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My Completely Meaningless Top 20 Records of 2010 List

By Gary Wien

originally published: 12/22/2010


Personally, I thought 2010 was an incredible year for music - and especially local (NJ) music as this list implies. Unlike many people, I no longer do lists of national and local artists. Since my online radio station (ThePenguinRocks.com) plays the locals alongside national artists I felt this list should treat them the same as well.

Let's hope creating a list for 2011 is as difficult as it was this year. There are TONS of great discs that I could have included!

TOP 20 RECORDS OF 2010

1) The Bodeans - "Mr. Sad Clown"
2) Keith Monacchio - "The Long Evening"
3) Tommy Strazza - "The Model Citizen LP"
4) US Rails
5) The Gaslight Anthem - "American Slang"
6) Three Hour Tour - "Looking for Tomorrow"
7) ProXima - "Lost Blood In Paris"
8) The Amboys - "Everything Between the Moon & the Sun"
9) Painkiller Hotel - "Afterglow"
10) Lost In Society - "Eastern Empire"
11) April Smith & the Great Picture Show - "Songs for a Sinking Ship"
12) Jon Caspi and the First Gun - "Strange Situation"
13) The John Bryne Band - "After the Wake"
14) Ben Arnold - "Simplify"
15) George Wirth - "The Last Good Kiss"
16) Anthony D'Amato - "Down Wires"
17) Shoebox Letters - "Damaged Goods"
18) Sky Parade - "Intoxicated"
19) Josh Ritter - "So Runs the World Away"
20) Status Green - "Cheap Sunglasses"




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About the author:

Gary Wien has been covering the arts since 2001 and has had work published with Jersey Arts, Upstage Magazine, Elmore Magazine, Princeton Magazine, Backstreets and other publications. He is a three-time winner of the Asbury Music Award for Top Music Journalist and the author of Beyond the Palace (the first book on the history of rock and roll in Asbury Park) and Are You Listening? The Top 100 Albums of 2001-2010 by New Jersey Artists. In addition, he runs New Jersey Stage and the online radio station The Penguin Rocks. His personal website is at lightyscorner.com. He can be contacted at [email protected].


EVENT PREVIEWS

(MONTCLAIR, NJ) -- Outpost in the Burbs presents Suzanne Vega - Flying with Angels on October 30, 2026 at 8:00pm (doors at 7:00pm). The concert will take place at the First Congregational Church (40 South Fullerton Avenue) in Montclair.

CarteretPAC presents John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band

(CARTERET, NJ) -- The Carteret Performing Arts & Events Center presents John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band on Friday, November 13, 2026 at 8:00pm. The legendary Rhode Island multi-platinum rock band began their career in 1973 and achieved mainstream success in the 1980s with the "Eddie & The Cruisers – Motion Picture Soundtrack".

Outpost in the Burbs Presents Richard Thompson with Zara Phillips in Benefit Concert for Toni's Kitchen on November 21st

(MONTCLAIR, NJ) -- Outpost in the Burbs will present an extraordinary evening of music featuring singer-songwriter and guitarist Richard Thompson with Zara Phillips on Saturday, November 21, 2026 at the First Congregational Church in Montclair. The special concert will serve as a fundraiser in support of Toni's Kitchen, the Montclair based nonprofit dedicated to combating food insecurity and related challenges in Essex County and beyond. Showtime is 8:00pm.

 

FEATURED EVENTS


Vitamin String Quartet & Girl Named Tom: The Crazy Ordinary World Tour

Thursday, October 15, 2026 @ 8:00pm
Mayo Performing Arts Center (MPAC)
Morristown, NJ


Viaje Tropical

Friday, October 16, 2026 @ 8:00pm
Union County Performing Arts Center (UCPAC) - Main Stage
Rahway, NJ


Curtis Salgado - The Original Blues Brother

Friday, October 16, 2026 @ 7:30pm
Lizzie Rose Music Room
Tuckerton, NJ


Denise Miller & Son And Friends

Saturday, October 17, 2026 @ 7:30pm
Lizzie Rose Music Room
Tuckerton, NJ


Tusk

Saturday, October 17, 2026 @ 8:00pm
Carteret Performing Arts & Events Center
Carteret, NJ



 

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