Although it’s now 2011, it’s not too late to reflect on a few of the excellent albums that came out in 2010. This is a list of some of the more notable albums that crossed my radar in 2010, listed in alphabetical order by artist:

Black Country Communion – This was a highly anticipated album this year featuring one of my favorite guitarists (Joe Bonamassa). In retrospect, it’s amazing how quickly BCC and this album came about. I’m looking forward to seeing where they take this band.

Black Keys Brothers – When I first heard about this album from the Black Keys, I was really excited. However, it took me a couple of listens before I finally got into it. I’m glad I gave it a few listens, as I really enjoy this album.

Joe Bonamassa Black Rock – I really enjoyed this album from JB this year. Click here to read my review of the album.

Jim Campilongo Orange – With Orange, Jim Campilongo has put out one of the most interesting mostly instrumental guitar-based albums I’ve heard in years. He goes from rock to jazz to country to blues to everything in between and somehow makes it all work.

Mark Ford Fuzz Machine – I’ve enjoyed Marc Ford’s music since he came out swinging on the Black Crowes’ Southern Harmony and Musical Companion album in the early 90s. Fuzz Machine was recorded in late 2007, but was shelved while Ford pursued his Neptune Blues Club project. I’m glad that they’ve finally released it, as it has some great guitar tones. You can preview the entire album by clicking this link.

Gov’t Mule Mulennium – Gov’t Mule is best experienced live, and their New Year’s Eve shows are some of the best shows they ever put on. This 3-CD collection was recorded on 12-31-99 at the Roxy in Atlanta, GA. I happened to be at this show, so this album is particularly interesting to me, but even if you weren’t there this is a great collection of songs from when Allen Woody was still with the band.

Buddy Guy Living Proof – One of Buddy’s best albums in years. Includes an excellent backing band featuring Reese Wynans and David Grissom.

Eric Johnson Up Close – Regular readers of Guitar Lifestyle know how much I was looking forward to this album. When there’s that much anticipation, I always worry that it can’t live up to the hype. However, I think this album lives up to the hype. In fact, I think this is his best album since Venus Isle, which happens to be my favorite EJ album.

Grace Potter & the Nocturnals – This album seems to have catapulted Grace Potter & the Nocturnals onto the worldwide music scene, and I’m glad for it. They are an awesome live band and have put in many miles on the road over the past few years. Although no record has yet captured the feeling of seeing them live, this latest record is an excellent effort.

Slash – To be honest, I wasn’t expecting too much from Slash’s latest album. However, I was pleasantly surprised. The guest artists were mostly well chosen, and the songs are solid.

Note: Where applicable, the links within this article are Amazon.com affiliate links. By purchasing through these links, you help support this site because I get a small commission. However, I would recommend any of these albums regardless of any commission, and if you’d rather not purchase through these links, you can click this non-affiliate link to go to Amazon.com.

Happy New Year! Thanks for making 2010 the best year yet for Guitar Lifestyle. I hope that 2011 brings you much joy, and I hope that you achieve all of your guitar goals this year.

Congratulations to luthier Jay Lichty, who is the overall winner of the first annual “Made in the South” award for craftsmanship. I have a deep appreciation of handmade goods of all kinds, but, as a guitarist, I have a particularly deep appreciation for guitars that are still made by hand. Boutique guitars, like those made by Lichty, have become more popular over the past few years, and I’m happy to see people like Lichty receiving recognition for high quality work.

I’m going to be interviewing Joe Bonamassa later this week. If you have a question you’d like me to ask him, you can submit it as a comment on this post or via my contact form. What should I ask him?

This appeals to the geek in me: GNUGuitarINIX is a Linux distribution made for guitarists. This distribution ships with a number of music applications, including:

- Gnome Alsamixer (Volume Control)
- Rakarrack
- Guitarix
- Tuxguitar
- Jack Rack
- SooperLooper
- QJackCtl
- Hydrogen
- Audacity
- Aqualung
- PCManFM
- gNinjam

As a Mac user, I’m not familiar with most of these programs, but it looks like an interesting Linux distribution if you’re into that kind of thing. If you’ve used any of these programs, I’d enjoy hearing your thoughts in the comments.

EddieVegas.com is selling Eric Johnson’s 1962 Stratocaster, which is the Strat that Fender used as the basis for the EJ Rosewood signature series guitars.

It’s hard to believe that Eric would sell it, but Eddie has all the paperwork from Eric claiming it was his. The asking price is $90,000, so this one is most likely for collector’s only. The guitar is also listed on eBay.

You can see Eric playing the guitar in the video below.

Lichty Guitars, the shop of luthier Jay Lichty, have donated a guitar for raffle to benefit the Lake Eden Arts Festival (LEAF) in North Carolina, where Lichty Guitars is located. The guitar is a handmade acoustic OM-style guitar built with African Bubinga and Spruce woods. It is valued at $3500 and raffle tickets are only $10. Only 350 tickets will be sold, so your chances of winning are pretty good! Best of all, your contribution will help support music in arts in communities through the LEAF organization.

A slideshow of the guitar that is up for raffle is shown below.

This Friday, August 27, marks 20 years since Stevie Ray Vaughan’s tragic death. Fender has posted a nice retrospective about SRV with quotes about Stevie from his family and friends, including this quote from Double Trouble drummer Chris “Whipper” Layton:

“I didn’t meet him that night, but the first time I heard him play was at a place called Soap Creek Saloon in Austin, Texas,” Layton said. “Drove up, got out of my car and I could hear the band playing, but I heard this piercing guitar. It was like outside, not even coming from inside; It was just like drilling right there in the walls of the building. I thought, ‘Wow, who is this guy?’ And, it was Stevie. I thought, ‘He’s remarkable.’ He just was.”

Read the full article here.

I’m excited to welcome Joe Bonamassa as a new sponsor of Guitar Lifestyle. They are offering Guitar Lifestyle readers a free download of “Blue and Evil” from Joe’s Black Rock album. To receive the free download, all you have to do is click here or click the ad in the sidebar and then select “Free MP3 Music”.

The second annual Nashville Amp Expo is coming up on August 21-22. I couldn’t make last year’s show, but I heard that it was a lot of fun. A long list of exhibitors have signed up to show off their goods for this year’s show.

I’m glad to see these types of shows starting to gain popularity. This looks like a great opportunity to hear a lot of musical equipment that isn’t carried by most retailers. It’s also a good opportunity to actually speak to the builders themselves to get some deeper insight into the products.