2010's Most Anticipated Albums

Group is a welcome 'throwback' and—thanks to Hayley Williams—soars

(NEWSER) - Paramore’s third album will likely enter the charts at No. 1—and it deserves to. Not only is it “the group’s best record yet,” Brand New Eyes is “one of 2009’s most exhilarating releases,” writes Jonah Weiner for Slate. “That sense of exhilaration” is there because of “a reassuring, masterfully executed blast of the familiar,” including “a series of stadium-size vistas, full of cathartic rushes and sudden, dramatic plummets.” More»

Eminem, Kanye West join Drake, Lil Wayne

(NEWSER) - Four of hip-hop’s biggest names have collaborated on a track inspired by an upcoming documentary on NBA star LeBron James, MTV reports. Forever was originally supposed to include just Drake and Kanye West, but Eminem and Lil Wayne have since jumped into the mix. The track is expected to drop Friday; More Than a Game hits theaters Oct. 2. More»

Lyrics, though awkward, manage not to be petulant

(NEWSER) - Somehow, rapper Drake recorded an album concerned mostly with “the stresses and travails of fame, even if he recorded the damn thing when he wasn’t famous in any meaningful way”—and then became famous thanks to said album, writes Tom Breihan for Pitchfork. Though he’s “not a great rapper,” Drake’s So Far Gone “still scans as one of the most compulsively listenable mixtapes of a great year for mixtapes.” More»

Eminem enjoys a comeback, too

(NEWSER) - Kanye West's comeback must be complete: Rolling Stone awarded him the top slot in its list of 2010's 30 best albums. The top 10:

1. Kanye West, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy: "Music as sprawlingly messy as his life," these songs are "hip-hop epics ... full of the kind of grandiose gestures that only the foolish attempt and only the wildly talented pull off."
2. The Black Keys, Brothers: "Their best record yet: vivid tunes stripped bare and rubbed raw ... it's rock minimalism pushed to the max."
3. Elton John and Leon Russell, The Union: "Two rock giants ... rekindle a friendship and make music that ranks with their best."
4. Arcade Fire, The Suburbs: "An album of vast, orchestral rock that locates the battle for the human soul amid big houses and manicured lawns."

Norah Jones, Nelly also snag spots

(NEWSER) - The Beatles might have had its heyday a few decades ago, but the band managed to emerge from this decade with the best-selling album. Perhaps more surprising is the decade’s top-selling artist: Eminem, with 32.2 million albums sold—followed closely by, yes, the Beatles again in the No. 2 spot with 30 million sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The most surprising appearance of all, however, is a certain boy band… More»