Best/Favorite Music of 2009 Thread

[If you shout...]

I have only been employed for five months, this year, which has meant a LOT of spare time. I can't even begin to count how many albums (and particularly compilations) I've heard, this year. Not all or even most from 2009, mind...but my in-progress BEST of 2009 (ie, just the albums I loved) right now features 68 records. Not including comps or reissues.

Actually, that's a good place to start, here. I recommend the following reissues and comps, released in 2009...

And let's not forget this year's Motown singles releases, the Radiohead exploitations, the Miles Davis 71-disc extravaganza for the ages, or the mono and stereo The Beatles reissues!

 

[bono_212]

OH! You listened to 100 albums period in the last three weeks? I thought you meant just from 2009. Nevermind.

 

[If you shout...]

OH! You listened to 100 albums period in the last three weeks? I thought you meant just from 2009. Nevermind.

Yeah, just new to me. Like, albums to which I listened for the first time. About half from 2009. Give or take.

 

[Joey788]

I write for a music website so I actually had to come up with a list. Lots of enjoyable music out there this year.

1. U2 – No Line on the Horizon
2. St. Vincent – Actor
3. Metric – Fantasies
4. Bat for Lashes – Two Suns
5. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz!
6. Silversun Pickups – Swoon
7. Depeche Mode – Sounds of the Universe
8. Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion
9. Civil Twilight – Civil Twilight
10. Paramore – Brand New Eyes
11. The Decemberists – The Hazards of Love
12. Cymbals Eat Guitars – Why There Are Mountains
13. The Dead Weather – Horehound
14. Wolfmother - Cosmic Egg
15. Andrew Bird – Noble Beast
16. Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
17. Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest
18. Mastodon – Crack the Skye
19. Tegan and Sara - Sainthood
20. Karen O and the Kids – Where the Wild Things Are OST

 

[u2popmofo]

Well, #33 on the singles list surprised me

Yeah, surprised me as well. I personally would have taken a number of other songs from the album, or other singles, over that.

Future Of The Left

I forgot all about that, and SHEEEEESH, is it expensive to buy.

1. U2 – No Line on the Horizon
4. Bat for Lashes – Two Suns
5. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz!
6. Silversun Pickups – Swoon
8. Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion
11. The Decemberists – The Hazards of Love
13. The Dead Weather – Horehound
15. Andrew Bird – Noble Beast
16. Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
17. Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest
18. Mastodon – Crack the Skye

I'm a fanny of these.

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

I will say that I enjoyed '08 more than '09 in terms of new musics. Like, quite a bit more. '09 was still cool, though.

 

[onebloodonelife]

I will say that I enjoyed '08 more than '09 in terms of new musics. Like, quite a bit more. '09 was still cool, though.

I find this statement bizarre. I've heard several people say such things about this year, but even with some disappointments, this year's been the strongest and most consistent for new music in recent memory for me.

I might try to muster up a list, though it may end up being unranked. I've heard too many great albums this year to decide!

 

[LemonMelon]

I find this statement bizarre. I've heard several people say such things about this year, but even with some disappointments, this year's been the strongest and most consistent for new music in recent memory for me.

I might try to muster up a list, though it may end up being unranked. I've heard too many great albums this year to decide!

Out of all 100 albums I've heard this year, I would only consider one a masterpiece, and that's Veckatimest. Out of however many I listened to last year, I think somewhere in the 60 region, Dear Science, For Emma, Fleet Foxes, and In Ghost Colours blew me away. That's why I personally believe 2008 was a lot better.

 

[GibsonExplorer]

2009 was a fabulous year in music. My top 10:

1. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
2. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
3. Neko Case - Middle Cyclone
4. Metric - Fantasies
5. Andrew Bird - Noble Beast
6. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
7. Yeah Yeah Yeah - It's Blitz!
8. Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
9. Sunset Rubdown - Dragonslayer
10. Fanfarlo - Reservoir

 

[onebloodonelife]

Out of all 100 albums I've heard this year, I would only consider one a masterpiece, and that's Veckatimest. Out of however many I listened to last year, I think somewhere in the 60 region, Dear Science, For Emma, Fleet Foxes, and In Ghost Colours blew me away. That's why I personally believe 2008 was a lot better.

Fair enough, I can respect that. I didn't hear Dear Science until this year and still listen to For Emma occasionally, but the other two have slipped considerably in my rankings over the past year. Veckatimest, Bitte Orca, Songs of Shame, MPP, Never Better, The Ecstatic, and Embryonic in one year though? And those aren't even the "very solid" albums from this year, just the 4.5/5 or 5/5 albums for me.

 

[MilotheMayor]

Top 30:
30. Micachu - Jewellery
29. Ramona Falls - Intuit
28. Clipse - Til the Casket Drops
27. Mos Def - The Ecstatic
26. Sunset Rubdown - Dragonslayer
25. Bat for Lashes - Two Suns
24. Girls - Album
23. The xx - xx
22. Soap&Skin - Lovetune for Vacuum
21. Atlas Sound - Logos
20. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
19. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
18. A Sunny Day in Glasgow - Ashes Grammar
17. Mount Eerie - Wind's Poem
16. HEALTH - Get Color
15. Future of the Left - Travels With Myself and Another
14. The Horrors - Primary Colours
13. The Drums - 'Summertime!'
12. Raekwon - Built 4 Cuban Linx...Pt II
11. The Flaming Lips - Embryonic
10. Fever Ray - Fever Ray
09. Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
08. Animal Collective - Fall Be Kind
07. Cymbals Eat Guitars - Why There Are Mountains
06. Florence + The Machine - Lungs
05. The Antlers - Hospice
04. St. Vincent - Actor
03. Mew - No More Stories...
02. Wild Beasts - Two Dancers
01. Dan Deacon - Bromst

 

[bono_212]

Whoa! Bromst at number 1? That's kind of awesome. I loved that album for about a month, and it peaked with seeing him live. After that, the album didn't quite compare to how great the live performance was lol.

 

[LemonMelon]

Fair enough, I can respect that. I didn't hear Dear Science until this year and still listen to For Emma occasionally, but the other two have slipped considerably in my rankings over the past year. Veckatimest, Bitte Orca, Songs of Shame, MPP, Never Better, The Ecstatic, and Embryonic in one year though? And those aren't even the "very solid" albums from this year, just the 4.5/5 or 5/5 albums for me.

Well, one thing is for sure, our top 10s won't be terribly different. Veckatimest, Never Better, and Embryonic are all strong candidates for mine, with MPP an honorable mention. I really have never liked Bitte Orca though, because I can't stand Longstreth.

The Ecstatic was a possible last-second listen for me. What's Woods' album like?

 

[AtomicBono]

hmm.

top 5, for now:
U2 - No Line on the Horizon
Emery - In Shallow Seas We Sail
We Were Promised Jetpacks - These Four Walls
Porcupine Tree - The Incident
The Fall of Troy - In The Unlikely Event

i might do a list of songs later, but ones that stand out at the moment are (in no order)
The Twilight Sad - Interrupted
Ex Libras - Underachiever
We Were Promised Jetpacks - It's Thunder and It's Lightning
Tides From Nebula - Shall We?
Thrice - Circles
Pure Reason Revolution - Deus Ex Machina
can't even pick my favourite from NLOTH...perhaps the title track.

 

[onebloodonelife]

Well, one thing is for sure, our top 10s won't be terribly different. Veckatimest, Never Better, and Embryonic are all strong candidates for mine, with MPP an honorable mention. I really have never liked Bitte Orca though, because I can't stand Longstreth.

The Ecstatic was a possible last-second listen for me. What's Woods' album like?

Yeah, I sort of figured they would be. I do remember you talking about your dislike for Longstreth, which I understand, but I dig that album so damn much that it's not even funny.

Duuuude, if you haven't listened to The Ecstatic yet, you need to. Now. J Dilla, Madlib, and Oh No contributing beats, and Mos Def and Talib Kweli on a track ("History") together for the first time in years! Easily my top hip-hop album of the year. I'm pretty sure you'll love it too, so check it out before the end of the year.

Songs of Shame is, if I had to peg it with a broad genre, lo-fi psychedelic folk. Not quite sure what it is that's so intriguing about it for me, but I love the lead singer's voice, and lo-fi done well is guaranteed to make me a very happy person.

 

[LemonMelon]

Duuuude, if you haven't listened to The Ecstatic yet, you need to. Now. J Dilla, Madlib, and Oh No contributing beats, and Mos Def and Talib Kweli on a track ("History") together for the first time in years! Easily my top hip-hop album of the year. I'm pretty sure you'll love it too, so check it out before the end of the year.

Holy fuck. OK, yes, that and Built 4 Cuban Linx, Pt. 2 are must-listens as far as hip-hop goes then. My selections this year have been few and far between, but all highly acclaimed. Never Better, Jay Stay Paid, and Brother Ali's Us were the big ones.

Re: Woods, which track do you suggest hearing first? Normally, I'd happily dive right in, but I'm running a bit short on time here, as I need to re-listen to other albums as well.

 

[onebloodonelife]

Holy fuck. OK, yes, that and Built 4 Cuban Linx, Pt. 2 are must-listens as far as hip-hop goes then. My selections this year have been few and far between, but all highly acclaimed. Never Better, Jay Stay Paid, and Brother Ali's Us were the big ones.

Re: Woods, which track do you suggest hearing first? Normally, I'd happily dive right in, but I'm running a bit short on time here, as I need to re-listen to other albums as well.

Ah, that reminds me, I still need to give Built 4 Cuban Linx, Pt. 2 a few listens! So much music, so little time...

Us is yet another very solid album for me, and Brother Ali gets better and better every time I give him a listen.

I'd say to go ahead with "Rain On," excellent song, just made 70-something on Pitchfork's Top 100 songs of 2009 list.

 

[LemonMelon]

Thanks a bunch, Cassie. I'm glad this thread can be of value even without lists, per se, because I won't be able to contribute one for a while...I'm a perfectionist that way.

 

[LMP]

I still have a bunch to listen to before I can produce a list I'm proud of, but rest assured that "Watching the Planets" by The F'Lips will probably still be my Song of the Year from my current Album of the Year.

Oh, oh, oh...

 

[corianderstem]

Favorite albums of this year, in a somewhat vague order:

U2 - No Line On the Horizon
Franz Ferdinand - Tonight
Little Boots - Hands
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz!
Gossip - Music For Men
Metric - Fantasies
Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
Lily Allen - It's Not Me, It's You

Albums I really liked, but probably didn't spend quite enough time with them yet to make the "favorites" list (probably because I spend too much time listening to my iPod on shuffle):

a-ha - Foot Of the Mountain
Royksopp - Junior
The Airborne Toxic Event - The Airborne Toxic Event
La Roux - La Roux
The Avett Brothers - I and Love and You
Noisettes - Wild Young Hearts
The Flaming Lips - Embryonic
The xx - xx
Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
St. Vincent - Actor
BLK JKS - After Robots
Neko Case - Middle Cyclone
Wilco - Wilco (The Album)
Muse - Uprising

Albums that are pretty new, so not sure where they fall yet, but I really dig them anyway:

Lady GaGa - The Fame Monster
Norah Jones - The Fall

 

[bono_212]

I keep forgetting to rank The Fame Monster. I'll have to give it another spin first. Only liked a couple things on it though. Which reminds me, is "Telephone" an official single, or was my local pop radio station just playing it for the hell of it? If it's a single, good Lord is she putting them out quickly. /Lances Mom joke somewhere in there.


Also, Cori, no love for Lily Allen? It feels like it'd be something you'd like...

 

[corianderstem]

Aw fudge, I knew I forgot something.

Yeah, Lily Allen makes it to the favorites list. That's pretty lame to forget her. Eh, it's what I get from pulling my list from my big-ass spreadsheet of CDs. My eyes started to blur.

Not sure on Telephone - I hope they make it a single, because it kicks ass.

 

[bono_212]

Aw fudge, I knew I forgot something.

Yeah, Lily Allen makes it to the favorites list. That's pretty lame to forget her. Eh, it's what I get from pulling my list from my big-ass spreadsheet of CDs. My eyes started to blur.

Not sure on Telephone - I hope they make it a single, because it kicks ass.

Hahha, it's ok, I was just surprised that something pop related that GAF and I like wasn't on your list

"Telephone" gets better each time I hear it but I'm not quite sold yet. I will cry the emoist of tears if "Monster" is released as a single.

 

[corianderstem]

The only song I didn't like at first was Teeth, but the more I hear it, the more I like it. It's definitely unlike anything else she's done so far.

 

[LemonMelon]

Not sure on Telephone - I hope they make it a single, because it kicks ass.

I hate that I know it IS going to be the next single.

 

[bono_212]

I hate that I know it IS going to be the next single.

Keep lying to yourself about how much you don't like her. Go on.

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

Lily's album rules

If I could somehow find a way to justify putting the 5 new songs on the Fearless re-release on my list, that would easily be in my Top 10. But I wouldn't know what to call it. The Fearless EP? I think that's what I'll go with.

 

[corianderstem]

Crap, I forgot another album for that second list: Pet Shop Boys - Yes.

And now ... my favorite songs! You can tell that my pop tastes mostly lie in a fabulous single. I cannot resist a really great pop hook. I'm a sucker for it. Woe.

U2 - Breathe and Unknown Caller
Little Boots - Remedy
Lady GaGa - Paparazzi and Bad Romance
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Heads Will Roll
Metric - Help I'm Alive
La Roux - Bulletproof
Phoenix - 1901
Jace Everett - Bad Things (theme from True Blood)
Jordin Sparks - Battlefield (better go and get your armor, yo)
Lily Allen - The Fear
Royksopp - The Girl and the Robot (come back with another album, Robyn!)
Animal Collective - My Girls
Dirty Projectors - Useful Chamber
Britney Spears - If U Seek Amy (I know, I know ... it's horrid and juvenile ... but completely awesome!)
Franz Ferdinand - Lucid Dreams

Kelly Clarkson's "My Life Would Suck Without You" didn't make this list because while it was shiny and catchy, it was trying too hard to recapture her "Since U Been Gone" glory after trying hard to do her own thing and commercially failing. Poor Kell-Bell. It's a solid pop album, though. Just not as good as Breakaway.

 

[bono_212]

Favorite songs is giving me a bit of trouble. Well, not picking them, but ranking them.

Jordin Sparks album disappointed me sooooo much. What a terrible follow-up.

 

[corianderstem]

I hadn't planned on buying Jordin's album - I didn't even bother buying her first one (and yes, I do own a good handful of Idol CDs. I actually want to get Allison Iraheta's as well - a few good pop songs surrounded by too many ballads, but those few good pop songs are damn good).

Then I heard Battlefield and had to have it. One or two other decent songs, and the rest is crap. I was disappointed with Don't Let It Go To Your Head, as the Fefe Dobson original is light years better.

Anyway! I'm probably driving everyone away from the thread with all my horrifying pop music love.