Time for another guessing game — this time we pit you against Spin Magazine’s list of musicians picking their favorite albums of the year. After the jump, we’ve picked 10 of our favorite artists from their list and it’s up to you to match them with their favorite albums. Don’t worry — we gave you a hint by including a quote from each artist about their pick. Highlight the blacked-out boxes to check your answers, and learn what everyone from Bradford Cox to Wayne Coyne was listening to this year.
The musicians:
1. Wayne Coyne (Flaming Lips) 2. Florence Welch (Florence and the Machine) 3. Bradford Cox (Deerhunter) 4. Greg Gillis (Girl Talk) 5. Bethany Cosentino (Best Coast) 6. Ezra Koenig (Vampire Weekend) 7. Rivers Cuomo 8. Marnie Stern 9. Victoria Legrand (Beach House) 10. Nathan Williams (Wavves)
Their picks:
1. Drake – Thank Me Later
“Rap, rock, cumbia, whatever — it’s rare to find an album as stylistically and thematically unified as this.” —
Ezra Koenig
2. Lower Dens – Twin Hand Movement
“I haven’t heard a record in a long time that makes me want to fall in love like a teenager and be destroyed as much as this one does. Simply put.” — Victoria Legrand
3. Sleigh Bells – Treats
“It’s hard to say why I like this — it’s like saying, ‘Why do I like pizza? I just like the way it tastes.’ Their sound is so simple. Why didn’t a million people think of this before?” —
Wayne Coyne
4. Tera Melos – Patagonian Rats
“The textures and use of noise creates a cohesive album, without losing the musicality aspects that make this band so unique.” —
Marie Stern
5. Curren$y – Pilot Talk
“His lyrics seem autobiographical. He’s just going on about playing video games and smoking weed and hanging out.” —
Nathan Williams
6. Beach House – Teen Dream
“I’d listen to this all the time on tour, especially on dreary, gray days, when it’s dark and gloomy out.” —
Bethany Cosentino
7. Big Boi – Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty
“There are party cuts and more serious tracks and deep, crazy synthesizers next to soul samples. It goes everywhere I want to go in a hip-hop record.” —
Greg Gillis
8. Beach Boys – Pet Sounds
“I know it didn’t come out in 2010, but I didn’t listen to anything this year except Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds. It’s perfect.” — Rivers Cuomo
9. MGMT – Congratulations
“Everyone hated this album before they even heard it — but anybody that wasn’t into this album just doesn’t like pop music…I don’t understand what the fuck there is not to be into.” —
Bradford Cox
10. Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
“It completely changed my perspective about what kind of music I wanted to make. I realized I wanted to make something that wasn’t just bluesy and rock-y but could be beautiful and grand.” —
Florence Welch