AboveGroundMagazine's Top 20 Albums Of 2010 (Thus Far)

Yoooo, you didn't think I'd stopped showing love to my home away from home AboveGroundMagazine.com did you? Hopefully not...and hopefully your still checking in there, seeing what our wonderfully bright staff is contributing everyday (we run contests all the time BTW!)...book mark it ppl...

Recently, the head man in charge over @ AGM asked me to come up with the top 20 albums that have dropped this year so far and I went to work on the list, which Tyler so eloquently blessed w/ his summaries...Do yaself a favor and check in to AGM to see the full list...til' then here's no. 10 thru 6.

-BIG D O


10.

The Hieroglyphics affiliates Unjust, Cold Showda and Charles Cooper unleashed their latest attempt early this year. With some of the would-expect Cali flavoring mixed with a feel of Midwest-rooted hospitality, the three-some brewed up a symphony that should top any conductor’s list.


9.

Utilizing stripped down boom-bap constructions that peer into 90’s hip hop glory, former UN-member Roc Marciano dishes out Marcberg; a technically stout and amply hardcore debut album that pulls no punches and wastes no time speaking to the long forgotten subterranean masses.


8.

The Roots’ 11th (you read that right) studio album has been the subject of some debate. It’s smooth melodies and Black Thought’s somber, sobering lyrical attacks displeased some, but the overall depth and dexterity of this album made it easily one of the best releases of the year. Without debating its ranking among the Root’s discography, it stays firmly planted in our top 10.


7.

Co-Canadians Eternia and MoSS burst onto the upper-echelons of the underground scene over the past year. Stunning cats (like Busta Rhymes) with her lyrical prowess, Eternia crafted a superb Fat Beats debut over a slew of beats crafted by one of the scene’s most under-appreciated producers, MoSS.


6.

This may certainly come as a surprising pairing. One of the UK’s most prolific and slept-on producers, Lewis Parker, laces an entire album of smooth melodies for John Robinson (Scienz of Life). The duo producers what’s undoubtedly one of the easiest-listening records in recent memories, full of style and charisma that could only be created by their collaboration.


Read the rest here