themes.

Noah: I loved it as well - it came in at 15th on my list. They manage to make music that in less confident hands would just be hopelessly derivative. But as The Gaslight Anthem create it, it's fresh and new again.

Steve: They are working within a well known genre for certain, but the comparisons to Springsteen are losing validity, I think, in the face of a big step forward from The '59 Sound in terms of their songwriting and overall tightness of the band's sound.

All in all a great year for music, and we've still got more to discover. Can 2011 possibly top 2010?

Noah: I sure hope so, but the odds aren't good. In the first month, we have new music from The Decemberists, so at a minimum we're looking at a promising start.

Steve: You saw a lot more concerts than I did this year ... what was your favorite?

Noah: Has to be Wolf Parade, by quite a margin. I don't think it comes as a surprise that of my top 10 albums, I saw eight of the bands live. I think there's a correlation between seeing them live and loving the album on a different level.

Steve: Yeah, that was the main theme of your "Album to Concert" post, and at least as far as Wolf Parade was concerned, although I loved the album to begin with, I agree seeing them live really took it to another level. In some ways our not having Wolf Parade in the number one spot was a big surprise. It will have to settle for the "consensus number one" designation, since it would be the highest ranked if we consolidated our individual lists.

Noah: If anyone is still reading at the end of this, I hope you'll add a comment and let us know your favorite album of 2010.

Steve: Agreed, and be sure to check back for our individual "full" lists, coming soon.

For the original version of this post, including music and video, click here.

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