Record Store Day!

So yesterday was, of course, Record Store Day. To celebrate, I visited five or six of my favorite local independent record stores (plus a super awesome Numero Group-sponsored pop-up store) and, well, bought records. This post serves several purposes: 1) to inform you all of the Record Store Day's wonderfulness, 2) to list the new music I acquired that you may want to acquire too, 3) to tell you about some of Chicago's finer establishments, and 4) to let me share a great moment in my life. And thus, the saga of my 2011 Record Store Day begins...

The Grammys, Il Buono Style

(In a perfect world, this post would have been published before last night's Grammys, but, well, this isn't a perfect world I guess. Bummer.)

The Grammys are music's biggest honor. Unfortunately, they're 99% irrelevant and anyone who truly values music does not take them seriously. Except me; I love the Grammys. Granted, I love all awards shows, but I especially dig the Grammys because, well, they're about music. And I like music.

All that said, I know that the Grammys largely suck (for lack of a better word). The music performed and nominated is, nearly without fail, terrible. Rather than a celebration of creativity, the Grammys are a celebration of corporations. But that's okay. Right? Right. Last night's show, though, managed to be a little more worth-watching than past years'. What with Arcade Fire winning Album of the Year and Janelle Monae stealing the show in front of millions and Mick Jagger not dying... It was a comparatively entertaining and relevant telecast. Sure we had to sit through Lady Antebellum winning an armful of awards and Barbra Streisand doing whatever Barbra Streisand was doing, but it was all worth it. I think. Yay Grammys.

Enough waxing pathetic about the Grammys; let's get down to business. As I said before, "The music performed and nominated is, nearly without fail, terrible." (Yes, I just quoted myself exactly.) So I decided, because I have a large music library and plenty of spare time, to make my own version of the Grammys--you know, nominees and winners for most of the major categories. So much good music from the past year was snubbed, and I thought it would be nice to give it some recognition. (Keep in mind: the cutoff dates for the Grammys are basically 11/09 and 11/10. That means, sadly, that My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, among some other things, is ineligible. (Some of the prereleased singles, though, are eligible. I think.))

I leave out some categories, and I combine some categories. Unfortunately, even in my version, lots of great music is excluded. Oh well... I chose the nominees based on what I think fit the category and also what I think deserved recognition. I chose the winners based on both which I genuinely liked most and which I thought would make a nice acceptance speech. Those are in italics. Without further ado...

Final* List Roundup

*I'm saying final, but I've said I'm done posting other people's lists before, and, well...

The lists keep comin', so I'll post a few more. I don't want to go into any detail, so here are Altered Zones' albums and tracks list, Haunting The Chapel's albums list is here, Pitchfork's Guest List series can be found right here, and, to wrap everything up, Metacritic's critical breakdown is right over here. There y'all go.

The Milk Factory's 2010 Review

I lied. One more list. The Milk Factory's. Here it is. It's cool. Big ups for Supersilent.

The Wire's Records of the Year

The Wire is just so darn cool. Even if their longwinded articles about sound artists or designers or whatever sometimes whoosh over my head without me even realizing they whooshed, they still remain my favorite magazine, with the best writing and best photographs of any publication in circulation today. And my tastes and theirs actually do cross paths pretty often, as is evident with their year-end list (which, as predicted, is one of the--perhaps the--most interesting lists of the year). As always there are albums I've never heard and/or heard of, but there are several I know and cherish. Which is good. So go to your local music magazine retailer and pick up this month's copy to see their 50 favorite albums of 2010, along with some genre-specific lists and nice articles by David Keenan et. al. (In case you don't get to see the rest of the list, just know that Sun Araw, Gonjasufi, and Emeralds helped fill out the top twenty. Neat!)

Pitchfork's Top Albums of 2010

Ah. The list every hipster/young folk/casual music fan/music critic/other has been waiting for. You know about Pitchfork. I know about Pitchfork. Blah blah blah. Here's the list. (Top ten after the jump.)

Tiny Mix Tapes' Favorite Albums of 2010

We've come to the first of (probably) the final three lists I'll be posting for 2010: Tiny Mix Tapes' albums list. TMT, along with the two publications whose lists will be posted after this, is arguably my favorite source for finding music (and movies). Its taste delicately balance the indie mainstream and the avant-garde--just like I like to think my own do--and thus I find myself agreeing with (or if not agreeing with, respecting) their ratings and lists more than nearly all others'. This year's list has many of the predictable year-end albums, but throws in enough interesting, unpredictable picks so that it's a unique and intriguing list. So, without further ado, you can view their top ten albums of the year below and check the whole dang list here.

Resident Advisor's Top Tracks of 2010

The ever-useful Resident Advisor threw their favorite tracks at us this weekend, supplying 50 songs worth of wonderful grooves--or at least seemingly wonderful grooves; I haven't heard the majority of the tunes. Regardless, the list looks good, and I'll be sure to download many of those songs I don't know (including each of the top nine tracks). Look at the list, in all its glory, here.

The Line Of Best Fit's Albums of 2010

First list of the night belongs to The Line Of Best Fit, a British music site that manages to be pretty cool most of the time. One of the times they aren't cool is when they try to tell us that The National made the best album of 2010. Not cool, Line Of Best Fit. Check their High Violet-topped list here.

FACT Magazine's 20 Best Compilations of 2010

FACT Magazine hits us with their 20 favorite compilations of the past year. One thing I'm a little unclear on is whether a collection of reissued tracks from an old artist or something like that counts as a compilation or a reissue. Does this really matter in the scope of life? No. But I'm curious. Anyone out there on the interwebs know the answer? Much appreciated. Sweet. Cool. Whatever. Anyways, here's FACT's list.

Rough Trade's Albums of 2010

Legendary music store Rough Trade released their 100 favorite albums of 2010. That's a lot of albums! Caribou's Swim took another top spot, and you could see the whole darn list if you'd only click the word "here."

All Songs Considered's Best Albums of 2010

Faithful listeners of NPR's All Songs Considered voted and, unsurprisingly, came up with a very user-friendly (and therefore boring) list. View it here.

Resident Advisor's Top Albums of 2010

This long awaited (well, comparatively long awaited) list from electronica's foremost coverers Resident Advisor doesn't disappoint. It's one of the neatest albums list we've seen here at Il Buono, and we're excited that it's more Il Buono-friendly than we would've expected. Oftentimes RA picks a bunch of European dance records we've never heard. Such is not as much the case this year. (The "we" I've been referring to, of course, is the royal "we.") My favorite feature of this list besides its good taste is that several of the blurbs are written by the artists themselves. Neat-o! Anyhow, the top ten is after the jump, original is here.

Tiny Mix Tapes' Chocolate Grinder Mix

More from one of my favorite sites... This time 'round we get a mixtape (it's called Tiny Mix Tapes, after all) of the site's favorite songs of the year. It's not a proper list or anything, but it's still a nice 2010 wrap-up and certainly a worthwhile listen. Check it out here, yo.

Pitchfork's Top Tracks of 2010

Ooooh, Pitchfork! Seriously, though, even as the biggest music webzine has all but burst the seams of its britches over the past few years, it's remained the most interesting, informative, and well-curated mainstream/underground music publication. Sure, there are times I cringe while reading it (such as while perusing the MBDTF review), but there are way more times that I learn something cool or find a new artist/band/track I like. Bottom line is that Pitchfork's good. Very good. And we here at Il Buono like their lists. So I now present to you their 100 favorite tracks of the past year--well, I present the top ten, rather, and they present the top 100 here (pt. 1) and here (pt.2). (As a whole the list isn't too unpredictable, but it's solid. Some nice placements for Azari & III, Titus, and some more. I do have some qualms with the we-pick-a-maximum-of-two-songs-per-artist rule, though. C'est la vie.)

Tiny Mix Tapes' Top Album Covers of 2010

Pitchfork already gave us their "Worst Album Covers" of 2010, and now Tiny Mix Tapes offers us this more positive spin on that theme with 25 record covers they really liked. A great album cover functions as an extension of the musical artist's art and, at least for me, can sometimes make the music itself better. It's a subconscious thing... So anyways, click here to explore some of this year's finest square-shaped masterpieces. I'll mention that, while I don't agree with #1, I think their picks are pretty solid.

Jim DeRogatis's Best Albums of 2010

Local legend Jim DeRogatis, of Chicago Tribune and NPR fame, released his "Reasons For Living: The 20 Best Albums of 2010" today. I like DeRogatis, partly because I have an inclination to like all Chicago people who make national names for themselves, but also because he does a great job with Sound Opinions and the books he's done, such as Kill Your Idols, Milk It!, and that new one about The Beatles and Stones. So anyways, here's his list--the top ten is posted after the jump, and the original version is here.

Resident Advisor's Top Compilations of 2010

Another dance-eriffic list from Resident Advisor, their compilations list features plenty of label and DJ compilations I haven't heard (plus a couple I have). Seems pretty neat-o. Check it out--a top twenty list--here. (Presumably their best albums and singles lists will come out this week. As, of course, will Pitchfork's.)

Incomplete Tales of Several Journeys' Best of 2010

Incomplete Tales of Several Journeys is an awesome blog that more or less gives away mp3s of crazy hard-to-find psychedelic and experimental music. Their Best of 2010 list is chock full of great stuff, some of which I've heard and I love, and much of which I've never heard (or even heard of). But, alas, even this experimental-focused blog can't escape Kanye West. Ha! Check their (cluttered but still informative) list here.

Clash's Top Albums of 2010

I don't know too much about Clash, but I saw their list, and it's a nice one I think. I don't feel like actually posting the list or making comments, although I'll say that I like that they show plenty of love for Gonjasufi. So check it out over here.