It’s now time for a couple honorable mentions to the countdown. Cee-lo Green, who achieved widespread fame when he paired up with Dangermouse to form Gnarls Barkley, released a solo album in early November. It stayed off my radar for at least a month, and by the time I had a chance to hear it I was already well into the 2010 Musical Bacon Calendar, effectively killing any chance of it making the list. Last year I had a cutoff of November 1 for any album to make the top 31 of the year, and I pretty much stuck with that this year as well, so I may still throw The Lady Killer into next year’s list.

The album is very solid pop, anchored by this past summer’s non-radio-friendly anthem “Fuck You,” featured above (first released as a “kinetic type” video that exploded onto the scene this past August). Pick up The Lady Killer when you get a chance.

I’d also like to take a moment to honorably recognize the blog I usually wax poetic for: Another Rainy Saturday, created earlier this year by a longtime friend and fellow music lover, Chris Burlingame, after he completed a very long stint of writing for Three Imaginary Girls. Chris is humble, well-connected, and much more knowledgable about music than I am. I’ve learned a lot from him about a lot of things over the years, and I can honestly say I wouldn’t have developed into the writer I am today without his tutelage.

You can check out his own Top 10 of the year, and you’ll see that our tastes vary quite a bit. Chris is quite the poptimist, as he is definitely drawn to the poppier side of the dial. But that only helps make what he does (and that I and a handful of others contribute to) so great: a wide variety of music and styles covered, all under one roof, by passionate lovers of music. I definitely recommend checking it out as often as you possibly can. It’s where you’ll see most of my writing, and it’s also just a great place to read about new and fun things going on in music today, in Seattle and around the globe.