Jim Bessman's Top 10 albums for 2010

Some you've heard of--others you haven't:

1. Marty Stuart, Ghost Train (The Studio B Sessions) (Sugar Hill): This is your father's and grandfather's country music, brilliantly composed and performed by the true heir to their invaluable legacy.

2. John Trudell & Bad Dog, Crazier Than Hell (Sobeit Recordings): Parts poet, prophet and preacher, Trudell continues to shine his own singular light into the darkness of humanity in his most melodically, instrumentally and stylistically accessible mix of his intense spoken words with Native American chants.

3. Peter Himmelman, The Mystery And The Hum (Minivan Productions): With a return to the rock band format following his focus on children's music and scoring for TV and film, Himmelman re-introduces himself as one of the finest rock singer-songwriters of the last 30-plus years.

4. Chely Wright, Lifted Off The Ground (Vanguard): With songs like "Notes To The Coroner," Wright delivers progressive country music as meaningful, personal, and thanks to Rodney Crowell's sensitive production, beautiful as Taylor Swift's--but all the more compelling in the context of her recent coming out.

5. Dierks Bentley, Up On The Ridge (Capitol): Few young mainstream country stars would be bold--or crazy--enough to put out a bluegrass album so early in their careers. Fewer still could pull it off.

6. Richard Thompson, Dream Attic (Shout! Factory): Talk about bold! Thompson recorded an entire album of new material with his band live in concert--and no one's better with a band live in concert.

7. Ryuichi Sakamoto, Playing The Piano/Out Of Noise (Decca Label Group): Contemplative two-CD set from Sakamoto breaks down into one disc of atmospheric solo piano "self-covers" of key compositions including his theme from The Last Emperor, and the second centering on freer-form exploration of sound collaborations combining electronic with environment.

8. Feufollet, En Couleurs (Feufollet Records): Lafayette's young Cajun band, which originated as kids in 1995, has taken the traditional side of French music into new and wondrous directions on their third album.

9. Elizabeth McQueen, The Laziest Girl In Town (Freedom Records): That she doesn't just play perfect guitar and sing perfect backup in Asleep At The Wheel is perfectly proven by her third solo album, an engaging blend of  jazzy swing tunes with varied tempos and inventive vocals.

10. Marty Muse, Before The Dawn (Museboy Records): Robert Earl Keen's longtime steel player didn't want to make his solo album debut with a predictable steel player's album, and this one, with a jazz vocal opener followed by dexterous country, country swing, bluegrass, Latin and atmospheric pop instrumental compositions, is anything but.

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