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this is a list of cd's i own. when i say own i mean spent money for a physical copy of a cd.

#

+44 - When Your Heart Stops Beating

A

The Academy Is... - Almost Here
Acceptance - Phantoms
Ryan Adams - Heartbreaker
Ryan Adams - Love Is Hell
Aerosmith - Devil's Got A New Disguise
AFI - Black Sails in the Sunset
AFI - The Art of Drowning
Alkaline Trio - Good Mourning
All - Problematic
Tori Amos - Tales of a Librarian
Angels & Airwaves - We Don't Need to Whisper
Angels & Airwaves - I-Empire
Anti-Flag - The Bright Lights of America
The Appleseed Cast - The End of the Ring Wars
The Appleseed Cast - low level owl: vol 1
The Arcade Fire - Funeral
Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare
Armor for Sleep - Dream to Make Believe
Armor for Sleep - What to Do When You Are Dead
Armor for Sleep -Smile For Them
Joseph Arthur - Come to Where I'm From
Joseph Arthur - Redemption's Son
Joseph Arthur - Our Shadows Will Remain
At the Drive-In - Relationship Of Command
The Ataris - Blue Skies, Broken Hearts...Next 12 Exits
The Ataris - End Is Forever
Atmosphere - You Can't Imagine How Much Fun We're Having
Atmosphere - When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold
The Audition - Controversy Loves Company

B

Bayside - Sirens and Condolences
The Beatles - Yellow Submarine
The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour
The Beatles - Abbey Road
The Beatles - Love
The Beatnigs - The Beatnigs
The Beautiful Mistake - Light a Match, For I Deserve to Burn
Beck - Guero
Benton Falls - Guilt Beats Hate
Better Than Ezra - Friction, Baby
Biology - Making Moves
Andrew Bird - Noble Beast
Bjork - Post
Bjork - Homogenic
The Bled - Found In The Flood
Blink 182 - Blink 182
Blink 182 - Greatest Hits
Bloc Party - A Weekend In The City
Bloc Party - Intimacy
Blue October - Foiled
James Blunt - Back to Bedlam
James Blunt - All The Lost Souls
Bond - Classified
Boxcar Racer - Boxcar Racer
Brand New - Your Favorite Weapon
Brand New - Deja Entendu
Brand New - The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me
Brand New - Daisy
Brandtson - Death & Taxes
Bright Eyes - Fevers and Mirrors
Bright Eyes - Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground
Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
Bright Eyes - Digital ash in a digital urn
Bright Eyes - Four Winds
Bright Eyes - Cassadaga
Bright Eyes - A Collection Of Songs Written And Recorded 1995 - 1997
Garth Brooks - Ropin' the Wind
Garth Brooks - In pieces
Jeff Buckley - Grace

C

Cage - Depart From Me
Camber - Wake Up And Be Happy
Camber - Anyway, I've Been There
Neko Case - Blacklisted
The Casket Lottery - Smoke and Mirrors
Chiodos - Bone Palace Ballet
Coheed and Cambria - Second Stage Turbine Blade
Coheed and Cambria - Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV, Vol1
Coldplay - A Rush Of Blood To The Head
Coldplay - Viva la Vida
Copeland - Beneath Medecine Tree
Copeland - In Motion
Copeland - Eat, Sleep, Repeat
Copeland - Know Nothing Stays the Same
Copeland - You Are My Sunshine
Count the Stars - Never Be Taken Alive
Counting Crows - Films About Ghosts
Jon Crocker - Death.
Jon Crocker - Farewell, America!
Cross My Heart - Temporary Contemporary
Cruiserweight - Sweet Weaponry
The Crystal Method - Vegas
The Cure - Disentegration
The Cure - Pornography
The Cure - The Head On The Door
The Cure - The Top
The Cure - 4:13 Dream
Cursive - Happy Hollow
Cursive - Mama, I'm Swollen

D

Dancehall Crashers - Lockjaw
Dashboard Confessional - MTV Unplugged V2.0
Dashboard Confessional - The Shade Of Poison Trees
Day Two - Never Come Home
Dead Red Sea - Birds
Death Cab for Cutie - The Stability E.P.
Death Cab for Cutie - Transatlantacism
Death Cab for Cutie - Plans
Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs
Depeche Mode - Violator
Descendents - I Don't Want To Grow Up
Desert City Soundtrack - Contents of distraction
Dido - Life for Rent
Ani DiFranco - Reckoning
Dishwalla - Pet Your Friends
DragonForce - Ultra Beatdown
Duran Duran - Liberty
Bob Dylan - The Essential Bob Dylan

E

E for Explosion - Paper Flowers EP
E for Explosion - Reinventing The Heartbeat
The Early November - For All of This
The Early November - The Acoustic EP
The Early November - The Room's Too Cold
Eleven Minutes Away - Arson Followed Me Home
Jeremy Enigk - Return Of The Frog Queen
Jeremy Enigk - The Missing Link
Jeremy Enigk - OK Bear
Explosions in the Sky - The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place

Un poco tarde debido a mis constantes viajes (paros), he aquí mi lista de lo que mis oídos agradecieron a lo largo del año pasado. No tienen porque estar de acuerdo, son sólo mis opiniones. Por estricto orden alfabético:

65daysofstatic - Escape From New York

Te deja un buen rato esperando el clímax, pero llega. Muchos dicen que es un disco sólo para fans por su contexto y corte, pero definitivamente es digno de escuchar.

A Day to Remember - Homesick

Tan simple como decir que fue mi soundtrack del año, tantos recuerdos escuchándolo. Desde The Downfall Of Us All hasta If It Means A Lot To You me es imposible darle stop. Con una producción más elaborada que el material previo (para bien o para mal) y letras simples como acostumbran, estoy segura que en 10 años lo voy a estar escuchando y voy a recordar esta etapa de mi vida. Altamente recomendado ya sea si se están mudando o no.

Between the Buried and Me - The Great Misdirect

Seis tracks como estos, es todo lo que se necesita para crear un monstruo y ellos lo hicieron. Excepcional técnicamente mezclando una gran cantidad de géneros. Saben de lo que son capaces y lo vuelven a hacer.

Brand New - Daisy

Fueron una de las sorpresas más gratas que tuve en el año, si bien el pasado fue bueno, este es aún mejor! Crudo, oscuro, salvaje y con un trabajo vocal impecable. En general bastante experimentado, cada track es diferente, único y especial. De mis favoritos sin duda alguna.

Connor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band - Outer South

Ese hombre no ha dejado de sorprenderme. Folk, folk y folk. Y entró a mi lista.

Dorena - Holofon

Sin cuestionarnos demasiado su aportación al género, este album es para olvidarte de eso y del mundo. He dicho.

dredg - The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion
[img][url=http://www.musicline.de/cover/Dredg_The+Pariah,The+Parrot,The+Delusion+%28Ltd.Deluxe%29_602527057316.jpg nofollow=yes]http://www.musicline.de/cover/Dredg_The+Pariah,The+Parrot,The+Delusion+%28Ltd.Deluxe%29_602527057316.jpg[/url]]
Mis expectativas eran muy altas, teniendo en cuenta que esta es una de mis 10 top bands y sinceramente me esperaba otro Catch Without Arms, pero no fue así, no hasta el momento. Con un tracklist poco usual debido al número de temas, este disco me produce el mismo efecto que sus trabajos anteriores, no sé qué decir hasta haberlo escuchado 28373773 veces, pero en definitiva me gusta.

Every Time I Die - New Junk Aesthetic

El mejor regalo que pude haber tenido en el día de mi cumpleaños y lo que en mi opinión es el mejor artwork de la lista, acompañan el album más completo de esta banda.

Expedición a las estrellas - 27

Y porque también hay propuestas nacionales de calidad, una larga espera bien valió la pena. Conceptual en su totalidad, este disco es como subirte a una montaña rusa. Vayan a verlos si tocan en su ciudad.

Fall of Efrafa - Inle

Lleno de contrastes, tan complicado y sencillo a la vez. Escucharlo sin interrupciones es un requisito.

Four Year Strong - Explains It All

Suenan tan feliz que me ponen así. Album de covers que hasta al más amargado deja con un buen sabor de boca.

IAMX - Kingdom of Welcome Addiction

Chris Corner vino con todo este año. Magnífico, sensual y sumamente interesante, más pausado que sus trabajos anteriores e incluso más sucio. Y el final soñado de todo disco.

Isis - Wavering Radiant

El tan esperado disco de la banda originaria de Boston llegó a mis oídos este 2009. Perfección de principio a fin, o se escucha todo, o mejor nada.

iwrestledabearonce - It's All Happening

Después de volverme adicta a su EP, al fin pude disfrutar del disco completo. Mejoraron aspectos técnicos teniendo en cuenta que grababan en una casa tipo DIY. Poder femenino de calidad que personalmente agradezco bastante.

Jeremy Enigk - OK Bear

El ex Sunny Day Real Estate se la jugó por voluntad propia. Superior a su debut como solista, es como una bocanada de aire fresco, sin pretenciones ni poses, sólo buena música.

Kings of Convenience - Declaration Of Dependence

Tiene relativamente poco de que los conocí, por recomendación y me alegro mucho el haberlo hecho. Un día lluvioso, una taza de alguna bebida caliente y este disco me han hecho bastante amenas algunas tardes.

Mew - No More Stories

Fue sin duda alguna una de las bandas que más me pudo no haber visto en vivo este año, Excelente disco con una portada bastante bizarra, buenas melodías, y un poco empalagoso, lo necesario como para ponerme de buenas.

Mono - Hymn To The Immortal Wind

Hermoso, devastador, puro y épico, la fórmula perfecta para que se haya convertido en uno de mis grandes favoritos. Los vi hace poco y el setlist es en gran parte temas de este disco.

Mouse On The Keys - an anxious object

Siendo una banda de ese estilo, pensé que innovar sería difícil y que al final harían como una continuación de Sezession aprovechando que contenía sólo cuatro tracks. Pero oh sorpresa. Un album mucho mas profundo, maduro, emocional y creativo, además de variado.

Morrissey - Years Of Refusal

Es como Pearl Jam. Recibió malas críticas, y si bien no es un disco clave en su carrera, es Morrissey, no necesita más y no es que me conforme con poco, pero es Morrissey, carajo!

Pearl Jam - Backspacer

Noveno disco de la banda. Sinceramente creo que como fan desde hace muchos años, lo iba a poner hicieran lo que hicieran. Y es que todo lo hacen bien. Pese a las malas críticas, hay que dejar hacer a veces lo que se le pegue la gana a las bandas. A mí me parece un disco divertido y agradable de escuchar. Bueno. Si supera o no supera lo anterior, eso es otro tema.

Rishloo - Feathergun

Junta todas esas cosas que tú mente no puede imaginar y tus oídos escuchar. Te persigue y te alcanza. Perfectamente fusionado.

The Heartsounds - Until We Surrender

Personalmente estaba muy interesada en escuchar el nuevo proyecto de Laura Nichol tras la desintegración de Light This City y creo que lo peor que podemos hacer es comparar. Otro estilo, del metal al punk rock melódico, igual de bueno, así de simple.

Sorry to trick everyone but it still seems to me that no one reads these journals anymore. I won't leave you hanging on the porn though. http://eskimotube.com/ is a good place for free porn. But on to more important things, my 2009 list.

--Top Ten--



Alice in Chains-Black Gives Way To Blue
I was hesitant about this one. The idea of a Chains album without Layne didn't sit to well with me but this album is awesome. William DuVall is no Layne but he's a worthy replacement. He and Jerry Cantrell harmonize and work so well together. AIC is back!




Baroness-Blue Record
The Red Album came really close on making my 2007 top ten list but I felt it was a little raw & unpolished. Not the Blue Record though. From start to finish this album has such and incredible flow to it. Their song writing is so much more focused and fluid. These guys are making quite a name for themselves.




Between the Buried and Me-The Great Misdirect
Just when I thought these guys couldn't get any better after 2007's Colors, they release this behemoth. While I loved Colors, I did think it was a little all over the place. Often being so progressive that they'd not return to any riff twice and songs would seem to just run on. The song writing on this one is more structured and easier to listen to in my opinion. Even the 17 minute Swim To The Moon seems to fly by. These guys are one of the most talented bands around. Every member of this band is at the top of the field at their instrument. Truly amazing record.




Converge-Axe To Fall
Converge is hit and miss with me. I didn't really enjoy them until 2001's Jane Doe. They followed that with 04's You Fail Me which was pretty good too but then disappointed me again with 06's No Heroes. Axe To Fall though is very good. A great mix of hardcore punk, noise, progressive, math elements. This album has it all. Their best effort yet in my book.




dredg-The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion
I like Dredg, always have. I was really looking forward to this album but had no clue it was gonna make my top ten. I must of listened to this album for 2 months straight. Not wanting to get to burnt on it, I shelved it for a while then put it back on and realized just how much I enjoy this record. Though some songs are a little bland, the rest of the album shines. Ireland might just be my song of the year. Highly recommended.




HORSE the band-Desperate Living
HORSE has always been high up on my list of entertaining bands. Heavy, quarky, clever, funny, and creative. But it was hard to take them too seriously with the nintendo like keyboards. They're great and fit the music but for some reason to me got to be too much. I know it's what they're all about but Desperate Living shows a darker, more experimental side while still finding a happy balance with the video game-like keys. The title track assaults you with blast beats and harsh vocals before calming down and building up to an incredible breakdown. Shapeshift takes you through a roller coaster of different changes. Overall, Desperate Living is the most well written and put together album they've released.




Isis-Wavering Radiant
You can't really expect Isis to dramatically evolve their sound too much. While I do hear differences from album to album, they've got a pretty distinguished and recognizable sound. Why change it too much anyways? It's proven to be a formula that works pretty well for them. Wavering Radiant is no different. 54 minutes of epic, emotional and atmospheric greatness. Aaron Turner's vocals are so much more clear and powerful. What's not to like about this. Put on some headphones, grab a beer or smoke a doob and sit down and enjoy this beast.




Mastodon-Crack The Skye
Though I love all of Mastodon's work, Crack The Skye shows me they've evolved a lot. From being a thrash metal band impressing me with how fast & hard they can play to a band that's learned how to sit down and really write a well though out, well structured song. Toned down in a lot of ways especially in Brann Dailor's drumming but the songs don't disappoint. There's not one I don't like. More prog than anything they've done before. It may not be my favorite Mastodon album but it deserves to make my top ten for sure.




The Number Twelve Looks Like You-Worse Than Alone
Maybe I being bias cause I'm a drummer and these guys have the best, Jon Karel (that's a youtube link to show you how badass he is). I bet you could record him for an hour and it would make my top ten list. But to boot Worse Than Alone has incredibly technical guitar work and song progressions. As well as much improved vocals that are easier on the ears. I can actually distinguish what he's saying some of the time. But vocals are never what made it for me with these guys anyways. The guitar & drum work for me alone on this album make it worthy of top ten. It's too bad the band decided to break up and call it quits at the end of the year. Hopefully we can expect Karel and guitarist to move onto other great projects.




Silversun Pickups-Swoon
Here's an album I was anticipating for a long time. Carnavas was awesome, so I was hoping they wouldn't fall into a sophomore slump and release a turd. Swoon didn't blow me away upon first listen. It actually grew on me the more I listened it. But for me if an album doesn't get old after playing it 250 times, chances are I'm enjoying the album. Silversun give me a Gish/Siamese Dream early Smashing Pumpkins vibe that I love. Good album by a band I hope can stick around and keep putting out good albums without getting too full of themselves like the pumpkins did.



--Other Great albums I enjoyed (not quite top ten)--





a textbook tragedy-Rain City State Of Mind
Wouldn't be fair to include a 5 song EP in a top ten but I thought about it. White Lightning is incredible, and the drumming on What's Pit Beef? makes me shit myself (not really)





Gifts From Enola-From Fathoms
Far more matured from their debut album. I had a hard time not putting this in the top ten.




Kylesa-Static Tensions
I almost didn't even pick up this album i disliked their earlier stuff so much but a fellow last.fm'er highly recommended it to me. Glad I got it, it's BADASS!




Them Crooked Vultures-Them Crooked Vultures
I was convinced this was gonna make top ten upon first listen but it got a little redundant after a while. It's great to hear John Paul Jones still kicking ass after all these years though.





Russian Circles-Geneva
I love the bass presence Brain Cook (of These Arms Are Snakes fame) brings to this band. I feel the album sometimes drags a little between the great moments though.




...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead-The Century Of Self
Big improvement from their previous So Divided. Really good album that I listened to a lot, but not great.




Coalesce-Ox
It only took them 10 years to release this. Not quite what I expected but overall really good. The Plot Against My Love probably one of my favorite heavy songs of the year.




Every Time I Die-New Junk Aesthetic
Another album I almost didn't get. Not super fond of their previous work. Some good, some so so. This one came highly recommended. Another badass record.




He Is Legend-It Hates You
Huge improvement from the turd Suck Out The Poison was. Some really cool songs on this album. Bummer they are currently on hiatus and could break up.




If These Trees Could Talk-Above The Earth, Below The Sky
I loved their debut ep and I love this one too. A great multi layered, heavy instrumental album.




It's Elephants-Get's Along
The band actually got ahold of me and emailed this album. Didn't really know what to expect but it's awesome. Dirty garage rock in the vein of early Kings of Leon. The 10 song album clocks in at around 20 minutes though which sucks. Should be twice as long in my opinion.




Long Distance Calling-Avoid The Light
Another badass heavy instrumental record. Well structured and put together. Awesome drummer, very tasty and precise .




Maybeshewill-Sing The Word Hope In Four-Part Harmony
Fell short of last years Not For Want Of Trying but in all fairness thats a hard act to follow. Still a really good listen.




Poison the Well-The Tropic Rot
Some great moments here and some moments fell a little flat too. Chris Hornbrook's best drumming performance yet.




The Red Chord-Fed Through The Teeth Machine
Heavy as shit, brutally fast, pounding rhythms. This album is tough as fuck!


--Good albums worth mentioning--


And So I Watch You From Afar-And So I Watch You From Afar

The Armed-These Are Lights

Arsonists Get All The Girls-Portals

Ben Harper and Relentless7-White Lies For Dark Times

BlakFish-Champions

Bloodhorse-Horizioner

Built to Spill-There Is No Enemy

Buried Inside-Spoils Of Failure

Burnt by the Sun-Heart Of Darkness

Children of Nova-The Complexity Of Light

CiLiCe-Deranged Headtrip

Collapse Under The Empire-Find A Place To Be Safe

Collapse Under The EmpireSystembreakdown

Crime In Choir-Gift Givers

Doomriders-Darkness Comes Alive

Dysrhythmia-Psychic Maps

eaststrikewest-Wolvves

The Fall of Troy-In The Unlikely Event

Fog in the Shell-Private South

Giant Squid-The Ichthyologist

Goonies never say Die-In A Forest Without Tress

Hand Of Fatima-Obake

Hull-Sole Lord

Irepress-Sol Eye Sea I

Jeremy Enigk-OK Bear

Karnivool-Sound Awake

Keelhaul-Keelhaul's Triumphant Return To Obscurity

King Sigh-Entering

The Mercury Program-Chez Viking

Mutiny on the Bounty-Danger Mouth

Narrows-New Distances

Pearl Jam-Backspacer

Pelican-What We All Come To Need

Pianos Become The Teeth-Old Pride

Portugal. The Man-The Satanic Satanist

Precious Fathers-Alluvial Fan

rooftops-A Forest Of Polarity

Oceans-Nothing Collapses

The Safety Fire-Sections

Scale The Summit-Carving Desert Canyons

Shelter Red-Strike A Mortal Terror

Sleeping In Gethsemane-Burrows

So Many Dynamos-The Loud Wars

Tides From Nebula-Aura

Tides of Man-Empire Theory

Toundra-Toundra

Tristeza-Fate Unfolds

Tubelord-Our First American Friends

Wolf & Cub-Science And Sorcery

YOB-The Great Cessation

You Already Know-Stop Whispering



--The biggest disappointments of the year--


Architects-Hollow Crown

The Arusha Accord-The Echo Verses

Biffy Clyro-Only Revolutions

The Black Dahlia Murder-Deflorate

Bygones-by-

The Chariot-Wars And Rumors Of Wars

Caspian-Tertia

Disappearer-The Clearing

Eleventh He Reaches London-Hollow Be Thy Name

Gaza-He Is Never Coming Back

I Am The Ocean-Escapist Fiction

Into the Moat-The Campaign

Into The Storm-Amist A Sea Of Chaos

Kaospilot-Shadows

The Mars Volta-Octahedron

Maserati-Passages

Minsk-With Echoes In The Movement Of Stone

Mono-Hymn To The Immortal Wind

Muse-The Resistance

Ostrova-Ostrova

pg.lost-In Never Out

Saxon Shore-It Doesn't Matter

Sights & Sounds-Monolith

Trophy Scars-Bad Luck

We Came As Romans-To Plant A Seed

Wolfmother-Cosmic Egg

Yeah Yeah Yeah's-It's Blitz!


That pretty much sums up 2009. Overall a pretty good year. Looking forward to a lot of good stuff to come in 2010.

Top 50 Artists as of January 1st, 2010:

1 The Microphones 1,407
2 Animal Collective 1,339
3 Radiohead 1,322
4 Thanksgiving 1,040
5 Neil Young 1,009
6 Mount Eerie 846
7 Do Make Say Think 812
8 Boards of Canada 746
9 Elliott Smith 743
10 The Books 711
11 The Beatles 669
12 Tom Waits 656
13 Built to Spill 634
14 Cat Stevens 628
15 Why? 553
16 Joanna Newsom 531
17 of Montreal 510
18 Aphex Twin 480
19 Pavement 448
20 Caribou 434
21 Adrian Orange & Her Band 410
22 Talk Talk 404
23 The Fun Years 402
24 Songs: Ohia 398
25 Modest Mouse 392
26 The American Analog Set 391
27 The Velvet Underground 387
28 Guided by Voices 385
29 Mississippi John Hurt 376
30 Grizzly Bear 365
30 Brian Eno 365
32 Polmo Polpo 363
32 The Olivia Tremor Control 363
34 Björk 362
35 Miles Davis 353
36 José González 345
37 Nick Drake 343
38 Frank Zappa 333
39 Tortoise 332
40 Jeremy Enigk 331
41 Silver Jews 326
41 Sunny Day Real Estate 326
43 Leonard Cohen 323
43 Bonnie 'Prince' Billy 323
43 Pixies 323
46 Sonic Youth 322
47 Broken Social Scene 321
48 The Tallest Man on Earth 320
49 Wilco 317
50 Grateful Dead 315

Top 50 Artists of 2009:

1 The Fun Years 402
2 Songs: Ohia 291
3 Red House Painters 203
4 The Tallest Man on Earth 184
5 Juana Molina 178
6 Stars of the Lid 176
7 Deerhunter 175
8 Animal Collective 174
9 Mount Eerie 170
10 Sun Kil Moon 161
11 Bonnie 'Prince' Billy 158
12 Beck 157
13 New Found Glory 156
14 José González 155
15 Radiohead 154
16 Jeremy Enigk 153
16 Ryan Adams 153
18 Thanksgiving 150
19 Tim Hecker 148
20 Mission of Burma 147
21 Silver Jews 145
22 Timber Timbre 144
22 Cat Stevens 144
24 Animal Hospital 134
25 Palace Music 133
26 The Replacements 132
27 Built to Spill 125
27 Weezer 125
29 Aphex Twin 123
29 Akron/Family 123
31 Magnolia Electric Co. 121
32 Mississippi John Hurt 120
33 Jon Hassell 119
34 The Microphones 115
34 A.A. Bondy 115
36 Fennesz 114
37 Spoon 109
38 Polmo Polpo 108
39 Do Make Say Think 107
40 The Get Up Kids 104
41 Colleen 102
42 Grouper 100
43 Kreng 99
43 Grizzly Bear 99
45 Erik Satie 98
46 1900 97
47 Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros 92
47 Phosphorescent 92
49 Natural Snow Buildings 89
50 Johnny Flynn 88

I couldn't come up with a top ten, but here are my top seven albums of 2009:

1. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - S/T
2. Vetiver - Tight Knit
3. Black Lips - 200 Million Thousand
4. Jason Lytle - Yours Truly, the Commuter
5. Adam Franklin - Spent Bullets
6. Jeremy Enigk - OK Bear
7. Sonic Youth - The Eternal

hi, i'm not too good at introducing these, so i'll start with a poem:

another year has come and past,
and the tunes this year have been a blast
this is my list; the cream of the crop
so let's see what album ends up on top!

(sorry)

10)Morrissey - Years Of Refusal

steven patrick's most recent offering (aside from the b-side collection Swords, which i'll be coming back to later in the best tracks of the year) is a fantastic rock n' roll record. yes, lots of hard (cock?) rock guitar + sometimes painful lyrics (come on, moz. the lyrics in I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris are fucking awful.) BUT you just gotta have fun with it.

9)The Horrors - Primary Colours

after a whole lot of musical growth since their debut Strange House, the band has taken cues from The Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine and The Cure to throw together a fantastic sophomore release.

8)The Thermals - Now We Can See

i actually just bought the album like...two months ago. but it's really good. When I Died is a great opener, up to par (i'd say) with Here's Your Future off The Body, The Blood, The Machine, although i'm sure no one else will agree with me on that.

7)Manchester Orchestra - Mean Everything To Nothing

no one else likes this band, but fuck them. andy hull + co's sophomore release is almost too clean sounding, especially when compared with Like A Virgin Loosing A Child, but the songs as a whole are so much stronger. the riff in Pride is up to par with the best from Led Zeppelin. holla.

6)Japandroids - Post-Nothing

i originally dismissed the band as pitchfork wank, HOWEVER, post-nothing is actually a fantastic debut. the album is chock full of wonderful guitars, energetic drums and the songs have more hooks than there are fish in the sea. super fun and highly recommended.

5)The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love

fuck pitchfork for hating on this album. not as good as Picaresque, but it's not really trying to be. instead of focusing on great individual songs, the band proves here that the sum is greater than the parts. hazards a sprawling 17 song album about love and death. and metal.

4)Silversun Pickups - Swoon

if i didn't know better, i'd think it's 1992. harkening back to the lush sounds of Loveless and Siamese Dream with updated riffage, silversun pickups managed to put together a pretty solid release. bonus track Ne Plus Ultra is better than the entire b-side of the album.

3)Cursive - Mama, I'm Swollen

one ofSaddle Creek's flagship bands, cursive continues to make great music years into their career. a monstrous improvement from the lackluster Happy Hollow and bolstering songs like From The Hips, I Couldn't Love You, Caveman and the epic what have i done?[/track], cursive shows the doubters that they can still pack a punch.

2)M. Ward - [album artist=m. ward]hold time

fuck yeah folk. matt's second best album, only topped by Post-War, shows that his songwriting post She & Him (sartist]zooey deschanel still pops up on two tracks) is still fantastic. the production is pristine and his guitar work (as if anyone doubted) is second to none.

1)The Antlers - Hospice

i'm not too original for having this on the top of my list; as many others already have and many more will, but the album deserves as much recognition as possible.

there's not much i can really say that hasn't already been said about this album already. epic, beautiful, heartbreaking; the album hasn't gotten any less desolate and stunning since i first listened to it, and i doubt it will.

TOP TRACKS OF '09

10)Japandroids - Crazy/Forever
9)Silversun Pickups - There's No Secrets This Year
8)Morrissey - Don't Make Fun Of Daddy's Voice
7)Cymbals Eat Guitars - ...and the Hazy Sea
6)Paul Westerberg - Love On The Wing
5)The Decemberists - The Wanting Comes in Waves / Repaid
4)The Antlers - Epilogue
3)M. Ward - Stars of Leo
2)Jeremy Enigk - Late of Camera
1)Cursive - What Have I Done?

and at by the looks of it, 2010 should be fantastic. with releases coming from Bright Eyes, The Walkmen, Sigur Ros, The National, and Titus Andronicus (to name a few), i'm sure 2010 will be full of wonderful music as well.

2009 was an awesome year for music, so I have made a more extensive list than I usually make. Comment and let me know what your top 5/10/20 or whatever you want to do are! If anyone would like any of these albums I can upload them and give a link to download, so let me know!




20. Tonikom – The Sniper’s Veil


The genre of this album is hard to pin down. It is clearly Electronic, although it has hints of IDM, drum and bass, and industrial. What makes her stick out in my mind is her ability to write extremely catchy drum beats with vocal samples over the top of it. Very good and very underrated.

19. Bill Callahan – Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle

The easiest thing to call this would be alt-country/folk, but its a little to weird to pigeonhole into any single category. The simplicity of his musical backing and the strangeness of his voice and cadence is what makes this a memorable album. Each time I listen to it I notice something different, even though at first glance everything would appear to be on the surface.

18. Cicada– Roulette


Straight up electropop. Sounds like what Ladytron might sound like if they decided to just play synths the entire time with catchy pop hooks over the top. The entire album kind of blends together into one song, which could be a complaint as well as a compliment.

17. The Field – Yesterday and Today


This was somewhat of a disappointment for me. The three tracks in the middle are amazing, but tracks 1,2 and 6 are forgettable. If those tracks had been as good as the three in the middle then this would hands down be my favorite album of the year. Even though the album as a whole was a disappointment, the song Leave It is my favorite song of the year, and one of my favorite songs of the decade easily.

16. The Twilight Sad – Forget The Night Ahead


I wasn't really sold on this band until I saw them live with Frightened Rabbit in L.A. After seeing them I gave this album a second chance and noticed a lot of things that I hadn't upon first listen. This is a perfect album to listen to when Fall is turning into winter, as the entire album deals with changing into something that you don't necessarily want to.

15. Jeremy Enigk – OK Bear


Although it doesn't have the orchestration of World Waits, it still has the brilliant songwriting of Sunny Day Real Eastate frontman Jeremy Enigk. In some ways I prefer the stripped down nature of this album as compared to his previous work, as it lets the songs themselves shine.

14. Plastik Joy – 3:03


Totally out of left field for me, I just randomly downloaded this off of a blog I frequent because I thought the name was interesting. It basically sounds like Dntel's best album, Life is Full of Possibilities, but it is a bit more straightforward in its vocal and melodic hooks. Incredibly enough the album itself conveys a sense of analogue warmth even though the entire thing is electronic. I look forward to hearing what these guys put out next.

13. The Wooden Birds – Magnolia


Sometimes simple is good, in that too much polish and fanfare can drown out the core of a song, which is its melody. The Wooden Birds strip songs down to their cores, usually only using male and female voice, guitar, and minimal rhythmic accompaniment. The product is a very solid album with no filler.

12. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart– The Pains of Being Pure at Heart


Although this is basically just Jesus and the Mary Chain/My Bloody Valentine worship, it is very good worship. Sometimes you don't need to be incredibly unique to release a very good album. The album itself is buried in a layer of fuzzy guitars and guy/girl vocals, and never overstays its welcome. Sometimes the shortness of an album is something to be appreciated.

11. Why? – Eskimo Snow

Although Alopecia is a better album, Eskimo Snow has very good moments as well. For those not familiar with the band they are pseudo hip-hop/spoken word/indie rock, which sounds like a terrible combination but is something that you have to hear and make up your own mind about. I saw Why? Live about a month ago, and it was as good of a show that anyone could ask for.

10. Fuck Buttons – Tarot Sport


While their first album focuses on walls of noise and harsh vocals, Tarot Sport cuts out the abrasiveness and ramps up the melody. The end result is an album that in its repetition offers a number of earworms that are hard to get out of your head, as well as high amounts of repetition that become mesmerizing. I used the word repetition three times in this review.

9. Mount Eerie – Wind’s Poem

Although I saw this album performed in its entirety, and it was absolutley awful, the recording remains a high point of 2009. This is what happens when Lo Fi folk mixes with Lo Fi black metal. I am surprised that no one has though of doing this before now, because as odd as it may seem at first glance the styles are quite complimentary.

8. Delorean – Ayrton Senna


Although this is only a 5 song EP, it really makes an impression. It conveys an infectious joyful exuberance, and in my opinion is nearly impossible for anyone to not enjoy. Sounds like what might happen if you mixed Air France with Cut Copy.

7. Martyn – Great Lengths


I downloaded this album on a whim, and it resulted in my downloading dozens of dubstep comps and albums. My roommates can attest to the fact that Dubstep was about 30% of what I listened to all year. While some are familiar with dubstep through Burial, who's shuffle beat and weepy vocal samples make you feel like you are driving through the rain, Martyn conveys an opposite feeling. The songs themselves are upbeat, and very memorable. I recommend listening to this, and any dubstep really, loud and with the bass cranked.

6. God Help The Girl – God Help The Girl


I have always liked Belle and Sebastian, but always felt for every great song they had 2 to 3 that were easily forgettable. This album is a side project of Stuart Murdock from Belle and Sebastian, who held open auditions for female singers when forming the group. What we get here is his great songwriting through the voice of 3 very capable singers. Ironically enough they Belle and Sebastian covers on this album outshine the originals by far.

5. Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca


At First listen I wasn't to sure about this album. "Stillness is the Move" stuck out to me with its amazing melody, but it took me a couple of listens to appreciate the complex yet catchy pop sensibility of the rest of the album. This is definately a grower, and I would recommmend if you don't like it upon first listen, keep it around for a while and see if you warm up to it after a couple of listens.

4. The Whitest Boy Alive – Rules


This group was formed with a very basic concept in mind. What they set out to do was to play dance music in its simplest form, with drums, bass, guitar, and some synth here and there. What some people would call boring I would call fantastic. What the group manages to do is take the core of dance music, 4/4 beat and the bassline, and morph it into very simple yet effective songs. The simplicity is what makes this stand apart from any other dance act.

3. Mew – No More Stories are Told Today, I’m Sorry, They Washed Away

Kind of hard to describe, but very very good. Sounds like what would happen if Passion Pit stopped playing electropop and started playing indie rock. I'm havinga hard time coming up with a description for this one, just listen to it!


2. Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix


In Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, Phoenix has created the perfect pop album. Each song follows a stringent structure and format, which might lead one to believe that they album would convey a sense of sameness throughout. That couldn't be further from the truth. Phoenix, by telling themselves that they were going to only write 3:00-4:30 minute pop songs, have flourished rather than blundered. One only needs to listen to the rise ans fall of the chorus in "1901" to know what I am talking about. Even the seemingly filler song in the middle of the album has an amazing payoff in the end.

1. Fever Ray– Fever Ray


An incredibly dark and mysterious album, which should come as no surprise since its coming from The Knife's Karin Dreijer Andersson. She takes the enigma of The Knife and covers it in blackness. Forget Black Metal, this is the darkest album that I have ever heard. It is incredibly rewarding on multiple listens, in that it always has something new. And while it conveys all these dark emotional reactions, it also manages to be subtle and never beats you over the head with it.


Some of my favorite releases this year were Mixes/Compilations, and since they aren't albums they don't really belong on the list. That being said, I really loved them so I am going to mention them here.

5. Hercules and Love Affair - Sidetracked

A very good complilation album, blending some disco with classic house music.

4. 5: Five Years of Hyperdub


For anyone who is interested in dubstep, this complilation is absolutely essential. It surveys the 5 year history of the quintessential dubstep label, Hyperdub, and puts together a comp that flows incredibly well. From the wobble of Burial to the technicality of 2562, every sub genre of dub is represented on the comp. Highly recommended.

3. Ada - Adaptations Mixtape #1

Ada is one of my absolute favorite Electronic musicians/DJs, and this comp is her first release in 5 years save for a couple singles released here and there. It remixes a lot of tracks from her astounding album Blondie and mixes it with various other microhouse tracks.

2. Dark Was The Night


I'm pretty sure everyone knows what this is. Basically a who's who in indie rock. Usually when so many musicians of this calebver work together you get a lot of throwaway tracks that didn't make the album or half assed covers, but on this compilation the groups involved submitted some of their best material. Very very good stuff.

1. Kompakt Total 10


Kompakt is my favorite electronic label by far, and this comp is a good introduction to them for anyone who might be interested. Every year they release a comp, and this is their 10th anniversery, so the tracks on this are of the highest quality. This is something that I could listen to every week and it would never get old, because of the variation of styles represented.




As far as metal goes not much really caught my ear this year. Probably due to the fact that I am getting more and more into electronic music so I find myself downloading less and less metal. However there were a couple albums that caught my attention.

5. Behemoth – Evangilion


They have really redeemed themselves after the rotten shitfest that was their previous album, The Apostasy. The punch that the first three tracks delivered is their best material since demigod, but it kind of wanes after that.

4. Ensiferum – From Afar
Similar to Behemoth, I wasn't impressed with Ensiferum's previous album, Victory Songs. This one however, is way better. Since we will probably never see another Wintersun album, this will have to do.

3. Gorgoroth –Quantos Possunt Ad Satanitatem Trahunt


A step back towards their raw black roots, this album is harsh and full of hate, exactly what anyone would want from a Gorgoroth album. While I'm not one for purposely making your recordings sound terrible in order to get some black metal cred, I think the stripped down approach really serves Gorgoroth well.

2. Glorior Belli– Meet Us at the Southern Sign

This isa hard one to place. It sounds similar to Enslaved, but only if enslaved were from Oklahoma. It has a grim blackness about it, but also a melodic undercurrent that keeps it from being too dark. This is what I imagine Earth would sound like if they decided to play black metal.

1.Katatonia – Night Is The New Day

Katatonia is more rock then metal anymore, but that has only allowed them to write more memorable songs. this is a very depressing album, which is what they are best at. I wish more bands would make music like this.


This year I spent a lot of time getting music that came out before 2009, so it is interesting to look at my most listened to artists on last.fm for the year. Here is a quickplaycount of my top 10 most listened to artists in 2009.

1. Autechre - 375

I have Liked Autechre for a long time, But this year I really got into the stuff in between their major albums. Basically Autechre from 1993 - 1999 is some of my favorite music ever made. Its insance because basically every track they made in that time period is good if not great. After 1999 they went from being an ambient electronic group into more abstract territory, doing experiments with time signuratures and pushing the boundaries of what people call music. While I enjoy the exploratory nature of their more recent works, nothing beats the clash of complexity and simple melodies that made their early work so memorable.

2. Frightened Rabbit - 361
Even though they didn't release anything in 2009, I still find myself listening to both of their albums at least once a month. While Midnite Organ Fight is an awesome album, nothing beats the grittiness of Sings the Greys. There is a quality to it that makes it seem organic and human, where as Midnight Organ Fight can come off sounding a bit too polished. Also Sings the Greys is an unforgetable album from start to finish, where Midnight Organ Fight kind of veers off towards the end for me.

3. Meshuggah - 333

Even though my metal listening habits have waned a bit in the past year, I still listen to a lot of meshuggah. This should come to no surprise for anyone that knows me. About once every 2 months I find myself listening to the entire discography besides their terrible first demo and album.

4. Public Enemy - 289

I have always liked Public Enemy, but for some reason never got any of their material for this year. The sample heavy textures of the music itself make it interesting even upon multiple listens. Their 3 albums in the late 80's early 90's are definately my favorite and their best in my opinion. I have to admit though that I always skip the Flava Flav songs, because all they are is him going "ITS THE FLAVA FLAV MY NAMES FLAV I GOT FLAV FLAVAAA".

5. Mount Eerie - 244

This guy releases a ton of material, and I am a sucker for discographies on artists that I really enjoy. Even though he does release an insane amount of songs every year, the quality of them never seems to suffer. However seeing him live in California was probably the biggest letdown I have ever had when seeing someone play live. It was a terrible terrible show, but I haven't let it tarnish my appreciation for the recordings.

6. Boards of Canada - 243

This is a group that will probably be in my top 20 most listened to artists every year. The ambient nature of the music lets you listen and block it out, but its not so simple that its not interesting when you are actually listening.

7. Fever Ray - 223

After listening to her amazing debut album for a couple of months I tracked down all of the singles and remixes, which accounts for a lot of the 223 plays. Sometimes remixes are terrible, but Fever Ray has chosen very good people to work with and 90% of them are really really good.

8. The National - 218

I got tired of waiting for a followup to my favorite album of 2007, Boxer, so I listened to a lot of their earlier material/eps/singles this year. While non of them are as a whole as good as Boxer, There are a lot of songs that are on par with those on the album proper.

9. Nine Inch Nails - 208

I was thinking about how Nine Inch Nails is the band I have listened to regularly for the longest. I got The Downward Spiral when I was 12, so I have been listening to them for 14 years. That is insane. While a lot of the time I listen to them for nostalgic purposes, I have to admit I still really like them/him.

10. Aphex Twin - 199

Most of these plays is do to the fact that for about 2 months i Listened to Selected Ambient Works 85-92 about oncea week. While I enjoy most of his discography, nothing beats his early material.

1 The Microphones 1,383
2 Animal Collective 1,332
3 Radiohead 1,322
4 Neil Young 1,009
5 Thanksgiving 902
6 Mount Eerie 817
7 Do Make Say Think 812
8 Boards of Canada 742
9 Elliott Smith 722
10 The Books 698
11 The Beatles 669
12 Tom Waits 656
13 Cat Stevens 628
14 Built to Spill 623
15 Why? 553
16 Joanna Newsom 531
17 of Montreal 509
18 Aphex Twin 479
19 Pavement 448
20 Caribou 434
21 Adrian Orange & Her Band 410
22 Talk Talk 404
23 The American Analog Set 391
24 The Velvet Underground 387
25 Guided by Voices 385
26 Modest Mouse 377
27 Mississippi John Hurt 376
28 The Olivia Tremor Control 363
28 The Fun Years 363
30 Björk 362
30 Polmo Polpo 362
32 Songs: Ohia 357
33 Grizzly Bear 355
34 Miles Davis 353
35 Brian Eno 343
35 Nick Drake 343
37 Frank Zappa 333
38 Jeremy Enigk 331
39 Sunny Day Real Estate 325
40 Bonnie 'Prince' Billy 323
40 Pixies 323
42 Leonard Cohen 322
42 Sonic Youth 322
44 Broken Social Scene 321
45 José González 321
46 Tortoise 319
47 Wilco 317
48 Grateful Dead 314
48 Silver Jews 314
50 The Tallest Man on Earth 310