'Born This Way', the highly anticipated follow up to pop's shapeshifter's 'The Fame Monster' (2009) was more of a sleeper album in my book; dormant and locked in a high tower far, far away. Only after some months of diligently feeding the darker, more controversial, anti-bubblegum series to my ears did I finally find some positive growth with this album. It was made almost too clear that the 'LoveGame' had ended and the 'Electric Chapel' had opened for business. Although the transition was shaky, the effort was substantial enough to earn a place on this list.
I didn't discover the magic of The Sounds until they were introduced by Gwen Stefani on No Doubt's 2009 tour. Together with Hayley Williams of Paramore, they performed No Doubt's tour promo cover song 'Stand and Deliver' and I was immediately intrigued by their talent. The YouTube surfing began, and not long after, The Sounds released this work of art. The funkiness of the record is very reminding of the cheesy guilty pleasures of pop in the 80s. A good majority of the album seems to stem from the work of The Cars, and that's certainly a good thing for the record books.