My Favorite 75 Albums Of 2009
Posted By Ben W. on December 28, 2009
It was not the year of New York rock rebirth (see 2001). It was not the year of garage rock revival (see 2002). It was not the year of dance punk (see 2003). It was not the year of second-wave British post-punk (see 2005). It was not the year of electro (see 2007). It was not the year of mainstream hip hop gold (see 2008).
Nope. 2009 was the year of nothing.
And I guess you can make the case that the lack of easy genre-tagging and movement-making is a good thing. Why box something in? Blah, blah, blah. Personally, I think it sucks.
I think it’s important for regional sounds to develop and play off each other. I think it’s important for bands to get jealous of their friends, compete, and push each other toward greater heights. I think it’s important for a particular city’s styles and vibes to coalesce locally for a bit before exploding nationally and then internationally to a suddenly-adoring public.
The Internet doesn’t really make that possible anymore, though. Everywhere is everywhere now. There is no local. And nothing develops. It’s all now.
This has been true for most of the decade, but 2009 was the first year I really noticed the effect on new releases.
So with that in mind, here is my list of favorite 2009 albums, in full. The reader will find no common thread. There’s virtually no relation whatsoever between the albums listed; very little at all to tie them to 2009. Which makes this all kind of a weird vacuum.
But on the plus side, there is some very good music here. I hope you enjoy sifting through the list (just click on the album title and it will link you to a summary and video), and thanks – as always – for reading.
MY FAVORITE 75 ALBUMS OF 2009
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
67. Let The Dominoes Fall – Rancid
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
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
46. Watch Me Fall — Jay Reatard
45. 200 Million Thousand – The Black Lips
44. Now We Can See – The Thermals
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
37. I’m Going Away — Fiery Furnaces
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
27. In And Out Of Control — The Raveonettes
26. Primary Colours — The Horrors
25. Goodnight Oslo – Robyn Hitchcock
24. Face Control – Handsome Furs
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
13. Dark Days/Light Years — Super Furry Animals
12. My Maudlin Career – Camera Obscura
11. Grace/Wastelands – Pete Doherty
10. BLACKsummer’snight – Maxwell
7. Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… Pt. 2 – Raekwon
3. Years Of Refusal — Morrissey
2. Travels With Myself And Another — Future Of The Left
Our other expert picks:
No related posts.
Karate offends me.
Also, 2009 was the year of pretentious boring music made in GarageBand.
Ben, don’t you have anything for 2010 yet??