5:02am

Midlake “Children of the Grounds” from The Courage of Others (Bella Union 2010) —At #14 in my top 40 of 2010 - Midlake is from Denton, TX and this is from their 3rd album, a hypnotic album with British folk influences seeping through the album.Buy it!

5:10am

Arcade Fire “Ready to Start” from The Suburbs (Merge 2010) N  —#13Buy it!

5:19am

Mumford & Sons “The cave” from Sigh No More (Glassnote 2009)Buy it!

5:28am

Nada Surf “Enjoy the Silence” from If I Had a Hi-Fi CD ALBUM (Mardev 2010) N  —Yes, the Depeche Mode song ...Buy it!

5:37am

Band of Horses “Older” from Infinite Arms CD ALBUM (Columbia 2010) N Buy it!

5:44am

Joe Pug “Messenger” (Lightning Rod Records 2010)Buy it!

5:54am

Justin Townes Earle “Christchurch Woman” from Harlem River Blues (Bloodshot www.bloodshotrecords.com 2010) N  —At #7, Justin Townes Earle, son of Steve Earle, With a little help from his friends (including Jason Isbell), JTE put out a great album this year.Buy it!

6:04am

Hollerado “Fake Drugs” from Record in a Bag (Royal Mountain 2010) N  —#6 - From Ontario, Canada and issuing their debut album this year comes Hollerado. Think Weezer 15 years ago and you have a good idea of how this album sounds. Love it.Buy it!

6:12am

Free Energy “Young Hearts” from Stuck on Nothing CD ALBUM (Caroline 2010) N  —#5 is Free Energy, a band from Philadelphia who put out their debut album earlier this year. They are straight ahead rock that would have fit in on a 70's rock station. I hope you love it as much as I do.Buy it!

6:21am

Sharon Van Etten “Save Yourself” from Epic (Ba Da Bing 2010) N  —At #4 and a totally different sound than the last two bands. Sharon Van Etten is a Brooklyn based singer/songwriter who put out a heartbreakingly beautiful album this year. Hope you love it as much as I do.Buy it!

6:34am

Peter Wolf “Tragedy” from Midnight Souvenirs (Verve 2010) N  —At 64 years old former leader of J. Geils Band, Peter Wolf hasn't slowed down and he's put out my #3 album of the year. Enlisting the help of friends like Shelby Lynne on this track, it's a great album from start to finish.Buy it!

6:44am

The New Pornographers “Crash Years” from Together CD ALBUM (Matador 2010) N  —At #2, the New Pornographers put out their 5th album, another mix of great songs from AC Newman and Dan Bejar (with the help of the great vocals of Neko Case and Kathryn Calder).Buy it!

6:53am

Dan Mangan “Basket” from Nice, Nice, Very Nice (Arts and Crafts 2010) N  —My #1 of the album of the year. Who? Dan Mangan? He's a Canadian (Vancouver) singer/songwriter who writes beautiful, quirky, folk/pop/rock songs and this is from his 2nd album released in the US in 2010. I hope you love these tracks as much as I do.Buy it!