My Favorite 75 Albums Of 2009 — Dec. 20
Posted By Ben W. on December 20, 2009
Last weekend before Christmas. Hope you got your shopping done.
What’s that? You haven’t started yet?
Well, might as well put it off for another 10 minutes. Read about three more great 2009 albums before you go out.
18. Popular Songs — Yo La Tengo
Kind of a frustrating album. The first half is full of Yo La Tengo’s trademarked brand of dreamy, eclectic pop. Then the second half is undistinguished hazy jam audio boredom. My advice? Simple enough. Listen to the first half. Ignore the second.
17. The Liberty Of Norton Folgate — Madness
This one was a real treat. Madness returned with a semi-concept album about London — its neighborhoods and inhabitants — and how it has changed in the last three decades. The lyrics, as usual, are wonderful. The music highlights their pure pop sensibilities over their standard ska sound with great results. Bands with 20 years separating them from their hey day never sound this good, do they? It’s remarkable.
16. Man On The Moon: The End Of Day — Kid Cudi
The almostfourstars hate for this album is well-documented. Funny thing, though. The more I heard this album the more I realized my initial negativity was wrong. I stand by my opinion that the lyrics are crap. They really, really are. But the album succeeds in spite of Cudi’s insipid words. The key is the music. His gift for melody and song structure are obvious, and production-wise Man On The Moon is an absolute tour-de-force. (Plus “Make Her Say” seriously is the song of the year.)
Check back tomorrow for Day 21 of the Advent calendar countdown. We’ll be listing three albums every day from now through Christmas when we get to No. 1.
Click DAY ONE to view Nos. 75-73.
Click DAY TWO to view Nos. 72-70.
Click DAY THREE to view Nos. 69-67.
Click DAY FOUR to view Nos. 66-64.
Click DAY FIVE to view Nos. 63-61.
Click DAY SIX to view Nos. 60-58.
Click DAY SEVEN to view Nos. 57-55.
Click DAY EIGHT to view Nos. 54-52.
Click DAY NINE to view Nos. 51-49.
Click DAY 10 to view Nos. 48-46.
Click DAY 11 to view Nos. 45-43.
Click DAY 12 to view Nos. 42-40.
Click DAY 13 to view Nos. 39-37.
Click DAY 14 to view Nos. 36-34.
Click DAY 15 to view Nos. 33-31.
Click DAY 16 to view Nos. 30-28.
Click DAY 17 to view Nos. 27-25.
Click DAY 18 to view Nos. 24-22.
Click DAY 19 to view Nos. 21-19.
MY FAVORITE 75 ALBUMS OF 2009 (THE LIST SO FAR)
75. Man Of Aran (Soundtrack) – British Sea Power
74. March Of The Zapotec/Holland EP – Beirut
73. Changing Horses – Ben Kweller
72. It’s Frightening – White Rabbits
71. Living Thing – Peter Bjorn And John
70. Working On A Dream – Bruce Springsteen
69. 21st Century Breakdown – Green Day
68. Grrr… – Bishop Allen
67. Let The Dominoes Fall – Rancid
66. Kingdom Of Rust – Doves
65. Get Guilty – A.C. Newman
64. Hands – Little Boots
63. Further Complications — Jarvis Cocker
62. Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future — The Bird And The Bee
61. The Love Language — The Love Language
60. The Crying Light — Antony And The Johnsons
59. Don’t Stop — Annie
58. My Way — Ian Brown
57. Post Electric Blues — Idlewild
56. Dragonslayer — Sunset Rubdown
55. Middle Cyclone — Neko Case
54. Tongue ‘N Cheek — Dizzee Rascal
53. Art Brut Vs. Satan — Art Brut
52. Tonight: Franz Ferdinand — Franz Ferdinand
51. Phrazes For The Young — Julian Casablancas
50. It’s Not Me, It’s You — Lily Allen
49. The Hazards Of Love — The Decemberists
48. Album — Girls
47. Manners — Passion Pit
46. Watch Me Fall — Jay Reatard
45. 200 Million Thousand – The Black Lips
44. Now We Can See – The Thermals
43. Scars – Basement Jaxx
42. Ghostdini The Wizard Of Poetry In The Emerald City — Ghostface Killah
41. Yesterday And Today — The Field
40. The Duckworth Lewis Method — The Duckworth Lewis Method
39. Merriweather Post Pavilion — Animal Collective
38. Love 2 — Air
37. I’m Going Away — Fiery Furnaces
36. Junior — Royksopp
35. Ignore The Ignorant — The Cribs
34. Wall Of Arms — The Maccabees
33. Ready For The Weekend — Calvin Harris
32. A Brief History Of Love — The Big Pink
31. Temporary Pleasure — Simian Mobile Disco
30. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix — Phoenix
29. West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum — Kasabian
28. UGK 4 Life — UGK
27. In And Out Of Control — The Raveonettes
26. Primary Colours — The Horrors
25. Goodnight Oslo – Robyn Hitchcock
24. Face Control – Handsome Furs
23. The Blueprint 3 – Jay-Z
22. Attention Deficit – Wale
21. It’s Blitz! — Yeah Yeah Yeahs
20. Mo Beauty — Alec Ounsworth
19. The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart — The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
18. Popular Songs — Yo La Tengo
17. The Liberty Of Norton Folgate — Madness
16. Man On The Moon: The End Of Day — Kid Cudi
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that kid cudi video is surprisingly well-done – hadn’t seen it before.
The second half of the Yo La Tengo album is much better if you play it backwards. The first half (the new second half) not so much…