The Soundtrack of my 2010… There have been many individual songs and a few albums that I just wasn’t able to get enough of in the last year of monumental change and new hope. I’d love to hear your lists, your favorites, too, and if you’ve any particularly awesome End Of 2010 lists you think I should check out, definitely link them in the comments!

As an extra emotive bonus, I’m even going to try to put them in order and context, we’ll see just how I’ve really felt over the last 12 months, eh? First things first: Limbo is an emo little hipster, isn’t she? Lykke Li – Possibility; Within Temptation – All I Need; 30 Seconds to Mars – The Kill; Placebo – Running Up That Hill; & Moby – Temptation.

I move from depressed and thoughtful to resolute and fun-loving, after the jump…

I started 2010 determined and overwhelmed, excited for all the possibility open to me but weighed down by the work it would take to really make it all happen. My music selection trended toward the mellow, thoughtful, and heartbroken. I was excited to feel real love again, for the first time in years, and it just wasn’t happening. I accepted the fact that things happen in their own time, but my heart felt heavy with the loneliness that only a full packed schedule and unsuccessful dating life can burden us with. My first transition of the year, from corporate life to the campaign trail full time, needed this kind of music. Li’s “Possibility” played on near constant rotation to soothe my nerves and battle my anxiety; powerhouse vocals from Within Temptation and 30 Seconds to Mars gave me a chance to sing loudly with all of my ambition, aggression, and struggle.

June came around and I found myself in transition #2. I first said goodbye to D.C., spending my last week with the people I have spent the last decade of my life loving. If it hadn’t been for music, and very long car rides by myself, I don’t know that I would have made it. My playlist for this period was nostalgic, ranging from The Magnetic Fields to Augustana’s “Boston“. I even let myself fall for OAR all over again, though I thought I’d left my sentimental love of “Love and Memories” back in college.

At the beginning of my move, I landed in South Carolina (Myrtle, woot, woot!) with my parents. I embraced country living with Darius Rucker’s latest releases and Lady Antebellum’s whiskey-soaked ode to love & loss, “Need You Now”. Upon moving to the 757, my job at hip hop club Blurr introduced me to genres of music I’d never explored before. Hip hop, electronica, top 40 remixes, house… My eyes were opened to a lifestyle I’d never come near before, in my country upbringing and my yuppie years in Washington. I realized one can be an indie music snob and still rock out to Ke$ha and that P!nk may be pregnant but girl still knows how to get a crowd on its feet.

Nelly’s disc 5.0 and Eminem’s Recovery blew my mind. Thoughtful storytelling lyrics, sweeping instrumental melodies, and solid rao verses kept me coming back for more all summer and fall. DJs like Skrillex, Deadmau5, & Tiesto got into my head leaving me dizzy and energized. Specific tracks like Medison’s “Harry” and Freestylers’ “Cracks” drove through me regulating my breathing, making my heart race for months; I can’t be more grateful to The Boyfriend for introducing me to them.

As 2010 came to a close, I settled into my older tastes as I settled into life in the 757 and my new routines here. Train’s Save Me San Fransisco (with their usual southern twist on pop/rock), The Pretty Reckless (with raunchy guitar licks and sultry tones), and Maximo Park (classic pop/rock in the vein of the Goo Goo Dolls, Matchbox Twenty, Third Eye Blind, and Sister Hazel come to mind) took over my play list as my comfort level got back to normal and the moving around insanity of the last 12 months came to an end. The likes of Brandon Flowers & Muse replaced John Mayer & Kings of Leon, and I feel better off for it – there’s something more mature, more mellow and well-rounded about my music taste as I start 2011, I think.

Here’s hoping 2011 continues in the same pattern – feeling more settled, more solid, more content with each passing day.