Expected Better

“Rehearsing My Choir” – Fiery Furnaces

“Odditorium and Warlords of Mars” – Dandy Warhols

“Frances the Mute” – The Mars Volta

“Birds Make Good Neighbors” – The Rosebuds

“Commit This To Memory” – Motion City Soundtrack

1

“Making Beds In A Burning House” – Troubled Hubble

A perfect blend of indie-pop sensibility and youthful naivety on a road-weary record of love, life, bees, loss and all things molecular. Key Track: “14,000 Things To Be Happy About”

2

“Twin Cinema” – New Pornographers

By realizing less Neko Case means better music, Carl Newman and his Canadian cohorts put together an intentionally complex, yet occasionally simple album of fuzzy, distorted guitar pop. Key Track: “Sing Me Spanish Techno”

3

“LCD Soundsystem” – LCD Soundsystem

White guys aren’t supposed to dance, but they still can take after James Murphy, who made the year’s best club record. Key Track: “Disco Infiltrator”

4

“I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning” – BrightEyes

Conor Oberst captures the uncertain future with the familiarity of simple acoustics, all the while seeming to be neither a throwback or overly progressive. Key Track: “We Are Nowhere And It’s Now”

5

“The Sunlandic Twins” – Of Montreal

Kevin Barnes’ Prince-like ability to layer dozens of instruments over basic, pop structures creates one of the most engaging and deceivingly complicated albums of the year. Key Track: “Forecast Fascist Future”

6

“The Hate Yourself Change” – Neva Dinova

If misery loves company, this record will never be alone. A crippling ode to self-loathing and depression cast upon a backdrop of beautifully tuneful ambiance. Key Track: “Yellow Datsun”

7

“Road To Rouen” – Supergrass

The Brit-pop veteran’s best album since the band’s debut combines mellow background tracks with all-out guitar chops and the smarminess expected from the genre. Key Track: “Road To Rouen”

8

“Broken Social Scene” – Broken Social Scene

The 15-member band’s most dynamic and lush release uses precise instrumentation to build vast, optimistic soundscapes. Key Track: “7/4 (Shoreline)”

9

“Late Registration” – Kanye West

The producer turned poster-child for Chicago’s blossoming hip-hop scene, the ever-eager West somehow tops his debut with an album both more ambitious and self-aware. Key Track: “Touch The Sky”

10

“Apologies to the Queen Mary” – Wolf Parade

Taking cues from early Modest Mouse, as well as calling on Issac Brock as producer, the quartet wears its influences on its quirky, thrift-store sleeve. Key Track: “Grounds For Divorce”