1. My Chemical Romance - Danger Days: The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys
Obviously I’m a big fan of MCR’s earlier Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge days, was somewhat soured on them by The Black Parade, and recently went nuts over the return to Three Cheers form with this album’s lead single “Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na).” So I’m predisposed to be pretty excited about this album, and I’m still kind of digesting it and deciding how much I like the album itself. There are definitely more power ballads than I’d prefer, and the spoken interludes are a little corny but mercifully brief, but other than that this shit is killer. “Save Yourself, I’ll Hold Them Back” is another song with a “na na na” chorus and one of the riffs even brings to mind “Na Na Na,” but “Destroya” and “Planetary (GO!)” feel suitably like anything else on the album or in the band’s catalog, and “Vampire Money” is a great old-fashioned rave up poking fun at all the other emo bands making Twilight soundtrack bank.

2. Jazmine Sullivan - Love Me Back
Her 2008 debut album Fearless established Jazmine Sullivan as a talented singer with an ambitious, omnivorous sound, but something about it just didn’t work for me as a whole. But that potential is completely realized on this album, which is something I didn’t expect at all after I spent the last couple months being annoyed by the lead single “Holdin’ You Down (Goin’ In Circles).” The pair of very different ‘80s Prince homages that pop up early in the album, “Good Enough” and “Don’t Make Me Wait,” instantly put a smile on my face, and the rest of the album goes in several different directions and pretty much all of them work -- marching snares on “Love You Long Time,” the brilliant Ne-Yo duet “U Get On My Nerves,” the out of nowhere dancehall closer “Luv Back.” Really “Redemption” is the only song I’m not to into, which is kind of a return to the precocious storytelling songwriting style I didn’t like much on Fearless. I was just thinking recently that I haven’t heard or enjoyed nearly as many R&B albums this year as I did in 2008 or 2009, so this kinda came out of nowhere feeling like salvation for me.

3. Yelawolf - Trunk Muzik 0-60
The original Trunk Muzik mixtape has been one of my favorite releases of the year, so the only question with this, the major label EP that recyles half its songs and adds some new ones, is whether the new stuff is good enough for this to supplant the mixtape on my year-end list. And while I’m not that big on the rock samples on some of the new songs and I kinda miss stuff like “Speak Her Sex,” I guess this kinda flows better as an overall package that I’ll go with this.

4. Jonathan Richman - O Moon, Queen Of Night On Earth
One of the things that makes me happy to live an age of instant gratification is the way I was browsing the internet one morning, saw a passing mention of Jonathan Richman having a new album, and later that day was listening to it. Richman’s the kind of guy that I just feel like makes the world a better place by continuing to make his odd, inimitable music, no matter how good or bad the records he keeps making are, and they’re usually good. I don’t know if I like this as much as 2008’s Because Her Beauty Is Raw And Wild, which I really got attached to, but it has a similar sound and appeal, and as usual features some strange insights that could only occur to Jonathan Richman, like “These Bodies That Came To Cavort” and the hysterical “My Affected Accent.”

5. Ne-Yo - Libra Scale
This album is about on par with The Year Of The Gentleman for me, but whereas that album was preceded by the great singles “Closer” and “Miss Independent” and some pretty enthusiastic reviews, and ended up feeling mildly underwhelming for me, this one was preceded by the mediocre “Beautiful Monster” and “Champagne Life” and minimal positive buzz, so it being as good feels like a pleasant surprise. The much talked about superhero theme of the album is pretty much undetectable on the actual songs, and those 2 weak singles don’t get much in the way of the pretty great other songs like “Genuine Only” and “Makin’ A Movie.” There's still probably not anything here as good as his duet on the Jazmine Sullivan album, though.

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