Before we get into the list, a disclaimer. Unlike that of your "legitimate" music blogs — with a staff of writers, editors and contributors weighing in — this list is one man's opinion. A prejudiced, narrow and significantly uninformed opinion.
That said, this list represents the releases of the past year that tickled an old waver's fancy. Maybe it was a gooey synth, a shoegazey guitar, dreamy vocals or some other Pavlovian trigger, but something in all of these albums took me to my happy place.
So, with apologies to Kanye, here's part one of Old Waver's Top 30 Albums of 2010:
30: Thieves Like Us - Again And Again
A guilty pleasure of Swedish synthpop goodness
"Never Known Love"
29: Tamaryn - The Waves
New Zealand's principal shoegaze export
"Love Fade"
28: Violens - Amoral
Elaborate New Romantic pop from former members of Lansing-Drieden
"Acid Reign"
27: Wavves - King Of The Beach
Less lo-fi with a full-fledged band, but Nathan Williams is still a train wreck
"King Of The Beach"
26: Future Islands - In Evening Air
New Order basslines and dramatic vocals are the hallmark of this Baltimore trio
25: Errors - Come Down With Me
Frenetic "post-electro" from Glasgow
"A Rumour In Africa"
24: Hot Chip - One Life Stand
A grown up and fleshed out effort from the stalwart electropop outfit
"I Feel Better"
23: Small Black - New Chain
First full length from Brooklyn "chillwavers"
"Photojournalist"
22: Adam Franklin & Bolts Of Melody - I Could Sleep For A Thousand Years
His most vital solo work since Swervedriver
"I'll Be Yr Mechanic"
21: Frank (Just Frank) - The Brutal Wave
A chilly coldwave duo from the south of France
Part two: albums 20-11
Part three: albums 10-1
getting all kinds of 
, for a 
and even toured as his backing band.
takes the chillwave template and turns it up a notch. The filtered vocals and retro keys are there, but the energy and songcraft are more engaging.