My Favorite Albums of 2010

I listen to a lot of music. Not as much as the real pros, but quite a bit. And of all the music I discovered in 2010, here are my seven favorite albums:

1. Thad Cockrell - "To be Loved"

Genre: Folk, Country, Gospel, Peace

Favorite Songs: "Pride (Won't Get us Where we're Goin)," "Rosalyn"

Comments: For the past five months, when I have really wanted to listen to pleasing music, music that I can just...enjoy...(sigh)...I turn to this album. His heart is on his sleeve, whether singing about love, pain, or simple expressions of faith. No question - my favorite album of the year.

Link: www.thadcockrell.com

2. Jars of Clay - "The Shelter"
Genre: Modern Rock, Acoustic Rock, Makes-you-want-to-join-the-Anthem

Favorite Songs: "We will Follow," "The Shelter"

Comments: The title comes from an old Irish proverb: "It is in the shelter of each other that the people live." Keeping with the theme, a dozen or so of Jars' friends join them on the album, including Derek Webb, Leigh Nash, and Thad Cockrell. Jars of Clay is my favorite band, and this is the best work they have done in the past five years.

Links: www.jarsofclay.com. Also check out their incredible work Blood:Water Mission.

3. The Civil Wars - "Live at Eddie's Attic"

Genre: Dark-Folk, Jazz, Bask-in-the-Sultriness

Favorite Songs: "Dance me to the End of Love" and "Poison and Wine"

Comments: Joy Williams and John Paul White have joined forces to create the best male-female duet I have ever heard. Seriously. The melodies and harmonies, not to mention the purposeful, crisp guitar-playing of White, will grip you all day long.

Links: www.thecivilwars.com. Download the entire album for FREE here. For an incredible song from their upcoming album, check out the official video for "Barton Hollow."

4. Sara Groves - "Fireflies and Songs"

Genre: Acoustic/Piano, Country, Understands-real-life-Relationships

Favorite Songs: "Twice as Good" and "Different Kinds of Happy"

Comments: The whole album is a meditation on the real-world of relationships: the difficult, the mundane, and the beautiful. "Every burden I can't carry; every joy, it's understood. Life with you is half as hard, and twice as good."

Links: www.saragroves.com. You can find her incredible previous album, "Tell me What you Know" here.

5. The Beaten Sea - "The Beaten Sea"

Genre: Southern-Country, Folk, Give-me-a-banjo-and-spoons-so-I-can-play-along

Favorite Songs: "Doctor's Not Gonna Cure Our Ills" and "Hard Way"

Comments: The Beaten Sea brings together some of the top musicians and songwriters of the rising Dallas music scene. This is toe-tappin', sing-a-long, thought-inspiring music at its best.

Link: www.thebeatensea.com

6. Sleeping at Last - "Storyboards"

Genre: Piano, Orchestral, Dreamy

Favorite Songs: "Chandeliers" and "Timelapse"

Comments: You're not going to jam to this album. You're going to bask in it. Ryan O'Neal's tenor and the flowing orchestration combine to make you want to lie down and enjoy pleasant dreams.

Link: www.sleepingatlast.com

7. Andrew Foster - "The Garden"

Genre: Acoustic, Americana, Folk, Tim-Burtonesque

Favorite Songs: "Evil Tree" and "I Can't Help You Now"

Comments: Hailing from the United Kingdom, Andrew Foster has created - and I mean "created" - a piece of art. From the cover artwork, to the mythological and Tolkenesque feel of "Evil Tree," to the sounds of footsteps tromping through the forest between tracks, this album is a wholistic experience.

Link: www.andrewfostermusic.co.uk

I'm sure I left your favorites off the list. Hey - I can't listen to everything! Please help me solve this problem - COMMENT and tell me your favorites of 2010. I would love to check them out.