Here are my top 20 albums of 2009. As always, I’ll probably change my mind tomorrow, but I’m such a listnerd that I don’t care.
Best of 2009
I’ve seen these types of lists in several places, and I’m addicted to listing things, so here goes:
1. Kid A - Radiohead (2 Oct. 2000). Rarely does an album change the way I think about the idea of “music.” This album did. Best track: “Optimistic.” Jesus, every time I hear the beginning of this song…chills. “How to Disappear Completely” is real close.
2. Lifted or the Story is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground - Bright Eyes (13 Aug. 2002). In my mind, almost as innovative and revolutionary as Kid A, and this becomes a near-tie when I factor in the emotional response I have to these songs. Best track: “Bowl of Oranges” may be the most well-written song I’ve ever heard. Seriously.
3. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot - Wilco (23 Apr. 2002). I really liked this band before this album came out (thanks, Summerteeth), but wow. What they did to what I’ve always thought of as “my” music really impacted me as a musician. Best track: “Jesus, etc.” Pretty close to perfection.
4. Illinois - Sufjan Stevens (5 July 2005). A human made this? Are you sure it wasn’t angels? Just beautiful, from start to finish. I really believe this album will go down as the Sgt. Pepper’s of my generation (“studio” music at its finest). Best track: “Come On! Feel the Illinoise!” The transition into the ”I cried myself to sleep last night” section makes me so happy every time I hear it.
5. Boxer - The National (22 May 2007). There isn’t a better wordsmith working today that Matt Berninger. This album combines his songs with some of the most shimmery yet somber music I’ve heard. For all intents, it should be boring. But it never is. How do they do that? Best track: “Slow Show.” That end bit combined with “I better get my shit together, better gather my shit in” - I am so jealous of these guys.
6. Boys and Girls in America - The Hold Steady (3 Oct. 2006). I can’t help but smile every time I hear this album. And I hear it a lot. Really hard to pick one great song off of here, because they are all genuinely great. With that in mind, Best track: It’s a tie between “First Night” (for lyrical reasons) and “Southtown Girls” (for musical reasons).
7. Furr - Blitzen Trapper (23 Sept. 2008). I just love these guys. If I had to pick a “sound,” this band would be my blueprint. Plus, as much as I love this album, the tour-only EP proved they could’ve easily made it to 70 minutes without losing any steam. Best track: “Furr.” Hands-down, the best song of the last five years. Even with that fact, “Black River Killer” is still pretty close.
8. Funeral - Arcade Fire (14 Sept. 2004). Much like numbers 1 through 3 on the list, this album really changed music for me. The difference is, this one also introduced me to a band, rather than being released by an artist with which I was already familiar. Double-plus good. Best track: I’ll never forget the first time I heard “Wake Up.” Damn.
9. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga - Spoon (10 July 2007). This album began my obsession with albums that clock in at 30 minutes or so. I’ve decided these are the types of albums I’ll always want to make, because when it’s over, I always want more. This particular album typifies that idea. Best track: “The Underdog.” How much fun can one person have just by listening to one song? I’ll let you know (it’ll be soon).
10. For Emma, Forever Ago - Bon Iver (19 Feb. 2008). This album is fantastic on its own, but when combined with the now-famous mythology behind its conception and creation, it resonates that much more. If I want low-key, anytime music, this is where I go. Best track: “Re: Stacks” ends the album in the way that all albums should end. I don’t even know what I mean exactly; I just know that’s how I feel.
Now for some more, without all the talking:
11. Chutes Too Narrow - The Shins (21 Oct. 2003). Best track - “Pink Bullets.”
12. Dear Science, - TV on the Radio (23 Sept. 2008). Best track: “Golden Age.”
13. Veckatimest - Grizzly Bear (26 May 2009). Best track: “Two Weeks.”
14. Amnesiac - Radiohead (4 June 2001). Best track: “Pyramid Song.”
15. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix - Phoenix (25 May 2009). Best track: ”1901.”
16. Wild Mountain Nation - Blitzen Trapper (12 June 2007). Best track: “Wild Mountain Nation.”
17. Reunion Tour - The Weakerthans (25 Sept. 2007). Best track: “Virtute the Cat Explains Her Departure.”
18. The Midnight Organ Fight - Frightened Rabbit (15 Apr. 2008). Best track: “My Backwards Walk.”
19. Songs for the Deaf - Queens of the Stone Age (27 Aug. 2002). Best track: “The Sky is Fallin’”
20. Alopecia - Why? (11 Mar. 2008). Best track: “The Hollows.”
21. Emotionalism - The Avett Brothers (15 May 2007). Best track: “Will You Return?”
22. Bitte Orca - Dirty Projectors (9 June 2009). Best track: “Stillness is the Move.”
23. Because of the Times - Kings of Leon (3 Apr. 2007). Best track: “The Runner.”
24. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes (3 June 2008). Best track: “Blue Ridge Mountains.”
25. Good News for People Who Love Bad News - Modest Mouse (6 Apr. 2004). Best track: “Float On.”
That’s all for now. That’s probably too much already.
Modest Mouse "King Rat" | The Masses -
Man, oh man, is this weird, unsettling, depressing, and fantastic, all at the same time.
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“Dear Mr. President,
Please make it rain candy.”
— A Pasadena, CA first-grader.
1. Middle Cyclone – Neko Case
2. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix – Phoenix
3. Hey Everyone! – Dananananaykroyd
4. The Crying Light – Antony and the Johnsons
5. Veckatimest – Grizzly Bear
6. It’s Blitz! – Yeah Yeah Yeahs
7. Welcome Home – Naked Gods
8. Davy – Coconut Records
9. The Hazards of Love – The Decemberists
10. Now We Can See – The Thermals
11. It’s Frightening – White Rabbits
12. Yonder is the Clock – The Felice Brothers
13. First Love – Emmy the Great
14. Timber Timbre – Timber Timbre
15. Elvis Perkins in Dearland – Elvis Perkins
16. Two Suns – Bat for Lashes
17. Dark Was the Night: A Red Hot Compilation – Various Artists
18. Years of Refusal – Morrissey
19. Tight Knit – Vetiver
20. Hold Time – M. Ward
21. Fantasies – Metric
22. Other Peoples’ Songs, Vol. 1 – The Sarcastic Dharma Society
23. Mama, I’m Swollen – Cursive
24. Dear John – Loney, Dear
25. Dark Days/Light Years – Super Furry Animals