Best Albums of 2010 (So Far)

The best albums of 2010? Okay, it's only March, but 2010 has already seen the release of a number of excellent CDs. Many of them have been largely overlooked, since the music industry's attention this year was focused first on the Grammy Awards and now on summer concert announcements.

In case you haven't paid close attention over the past couple months, here's a recap of the best albums of 2010 through February, presented in random order.

Best albums of 2010 (so far):

OK Go: Of the Blue Colour of the Sky

The treadmill band is back with a record that channels 1999-era Prince and features a lot of falsetto vocals from Damian Kulash. "White Knuckles" is my favorite, a funky, danceable track. "This Too Shall Pass" and "WTF?" are also worthy of attention.

Sade: Soldier of Love

Sade has become one of those veteran artists who is just universally admired. Even those who aren't fans of the genre respect her smooth vocals and thoughtful lyrics. Soldier of Love is her first new CD in ten years. The title track has charted on both the adult contemporary and smooth jazz charts.

Yeasayer: Odd Blood

This Brooklyn indie band blends tribal rhythms and percussion into experimental rock songs. This album first attracted attention thanks to the lead single "Ambling Alp," a great song that just happens to have an attention-grabbing not-safe-for-work music video.

Vampire Weekend: Contra

The preppy Afropop lovers' second CD sounds pretty much exactly like their first, and for the many people who enjoyed the band's debut, that's a good thing. Contra entered the Billboard chart at #1 and lead single "Cousins" has been earning rock radio airplay, though I'm more partial to "White Sky."

Owen Pallett: Heartland

Owen Pallett dropped his Final Fantasy moniker this year and released Heartland under his own name. The talented violinist has built his audience over the past year with appearances at festivals like Pitchfork, and his new record has been earning blogger praise.

Hot Chip: One Life Stand

On February 1 alternative dance group Hot Chip released One Life Stand, the follow-up to the group's Grammy-nominated Made in the Dark. Rolling Stone praised the CD for its "elegiac house throb" and the title track has already charted in the UK.

Best albums of 2010: Other noteworthy releases so far

Transference, Spoon

Romance is Boring, Los Campesinos!

Heligoland, Massive Attack

Dear God, I Hate Myself, Xiu Xiu

Best albums of 2010: Sources

www.amazon.com

www.billboard.com