Less name-dropping and more writing please, there a few things duller than watching a long list of unknown names with no comments.
Dancey
Fred Falke - Omega Man/Wait for Love
This year's indisputable masterpiece. Pitch perfect in every way.
The Knife - We Share Our Mother's Health (Radio Slave Mix)
A neck-and-neck race between this and his "Deer in the Headlights" remix, the brilliant celly-noise-runs-amok effect narrowly tipping things in this song's favour. The album was an utter snorefest, though.
Christian Falk & Pauline - Shine
From the surprisingly non-kitschy steel drums to Pauline's mellifluous timbre, this track just oozes hot fun in the summertime. Granted, it's very similar to his earlier tracks, but I view him less as a one-trick pony and more as an artiste sedulously refining his craft.
Mahala Rai Banda - Mahalageasca (Bucovina Dub)
Similar to Basement Jaxx's "Hey You" in that it has Gypsy/Slavic/folk inspired elements, but where that song ends up in multiculti-land (thanks to Robyn's singing lending the song an Anglo-Saxon aura—imagine how fabulous it would have been had it instead been sung by a plaintive, and sligthly tipsy, Cossack) this one expertedly retains the pizzazz of the composite parts.
+
Ada - Living It Up
The Field - Sun and Ice EP
Lindstrøm - Another Station
Linus Loves - VH1
The Best of the Year's Hit Singles (and, no, they're not a very impressive bunch)
Bob Sinclar & Steve Edwards - World, Hold On
Cascada - Everytime We Touch
Justin Timberlake & Timbaland - SexyBack
Outkast, Scar & Sleepy Brown - Morris Brown
Miscellaneous
Burial - Burial
Yes, Mr. Me too.
Busta Rhymes - Touch It (Diplo Mix)
Baltimore Club with entourage was one the year's freshest sounds, even though next to all songs were corny throwaways. This nitro-fueled remix of "Touch It" is the genre's finest moment yet, I think, even trumping the (admittedly, quite lacklustre) original.
Diamond & Princess - Georgia Girl
The sassiest hip-hop song of the year.
Lupe Fiasco - Sunshine
The best hip-hop song of the year.
Mungolian Jet Set - When You're in Need (Is a Constant Thing in Change)
Splendid Balearica from Norway with Bugge Wesseltoft behind the piano. The whole album is superb, but this is the stand-out track.
Peter, Björn and John with Victoria Bergsman - Young Folks (Beyond the Wizard's Sleeve Mix)
One of the year's indie gems.
PNC - Just Roll
Bags of fun hip hop from New Zealand. The Undisputed Truth was right: This is an absolute corker of a track.
Veronica Maggio - Dumpa mig (Erik Hp Mix)
I'm not at all fond of the original, but this trad-jazz pastiche is lovely. If that's Erik Hp playing the trumpet I'm even more impressed.
Blue title = Link to video or sound-clip