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11. J.G. Thirlwell – The Venture Bros.: The Music of J.G. Thirlwell

“The Venture Bros.” is one of the most consistently humorous shows on television right now and you owe it to yourself to catch up with it. That said, collected here are cues and score from the show and what fun it is. Mixing 60’s-style James Bond themes, 70’s Blaxpoltation and modern electronic dance sounds, the album is full of John Barry meets Isaac Hayes meets LCD Soundsystem. Of course with a show that can take place anywhere the creators imaginations go, there is also the occasional lazy Bayou strip song and Ennio Morricone tribute. This would be a great addition to the soundtrack collector in your life.

Favorite songs: “Tuff”, “Assclamp!”, “In A Spaceage Mood”

10. Air – Love 2

“As light as…” one might say. Air has been around since 1997 and every single one of their albums takes patience to plumb the depths. The airy, simple sound is quite deceiving at first, but once you have been on a few dates you begin to appreciate the company you’re in. Love 2 is a little lighter than usual with none of the big hooks of “Sexy Boy” or “Cherry Blossom Girl”, but what is here is as beautiful as these two French guys can make it. In fact, they seem to be the anti-Daft Punk. Nonetheless, the album may be quiet, but it still ranks as one of their best.

Favorite songs: “Love”, “Be A Bee”, “Sing Sang Sung”

9. Lily Allen – It’s Not Me, It’s You

Strong, independent, foul-mouthed who speak their mind are becoming more and more commonplace in the music industry. This may be simply because the masses love shock, but it’s brought to light several greats including Liz Phair and Missy Elliott. On her second album, the straight forward Lily Allen drops the ska-lite for a pure unabashedly pop soundscape. This doesn’t mean she’s softened up. There are still her stabs at drug users (“Everyone’s At It”), bad relationships (“Not Fair”), commercialism (“The Fear”) and — to so great affect the gay community has adopted it as an anthem — racism and bigotry (“Fuck You”). Oh, she’s even finding happiness in songs like “Chinese” and “Who’d Have Known”. All this because of the help of Greg Kurstin, but we’ll wait to talk about him later in the countdown.

Favorite songs: “The Fear”, “Back To The Start”, “Fuck You”

14. Rosanne Cash – The List

Back in Rosanne’s late teen years, her father — you may have heard of him — gave her a list of 100 essential country songs to learn in order to gain a perspective of the history of the genre. Here are 12 of those songs reinterpreted through her years of ups and downs. The emotions infused into these songs is one of an artist looking back and feeling bittersweet. She even confides in the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello and Rufus Wainwright. This is not only a lovely collection of songs, but also an interesting history lesson that would probably make Johnny proud.

Favorite songs: “Miss You And The Mississippi”, “Take These Chains From My Heart”, “500 Miles”

13. Elvis Costello – Secret, Profane & Sugarcane

This was a surprise. Elvis got together with masterful producer T-Bone Burnett and came up with an earthy, bluesy slice of Americana. This Brit invokes the Louisiana bayou with the grace and ease of long generations of the repressed whose woman done done him wrong. It’s light and effortless in a way that makes it obvious Elvis has found a new niche to dabble. An impressive effort made better by Burnett’s loose, uncluttered production.

Favorite songs: “Complicated Shadows”, “Hidden Shame”, “Sulphur To Sugarcane”

12. Gossip – Music For Men

Being unsure what the hoopla was about, I decided to give Gossip one more chance with their new release. Their breakthrough, Standing In The Way Of Control, was just that — an out-of-control mess of an album that was hyped beyond the content. The positive is that there was potential there which, thanks to more focused songwriting and production, brought Music For Men to fruition. Beth Ditto’s voice sounds even better behind the sightly polished garageband sound behind her. It’s sparse and punk and pop all at the same time. Let’s hope their sound continues to mesh together because this is just plain fun.

Favorite songs: “Heavy Cross”, “Love Long Distance”, “Four Letter Word”

20. Them Crooked Vultures – Them Crooked Vultures

So one day Dave Grohl was all like, “I’m tired of making adult rock hits and I wanna play drums again,” and Josh Homme was all like, “I’m tired of making hard progressive rock and I wanna relive my childhood stoner days.” So they went on a magical journey to find any member of Led Zeppelin who was still alive when they met the Fogey Rock Fairy. “Here, have Robert Plant.” “No thanks. We both sing.” “Well, then here’s Jimmy Page!” “No thanks. We both play guitar.” “Fine then, bitches. Since Bonham is dead have the least popular one!” And so the three made the first decent Zeppelin album since Kingdom Come in 1988. The End.

Favorite songs: “No One Loves Me & Neither Do I”, “Dead End Friends”, “Elephant”

19. Mika – The Boy Who Knew Too Much

Oh, the sophomore jinx. Most artists take one of two tracks: 1) remake what made them popular or 2) go in such a different direction that fans are left scratching their heads. If you’re familiar with the cover of Mika’s first album “Life In Cartoon Motion” then you’ll realize immediately that he went with option #1. Not that it’s a bad thing. The album is full of over-the-top arrangements, falsetto choruses and a good sprinkle of queer-colored glitter. The up-tempo numbers really showcase his talent as a pop star. It’s the ballads that drag this down a bit. There are no great ones like “My Interpretation” or “Erase”. Summary: if you liked the first one, go ahead and grab this one.

Favorite songs: “We Are Golden”, “Rain”, “Good Gone Girl”

18. The Boy Least Likely To – The Law Of The Playground

While looking for the album cover image, I ran across the perfect phrase to describe The Boy Least Likely To: twee pop. This is whimsy at its most sweet, childlike, and enjoyable. Of course, if you don’t like banjos and xylophones, then run. The xylophones in its higher register has always been one to denote children, but this works for the band especially with lyrics like “I need a cookie and hug”. I swear these guys only do this to get laid. Just look at the choice of words in the titles to get a feel for their philosophy on life. You can’t get any more innocent than balloons, butterflies, lemonade and fairytales. And for a bonus look for last year’s “The First Snowflake” (not included here) for one of the best modern holiday songs around.

Favorite songs: “Saddle Up”, “When Life Gives Me Lemons I Make Lemonade”, “I Keep Myself To Myself”