And on the 17th day, there were... Countdowns!!

It's that time of year again. Tomorrow kicks off my top albums and singles of 2010, and it's been a strange one. Bands I hated brought something new and surprised me, and some of my absolute favorites crashed and burned. As far as albums go, 2010 was easily the strongest since '07. Any of my top five could have been number one in '08 or '09. Last year I moaned about how much stronger the singles were than the albums they came from. Nice to see things turning around.
The countdowns will run until the end of the year, so enjoy and feel free to comment! But before I start, it's time to honor tradition and post a sneak peak bit of statistics:

This year's albums:

Groups - 55%
Solo Artists - 45%
Debut Albums - 20%
Second Albums - 35%
Fourth Album (or higher!) - 35%
Male Singers - 60%
Female Singers - 35%
Male & Female Singers - 5%
American Acts - 20%
UK Acts - 35%
Swedish Acts - 30%
Australian Acts - 10%
Norwegian Acts - 5%
Albums that saw a U.S. release - 40%
Albums with any substantial success in the U.S. - 5% (this figure's always sad)
Released in the 1st Quarter (including Dec. '09) - 5%
Released in the 2nd Quarter - 30%
Released in the 3rd Quarter - 25%
Released in the 4th Quarter - 40%