Top Five Albums of 2010

Everyone has different criteria for determining the "best of" in entertainment. But as the saying goes, there's no accounting for taste.

I like to reflect at the end of each year on my favorite music from the past 12 months, and my rules for my "best of" albums list is simple: First, which ones did I continue coming back to throughout the year, for any reason whatsoever? And second, which ones did I listen to, and appreciate, all the way through, as an entire body of work, instead of just preferring a few great singles?

Beyond that, I put no limitations on my selections and consider albums from all genres, including, yes, even country.

With that in mind, here are my picks for the top five albums released in 2010, as well as a handful of others I think are worthy of consideration:

1. Two Door Cinema Club - Tourist History

A friend told me to check out Two Door Cinema Club, claiming that, stylistically, the band was similar to French alternative band Phoenix. I count Phoenix's "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix" among my favorite albums of 2009, so I gave Two Door Cinema Club a shot.

The alternative/indie rock band from Northern Ireland quickly grabbed my attention and rocketed to the top of my 2010 list. The album is fresh and has an energetic, dance vibe to it while maintaining the feel and sound of an indie rock album. It's 10 tracks and 32 minutes, 32 seconds long, and I enjoy every bit of it. "Tourist History" hits from Track 1 to Track 10, and I often put the album on loop in iTunes and just let it play through several times. If you haven't already heard Two Door Cinema Club, check out "Tourist History."

2. Eminem - Recovery

Eminem's 2010 release sat atop my 2010 list for quite a while, until Two Door Cinema club bumped it off. That was a difficult thing to do, because "Recovery" is Eminem's best work since 2000's "The Marshall Mathers LP," one of my favorite hip-hop albums of all-time.

While his 2009 "Relapse" was largely a disappointment - Eminem himself has apologized to fans for the subpar album - "Recovery" is the type of work fans expect from Eminem, and the type of album that, frankly, I wasn't sure he was capable of making any more. It's lyrically complex, with Em's signature mixture of intricate word play, shock-value content and deep, introspective subject matter. The album is superb throughout, but with 17 tracks, there are bound to be one or two you aren't entirely in love with. My favorites are "Love the Way You Lie" featuring Rihanna, "Untitled" and "25 to Life."

3. The Black Keys - Brothers

I'm a little late to the game with The Black Keys, not having checked out any of their five studio albums before "Brothers," but the duo blew me out of the water with their 2010 release.

Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney tackle guitar, bass, vocals, drums, production and engineering on the album, with a bit of help from a few guest producers, including Danger Mouse on the single "Tighten Up."

This is a fantastic album, with a raw, rhythmic, bluesy feel to it. Officially, The Black Keys are listed as a blues-rock band, but that description almost seems limited for "Brothers." When I hear this album, I get elements of blues, rock, hip hop, indie rock, even country-rock. And what stands out the most is that bob-your-head rhythm, which hits you right out of the gate with the first track, "Everlasting Light," my favorite on the album.

4. Kings of Leon - Come Around Sundown

It's not quite 2008's "Only by the Night," but as a followup to the album that earned them mainstream praise, Kings of Leon put together a hit with 2010's "Come Around Sundown."

This album was released on October 15, and I didn't check it out until mid-November, but it's been in my regular rotation since then, and I like it more every time I hear it. "Radioactive" was the lead single, but the album is solid for all 13 tracks and 47:26.

Fans of Kings of Leon's earlier work weren't exactly enamored of the band's 2008 release, which had more of a pop feel to it than their earlier efforts. "Come Around Sundown" is certainly closer, stylistically, to "Only by the Night" than it is to the band's earlier work. So if you liked that 2008 album, you'll like this one, too. If you didn't, you probably won't.

5. MGMT - Congratulations

I have to admit, I was a little disappointed with this album. MGMT's debut album, 2007's "Oracular Spectacular" is incredible, 10 tracks of superb music that's difficult to classify - psychedelic rock/indie rock/electronica/experimental rock.

So I was a tad disappointed with "Congratulations," but only because I hold "Oracular Spectacular" up on such a high pedestal. The band's 2010 release is still really, really good, and is the type of album that grew on me the more I listened. "Oracular Spectacular" has been called, in part, a pop album, and although I don't consider it such, the tracks on that album do have more of a pop feel than anything on "Congratulations," which, as a body of work, is far more progressive in comparison.

Other 2010 albums worth consideration

Broken Bells - Broken Bells
Gorillaz - Plastic Beach
Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
John Legend and The Roots - Wake Up!
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals - Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Beat the Devil's Tattoo
Mumford and Sons - Sigh No More
Vampire Weekend - Contra
Cee Lo Green - The Lady Killer