Best Music of 2010: Part 1

29. Eels - Tomorrow Morning
In 1999, I rated The Del McCoury Band's The Family as my #6 album, in the same year that they teamed up with Steve Earle for second place honors. This year, however, is the first time that two albums released exclusively by the same artist both found themselves on this list.

30. She & Him - Volume Two
The initial collaboration between Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward—not surprisingly titled Volume One—was Paste Magazine's album of the year in 2008. It failed to make my top 40. This year, it lands in exactly the same position on both lists.

31. The Tallest Man on Earth - The Wild Hunt
Swedish singer-songwriter Kristian Matsson's sophomore effort had much more staying power than did his 2008 debut, Shallow Grave.

32. Pernice Brothers - Goodbye, Killer
The only artist who can boast two #1 albums over the course of the 15 years I've been compiling this list is this band led by South Shore native, Joe Pernice. Pernice and company are not in jeopardy of losing their exclusivity to that distinction this year, despite the fact that a couple former #1 artists released excellent albums this year.

33. Stars - The Five Ghosts
Of course, you know that eventually I'll get around to counting how many Canadian artists are represented here, but for now I'll just say that Stars are the first of at least a handful, and that I'm pretty sure our northern neighbors rank second to those from the states.