So, I’m kind of getting tired of this whole top-ten-albums feature. I’m going to go ahead and end the suspense* today.

(* probably closer to sheer boredom)

Just to review the list thus far:

10: Neon Bible (The Arcade Fire)
9: April (Sun Kil Moon)
8: Raising Sand (Robert Plant & Allison Kraus)
7: Modern Times (Bob Dylan)
6: Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers and Bastards (Tom Waits)
5: The Trumpet Child (Over the Rhine)
4: Ash Wednesday (Elvis Perkins)

Here, now, is a short synopsis of the top remaining albums beginning with number 3.

3: Post-War (M. Ward)

M. Ward’s album feels like an apocalyptic lullaby sung by a traveling insurance salesman. He’s seen the worst of it and has a million stories on the tip of his tongue. The recording seems like an iceberg – 90% of it is beneath the surface and still waiting to be discovered, analyzed and understood.

I recently rediscovered M. Ward and decided to dive in head first – Post-War is the record loved most by the critics, so I decided to give it my full attention. After listening to the entire record about 4 consecutive times, I realized that his music embodies almost everything I love in music – jangly, folksy, bluesy, atmospheric, vocal composition focused more on emotion and story-telling than correct pitch, and some killer hooks mixed in – perfect combination. If you tend to enjoy those things as well, this album will absolutely not disappoint.

2: In Rainbows (Radiohead)

Now that I’ve had the album for half-a-year, the sentiments expressed in my original review have been thoroughly strengthened and confirmed. Here is an excerpt from that review:

Has Radiohead been fooling with us for the past decade, or are they finally discovering their true selves? Thom is his usual cryptic self in ‘Bodysnatchers’ as he croons ‘has the light gone on for you?, cause the light’s gone for me’; leaving us to wonder what is ultimately be-hind this rebirth. It is clear, though, that any extended visit with Radiohead’s previous work is akin to paying tribute at the gravestone of an influential person. Inspirational? Possibly. Impersonal and always leaving you wanting more? Absolutely.

In Rainbows is not an easily accessible album. This is only fitting for a band that reinvents itself out of mindless routine rather than necessity. However, this latest rendering leaves us reveling in a hopeful Radiohead, content with who they are and who they may yet become. As Thom lovingly sings in the finale, ‘..today has been the most perfect day I’ve ever seen’.. For once, the beauty of Radiohead is not in the despondent calamity, but in the possibility of a hopeful dream.

So, I suppose it would take a lot to beat out my favorite Radiohead album, eh?

1: Armchair Apocrypha (Andrew Bird)

This top ten list is bookended with fatal wounds to my hipster cred. I prefer ‘Neon Bible’ to ‘Funeral’ (sin of sins) and then (gasp!) I have a far deeper affection for ‘Armchair Apocrypha’ than for Andrew Bird’s earlier, more revered work: ‘The Mysterious Production Of Eggs.’

Thankfully, I could give a damn about my hipster cred.

Armchair Apocrypha came to me through a good friend who had fallen hard under the ‘Mysterious Production’ spell. I decided to give Andrew Bird another chance because A) he is a classically trained violinist B) he writes incredibly unconventional and beautiful melodies and C) he is the very definition of singer-songwriter.

It is impossible for me to compare Andrew Bird to other artists. Last.fm lists Sufjan Stevens, M. Ward, Wilco and Iron & Wine as the top comparisons,.. but somehow even this triangulation thoroughly misses the mark. His sound is so distinctive that a person simply must stop and listen in order to understand.

This album combines warm electric guitar strumming with overdubbed violin plucking and Bird’s idiosyncratic vocal delivery bathed in uplifting atmospherics and peerless instrumentation. To my ear, there hasn’t been a better sounding album this decade. On top of that, the melodies are haunting and immeasurably catchy, the lyrics are graduate-school-smart and the guy is a world-class whistler. The highest recommendation I can give this album is this: It restored my long-broken faith in the tenets of pop music.

And that’s it, folks. Back to your regularly scheduled blogging. Love to hear your comments about my Top Ten.. or, feel free to share your own.