Best of 2009: Music
Thursday, December 17th, 2009Last year I compiled a list of my favorite albums of 2008. I have decided to do that again this year for 2009.
It’s been a great year of music with some great rising artists and plenty of talented new ones. But some of the best music of this year were new releases from old bands and artist.
So this is a list of my favorite picks from this year. I also awarded Best Song of the Year, Best New Artist, and Best Rising Artist. And if you have any albums that you think i’ve looked over, please tell me. More wonderful melodies are always welcome.
Best Album of the Year
 10. "Lungs" - Florence + The Machine |
 9. "Troubadour" - K'Naan |
 8. "Stockholm Syndrome" - Derek Webb |
 7. "Up From Below" - Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros |
 6. "Far" - Regina Spektor |
 5. "The Resistance" - Muse |
 4. "Strict Joy" - The Swell Season |
 3. "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix" - Phoenix |
 2. "I and Love and You" - The Avett Brothers |
 1. "The Hazards of Love" - The Decemberists All of these picks on this list were hard to nail down in numerical order. I didn't really know what to determine one album being better than the other. So it just came down to this: what I listened to the most. The album I listened to the most this year was definitely The Decemberists' album, Hazards of Love. I just kept coming back to it. I didn't really like The Decemberists until they debuted this record at SXSW 2009 and it was love at first listen. |
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Best Song of the Year
Best Song of the Year: "My Girls" - Animal Collective
Ok. I must confess, I didn't like this whole album. I just couldn't get into Animal Collective as much as I wanted to when I first heard about them. I guess they are too weird for me. But I really loved this song. I couldn't stop listening to it this year. This song gives me hope for more Animal Collective. See for yourself.
Best New Artist
Best New Artist: Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
I first heard these guys on a Tiny Desk Concert on NPR's All Song's Considered Podcast. I saw at least eight or nine people playing instruments. What a large band. What was even better was their enthusiastic sound. This is a band I'm really looking forward to hearing more of.
Best Rising Artist
Best Rising Artist: Phoenix
Their poppy synth leads and catchy guitar riffs caught me instantly off guard. I didn't know what to do: sit there in astonishment or dance? This is music you want to move to. Every time I saw the new Cadillac commercial I had to turn up the TV and pause what I was doing to bust a move. This band got huge fast. And they will only get better.
