2010 has been good to us so far, delivering quite a few music gems in between hidden beneath the piles of mediocre records. Great albums by Liars, LCD Soundsystem, Gorillaz, Shearwater, Tallest Man On Earth and other mainstays have gotten the expected universal praise, but plenty of lesser known bands have slipped through the cracks without the deserved attention for their hard work. Below are 25 of the best records of 2010 so far that have gone generally unnoticed by the music media.

Adrienne Drake – Dullabies

A terribly haunting dance record with similarities to Burial but a sound of its own.

ArpLine – Travel Book

Explosively catchy prog rock.

The Besnard Lakes – The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night

An epic album built on big reverby stoner rock that flows perfectly from front to back.

Bluebrain - Soft Power

A wonderfully loud experimental electronic dance record.

Christopher Paul Stelling – The Songs of Christopher Paul Stelling Vol. 1 & 2

A reminder that an acoustic guitar and a voice can still be interesting when the person writing the songs is immensely talented. His incredible fingerpicking playing style will lure you in so his words can invade your soul

Christopher Stelling – “The Ocean Took My Love Away”

Citay – Dream Get Together

Strangely combining folk with big ’70s riffs without sounding like a colossal mess

Citay – “Mirror Kisses” (featuring Tune Yards)

Common Prayer - There Is A Mountain

A more adventurous, rustic record from Hopewell frontman Jason Russo

Common Prayer – “Us vs Them”

Elaine Lachica- I Think I Can See The Ocean

Her lovely voice shines brightly over a wide-ranging album that seems loungy at times before the ethereal “Rapture” lifts off into swelling post rock.

Elaine Lachica – “Rapture”

Extra Life – Made Flesh

Eerie, exhausting experimental rock from Brooklyn.

Extra Life – “Black Hoodie (Pre Album Version)”

Field Music – Measure

Some of the best pop rock harmonies caught on tape in decades combined with excellent xtc-influenced musicianship.

Field Music – “Measure”

Ghastly City Sleep- Moondrifts

Capable of pulling off epic swells comparative of Mogwai and Radiohead

Download Full Album: Ghastly City Sleep – Moondrifts

Ghastly City Sleep – “Seven (33 Leagues)”

Hooray For Earth - MOMO

How many more times can I rave about this band without it being annoying?

Hooray For Earth – “Get Home”

Jesus Makes The Shotgun Sound- DAMNANT QUOD NON INTELLIGUNT

Part Radiohead part Sleepy Time Gorilla Museum with one hell of a band name Jesus Makes The Shotgun Sound has made something that’s simultaneously beautiful and menacing

Jesus Makes a Shotgun Sound – “Do Not The Clothes Make the Man”

Judson Claiborne - Time And Temperature

Former Low Skies singer Chris Salveter has a unique emotive voice complimented perfectly by his band’s complex brand of alt-country

Judson Claiborne – “Song For Dreaming”

The Loom - Teeth

Elements of Low’s mellow slowcore are mixed with chamber pop orchestration to create a magnificent slowburner

The Loom – “Helen”

Malachai - Ugly Side Of Love

DJ records that flawlessly mix ’60s pop-psychedelia, Morricone, and trip-hop are rare enough as it is, but one with a charismatic, scratchy-voiced singer this good are impossible to find

Malachai – “Shitkicker”

Miles Kurosky – The Desert Of Shallow Effects

He wrote some of the best albums of the last decade with Beulah and then went on hiatus, only to come back with some of the biggest, catchiest tunes he’s ever written.

Miles Kurosky – “An Apple For An Apple”

My Gold Mask - A Thousand Voices EP

A guitar and drums duo can still sound fresh when the drummer has a huge voice to thrown on top of tribal beats and sinister, reverb-heavy guitars.

Parenthetical Girls - Privilege, pt. I

Their first in a series of EPs to be released in 2010 is a wonderfully melodramatic affair for anyone whoever wanted to hear a modernized Gene Pitney.

Parenthetical Girls – “Evelyn McHale”

Royal Forest - EP

When they changed their name from Loxsly to Royal Forest, they also bulked up their guitars without losing the Grandaddy-like charm

Sad Red – Elder

Playful, jazzy space-rock that avoids being overly jammy

Saharan Gazelle Boy – Airplanes Can’t

Heartfelt, electronic bedroom recording from a member of the tragically underrated Capybara

Saharan Gazelle Boy – “Something I Wanna Know About You”

Download the full album for only $2 here.

The Silent League – But You’ve Always Been the Caretaker

Ambitious, beautifully orchestrated and refreshingly original, this should set the standard for chamber pop. Very few bands could ever pull this off this sort of record without just sounding like a terribly cheesy ELO cover band.

The Silent League – “Here’s A Star”

Sonoi- Sonoi

A hazy trip that fits right alongside classic Yo La Tengo for slipping into a pleasant coma on rainy days.

Sonoi – “Cat & The Barbie”

Untied States – Instant Everything, Constant Nothing

Yup, those are guitars ripping your insides apart. Untied States has created an adventurous record loaded with angular Denison and Froberg-influenced guitar riffs but less abrasive vocals than that of Jesus Lizard or Hot Snakes.

Yukon Blonde - Yukon Blonde

A throwback to the melodic 70s guitar rock of Thin Lizzy, loaded with catchy harmonies. It’s not groundbreaking and Kings of Leon’s early records did it better, but it’s almost impossible not to love a song like “Babies Don’t Like Blue Anymore.”

Yukon Gold – “Blood Cops”