Wildy's World Top 60 Albums of 2010: #1

And here we are.  365 days, 960 submissions and 533 reviews later and we're done to the top album reviewed by Wildy's World in 2010.  It's been a long road with some great new music.  This year's #1 is a sleeper; one of those albums that will impress you the first time you hear but will keep growing on you.  Congratulations to D.B. Rielly for creating one of the most complete works of musical art to come across this desk in the past few years.  Love Potions And Snake Oil is the Wildy's World #1 album of 2010.

...but we're not done!  Keep checking back to find out who comes out on top with the Wildy's World Song Of The Year and Artist Of The Year!

Wildy's World Top 60 Albums of 2010: #2

#2...

2. Shayna Zaid & The Catch – Shayna Zaid & The Catch
Zaid has one of those voices that gets inside your head and stays there; combine that with an ability to write songs that grab you by the shirt and yell "listen to me" and you have a winning combination.

Come back in one hour for the #1 album of 2010, as reviewed by Wildy's World!

Wildy's World Top 60 Albums of 2010: #3

...#3

3. Halie Loren – After Dark
Halie Loren is already a star in Japan; it's only a matter of time before she recreates such success in the US and Europe.  Loren has a voice that is right at home amongst the Great Ladies of Song, and an ease of delivery that marks her as a natural.  After Dark is her finest effort to date.

Wildy's World Top 60 Albums of 2010: #4

....#4

4. Bess Rogers – Bess Rogers Presents Bess Rogers
Bess Rogers is the sort of songwriter who turns your expecations upside down, creating gem stones out of the emotional grist of life.  This is just the beginning for Rogers; expect big things from her in the future, particularly if Bess Rogers Presents Bess Rogers is any indication.

Wildy's World Top 60 Albums of 2010: #5

The final five...  we'll be revealing one per hour until 1:00 PM EST today.

5. Mark Knopfler – Get Lucky
What do you say about Mark Knopfler?  He's among the greatest guitarist of his own or any generation.  Get Lucky is among Knopfler's most subtle and intriguing work to date.  The fact that it doesn't place higher on this list is a tribute to some of the great music that's crossed this desk in 2010.

Wildy's World Top 60 Albums of 2010: 10-6

We're down to the top 10 albums of the year!  Today we'll get down to #6.  Tomorrow, we'll unveil the top 5, one an hour between 9:00 AM EST and 1:00 PM EST.  Without further adieu...

10. Treasa Levasseur – Low Fidelity
Levasseur is a glorious throwback full of the vitality of youth.  With a voice that could melt butter and a talent for songwriting that's a step above the rest, Low Fidelity is one of the true treats of the year.

9. Lucy Wainwright-Roche – Lucy
Wainwright-Roche shows a subtlety and grace on Lucy that is incomparable.  Her ability to find beauty in mundane moments sets her apart.

8. Skyler – Long Gone
Rock music with a distinctive pop sensibility inspired by pure joy.  Irresistible. 

7. Amy MacDonald – A Curious Thing
MacDonald followed a top-ten, multi-platinum selling album with a more complex and incredibly mature song cycle that will make you forget she's all but 22 years old.

6. Cosmo Jarvis – HumAsYouHitch/SonOfAB!tch
A no holds barred musical assault that's well written, driven and full of the unabashed energy of punk rock.  Jarvis is a tour-de-force.

Stay tuned.  Tomorrow we'll reveal the top 5, hour by hour, starting at 9:00 AM EST.

Wildy's World Top 60 Albums of 2010: 20-11

 Today we work ourselves down to the brink of the top-10.  The great music keeps rolling!  I know we're all excited to get to 2011, but this is one last chance to remember the great albums we talked about in the past year.  Let's roll...

20. Social Code – Rock N Roll
The Edmonton rockers pack a punch while retaining a distinct pop sense in their US debut, a big rock album that manages to be commercial without sounding like that was the point.

19. Steven Page – Page One
The former Barenaked Ladies co-front man proves he can make it on his own, bring his own special blend of darkness and pop sensibility to Page One.

18. Sami.The.Great – Nothing Left To See
Sami.The.Great is going to be a star someday.  Nothing Left To See is perhaps a reference to Sami's heart, which she wears on her sleeve.  It's certainly not representative of her songwriting.  You'll want a long musical relationship with Sami.The.Great.

17. Alexis Foxe – To Have And Want More
Alexis Foxe is over the top, ala Lady Gaga and Madonna.  Luckily she has the singing and songwriting talent to back up her musical hubris.  To Have And Want More is a brilliant start that will appeal to music fans of all ilks.

16. JD Eicher & The Goodnights – The Shape Of Things
Perhaps one of the most understated pop efforts of 2010, The Shape Of Things sneaks up on you, settles into your brain and takes you on a ride you won't soon forget.

15. Barenaked Ladies – All In Good Time
No one knew what to expect from Barenaked Ladies after the departure of co-founder Steven Page, but it's safe to say that the band surprised fans and critics alike with their most mature and musically satisfying album to date.

14. Scarlitt – Hope Unseen
Scarlitt avoids the comic-book character quality of many new pop/metal bands to deliver an old-school, wall shaking collection of songs so well constructed musically you won't quite believe what you're hearing.

13. Laura Roppé – I’m Still Here
Roppé  is the comeback kid; not only kicking cancer to the curb but remaking herself as an artist in one of the most brilliant and emotionally naked artistic turns of 2010.  Roppé jettison's the glitz and polish of her debut album for a depth of emotional honesty that is startling and welcome.

12. Trout Fishing In America – Lookin’ At Lucky
Trout Fishing In America returned in 2010 with their first album for adults in more than a decade, an amazing collection of songs that show maturity and nuance blended with an ear for melody that is incomparable.

11. Gunnar Madsen – Two Hands
While you might not think of Madsen as a piano virtuoso from his work with The Bobs, Two Hands is by far the most impressive instrumental album of 2010.

Wildy's World Top 60 Albums of 2010: 30-21

 We're moving quickly toward our number one album of the year.  Today we're counting down numbers 30 through 21 in our top Albums and EPs of the year.  Let's get to it!

30. Hans York – Young Amelia
York is a singer-songwriter thoroughly in his element on Amelia, and is one of the best folk songwriters working.

29. Phil Ayoub – Arrivals And Departures
A captivating singer, songwriter and performer. 

28. Carrie Rodriguez – Love And Circumstance
Rodriguez a dervish with a voice that could melt butter and a fiddle fit to cut the world in half.  Love And Circumstance is among her best work to date.

27. Eliza Blue – The Road Home
Eliza Blue proves the richness of recording at home with The Road Home, pouring her heart and soul into every song with a richness and depth that is rare in popular music.

26. The John Byrne Band – After The Wake
One of the finest Celtic-influenced albums of 2010.

25. Syzygy – Realms Of Eternity
Deep theological concerns and a modern take on classic progressive rock make Realms Of Eternity the sort of album you can't let go of.

24. Isabel Rose – Swingin’ From The Hip
Rose will one day be a legend.

23. Wes Weddell – By The Side Of The Lake
By The Side Of The Lake shows a master craftsman at the top of his game.

22. Annie Fitzgerald – In Good Time
In Good Time is absolutely captivating.  Annie Fitzgerald has you from hello.

21. The Chapin Sisters – Two
The daughters of Tom Chapin and nieces of Harry Chapin show that their musical blood lines run deep on Two, an a haunting collection you won't be able to get out of your head.

Wildy's World Top 60 Albums of 2010: 40-31

We're back for another day of the Wildy's World Top-60 of 2010.  We're moving quickly to crown the top album of the year on New Year's Eve, as well as the Artist of the Year and Song of the Year.

40. Dana Wells – The Evergreen EP

Brilliant debut EP from the Washington D.C. based singer/songwriter with a bright future.

39. Alesa Lajana – Secret Garden

Lajana is an amazing songwriter who creates magic with her voice and on guitar.  Perhaps one of the best all around-talents in Indie music.

38. The White Ravens – Gargoyles And Weather Vanes

Brother and sister Amy and Will Bennett are a duo on the rise.  The chemistry and sound here are unforgettable.

37. Mike Farris – The Night The Cumberland Came Alive

The former Screamin' Cheetah Wheelies front man continues to impress with a mix of Americana and Gospel in an inspired performance given in the wake of the great flood in Nashville.

36. Darius Rucker – Charleston, SC 1966

Rucker's seemingly improbably rise as a country music star continues with perhaps his most poignant and subtle songwriting to date.

35. Kate Rusby – Make The Light

Rusby's voice is the fabric of dreams.

34. Fozzy – Chasing The Grail

Chris Jericho and Fozzy bring the muscle on a heavy hitting album full of distinctive pop sensibility.

33. The Flutterbies feat. Maureen Davis – The Flutterbies

Broadway diva Maureen Davis shows she can rock.

32. Halie Loren – Stages

The first (likely of many) live album from the engaging voice of Halie Loren.  The best live album of the year.

31. Kate Miller-Heidke – Curiouser

Yes, this album was first released in 2008, but it took until 2010 for Curiouser to drop in the Western Hemisphere.  A brilliant mix of songwriting, dance beats and kitsch.  Miller-Heidke has an operatic voice and a saucy tongue, a combination that has icon written all over it.