Last year’s Sneaker News Top 30 list was a smash hit with readers, so with 2010 coming to a close, it’s time to get down to business again and reveal our selections for the year’s best sneaker offerings. Anyone can make a list of their favorite sneakers, but the aim of the SN Top 30 is to capture a cross-section of the shoes that made the biggest impact on the sneaker world in the last year. After scouring all the countless kicks that dropped in 2010, we began narrowing down the best of the best and eventually put together what we felt to be a strong representation of the finest footwear to release during the last 365 days. The tentative top 30 choices were then passed along to members of our staff and other sneaker associates to rank from 1 to 30, with the average results eventually going on to become the final order for the official Sneaker News Top 30 Sneakers of 2010 list.
In retrospect, 2010 shaped up to be a year full of diversity with a nice blend of new showstoppers mixed with some tried and true favorites, as well as some notable high-profile collaborations and new takes on some classic designs. With the 25th anniversary of the Air Jordan line being honored in 2010, Jordan Brand showed no signs of letting up on their sneaker culture stranglehold. In addition to the Silver Anniversary collection, JB brought back some favorites like the Cool Grey XI, AJKO and Infrared VI’s to help further ignite the celebration, but it was some new colorways like the Doernbecher Air Jordan III Retro and Bin 23 Collection that stole much of the year’s attention.
With Jordan Brand holding down the Retro game, Nike Basketball continued to dominate the performance b-ball market thanks to the introduction of the Hyperfuse and strong new signature models designed for LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant. For those with more of a fondness for the older Nike Basketball catalog, the beloved Air Foamposite One showed up once again, this time in a clever ‘Dirty Copper’ colorway that hit retailers a few months
before the coveted foam material also found its way onto another Nike B-Ball icon, the legendary Air Force 1 High. The presence of the AF1 Low was also felt courtesy of the ’5 Boroughs’ pack that dropped alongside the summer’s WBF festivities in NYC.
Over in the lifestyle arena, Nike Sportswear’s team-up with Dutch dynamic duo Parra and Patta became an overnight sensation while new stunners like the Lunar Woven Chukka and Lunar Macleay made some more subtle statements of their own. The Jeremy Scott x adidas Originals pairing continued to operate and flourish outside of the box while other collaborations like the Burn Rubber x New Balance, Missoni x Converse Chucks and Ronnie Fieg x Asics Gel Lyte III ‘Cove’ got some love of their own despite some less over-the-top approaches to their respective projects. In addition to the Jeremy Scott line, adidas also made their mark in the lifestyle market with the introduction of the Fortitude Mid and the launch of their sprawling Star Wars capsule.
2010 was a relatively quiet year in the skate shoe world with perennial powerhouse Nike SB seemingly taking a few steps back in terms of creativity. Despite a noticeable dip in must-have SB releases, the edgy ‘Skunk’ Dunks and latest Supreme collaboration reminded SB fans that the brand definitely still has a few tricks left up their sleeves. And speaking of unexpected surprises, Reebok made a nice comeback this past year with the introduction of their new ‘Zig’ line and the signing of top NBA Draft pick, John Wall.
Whether Zig technology and some of the other hot topics of 2010 will persevere onward to thrive in the new year is yet to be seen, but it’s a fact that there was plenty of tantalizing sneaker news to keep us all busy during the last year. Continue reading to check out the complete Top 30 Sneakers of 2010 feature and see where your own personal favorites ranked on our list. And stay tuned for a new interactive feature coming soon, where you’ll be able to throw in your own two cents on the best sneaker releases from 2010.
I own 7/30 which is pretty cool Happy New Years
nice. i donno if i'd wanna own all 30 now that i look at em lol. some just arent me
cool grey jordan for me
if you have seven pairs of shoes somethings wrong wit u
Gel Lyte III Coves should be much higher
Or not even on the list
your probably one of these 90's baby's that don't know a retro is a rereleased shoe.
I agree 100%
I love the fact that the list wasn't all hype shoes even though some on the list shouldn't have made it.
That is your opinion. Just like the list is theirs.
"hype shoes" receive hype for a reason…
Yeah they do. Most of the time it's because they are limited and people just jump on the bandwagon
flint 13s shoulda been on da list
if the french blues (not flints) had the ORIGINAL and 05 RETRO 3M reflective material on these 2010s release, then HANDS DOWN TOP 10 SHOE ON THE LIST. I was truly disappointed that JB left that out.
bitch stfu….french blues? shove that shit up your ass nigguh….. last time i checked the mudguard was still flint grey….3m or not its one of the best releases of da year….its not like im taking pics of myself with the flash on like a homo to use da 3m how u probably do
Flint is grey, not blue.. what does the 3M material on the blue have to do with if theyre called Flints or not?
i cant believe they forgot the flint 13s (aka 'the shoe closest to original')…for a second i thought it made number 1 lol
Why is the big stage away Kobe v's on here
Its just the Kobe V in general not just the "Big Stage"
the 5 rings are in list.. where's the big stage?imo the big stage away is better tha 5rings CW..if they had to choose a KBV CW shoulda been that 1..
man the lebron 8 south beach was one of the craziest color way ever to bad freakin dallas sold out hahaha i thought i should be abovethe cool greys but its still in a good position =D
Sweeeet. Very good article SN. Very extensive as well, and that is always appreciated.
Correction… why aren't the Kobe v big stage aways on here???? The preheats could have been higher up… And number 1 is just a joke, however this is a pretty good article though keep up the good work sn
good job having your own picture of every shoe
Who at SN.com's verified that AJKO actually stands for "Air Jordan Knockout"……???……because even Gentry Humphrey couldn't answer G-Roc from TSG when asked what the actual abbreviation stands for…..so if it's fact, then put some info out on it with a credible source because alot of fans of that shoe, myself included, have wanted to know that answer for years…..if it's a guess, say it's a guess.
It's a fact young man, just do your research on livelongairjordan.com where it breaks down the entire history in a whole on the AJKO.
Thanks
Sorry, we can't find "www.livelongairjordan.com". We suggest that you check the spelling of the web address or search above.
i dont know. its been clearly stated that it doesnt stand for knockout. so take it as it is
at least the whole thing wasnt jordans
Very NICE job, SN. Seriously! I know yall put a lot of work into this list, from the photography to write up. Hats off. TM, what's up? I know you have been trying to figure out the AJKO mystery for a while now. G-Money was lost when I asked him that, lol. Oh yeah, Aaron and Yu-Ming, e-mail me your numbers. Send the e-mail to our gmail account. We definitely should have exchanged numbers in N.O. Well, I'm out. Really nice work.
Appreciate the love G-ROC!!
theshoegame.com G-ROC waddup!
YES an AIR MAX beat out Jordans
I thought it would've been the Infrared 90's but I guess since they released 2 years ago, the hype wasn't there. Which is good. I remember seeing the parras the first time, and I HAD to have em!! Then the hype came, and I lost interest. I personally don't see the major appeal of the 11's; it's a nice shoe but it's not for me.
couldnt agree more with the number one The parra x patta are the sickest shoes ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
what?
Everyone has their own opinion.. theirs is cool, not gonna knock it. looks like they put a lot of work into it.. (Good Job).. but i dont agree with number 1 at all… The fact that everytging is retro these days, I think The south beach LeBrons are the dopest shoes to drop in a while because they're not a retro, yet they're amazing. The first new basketball shoe since Jordan's hayday that got me excited. Flints should have been on the list for sure.. and one of my personal favorites were the emerald diamond turfs.. (but, to each their own)
Barcelona's?
i dont like # 1 at all there are other sneakers that came out this year better the shoe is dope it really is but does not derserve #1 maybe 5 instead thats just me
WHERE IS THE LIST AT?
Click "Next Page" in black right below it
i dont like # 1 at all there are other sneakers that came out this year better the shoe is dope it really is but does not derserve #1 maybe 5 instead thats just me
#1 skunk
#2 infrared pack
#3 cool Greys
#4 bin 13
Why are 13 altitude and flints not there
Olympic 7s probably shoulda been on the list somewhere but other than that.. No Complaints.. Great article
I agree. Not much hype on "For the Love of the Game" Olympic 7's. But still a legendary shoe. Should have been somewhere on the list.
When the hell did the skunks have a zippered stash pocket?
Its not a zippered stash pocket. Its a velco stash pocket on the inside of the tongue. Every pair of Skunks has the stash pocket. Its so skaters can hide their skunk w**d
Wow two thumbs down and a reply from someone who is clearly stupid, i was pointing out the fact the write up about the shoe was wrong, try reading things before u reply…(the Skunk Dunks showed up in stores on the likeliest of days, equipped with a zippered stash pouch in the tongue and some other less than subtle nods to the “skunky” concept.) idiots
Yeah i own #14 and # 7
I agree with the #1 spot. It was a really dope original design that wound up being super rare, probably the only shoe released this year thats already reselling for almost $1000. Materials were top notch making even a familiar air max 1 design look fresh. In it's own circle of fans these sparked a lot of interest.
you must be fucking stupid if you paid $1000 for a re-retro.
are you retarted? 1st off the parraxpattas are not re-retros, second off where in my post did I say I spent 1000 on them? I said they were reselling for almost that much. Learn how to read before u comment on my posts
If that's the top 30 I hate to see what 2011 is gonna bring us.
If you visit SN often, you've already seen some of the releases scheduled for 2011. Any top "whatever" list is opinion, this is theirs.
Just my opinion, but the Lebron 8 "Pre-Heat" should have been #1.
This list is on point!
PARRA x PATTA x NIKE AIR MAX 1 yes, i didnt really feel the 11's good thing they werent #1
SN how did you guys leave off the olympic VII's?
THE PARAS ARE DEFINITELY NOT #1, dope sneaker, but #1 is a really long stretch, cant really understad how the flints and olympic VIIs didnt make the list, especially n light of some of the weaker selections, but overall the list is versatile, cant please every1 I guess
Great job SN! I know you had to work ur asses off to make this happen. Good read and good list, even though like anyone else, mine would be different, but to take ALL the kicks that dropped this year and make a list of 30 is an amazing task, and you def made it happen in a very good way. Congrats and Happy New Years!
I own half of these. Not bad but I think some of these shouldn't have been on here and other should be that aren't
I feel the skunks are too low lol naaah thats prolly because I'm an SB head and I own em!
but I felt the list was very good, maybe flints and olympic 7s shoulda been on but its all good.
I definitely feel number 1 was perfect.
I like the cool greys a lot but idk maybe they coulda been a lil lower.
but sneakernews did an overall great job!
to everyone calling the FRENCH BLUE 13s "flints", they are not truly flints without the 3M reflective material!!
Your so wrong bro. Flint refers to the grey in the shoe.. Flint is grey, NOT blue. The shoes are French blue and Flint grey… look it up!
idiot
they are called the flints if u got the box it will read flint-grey thats were da word flint comes from not because of 3m material
gets the award for most versatile list but it was sub-par to say the least way better stuff came out this year…
ppl talkin about the flints and the olympics need to think about that. Most of the sneakers on here are new shoes or new designs. The ones that are retros are retros that we haven't seen in a long time (cool greys 01, ajko, infrared) I love em both but the flints were just released in 05 and the olympics in 04 so its less likely that they will beat out a brand new shoe or colorway.
Some shoes are classics, and will always have hype regardless of how far apart they're released. The flints and olympics are classics my dude. The list is top 30 shoes of 2010… not top 30 with a new colorway
not denying they aren't classics and hype made me copp this year also, but they aren't gonna make the list for the same reason the white/black IXs or the QF IIs arent gonna make it, they've been seen already
paras not # 1 they just hot because of the quantity, thank god! the cool grey's were not number one, and were are the kobe v big stages? NIKE as in (kobe's, lebron's,huarache's, any training shoe, lunar elite's) ruled!,
The BORN IN THE USA DUNK SB not on there?!
If you don't think the Springsteens deserve a top 30 for the year you're mental.
I realize everyone on here that thinks they're such a "sneakerhead" disses on Nike SB for all the hype and craziness of their designs/collabos but honestly you CANNOT deny that it's a top 30 sneaker for 2010. That's just bullshit.
The cool greys shoulda been #1
shutup you weak ass bitch.
Yea they should have been smh
Motorsport 6's?
#1 Sucks!
WHO EVER CAME UP WITH THIS OUT COME OF THE LIST SHOULD BE SHOT SINCE THEY OBVIOUSLY HAVE NO SENSE OF STYLE WHAT SO EVER THOSE KOBE BRYANT HYPER DUNK SHOES ARE NOT THAT GREAT THEY ACTUALLY SUCK! AT LEAST THE SOUTH BEACHE ANDE COOL GREYS MADE THE LIST ICH WOULD ONLY BEEN RIGHT
Shot? Really, son?
I THINK SOMEBODY PLAYED WIH THESE NUMBERS!
I started buying sneakers in November..so far I've copped the Pippen 1's Air More Olympics Uptempo 97's Lebron South Beaches Cool Grey's and Kobe Grinches. Ayyy.
Blue boxes were pretty weak but I would have liked to see the Born In The USA SBs in here and maybe even the Yellow Curbs.
what a joke the infrared pack is the best and should of been number 1 all these other sneakers besides the js are wack
Those Parra X Patta's are TRASH
no hyperdunk ?
Pretty interesting list. More than half the list would not make my Top 30 2010 sneakers and most of the sneakers that are worthy of being on here are ranked wrong. I can appreciate the versatility of the list and the effort put forward. IMO this is what the top 5 should look like.
1) Lunar Macleay
2) Patta Air Max 1
3) Lunar Woven Chukka
4) Missoni Chuck Taylor
5) Supreme SB 94
Honorable mentions>>>Skunk Dunk Sb, Adidas Fortitude, Burn Rubber NB
The forgotten few>>>Adidas X Luker Superstars, NB 577 KBR 24 Kilates, Nike All Court Twist, Nike Lunar Trail Elite QS