2010 in American music

Events

January

• January 1
• *Frontman Chris Cornell announces the reunion of Soundgarden.
• *Drummer Travis Barker announces that the Transplants would reunite for a new album and tour.
• January 7 – Lady Gaga becomes the first artist in the survey's 17-year history to send her first five singles to number one on the Billboard Pop Songs chart with her single "Bad Romance".
• January 8 – The 75-year anniversary of the birth of Elvis Presley.
• January 11 – System of a Down bassist Shavo Odadjian makes a Twitter entry: "Are u guys ready for System???", which led to speculation of a reunion. However, weeks later, frontman Serj Tankian stated that System of a Down's hiatus is not over yet while adding: "We always have offers to play, from festivals and stuff, but we have not decided to do anything as of yet".
• January 13 – R&B Soul legend Teddy Pendergrass dies at age 59.
• January 18 – The surviving members of Sublime settle their lawsuit over use of the band's name. The new version of Sublime now performs together as Sublime with Rome.
• January 19 – The Swell Season at Radio City Music Hall in New York.
• January 22 – Hope for Haiti Now telethon. Featuring performances from Wyclef Jean, Christina Aguilera, Beyoncé, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Jennifer Hudson, Mary J. Blige, Shakira, Sting, Alicia Keys, Dave Matthews, Neil Young, John Legend, Justin Timberlake, Stevie Wonder, Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, Emeline Michel, Keith Urban, Kid Rock, Sheryl Crow, Coldplay, Bono, The Edge, Jay-Z, and Rihanna.
• January 27 – Hope for Haiti Now becomes the first digital-only album to top Billboard 200 albums chart and the largest pre-order album on iTunes until broken in 2012 by Madonna's album MDNA. The album sold 171,000 copies in two days of release and since then became available on Amazon.com and Rhapsody.
• January 25 – NSYNC releases their second compilation album, The Collection.
• January 26 – The Backstreet Boys release their second compilation album, .
• January 29
• *The Red Hot Chili Peppers make their live comeback with new guitarist, Josh Klinghoffer, paying tribute to Neil Young at MusiCares.
• *R&B Singer R. Kelly performs at the Lugogo Cricket Oval in Kampala, Uganda.
• January 31
• *The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards are held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Beyoncé breaks a record, winning 6 Grammys in one night, including Song of The Year for "Single Ladies ". Taylor Swift wins 4 Grammys, including Album of The Year for Fearless. At just 20 years old Swift became the youngest ever winner of Album of the Year.
• *It was announced, within 6 months after the death of Michael Jackson, sales increased 75%, to 57.5 million records

  February

• February 4 – Justice Jacobson ruled Larrikin's copyright had been infringed because the Men at Work song "Down Under" reproduced "a substantial part of "Kookaburra"".
• February 6 – Beyoncé played to a sold out crowd of 60,000 people in São Paulo, Brazil at Morumbi Stadium.
• February 12 – The remake of the 1985 song "We Are The World" for victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake debuts during the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics.
• February 14 – Doug Fieger, frontman of The Knack, dies of cancer at the age of 57.
• February 16 – Zoli Téglás officially becomes the new singer of Pennywise, replacing Jim Lindberg who left last August.
• February 18 – The charity single "We Are the World 25 for Haiti" debuted at No. 2 on Billboard Hot 100 singles chart with 267,000 digital downloads and debuted at No. 1 on Billboard Hot Digital Songs chart.

  March

• March 2 – Rapper Lil Wayne's scheduled prison sentence was delayed due to a fire in the court.
• March 11 – 311 holds annual 311 Day concert at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The band played four sets, consisting of 60 songs total, in a total time of five hours.
• March 15
• *Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductions, Waldorf Astoria Hotel, NYC.
• *Lady Gaga becomes the first artist in the survey's 17-year history to send her first six singles to number-one on Billboard Pop Songs chart when her single "Telephone" jumped to number one.
• March 17–21 – South By South West Festival takes place in Austin, Texas.
• March 18 – Rihanna's "Rude Boy" reaches No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming her sixth no. 1 tying her fifth among females to reach no. 1 in the US, and making her the female with the most no. 1 singles since 2000.
• March 20 – Jughead's Revenge perform their first reunion show at the Scotland Yard Pub in Canoga Park, California.

  April

• April 1 – Canadian teen pop/R&B singer Justin Bieber debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 after the release of his latter debut studio album My World 2.0. At the age of sixteen makes him the youngest solo male act to top the chart since 1963 when Stevie Wonder did with , and the first artist to occupy two top five spots on the chart since Nelly in 2004. With the album, Bieber also became the second youngest artist overall to achieve the number one, only being beaten out by a fifteen-year-old Miley Cyrus in 2008 with Breakout.
• April 14 – Type O Negative singer and bassist Peter Steele dies of heart failure at age 48.
• April 15 – Media reported that Latin star Luis Miguel was hospitalized at the Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. The cause of the hospitalization was not disclosed.
• April 16–18 – The 11th Annual Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival took place in Indio, California.
• April 18 – The 45th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards took place. Carrie Underwood became the first female in history to win Entertainer of the Year twice, as well as consecutively.
• April 19 – Gangstarr emcee Guru suffered a heart attack, went into a coma, and died at age 48.
• April 20 – Sublime with Rome, the new version of the defunct ska punk band with the same name, began their first world tour together, with possible new material to follow.
• April 25 – The Earth Day Global Day of Celebration celebrated the 40th anniversary of the first Earth Day in 1970.

  May

• May 4 –Bone Thugs-n-Harmony release their reunion album with all original five members entitled .
• May 11 – Social Distortion ink deal with Epitaph Records, who released their first album since 2004's Sex, Love and Rock 'n' Roll in the fall.
• May 16 – Black Sabbath's Ronnie James Dio dies from Stomach cancer
• May 22–23 – Rock on the Range in Columbus, OH sets its festival attendance record with over 60,000 attendees over the two-day event.
• May 24 – Slipknot bassist Paul Gray dies in an Iowa hotel room from an accidental overdose
• May 26 – Lee DeWyze is crowned winner of American Idol while Crystal Bowersox is named the runner-up.

  June

• June 1 – The Canadian indie band Arcade Fire releases their first single since their 2007 album Neon Bible.
• June 1 — Nicki Minaj released her first single on her album Pink Friday, Your Love.
• June 4 – Christina Aguilera releases her fourth studio album Bionic, and debuts No. 3 on the Billboard 200, charting within the top ten, the album became Aguilera's fifth straight top ten album, selling 110,000 copies in its first week. Bionic is the first studio album in four years since Back to Basics.
• June 5 – The 18th Annual KROQ Weenie Roast takes place. Artists performing included Sublime with Rome, Stone Temple Pilots, Hole, Silversun Pickups, Devo, Paramore, Deftones, Spoon, Chevelle, Cage the Elephant, The Dirty Heads, Against Me!, The Temper Trap and Passion Pit.
• June 11 – Shakira, The Black Eyed Peas, K'naan and other artists perform at the 2010 FIFA World Cup Kick-off Celebration Concert.
• June 15 – Devo releases Something for Everybody, their first album in 20 years.
• June 21 – American rap superstar Eminem releases his seventh album Recovery in the U.S. which spent seven weeks at number one on billboard's top 200 and was the top selling album of 2010.
• June 22 – Macy Gray releases The Sellout to critical acclaim. It is her first studio album in over three years.
• June 29 – Drake is sued by Playboy Enterprises over the use of the 1974 song "Fallin' In Love" by Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds in Drake's 2009 hit "Best I Ever Had." Playboy, which owns the rights to "Fallin' In Love," claims Drake used the song's sample without permission and is seeking to claim any profits made from the Drake single.

  July

• July 6 – Enrique Iglesias releases his first bilingual album Euphoria with contained equal amount of original English and Spanish tracks with two different singles successfully released to English and Latin formats simultaneously.
• July 7
• *Due to poor sales and possibly a decline in ratings and interest in this season's installment, the accompanying "American Idols LIVE! Tour 2010" cancels eight of its 38 shows.
• *Former Beatle Ringo Starr and his eleventh All-Starr Band perform at Radio City Music Hall for his seventieth birthday. During the closing song, "With a Little Help from My Friends" into "Give Peace a Chance", there were the following special guests: Steven Van Zandt, Nils Lofgren, Billy Squier, Men at Work's Colin Hay, Dr. John, Ray Davies, his son and The Who drummer, Zak Starkey and Yoko Ono. His grandsons came out and gave him a birthday cake Ludwig drum set. Just when he thought the show was over, Paul McCartney came out and performed the Beatles classic, "Birthday".
• July 13 – Korn's ninth studio album,, debuts at number 2 on the Billboard 200 with 63,000 copies sold in its first week. Former fill-in drummer Ray Luzier is appointed as a permanent member of the band, confirming David Silveria's departure in 2006.

  August

• August 4 – Taylor Swift's lead single, "Mine" leaks and later Big Machine Record releases it on iTunes, becoming No. 1 after only 5 hours. It set a record for the fastest climbing song to number one.
• August 24 – Katy Perry releases her much anticipated third album, Teenage Dream, which went on to dominate the charts for several years and break a series of sales records.

  September

• September 12 – Lady Gaga sweeps the Video Music Awards, winning 8 awards, 7 for her "Bad Romance" video, and Best Collaboration for her song "Telephone" with Beyoncé. Gaga also gave an acceptance speech for Video of the Year in a dress made entirely of meat, she also announced the title of her third album, Born This Way which was released in May 2011. Lady Gaga was nominated for 13 VMA awards, the most in the show's history, and another 5 nominations for her contribution to Beyoncé's "Video Phone". Also, Justin Bieber won the award for Best New Artist, making him the youngest person to ever win a VMA.
• September 28 – Glee's "Britney/Brittany" episode aired with the cast performing five Britney Spears songs from her early years.

  October

• October 25 – Taylor Swift releases her much anticipated third album, Speak Now, which sells over one million copies in its first week.

  November

• November 9: Reba McEntire releases her 26th studio album, All The Women I Am. Loretta Lynn releases her 71st album,
• November 10: The 44th Annual Country Music Awards took place at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
• November 11: The 11th Annual Latin Grammy Awards took place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.
• November 15: Singer Christina Aguilera receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
• November 16: After years of legal disputes, music from The Beatles is now available on iTunes.
• November 19: Justin Bieber releases his first compilation album
• November 21: At the 2010 American Music Awards, Justin Bieber won all four of his nominations, including the award for Artist of The Year, becoming the youngest person in the show's 37-year history to win the award at 16.
• November 22: Kanye West releases his fifth studio album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, which becomes the best-reviewed album of the year, according to Metacritic.
• November 24: Christina Aguilera made her theatrical film and musical debut as the lead character Ali Rose in Burlesque. Co-starring Cher and directed by Steven Antin, the film went on to gross over 90 million worldwide and earn Aguilera a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Song.
• November 26: Justin Bieber releases his first remix album My Worlds Acoustic which became his third consecutive top 10 album

  December

• December 1: 53rd Grammy Awards nominees announced from Los Angeles' Club Nokia with Eminem leads with ten nominations for his album Recovery. Bruno Mars scored seven nominations and Lady Gaga, Jay-Z and Lady Antebellum with six nominations each. The ceremony was held in the Staples Center on February 13, 2011.
• December 9: Jim Morrison, the former lead singer of The Doors, is granted a posthumous pardon, 39 years after his death. The pardon relates to a six-month prison sentence for indecent exposure handed to Morrison in 1969, following a performance in Miami earlier that year. Morrison had appealed his sentence, and died in 1971 without the matter being legally resolved.
• December 18: Josh and Zac Farro announce their exit from the band Paramore.

  Major Music Awards

• Record of the Year: Lady Antebellum – Need You Now
• Album of the Year: Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
• Song of the Year: Lady Antebellum – Need You Now
• Best New Artist: Esperanza Spalding

• Artist of the Year – Justin Bieber
• T-Mobile Breakthrough Artist – Justin Bieber

• Video of the Year: Lady Gaga – Bad Romance
• Best New Artist: Justin Bieber – Baby

• Outstanding Album: Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
• Outstanding Song: Lady Antebellum – Need You Now
• Outstanding Music Video: Katy Perry – Firework
• Outstanding New Artist – Marina & the Diamonds
• Outstanding Contribution to Music – Neil Young

• Entertainer of the Year – Brad Paisley
• Song of the Year: Miranda Lambert – The House That Built Me
• Single of the Year: Lady Antebellum – Need You Now
• Album of the Year: Miranda Lambert – Revolution
• New Artist of the Year – Zac Brown Band

  Bands formed

• BadBadNotGood
• Bastille
• Black Cards
• The Black Pacific
• Cali Swag District
• Car Seat Headrest
• Chastity Belt
• Cults
• The Damned Things
• Deafheaven
• Death Grips
• D.R.U.G.S.
• Disclosure
• Eagulls
• Flatbush Zombies
• Florida Georgia Line
• Gayngs
• How To Destroy Angels
• Joanna Gruesome
• Joywave
• JR JR
• The Julie Ruin
• Karmin
• Lord Huron
• Low Cut Connie
• Majical Cloudz
• MKTO
• The Mowgli's
• Niki and the Dove
• Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds
• Of Monsters and Men
• One Direction
• Parquet Courts
• Porches
• Public Service Broadcasting
• Purity Ring
• Real Friends
• Rudimental
• Steve Taylor & The Perfect Foil
• The Struts
• Tedeschi Trucks Band
• TEEN
• Times of Grace
• Toy
• Unknown Mortal Orchestra
• Vacationer
• Whirr
• Widowspeak
• Wild Flag
• Wolf Alice
• WZRD

  Bands reformed

• Adema
• Alabama
• Allister
• Autopsy
• Bone Thugs-n-Harmony
• Bush
• Cap'n Jazz
• The Cars
• The Dismemberment Plan
• Dixie Chicks
• The Dresden Dolls
• Fuel
• Guided by Voices
• Hole
• Jughead's Revenge
• Kumbia Kings
• Murderdolls
• Pavement
• Piebald
• Revis
• Scars on Broadway
• Something Corporate
• Soundgarden
• Supercute!
• Supertramp
• Swans
• System of a Down
• The Receiving End of Sirens
• TLC
• Transplants
• Ugly Kid Joe
• Vatican Commandos
• Yellowcard

  Bands on hiatus

• 1997
• Doves
• Fall Out Boy
• From First to Last
• The Killers
• Poison the Well
• Pussycat Dolls
• Saving Jane
• Slipknot
• Static-X
• Straylight Run
• t.A.T.u.
• Breaking Benjamin
• The Young Veins

  Bands disbanded

• A-ha
• As Tall as Lions
• Backstreet Girls
• Big Star
• Black Box Recorder
• Brooks & Dunn
• Casiotone for the Painfully Alone
• Codeine Velvet Club
• Copeland
• Crime in Stereo
• Crossbreed
• Dio
• Envy on the Coast
• Eyedea & Abilities
• The Fall of Troy
• Far
• Finch
• Gwen Stacy
• Heaven & Hell
• Isis
• The Jesus Lizard
• KSM
• Lexington Bridge
• Little Brother
• Low vs Diamond
• Lydia
• Magna-Fi
• Meese
• Metro Station
• Mudvayne
• The Music
• My Favorite Highway
• The Number Twelve Looks Like You
• Pavement
• Powderfinger
• Pretty Balanced
• Psyclon Nine
• Remy Zero
• Revolting Cocks
• Scary Kids Scaring Kids
• Simply Red
• Sing It Loud
• Sparklehorse
• Supergrass
• Supertramp
• These Arms Are Snakes
• Theater of Tragedy
• Type O Negative
• Voxtrot
• Watership Down
• The Young Veins

  Albums released

January

• Lana Del Ray a.k.a. Lizzy Grant by Lana Del Rey

• Animal by Kesha
• Realize the Ghost by Silver Swans
• Unbroken by Katharine McPhee
• ' by Kanye West

• ' by Various Artists

  February

• The Courage of Others by Midlake

• Adventure Stories by...soihadto...
• Blackjazz by Shining
• Hellbilly Deluxe 2 by Rob Zombie
• The Northern Key by The Northern Key
• Public Square by This Moment in Black History
• Rebirth by Lil Wayne
• The Soft Pack by The Soft Pack
• ' by Statik Selektah
• Who I Am by Nick Jonas & the Administration

• Another Round by Jaheim
• Haywire by Josh Turner
• Heligoland by Massive Attack
• Ironbound by Overkill
• Odd Blood by Yeasayer
• One Life Stand by Hot Chip
• ' by HIM
• Soldier of Love by Sade
• Talking to You, Talking to Me by The Watson Twins

• Love by Angels & Airwaves

• The Constant by Story of the Year
• Minor Love by Adam Green
• Peace and Love by Juliana Hatfield

• Of Men and Angels by The Rocket Summer
• Say Us by Zeus

• YelloWhite by MellowHype

  March

• Black Ribbons by Shooter Jennings
• Jason Derülo by Jason Derülo
• My Best Days by Danny Gokey
• Permalight by Rogue Wave
• Smoke & Mirrors by Lifehouse
• Victory by DJ Khaled

• Battle of the Sexes by Ludacris
• Beat The Devil's Tattoo by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
• The Brutalist Bricks by Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
• Elect the Dead Symphony by Serj Tankian
• Gold by Si*Sé
• Heat Fetish by The Bled
• Pieces of a Real Heart by Sanctus Real
• Plastic Beach by Gorillaz
• Sisterworld by Liars
• The World Is a Thorn by Demon Hunter

• Planet Anthem by Disco Biscuits

• Calidosound by Superlitio
• Live on Lansdowne, Boston MA by Dropkick Murphys
• Survival Story by Flobots
• Throne to the Wolves by From First to Last

• My Own Way by Darren Ross
• Now is the Hour by Jennifer Rush

• Option Paralysis by The Dillinger Escape Plan

• Eparistera Daimones by Triptykon
• ' by The Bird and the Bee
• My World 2.0 by Justin Bieber

• Evelyn Evelyn by Evelyn Evelyn
• Paper Tongues by Paper Tongues
• Somewhere Down the Road by Amy Grant
• New Amerykah Part Two '' by Erykah Badu

  April

• The Fear Is Excruciating, But Therein Lies the Answer by Red Sparowes
• Have the Best Day of Your Life! by The Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt!
• Shame, Shame by Dr. Dog
• Women and Country by Jakob Dylan
• 12 Gauge by Kalmah

• Air Swell by Chiddy Bang

• Bleeding Through by Bleeding Through
• Congratulations by MGMT
• Jason Castro by Jason Castro
• Leave Your Sleep by Natalie Merchant
• Year of the Black Rainbow by Coheed and Cambria
• 18.61 by 108
• $ by Mark Sultan

• Hang Cool Teddy Bear by Meat Loaf

• Based on a True Story by Sick of It All
• Blue Sky Noise by Circa Survive
• Cold Day Memory by Sevendust
• Hospital Bomber EP by Heavy Heavy Low Low
• Long Live the Kings by Kottonmouth Kings
• Rise Up by Cypress Hill
• Travellers in Space and Time by The Apples in Stereo

• Clinging to a Scheme by The Radio Dept.

• ' by B.o.B.

• The Frozen Tears of Angels'' by Rhapsody of Fire

  May

• Diamond Eyes by Deftones
• Omni by Minus the Bear
• The Oracle by Godsmack
• White Crosses by Against Me!

• Plead the Fifth by Taproot
• The Powerless Rise by As I Lay Dying
• Sea of Cowards by The Dead Weather
• Tear the World Down by We Are the Fallen
• Treats by Sleigh Bells

• Flesh Tone by Kelis

• Road Salt One by Pain of Salvation

• The ArchAndroid by Janelle Monáe
• Brothers by The Black Keys
• Distant Relatives by Nas & Damian Marley
• ' by Exodus
• This Is Happening by LCD Soundsystem

• A Promise to Burn by Framing Hanley
• At Night We Live by Far
• Dirty Side Down by Widespread Panic
• The Family Jewels by Marina and the Diamonds
• Iconos by Marc Anthony
• Stone Temple Pilots by Stone Temple Pilots
• ' by The Smashing Pumpkins

• Justice by Molly Hatchet

  June

• The Bride Screamed Murder by Melvins

• Attack Attack! by Attack Attack!
• Bionic by Christina Aguilera
• Goon Affiliated by Plies
• Lazarus by Travie McCoy
• Love Like Crazy by Lee Brice
• Miss America by Saving Abel
• The Obsidian Conspiracy by Nevermore
• Shout It Out by Hanson
• Sweet and Wild by Jewel
• Up on the Ridge by Dierks Bentley

• American Slang by The Gaslight Anthem
• Further by The Chemical Brothers

• Antifogmatic by Punch Brothers
• Bingo! by Steve Miller Band
• Body Talk Pt. 1 by Robyn
• I'm Alive, I'm Dreaming by The Ready Set
• Imperial by In Fear and Faith
• Laws of Illusion by Sarah McLachlan
• Lustre by Ed Harcourt
• Mojo by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
• Now 34 by Various Artists
• On the Rural Route 7609 by John Mellencamp
• Something for Everybody by Devo
• Thank Me Later by Drake
• Time Flies… 1994–2009 by Oasis
• To the Sky by Kevin Rudolf
• The Universe Is Laughing by The Guggenheim Grotto

• We Are Born by Sia
• Can't Be Tamed by Miley Cyrus

• Recovery by Eminem
• Suddenly by Allstar Weekend

• Deth Red Sabaoth by Danzig
• GangRags by Blaze Ya Dead Homie
• Getting Dressed in the Dark by Jaron and the Long Road to Love
• Summer Happiness by David Crowder Band

• Deep Blue by Parkway Drive

• Attack of the Wolf King by Haste the Day
• Clockwork by Angelus Apatrida
• Here Lies Another by Here Lies Another
• Love King by The-Dream
• Proprioception by And Hell Followed With

  July

• Euphoria by Enrique Iglesias

• Korn III – Remember Who You Are by Korn

• Dark Night of the Soul by Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse

• An Airplane Carried Me to Bed by Sky Sailing
• Black and White by The Maine
• Born Again by Newsboys
• Heart of a Champion by Paul Wall
• Intriguer by Crowded House
• Judge Jerrod & the Hung Jury by Jerrod Niemann
• Masts of Manhatta by Tracy Bonham
• Maya by M.I.A.
• Meridional by Norma Jean
• The Panic Broadcast by Soilwork
• Pilot Talk by Curren$y
• Safe Upon the Shore by Great Big Sea
• Stampede by Hellyeah
• ' by Capone-N-Noreaga

• Witchkrieg'' by Witchery

  August

• Hear Me Now by Secondhand Serenade
• The Remix by Lady Gaga
• The Suburbs by Arcade Fire.

• God Willing and the Creek Don't Rise by Ray Lamontagne & The Pariah Dogs
• No Better Than This by John Mellencamp
• The Trouble with Angels by Filter
• Foundling by David Gray

• Back to Me by Fantasia Barrino
• Seeing Eye Dog by Helmet
• Teenage Dream by Katy Perry

• Feeding The Wolves by 10 Years
• Asylum by Disturbed
• Time for Annihilation by Papa Roach
• Icon by Nirvana

  September

• Audio Secrecy by Stone Sour
• Body Talk Pt. 2 by Robyn
• Interpol by Interpol
• Kaleidoscope Heart by Sara Bareilles
• Dark is the Way, Light is a Place by Anberlin

• The Black Pacific by The Black Pacific
• Business Casual by Chromeo
• Flamingo by Brandon Flowers
• The Gracious Few by The Gracious Few
• Hurley by Weezer
• Passion, Pain & Pleasure by Trey Songz
• Poetry for the Poisoned by Kamelot
• Relentless Retribution by Death Angel
• A Thousand Suns by Linkin Park
• Airtight's Revenge by Bilal

• Hands All Over by Maroon 5
• No Gravity by Shontelle
• A Year Without Rain by Selena Gomez & the Scene
• Wake Up! by John Legend and The Roots
• You Get What You Give by Zac Brown Band

• My Father Will Guide Me up a Rope to the Sky by Swans
• Last Day of Summer by White Denim

• All About You by Jeremih
• The Dissent of Man by Bad Religion
• Invented by Jimmy Eat World
• In the Absence of Light by Abigail Williams
• Outkasted Outlawz by Hussein Fatal & Nutt-So
• Rehab by Lecrae

  October

• Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards by Joe Satriani
• Doo-Wops & Hooligans by Bruno Mars
• Fight or Flight by Emily Osment
• The Other Side of Down by David Archuleta
• Life Turns Electric by Finger Eleven

• B.T.R. by Big Time Rush
• The Preview by Chiddy Bang

• Charleston, SC 1966 by Darius Rucker
• Playlist: The Very Best of Jessica Simpson by Jessica Simpson

• Come Around Sundown by Kings of Leon
• Hannah Montana Forever by Hannah Montana
• The Incredible Machine by Sugarland
• Words Words Words by Bo Burnham

• Omega Wave by Forbidden

• Speak Now by Taylor Swift

• Young the Giant by Young the Giant

  November

• Merry Christmas II You by Mariah Carey
• My Kinda Party by Jason Aldean

• All The Women I Am by Reba McEntire
• ' by Loretta Lynn

• ' by Jay-Z
• Burlesque: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by Christina Aguilera & Cher
• ' by My Chemical Romance
• Happy Christmas by Jessica Simpson
• My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy by Kanye West
• Cannibal by Ke$ha
• Live in London by Regina Spektor
• Pink Friday by Nicki Minaj
• Pilot Talk 2 by Curren$y.

• Libra Scale by Ne-Yo
• ' by The Smashing Pumpkins

• I Am... World Tour by Beyoncé
• All I Want Is You by Miguel
• Behind Closed Doors by Nu Jerzey Devil
• Diamond in the Rough by Freeway
• Doe Or Die: 15th Anniversary by AZ
• Easy 2 Hate by Haystak
• Free Agent by Joell Ortiz
• Only One Flo by Flo Rida
• The Beginning by The Black Eyed Peas
• The DeAndre Way by Soulja Boy
• The Life And Times of Peter Nelson by Copywrite
• Tha Thug Show by Slim Thug
• Like Trees in November by Chapter 14
• Let Freedom Reign by Chrisette Michele
• Love Me Back by Jazmine Sullivan
• Matter of Dayz by Daz Dillinger
• Niggaz With Latitude by Deacon The Villain & Sheisty Khrist
• Number One Hits by Tim McGraw

  December

• Just Charlie by Charlie Wilson
• No Mercy by T.I.
• Strip Me by Natasha Bedingfield

• Basic Instinct by Ciara
• Michael by Michael Jackson
• Last Train to Paris by Diddy-Dirty Money
• Love Letter by R. Kelly
• Now or Never by Tank

• The Letter by Avant
• Best Night of My Life by Jamie Foxx
• Calling All Hearts'' by Keyshia Cole
• No Boys Allowed" by Keri Hilson

  Best-selling albums in the U.S.

Top hits on record

• "Tik Tok" – Kesha
• "Imma Be" – The Black Eyed Peas
• "Break Your Heart" – Taio Cruz featuring Ludacris
• "Rude Boy" – Rihanna
• "Nothin' on You" – B.o.B featuring Bruno Mars
• "OMG" – Usher featuring will.i.am
• "Not Afraid" – Eminem
• "California Gurls" – Katy Perry featuring Snoop Dogg
• "Love the Way You Lie" – Eminem featuring Rihanna
• "Teenage Dream" – Katy Perry
• "Just the Way You Are" – Bruno Mars
• "Like a G6" – Far East Movement featuring The Cataracs and Dev
• "We R Who We R" – Kesha
• "What's My Name?" – Rihanna featuring Drake
• "Only Girl " – Rihanna
• "Raise Your Glass" – Pink
• "Firework" – Katy Perry

• "3" – Britney Spears
• "According to You" – Orianthi
• "Airplanes" – B.o.B featuring Hayley Williams
• "Alejandro" – Lady Gaga
• "All the Right Moves – OneRepublic
• "Already Gone" – Kelly Clarkson
• "Animal" – Neon Trees
• "Baby" – Justin Bieber featuring Ludacris
• "Back to December" – Taylor Swift
• "Bad Romance" – Lady Gaga
• "BedRock" – Young Money featuring Lloyd
• "Billionaire" – Travie McCoy featuring Bruno Mars
• "Black and Yellow" – Wiz Khalifa
• "Blah Blah Blah" – Kesha featuring 3OH!3
• "Bottoms Up" – Trey Songz featuring Nicki Minaj
• "Breakeven" – The Script
• "Break Your Heart" – Taio Cruz featuring Ludacris
• "Bulletproof" – La Roux
• "California Gurls" – Katy Perry featuring Snoop Dogg
• "Can't Be Tamed" – Miley Cyrus
• "Carry Out" – Timbaland featuring Justin Timberlake
• "Club Can't Handle Me" – Flo Rida featuring David Guetta
• "Cooler Than Me" – Mike Posner
• "Deuces" – Chris Brown featuring Tyga and Kevin McCall
• "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love" – Usher featuring Pitbull
• "Do You Remember" – Jay Sean featuring Sean Paul and Lil Jon
• "Down" – Jay Sean featuring Lil Wayne
• "Drop the World" – Lil Wayne featuring Eminem
• "Dynamite" – Taio Cruz
• "Eenie Meenie – Sean Kingston and Justin Bieber
• "Empire State of Mind" – Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys
• "Find Your Love" – Drake
• "Fireflies" – Owl City
• "Firework" – Katy Perry
• "Forever" – Drake featuring Kanye West, Lil Wayne, and Eminem
• "Forget You" – Cee Lo Green
• "Forget You" – Glee Cast featuring Gwyneth Paltrow
• "Glitter in the Air" – Pink
• "Gonorrhea" – Lil Wayne featuring Drake
• "Grenade" – Bruno Mars
• "Hallelujah" – Justin Timberlake and Matt Morris featuring Charlie Sexton
• "Hard" – Rihanna featuring Jeezy
• "Hey, Soul Sister" – Train
• "How Low" – Ludacris
• "I Gotta Feeling" – The Black Eyed Peas
• "I Like It" – Enrique Iglesias featuring Pitbull
• "If I Die Young" – The Band Perry
• "Imma Be" – The Black Eyed Peas
• "Impossible" – Shontelle
• "In My Head" – Jason Derülo
• "Just a Dream" – Nelly
• "Just the Way You Are" – Bruno Mars
• "Like a G6" – Far East Movement featuring The Cataracs and Dev
• "Live Like We're Dying – Kris Allen
• "Love the Way You Lie" – Eminem featuring Rihanna
• "Magic" – B.o.B featuring Rivers Cuomo
• "Mean" – Taylor Swift
• "Meet Me Halfway" – The Black Eyed Peas
• "Mine" – Taylor Swift
• "Misery" – Maroon 5
• "Miss Me" – Drake featuring Lil Wayne
• "Monster" – Kanye West featuring Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Bon Iver and Nicki Minaj
• "My Chick Bad" – Ludacris featuring Nicki Minaj
• "My First Kiss" – 3OH!3 featuring Kesha
• "Need You Now" – Lady Antebellum
• "No Hands" – Waka Flocka Flame featuring Roscoe Dash and Wale
• "Not Afraid" – Eminem
• "Nothin' on You" – B.o.B featuring Bruno Mars
• "OMG" – Usher featuring will.i.am
• "One Time" – Justin Bieber
• "Only Girl " – Rihanna
• "Over" – Drake
• "Paparazzi" – Lady Gaga
• "Party in the U.S.A." – Miley Cyrus
• "Please Don't Go" – Mike Posner
• "Poker Face" – Glee Cast
• "Raise Your Glass" – Pink
• "Replay" – Iyaz
• "Ridin' Solo" – Jason Derülo
• "Right Above It" – Lil Wayne featuring Drake
• "Rock That Body" – The Black Eyed Peas
• "Rude Boy" – Rihanna
• "Runaway – Kanye West featuring Pusha T
• "Say Aah" – Trey Songz featuring Fabolous
• "Sexy Chick" – David Guetta featuring Akon
• "Singin' in the Rain/Umbrella" – Glee Cast
• "Somebody to Love" – Justin Bieber
• "Sparks Fly" – Taylor Swift
• "Speak Now" – Taylor Swift
• "Stranded " – Jay-Z, Bono, The Edge and Rihanna
• "Stuck Like Glue" – Sugarland
• "Sweet Dreams" – Beyoncé
• "Take It Off" – Kesha
• "Teenage Dream" – Glee Cast
• "Teenage Dream" – Katy Perry
• "Telephone" – Lady Gaga featuring Beyoncé
• "That's All She Wrote" – T.I. featuring Eminem
• "The Boys of Fall" – Kenny Chesney
• "The Time " – The Black Eyed Peas
• "Today Was a Fairytale" – Taylor Swift
• "Tonight " – Enrique Iglesias featuring Ludacris and DJ Frank E
• "Total Eclipse of the Heart" – Glee Cast
• "Toxic" – Glee Cast
• "Two Is Better Than One" – Boys Like Girls featuring Taylor Swift
• "We Are the World 25 for Haiti" – Artists for Haiti
• "We R Who We R" – Kesha
• "What's My Name? – Rihanna featuring Drake
• "Whataya Want from Me" – Adam Lambert
• "Whatcha Say" – Jason Derülo
• "When I Look at You" – Miley Cyrus
• "Whip My Hair" – Willow
• "You and Your Heart" – Jack Johnson
• "You Belong with Me" – Taylor Swift
• "Young Forever" – Jay-Z featuring Mr. Hudson
• "Your Love" – Nicki Minaj
• "Your Love Is My Drug" – Kesha

Deaths

• January 1 – Lhasa de Sela, 37, singer, breast cancer
• January 1 – Gregory Slay, 40, drummer for Remy Zero, cystic fibrosis
• January 4 – Tony Clarke, 68, The Moody Blues producer
• January 5 – Willie Mitchell, 81, producer and arranger, cardiac arrest
• January 7 – Thomas Sam Davis, a.k.a. Eric Shark, 59, singer for Deaf School, lung failure
• January 12 – Yabby You, 63, reggae singer and producer, brain aneurysm
• January 12 – Dannie Flesher, 58, Wax Trax! Records co-founder, pneumonia
• January 12 – Brian "Damage" Keats, 46, drummer for Misfits, liver cancer
• January 12 – Jimmy O, 35, Haitian musician of Barikad Crew, earthquake victim
• January 13 – Ed Thigpen, 79, jazz drummer
• January 13 – Teddy Pendergrass, 59, R&B singer, colon cancer
• January 13 – Jay Reatard, 29, garage punk singer and guitarist, cocaine toxicity
• January 14 – Bobby Charles, 71, songwriter and swamp pop musician
• January 14 – Chilton Price, 96, songwriter
• January 23 – Earl Wild, 94, pianist, congestive heart disease

• February 4 – Helen Tobias-Duesberg, 90, Estonian-American organist and composer
• February 13 – Dale Hawkins, 73, singer-songwriter and guitarist
• February 14 – Doug Fieger, 57, lead singer of The Knack, cancer
• February 14 – Lee Freeman, 60, guitarist for Strawberry Alarm Clock, cancer
• February 17 – Kathryn Grayson, 88, singer and actress
• February 23 – Chilly B, 47, rapper for Newcleus, stroke
• February 27 – Tom "T-Bone" Wolk, 58, bassist for Hall & Oates, stroke

• March 4 – Lolly Vegas, 70, lead singer of Redbone, lung cancer
• March 6 – Mark Linkous, 47, singer and guitarist for Sparklehorse, suicide
• March 10 – Evelyn Dall, singer and actress
• March 17 – Alex Chilton, 59, singer and guitarist for Big Star, heart attack
• March 28 – Herb Ellis, 88, jazz guitarist, Alzheimer's disease

• April 14 – Peter Steele, 48, singer and bassist for Type O Negative, heart failure
• April 19 – Guru, 48, rapper for Gangstarr, multiple myeloma

• May 3 – Chubby Carrier, 63, zydeco musician
• May 3 – Eddie L. Jackson, 63, guitarist for Brenda & The Tabulations
• May 7 – Dave Fisher, 69, singer, musician for The Highwaymen
• May 9 – Lena Horne, 92, singer and actress, heart failure
• May 16 – Hank Jones, 91, jazz pianist and bandleader
• May 16 – Ronnie James Dio, 67, singer for Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell and Dio, stomach cancer
• May 19 – Larry Dale, 87, blues musician
• May 23 – Billy Francis, 68, rock keyboardist
• May 24 – Paul Gray, 38, bassist for Slipknot
• May 26 – Judy Lynn, 74, country singer
• May 28 – Slim Bryant, 101, country singer-songwriter

• June 5 – Tony Peluso, 60, guitarist, record producer
• June 6 – Marvin Isley, 56, bassist for The Isley Brothers
• June 7 – Oliver N'Goma, 51, Gabonese singer and guitarist
• June 7 – Stuart Cable, 40, drummer for The Stereophonics
• June 13 – Jimmy Dean, 81, country singer
• June 15 – Busi Mhlongo, 62, South African singer
• June 16 – Bill Dixon, 84, jazz musician
• June 16 – Garry Shider, 56, guitarist for Parliament-Funkadelic, brain cancer
• June 23 – Pete Quaife, 66, original bassist for The Kinks
• June 24 – Fred Anderson, 81, avant-garde jazz musician
• June 26 – Benny Powell, 80, jazz trombonist with Lionel Hampton and Count Basie
• June 26 – Sergio Vega, 40, Mexican singer, stage name "El Shaka"
• June 27 – Rammellzee, 49, hip hop musician, graffiti artist

• July 1 – Ilene Woods, 81, singer, actress
• July 6 – Harvey Fuqua, 80, singer for The Moonglows and record producer
• July 10 – Sugar Minott, 54, reggae singer
• July 11 – Walter Hawkins, 61, gospel singer, pancreatic cancer
• July 12 – Tuli Kupferberg, 86, poet and singer for The Fugs
• July 13 – Olga Guillot, 87, Cuban singer, "Queen of Bolero"
• July 14 – Gene Ludwig, 72, jazz organist
• July 15 – Hank Cochran, 74, country singer-songwriter, brother of Eddie Cochran
• July 15 – Yandé Codou Sène, 78, Senegalese singer
• July 17 – Fred Carter, Jr., 76, guitarist, songwriter, producer
• July 19 – Andy Hummel, 59, bassist for Big Star, cancer
• July 26 – Al Goodman, 63, singer for The Moments and Ray, Goodman & Brown
• July 27 – Ben Keith, 73, guitarist, steel guitarist, musician and producer
• July 31 – Mitch Miller, 99, producer, musician

• August 3 – Mitch Jayne, 82, bassist for bluegrass band The Dillards
• August 3 – Bobby Hebb, 72, soul singer
• August 6 – Chris Dedrick, 62, singer for The Free Design
• August 6 – Catfish Collins, 66, guitarist with James Brown, Parliament/Funkadelic and brother to Bootsy Collins
• August 8 – Ted Kowalski, 79, singer with Canadian doo-wop group, The Diamonds
• August 10 – Dana Dawson, 36, soul singer, actress
• August 12 – Richie Hayward, 64, drummer for Little Feat, and with Bonnie Raitt and Eric Clapton among others
• August 14 – Abbey Lincoln, 80, jazz singer, actress
• August 15 – Ahmad Alaadeen, 76, jazz musician
• August 18 – Kenny Edwards, 64, pianist, singer-songwriter. In The Stone Poneys with Linda Ronstadt
• August 19 – Michael Been, 60, singer and guitarist for The Call
• August 20 – Charles Haddon, 22, member of Ou Est Le Swimming Pool
• August 23 – Bill Phillips, 74, country singer

• September 8 – Rich Cronin, 36, lead singer and songwriter for LFO
• September 11 – King Coleman, 78, R&B singer
• September 15 – Arrow, 60, Montserratian soca musician
• September 19 – Buddy Collette, 89, jazz saxophonist
• September 20 – Leonard Skinner, 77, schoolteacher and namesake of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Alzheimer's disease
• September 22 – Eddie Fisher, 82, vocalist
• September 27 – Buddy Morrow, 91, aka Moe Zudekoff, jazz bandleader, trombonist

• October 8 – Albertina Walker, 81, gospel singer and member of The Caravans
• October 10 – Dame Joan Sutherland, 83, opera soprano
• October 10 – Solomon Burke, 70, R&B singer
• October 13 – General Norman Johnson, 69, singer for Chairmen of the Board, songwriter and producer
• October 16 – Eyedea, 28, rapper and guitarist for Eyedea & Abilities
• October 22 – Denis Simpson, 60, singer for the Canadian band, The Nylons
• October 25 – Gregory Isaacs, 59, reggae singer

• December 18 – Bob Demmon, 71, rock and roll guitarist
• December 24 – Myrna Smith, 69, singer and songwriter
• December 26 – Teena Marie, 54, white R&B singer