MTV.com users sound off with their opinions on the list and their picks for the year’s top releases. By James Montgomery Some of James’ picks for the best albums of 2010 Photo: MTV News On Wednesday, when MTV News published my annual Best Albums of the Year list, I wrote that “2010 may very well have been the best year for music in a long, long time … to the point where making a list of the 20 best [albums] was darn near impossible.” I wasn’t kidding, either. In fact, I was so sure I had missed some really great albums that I asked my readers to sound off with their picks. And, boy, did they ever! Over the past 24 hours, I’ve gotten tons of responses from fans all across the world (most of them angry, of course), each wondering why their favorite artist didn’t make the cut or, if they did, why they weren’t #1. There were thinly veiled threats, at least one call for me to be fired, a whole lot of curse words and even some rather spirited debate between Eminem and Kanye fans over just whose album was better. Of course, mixed in with all that madness, MTV.com readers also managed to suggest some very worthy albums that I had missed, make compelling arguments and even paying me a compliment or two. So I’d like to think that my list was a success … because, at the very least, the response it garnered proved that, unlike any other year in recent memory, 2010 really was bursting with great music — music people obviously felt very strongly about. Needless to say, I was impressed. So in order to keep the conversation going, I’m re-publishing some of the best responses here. But don’t think the debate is over … if you still feel like your voice hasn’t been heard, sound off in the comments below. And then head over to our Newsroom blog, where you can vote for your favorite album of 2010 . Because, really, I could argue about this stuff all day. On to the comments! “Props to MTV for putting Kanye at number 1 and for putting Rick Ross on the list. Teflon Don was incredible and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy was classic.” — Lila “This list fails. Recovery is a better hip hop album than My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Sure, Kanye’s got the better beats, but Eminem has the better lyrics, flow and overall delivery than Kanye. That’s what hip hop is really about, sure you need good production, but lyricism is more impressive.” — Ryan “This list is perfect. Eminem’s album wasn’t that good and mainstream people need to stop believing that sales equates to quality. Kanye West put out the best album this year, hands down. MTV isn’t the only one putting it at the top of the charts and if you didn’t buy it, that only reflects your own ignorance and lack of taste.” — Moze’s Mother “Great list, I’m surprised that is made by MTV. I do not understand why people think that if an album sold more must be better than others, music is not about sales or popularity, it is about quality.” — Juan17x “I just want to say that MTV did a great job with this Top 20. And it’s great the indie groups like The National, Arcade Fire, Vampire Weekend, Beach House etc were recognized. Music these days [is] infused with synths, autotunes, and other forms of manipulation. Sometimes it’s nice to just listen to the bare-bone basics of guitars, drums, vocals, and the occasional piano or other instrument. And Sufjan Stevens is great too! It was interesting to see Linkin Park’s album up there, but it might really be like Radiohead’s Kid A. Perhaps by listening to the tracks more often then it would be more easy to understand.” — A.Pearl “I haven’t heard of 70 percent of these clowns … No Rihanna? No Drake? No Diddy or Nicki Minaj? Surely James Montgomery must be living under some kind of rock … a huge one. Eminem at 14? (way too low). [The] only thing I can live with is Kanye at number 1. But it’s not worth ignoring these other artists!” — Tom “I’m happy that Kanye’s number 1 (the album’s super dope), but what about Cee Lo’s The Lady Killer, Bruno Mars’ Doo-Wops & Hooligans and Kid Cudi’s Man on the Moon 2: The Legend of Mr. Rager? ” — Mendy “Yeah! Vampire Weekend is in the top 5! YES! Grrreat, Contra is totally amazing. Amazing job you guys!” — Diana “ROBYN SHOULD BE NUMBER ONE!” — Antoine “I cant believe Drake isn’t on this list.” — Kanye is the Best “[Deftones’] Diamond Eyes is definitely missing.” — Lumen “You forgot perhaps one of the biggest: 30 Seconds to Mars’ This Is War. … The single ‘Kings and Queens’ won [the] VMA [for] Best Rock Video as well as [the] EMA [for] Best Rock. Singles ‘Closer to the Edge,’ ‘This Is War,’ ‘Hurricane’ and ‘Kings and Queens’ have been in Billboard ‘s Top 10 Alternative and Rock categories as well as iTunes all over the world.” — Ana “Why isn’t How I Got Over by The Roots on this list? After all it is nominated for a Grammy. I also think that Eminem’s album was a lot better than Kanye West’s album. Distant Relatives by Nas & Damian Marley should also be on this list. I am a huge Linkin Park fan and I know their new album shouldn’t be on this list. Hands All Over by Maroon 5 should be somewhere on this list too.” — Facebook User “The editor of this article is a big fool and should be fired for putting up articles like this … No Drake, no Susan Boyle, no Taylor Swift, no Lady Gaga, no T.I. and these are the people making real good music that people can actually spend their money [on] and buy without regretting like I did [with] Kanye`s album. People actually think ‘Runaway’ is a great song just because of the lengthy video. That’s Dumb!” — Kenneth “Yo, Kenneth. Chill. We get it. You like music that sells well. You like ‘Glee’ soundtracks, Susan Boyle, Taylor Swift, Eminem, Backstreet Boys and Spice Girls records. That’s cool man … we happen to like music that appeals to us personally and possibly other intelligent, educated people with an ear for more progressive tastes. [It] just so happens, at the end of the year, journalists’ and critics’ lists are going to skew more towards our sensibilities than yours. Don’t worry though man, Susan Boyle is still going to sell 5 million records or whatever. The sun still rises in the morning.” — Yoprince Related Artists Kanye West Eminem Rick Ross (Hip-Hop)
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MTV News’ Best Albums Of 2010: The Readers React
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