I can hear the groaning now. “Another Best of List?” Alas, yes. We may be as tired of them as you are, but would argue that we need these–not just to sum up and remind everyone of some wonderful albums that may have been forgotten (like The Shins back in January?), but to make sense of a glorious year for music. I guess we could also argue that your hipster friend needs some kind of reference to talk about at holiday parties as well - because they do. You know the swishy ones behind their too-cool rimmed glasses and scruff. This ones for you, pal! So, while we may ask, “How many more Top 10 lists can we take?” Those of us at Pensatos say: Hopefully at least one more (cause, come on, we did write all this out for you).

1. Radiohead - In Rainbows

A shot out of the blue and a attention-grabbing sales style (name your own price, from free to whatever outrageous amount you wanted to give to Yorke and company), In Rainbows also blasted away our expectations by delivering the best Radiohead music since OK Computer, mixing the electronic styles Thom Yorke fiddled with in his solo work The Eraser with traditional Radiohead rock–while also throwing in at least one instrumental or lyrical shout-out to past best moments. It’s like a Greatest Hits album that was greater than the its hits. Need proof? Check out the haunting melodies of ‘Nude’ and ‘Videotape’.

Honorable Mention: Burial - Untrue, Jose Gonzales - In Our Nature
Album of Disillusionment: PJ Harvey - White Chalk

2. Kevin Drew - Spirit If…

The most underrated album this year on most publications list is by far one of the best surprises from the Broken Social Scene camp. Centerpiece Kevin Drew has not only outshined the rest of his crew (sorry sultry Feist) but he has set a benchmark for his band and himself as well. This is our generations Born in the USA and deserves the same over saturation with the likes of ‘TBTF’ and ‘Safety Bricks’ across all airwaves for the youth to bask in. The album is only marred by the fact that it will sooner or later crack under the pressure of which we over play it.

Honorable Mention: Oh No - Dr. No’s Oxperiment, The Shins - Wincing The Night Away
Album of Disillusionment: Timbaland - Timbaland Presents Shock Value

3. Sea Wolf - Leaves in the River

The long-awaited debut from Alex Church’s LA group Sea Wolf (sometimes including Silversun Pickups’ vocalist/guitarist Byron Reynolds) is everything we were waiting for. Opening with the winning track from the Get to the River Before it Runs Too Low EP, ‘You’re A Wolf,’ Leaves in the River is a darkly enriching collection of somber acoustic tracks (see: ‘The Cold, the Dark, and the Silence’ in particular) that beg to be played in a solitary cabin as night creeps into the forest around you–although a cramped apartment in the city seemingly does the trick.

Honorable Mention: Angels Of Light - We Are Him, Panda Bear - Person Pitch
Album of Disillusionment: Air - Pocket Symphony

4. Working for a Nuclear Free City - Businessmen & Ghosts

Electronic indie-pop act Working for a Nuclear Free City from Manchester, UK dropped a double release back in September, Businessmen being the proper release and Ghosts containing B-sides and the like. Both are gold. Tracks like ‘Rocket’ and ‘Kingdom’ pair captivating electronic-blended post-punk with rhythmic haunting lyrics: (”If you feel unclean better bleach your body / If you’re feelin’ hate better kill somebody / If you’re feelin’ old better leave your body / If you want to leave better build a rocket”). If you’re a fan of Radiohead you need to find this release before they conquer Britain and invade America.

Honorable Mention: Echospace - Deepchord Presents Echospace: The Coldest Season, Justice - †
Album of Disillusionment: Bumps - Bumps

5. Explosions in the Sky - All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone

Austin’s best kept secret that everyone seemingly somehow knows (if you turn into Friday Night Lights or have seen the movie, their tracks have already moved you) release their best effort to date. Hauntingly brilliant, full of building instrumentalism guitars and soaring strings - the long player All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone is an emotional roller coaster of brilliance and reflection. Each track parries through sadness and strength to perfection and wisdom beyond their years. It rests only at the middle of our list because of a denied recount.

Honorable Mention: Dinosaur Jr. - Beyond, Japanther - Skuffed Up My Huffy
Album of Disillusionment: Dalek - Abandoned Language

6. Dr. Dog - We All Belong

Underrated Philadelphia indie rockers Dr. Dog sound more and more like The Beatles and The Band with their album We All Belong. Despite opening for acts like Wilco and My Morning Jacket, the band scores hits and a bigger fan base with songs ‘My Old Ways’ and ‘Ain’t It Strange’. One sit thru of this charm makes us sweat for Dr. Dog to hit the studio this winter with yet another 60’s sounding album.

Honorable Mention: Pan Sonic - Katodivaihe, Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
Album of Disillusionment: Jesu - Conqueror

7. M.I.A. - Kala

The queen of anti diva-ism and Shri Lanka badassness (yes - those are all words) scores out of the stratosphere with her self produced Kala. In a year of Timbaland productions (she gladly took the job from him when he bowed out) and sampled crap (sorry Kanye - the others are deaf to your latest crap), M.I.A. dazzled us with gritty urban licks with slicker than sin beats. From disco stomp ‘Jimmy’, shotgun toting ‘Paper Planes’, and even boy toy influenced ‘XR2′, the Londoner shows she’s the smartest bitch with a microphone in the world.

Honorable Mention: Fields - Everything Last Winter, Iron and Wine - The Shepherd’s Dog
Album of Disillusionment: Kanye West - Graduation

8. Thurston Moore - Trees Outside the Academy

The Sonic Youth vocalist/guitarist is back with his first solo album since From the Earth to the Spheres, Vol. 1 with My Cat is an Alien in 2004. While Trees Outside the Academy is no Rather Ripped, it does well to fill in the gap between Sonic Youth releases, and is probably exactly what you might expect from Moore on his own. What it lacks in full structured backup it more than makes up for in feedback bliss. Moore ditches most of the avant garde material he has been dabbling with recently (unless you count his experimental “Thurston@13,” recorded when Moore was 13), opting for Youth-like grooves in ‘Silver>Blue’ and ‘Frozen Guitar’. A great pick for any Sonic Youth fan and anyone who wants to learn to play the guitar like a man.

Honorable Mention: Ricardo Villalobos - Fabric 36, Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
Album of Disillusionment: Wu-Tang Clan - Eight Diagrams

9. Klaxons - Myths of the Near Future

Come on, this album started its own make-believe genre for Christ sakes: new-rave (or neo-rave we guess). Heavily historic (’Crowley’ and ‘Magick’) and pulling references from literature (’Gravity’s Rainbow’), the Klaxons music has serious substance behind its heavy to open doors. While tracks like ‘Atlantis To Interzone’ and ‘Totem On The Timeline’ are out-of-control made-for-the-dance-floor takes, others like ‘It’s Not Over Yet’ and ‘As Above, So Below’ are less expected and more unique. A dynamic release, Myths of the Near Future is more than what might meet the eye.

Honorable Mention: Robert Wyatt - Comicopera, Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam
Album of Disillusionment: Black Dice - Load Blown

10. Pinback - Autumn of the Seraphs

Some may argue this isn’t the finest moment of Pinback. We scoff at them as Autumn of the Seraphs is an expanding effort allowing newbies (like us - we admit it) to hop on board with the San Diego fanbase. Gloriously melodic, Pinback’s guitar work is excellent and adds a flare unique to each and every song.

Honorable Mention: Pekos / Yoro Diallo - Pekos / Yoro Diallo, Caribou - Andorra
Album of Disillusionment: Young Buck - Buck The World