#1

Arcade Fire- The Suburbs

Pitchfork: 8.6 (BNM)

Metacritic: 86

Allmusic: 4/5

LP | CD

"Whatever it is, The Suburbs is nothing short of extraordinary; it's Arcade Fire's moment of clarity where everyone can stop and take notice because in the most frank of terms, this is also nothing short of a masterpiece." -Delusions of Adequacy

695/27/9382.5/3

#2

The National- High Violet

Pitchfork: 8.7 (BNM)

Metacritic: 85

Allmusic: 3.5/5

LP | CD

"The National should give faith to anyone who has become disillusioned with indie music, anyone who misses a time where it didn't seem like all the musicians thought they were better than you and you could actually relate to the damn words they were singing. High Violet is another batch of cement to further supplement The National's already unshakable concrete career." -Sputnikmusic

693/25/8662.5/8

#3

The Tallest Man on Earth- The Wild Hunt

Pitchfork: 8.5 (BNM)

Metacritic: 79

Allmusic: 4/5

LP | CD

"Ultimately, The Wild Hunt's stumbles are too little to mask what could be Matsson's finest hour. He may act as if he's the tallest man on earth, but he may very well literally be a talent of Goliath proportions." -No Ripcord

545/23/6267.5/1

#4

Kanye West- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Pitchfork: You know exactly what Pitchfork's score was. (BNM)

Metacritic: 93

Allmusic: 4/5

LP | CD

"The end result is a body of work that pushes hip-hop in a bold new direction and puts Mr,. West back at the forefront of the culture once again." -XXL

551/20/5510/3

#5

Sufjan Stevens- The Age of Adz

Pitchfork: 8.4 (BNM)

Metacritic: 81

Allmusic: 4/5

LP | CD

"If the point of music is for us to take something from it - whether it be an emotional response or a change in mindset or any sort of inspiration - then The Age Of Adz is the most selfless album ever recorded, and Sufjan is the most giving composer." -Sputnikmusic

446/19/4237

#6

The Black Keys- Brothers

Pitchfork: 7.7

Metacritic: 82

Allmusic: 4.5/5

LP | CD

"Everything fits in place to up the game of something else, and no part of these finely made blues and soul creations gets a pass on pulling its weight. That's just how it works for Brothers." -Urb

375/21/3937.5/2

#7

Vampire Weekend- Contra

Pitchfork: 8.6 (BNM)

Metacritic: 81

Allmusic: 4/5

LP | CD

"Contra establishes that his band has chosen another path, celebrating the world's contradictions, contraindications, and contradistinctions with a new pop sound made up of old pop sounds that aren't the same old pop sounds." -MSN

370/19/3515/1