SEATTLE, Dec. 8, 2010  -- Rhapsody®, the premium, on-demand music service, released its annual list of the top albums of the year, and awarded "This is Happening" by LCD Soundsystem top honors.

"LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy is a consummate student of pop music, and the perfectly executed 'This is Happening' synthesizes '70s art rock, early '80s avant disco and '90s post-punk without sounding like self-conscious post-modern pastiche, which is no small achievement," observed Sam Chennault, managing editor, Rhapsody. "It's a smart and fun record, and you can admire it as a work of art or simply love it as a supremely accessible, bouncy set of electro pop."

Rhapsody Top 10 Albums of 2010

1. LCD Soundsystem 'This is Happening'
2. The National 'High Violet'
3. Arcade Fire 'Suburbs'
4. Broken Bells 'Broken Bells'
5. Janelle Monae 'The ArchAndroid'
6. The Black Keys 'Brothers'
7. Robyn 'Body Talk'
8. Gorillaz 'Plastic Beach'
9. Kanye West 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'
10. Vampire Weekend 'Contra'

It was a tight race between "This is Happening" and The National's celebrated "High Violet," which bested third-place contender, "The Suburbs" by Arcade Fire. Other artists on the list include Broken Bells, Janelle Monae, The Black Keys, Robyn, Gorillaz,Kanye West and Vampire Weekend.

Rhapsody will feature these albums, and the rest of the Top 25, with essays and reviews by Rhapsody's music editors, who will delve into the top three albums. In addition, the top 25 tracks will be unveiled on the blog, at http://blog.rhapsody.com/.  

Consumers can check out these albums and editorial features free for 14 days by visiting www.rhapsody.com/plans and signing up for a trial subscription.

Rhapsody subscribers have access to a library of 10.6 million tracks from the PC, mobile device, TV and connected home audio systems, as well as music editorial and programming from some of the most renowned music writers anywhere, for $9.99 per month--less than the cost of one CD or most downloaded albums.

About Rhapsody

The Rhapsody® digital music service (www.rhapsody.com) gives subscribers unlimited on-demand access to more than ten million songs, whether they're listening on a PC, laptop, Internet connected home stereo or TV, MP3 player or mobile phone. Rhapsody allows subscribers to access their music through more touch-points than any other digital music service, including mobile phones from Verizon Wireless, through Rhapsody applications on the Apple iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, RIM BlackBerry and Android mobile platform as well as through devices from Vizio, SanDisk, HP, Sonos and Philips. Rhapsody, and the Rhapsody logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Rhapsody International Inc.

SOURCE Rhapsody