2010 - The year in music

Total number of albums I bought this year: 117

Number of albums I bought this year that were released in 2010: 17
Neil Young - Le Noise
Slash - Slash
Seal - 6:Commitment
Todd Rundgren - For Lack Of Honest Work
Elvin Bishop - Red Dog Speaks
Phil Collins - Going Back
Sheryl Crow - 100 Miles From Memphis
Eric Clapton - Clapton
John Lennon/Yoko Ono - Double Fantasy Stripped Down
Robert Plant - Band Of Joy
The Steve Miller Band - Bingo!
Orianthi - Believe
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Mojo
Jimi Hendrix - Valleys Of Neptune
The Orb featuring David Gilmour - Metallic Spheres
Colin Hay - American Sunshine
Jackson Browne and David Lindley - Love Is Strange

Album of the year:
Sheryl Crow - 100 Miles From Memphis

Song of the year:
"Beautiful Dangerous" from Slash's solo album, featuring an incredible vocal performance from Fergie.

Rounding out the top 5 albums:
Slash, Phil Collins, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Colin Hay.

Most Pleasant Surprise:
Phil Collins' new album of classic R & B covers is very, very good.

Biggest disappointment:
The Steve Miller Band released an album that clocked in at a scant 32 minutes and then released a more expensive version of the same album with a couple of additional tracks that still clocked in well under an hour. Artists should be ashamed of this type of double-dipping. Runner-up: Seal, whose collaboration with David Foster seemed so promising but failed to produce any memorable tunes.

Artists whose work I actively collected this year: Santana (8 albums), Guns 'n Roses (4 albums), Herbie Hancock (4 albums), Jimi Hendrix (3 albums), Jeff Beck (3 albums), Ben Harper (3 Albums), The Black Crowes (3 albums)

This year I finally put together a nice turntable and started converting some of my old vinyl albums to MP3s. I haven't listened to my old vinyl records for over twenty years in the absence of a turntable, so it was nice to hear some of my old favorites that have never been released on CD! Topping the list: Jules Shear - Demo-itis, Mark Colby - Serpentine Fire, Tommy Keene - Run Now and Places That Are Gone, Commodores - Midnight Magic, Gap Band 6, Ray Parker, Jr. - The Other Woman, and a number of great extended dance remixes from Prince and Howard Jones.

Rarities that I was most excited about locating: Reckless Sleepers - Big Boss Sounds, Girl Bros. - Girl Bros., Charlie Sexton - Pictures For Pleasure and Cruel and Gentle Things, Jesse Johnson - Verbal Penetration.

Artists I saw in concert this year: Bob Dylan, John Mellencamp, the Eagles, Jackson Browne, The Little River Band, Colin Hay, Bryan Adams.

Upcoming albums and/or tours coming in 2011 that I am excited about: The Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, Coldplay, Radiohead, U2, Madonna, Prince, Ozzy Osbourne...

and, of course, The Ides of March...