Your votes are in, and this week we’re announcing the TOP TEN in each of the Year End Best Of categories. We kick off today with Best Artist, and thanks to a few ties, we’ve got a nice, long list for you…

Shilpa Ray & Co.

#10: GOGOL BORDELLO / SHILPA RAY AND HER HAPPY HOOKERS TIE

Congratulations to Shilpa Ray and Gogol Bordello!

Monica Christoffels interviewed Gogol Bordello in October. Here’s a little taste of her piece, but you can read the whole interview HERE.

Gogol Bordello was formed in 1999 in New York City, though its members hail from all corners of the globe: Ukraine (lead singer Eugene Hutz), Israel (guitarist Oren Kaplan), Ethiopia (Thomas Gobena), Ecuador (percussionist Pedro Erazo), Scotland (percussionist/dancer Elizabeth Sun), Russia (violinist Sergey Ryabstev and accordionist Yuri Lemeshev) and the USA (drummer Oliver Charles and percussionist/dancer Pamela Jintana Racine). Sure, they play one hell of a show, but this band of merry men and maidens can also act – they credit 2005’s Everything is Illuminated, starring frontman Hutz and actor Elijah Wood, as increasing the band’s visibility around the world.

#9: EASTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS / THE NATIONAL TIE

Daniel Kohn reviewed Eastern Conference Champions’ EP Akustiks earlier this month. Here’s a snip of the review, and the rest can be read HERE.

Freed from the shackles of the major label machine, Eastern Conference Champions has had a big 2010. With a September residency at Los Angeles’ Spaceland to landing a coveted spot on the Twilight: Eclipse soundtrack, ECC has been very busy. But it was their freedom to record and release their latest EP, Akustiks, on their own that should make the Philadelphia-natives proud. This release should tie over fans before the band releases its next full-length, SPEAK-AHH, in 2011.

#8: SLEIGH BELLS / LCD SOUNDSYSTEM TIE

Last May, Todd Prodanovich reviewed LCD Soundsystem’s latest album, This is Happening. Todd wrote:

There were bits of brilliance in previous albums, but it almost seems like [James] Murphy was self conscious about really showing off what his chords are capable of. Pulling out the stops was one of the better decisions of his musical career, and it helps the album tremendously. His vocals are very versatile, from the soft echoes of songs like the bubbly electronic ‘I Can Change,’ to the more rocking parody of your local bar scene in ‘Drunk Girls.’

Read the rest of Todd’s review here.

Todd also featured Sleigh Bells in October, just before the band’s show in Santa Barbara. Todd wrote:

The New York two-piece has proven with their 2010 debut album Treats that they are stomping out a path that has not been previously travelled. [...] You can call them dance rock, electro thrash, or even heavy metal for all I care, and in any case you would be both completely right and totally wrong. Songs like ‘Tell ‘Em’ and ‘A/B Machines’ have some heavy electronic influence, but they are executed in a way that no other electronic acts have attempted before. [...] Their sound seems to be coming from every direction already, and then when you think you finally have a thorough understanding of their music, you hear the melodic acoustics of ‘Rill Rill’ and realize that you may still have no idea.

Read more about Sleigh Bells here.

#7: BENNY MARCHANT / EDWARD SHARPE TIE

Laurel Kathleen reviewed Benny Marchant’s show in October, and got to chat with the artist after the show. Here’s an excerpt of her conversation with Benny.

LK: Your LP Cold Weather is set to release early next year. Any hints as to the content of the album?

BM: We’ve got some other songs that I’ve definitely held back that are not on the EP that I’m excited for. It’s the same kind of vibe, and [producer Joe] Chicarelli just did a really good job of turning it into a record. I had given him 25 songs and he chose the ones to make a record.

LK: You held them back because…?

BM: We didn’t want them out or on the radio yet. Our first single is ‘Conversations Missed’, and we wanted to pick a couple of songs that went well with that.

LK: After Cold Weather, do you have any future album collaborations in mind?

BM: There’s so many. You can start with Tom Petty, or with Lou Reed. I’ve been really loving where Eddie Vedder has been going with his solo career. Stevie Nicks.

Read the rest of Laurel’s review and interview here.

Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros is no stranger to this site: the LA-based band of merry musicians has been covered by three of our staffers. At LA’s Sunset Junction, Lauren Novik said:

The overly enthusiastic crowd evolved into mass chaos when [frontman Alex] Ebert hopped from stage into the press pit and then into the crowd, on a mission to maintain close connection with his minions. [...] That’s when it hit me.  Looking out into the sea of overzealous and ever-excited fans, I could finally see for myself just how intense- and just how immense the crowd was.  Presiding over this many people night after night at live shows- no wonder there were rumors circulating regarding a possible prophet persona.

Read more posts on ES&MZ from Lauren Novik, Cervante Pope and Monica Christoffels.

#6: GAMBLE HOUSE / MUMFORD & SONS TIE

Laurel Kathleen reviewed and loved Gamble House’s show at The Bootleg Theater in Los Angeles in September. Here’s a little bit of her enthusiastic review:

Ben Becker’s project Gamble House has blossomed from a one-man-show to a full throttle indie rock band. While I cringe at the blithely tossed around term ‘indie’, Gamble House is the absolute definition of independent or perhaps that other seemingly amorphous word ‘alternative’.

Read the rest of Laurel’s review HERE.

#5: JESCA HOOP

Laurel also interviewed Jesca Hoop & reviewed her show at LA’s Music Box Theatre in October. She said:

Her banter was witty and biting, much like her vocal style. She is one of the few artists I’ve heard who have absolute control over all of the possible sounds their instrument can make. Jesca‘s voice is as finely tuned and honed as any proper instrument should be, and her ability to rasp and coo as well as she lilts and shouts colors each song more unique and brilliant than the last.  I absolutely loved the dark cabaret number ‘Money’, during which Jesca put down her guitar and used both hands to help illustrate the song’s lyrics.

Read the rest of Laurel’s interview & review HERE.

#4: MINIATURE TIGERS

Last month, Cervante Pope caught Miniature Tigers in Costa Mesa. In her review, she wrote:

The massive excitement started once Miniature Tigers started playing. I had never heard the band before, but I definitely do approve. They were even kind enough to have one of their biggest fans come up on stage and play drums for some of the songs. Charlie (lead vox) and Rick (vox and keys) had stage antics that made the band’s presence much more worthy of credit besides just being an opening act.

Read the rest of Cervante’s review here.

#3: LARRY AND HIS FLASK

Monica Christoffels interviewed Larry and his Flask recently. Here’s how she set up the piece:

When was the last time you truly became addicted to an artist? For me, it happened unexpectedly at a certain Big Damn concert last month, when a Bend/Redmond, Oregon-based band by the name of Larry and His Flask knocked me off my feet harder than a shot of Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7. But like a particularly famous wino, I won’t go to rehab – this is one musical habit I refuse to kick.

Read the rest of Monica’s interview HERE.

#2: THE PARLOTONES

Lauren Novik kicked off our relationship with South Africa’s The Parlotones in September when she and Laurel Kathleen caught their show at The Viper Room in Los Angeles. Since their joint interview/review ran, the band has gone on to be our Artists in Residence for November, and now you’ve voted them into the Top Ten Artists of 2010. Here’s an excerpt from our first piece on them:

Walking into The Viper Room last night to see the much heard about and highly underrated (as of yet!) Parlotones- I had literally crossed into a whole other country, South Africa to be exact.  After parking in Siberia, Laurel Kathleen and I had managed to wander into S.A. without knowing it- who knew a passport was a new necessity when frequenting the famed Sunset Strip venue? I had listened to their tunes for the past week- and though the songs were instantly appealing- nothing prepared me for the performance lead singer Kahn and the rest of the band was about to present us with.  To see them live, is a whole other thing- and the four boys in black button-downs and red ties were unavoidably entrancing.

Read the rest of that first piece HERE, and check out their Artist in Residence videos HERE!

#1: MEDIUM TROY

Eugene’s “bohemian dub” musicians were featured this summer by Monica Christoffels, and now you’ve chosen them as the Number One Band of 2010! Monica wrote:

Formed in October 2006, Medium Troy had a lightning-fast rise to fame: within eight months the guys were opening for artists such as Lil’ Wayne, State Radio, The Abyssynians and Sean Kingston. Locally, MT’s cultivated such a strong following that the band’s most loyal fans and street promoters are known as the ‘Squirrel Crew’ (‘Kids are kind of squirrely,’ JoJo Ferreira said in a March interview with the Register-Guard). Such devotion from Eugenians has earned them the title “Kings of the WOW Hall,” selling out an unprecedented number of shows at the venue and winning awards such as Favorite Local Band and Best Musical Performance of 2009.

Read more about Medium Troy here, and tune in next week for more on the darlings of Eugene!

This post consists of content from Leona Laurie and Monica Christoffels.