And so here we are at the annual year-end “Fingertips Favorites” list, in which I present a handy playlist of the free and legal MP3s that were my tippy-top favorites of the calendar year. For ease of browsing, and to continue with what has been my tradition, the songs will be presented in two lists of 10. If you just want to cut to the chase, hit the top 10 list; if you want a little more to chew on, the 11-20 list is worthwhile as well.
Because I mean, geez, these are all good songs. You could scramble these 20 songs in just about any order and I’d sign off on these lists. Because guess what? I’m only choosing three songs to talk about each week, so every song on Fingertips is already pre-selected for top-notch-iness. I hate to leave the other 130 or so out, but the internet seems to love the year-end list idea, so since 2006 I’ve given up trying to resist.
You can hear the songs on the spot by clicking on the play buttons—if you start at the top, it will play them all in order, with just the one click. Technology! You can read the original reviews by clicking on the date next to each band name, which is the date of the original Fingertips post.
And yes the Mynabirds have two songs in the top 10. And yes that probably means the Mynabirds album—What We Lose in the Fire We Gain in the Flood—was my favorite this year, but on second thought never mind, I don’t do album lists…..
TOP 10 FAVORITE FREE & LEGAL MP3s, 2010
1. “Numbers Don’t Lie” – The Mynabirds (January 26)
2. “Hotel Lights” – Amy Cook (January 6)
3. “My Heart is a Drummer” – Allo Darlin’ (October 7)
4. “I Walked” – Sufjan Stevens (September 15)
5. “If You Wanna” – The Vaccines (August 24)
6. “Zorbing” – Stornoway (July 28)
7. “Let The Record Go” – The Mynabirds (May 4)
8. “Zebra” – Beach House (May 12)
9. “Down By The Water” – The Drums (August 3)
10. “The Mermaid Parade” – Phosphorescent (May 12)
10 MORE FAVORITE FREE & LEGAL MP3s, 2010
11. “Doubles” – Amy Bezunartea (September 29)
12. “A Walk Around the Lake” – Lost in the Trees (July 28)
13. “Quarry Hymns” – Land Of Talk (August 24)
14. “The Kiss” – Pallers (May 18)
15. “Orange Yellow” – The Spires (June 30)
16. “Rio” – Hey Marseilles (May 4)
17. “Icarus” – White Hinterland (January 13)
18. “Alouette!” – Tallest Trees (July 21)
19. “Buy Me Presents” – Darren Hanlon (October 13)
20. “The Best Things in Life” – The Silver Seas (April 28)
Fingertips 