The First Annual William James Viti Awards

I put this off, time after time I could not bring myself to "rank" what I held to be the best albums of the year. It seems to me a terribly indulgent process to create such a list, especially when lacking the critical eloquence to communicate the motivations for my selections. Some songs, some albums simply resonate in a manner which cannot be completely, or perhaps accurately, appraised with words. Therefore, I decided to categorize these albums and songs based on fictitious awards. Music or sports analogies, those are the two vehicles that I turn to most when confronted with the difficulty of articulating my thoughts to others. So here are the 2010 William James Viti awards (Wijavis for short, if you're keeping track at home), and the proud recipients:

THE AWARD FOR: AS CLOSE TO PERFECT AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE, OR ROY HALLADAY'S 2010 SEASON goes to -

Sufjan Stevens: The Age of Adz; Kanye West: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy; The National: High Violet

THE AWARDS FOR: MODEL OF CONSISTENCY AND NEAR GREATNESS,OR "KING" FELIX HERNANDEZ'S 2010 SEASON (he of thirty quality starts, six complete games, and an era of 2.27) goes to -

Vampire Weekend: Contra; Frightened Rabbit: The Winter of Mixed Drinks; Cee-Lo Green: The Lady Killer; Josh Ritter: So the World Runs Away; The Tallest Man on Earth: The Wild Hunt; Phosphorescent: Here's to Taking it Easy

THE AWARD FOR: JUST PLAIN FUN/GUILTY PLEASURE OR MY ROOMMATES WATCHED ALL OF "THE SING OFF" goes to -

She & Him: Volume 2; Gayngs: Relayted; Best Coast: Crazy for You; Crystal Castles: Crystal Castles; Tokyo Police Club: Champ

THE AWARD FOR: BEST ROOKIE/SOPHOMORE EFFORT OR JAY BILAS LOVES THEIR UPSIDE goes to -

The Morning Benders: Big Echo; O'Death: Broken Hymns, Limbs, and Skin; Delta Spirit: History from Below; Local Natives: Gorilla Manor; Girls: Broken Dreams Club

THE AWARD FOR: SO MUCH HONEY OR SMOOTHER SOUNDING THAN RAY ALLEN'S JUMPER LOOKS goes to -

Horse Feathers: Thistled Spring; Junip: Fields; Beach House: Teen Dream

THE AWARD FOR: VETERAN PERFORMANCE OR THE SHAQUILLE O'NEAL REQUISITE ALL-STAR VOTE goes to -

The Black Keys: Brothers; Deerhunter: Halcyon Digest; Dr. Dog: Shame, Shame; LCD Soundsystem: This is Happening; Deer Tick: The Black Dirt Sessions

THE AWARD FOR: BIGGEST SURPRISE AS I DISCOVER HOW MUCH FUN CONTEMPORARY BLUEGRASS/GRASS-ROOTS MUSIC IS OR THE DANNY WOODHEAD APPRECIATION MEDAL goes to -

Trampled by Turtles: Palomino; Chatham County Line: Wildwood; Carolina Chocolate Drops: Genuine Negro Jig

THE AWARD FOR: MOST PLAYED, ACCORDING TO MY ITUNES OR GOSH BRETT FAVRE, I JUST CAN'T QUIT YOU goes to -

Chatham County Line: "Crops Come In;" TV Girl: "If You Want It;" Gayngs: "No Sweat;" Megafaun: "Volunteers;" Phosphorescent: "It's Hard to be Humble When You're From Alabama;" Horse Feathers: "This Bed;" Deer Tick: "Twenty Miles;" Frightened Rabbit: "Nothing Like You;" Cee-Lo Green: "No One's Gonna Love You;" Kanye West: "Dark Fantasy;" Trampled by Turtles: "Wait So Long;" Sufjan Stevens: "I Walked."