Pretty Much Amazing’s Best Albums of 2009
11 Dec
Artwork by Brian Kuperman
2009 was an exceptional last year in an exceptional decade for music. In 2009 we were bombarded with solid release after great release after epic release throughout the entire year (upfront: I didn’t listen to every album released in 2009), so narrowing my picks for the best albums of the year was not easy. Nonetheless, I have here Pretty Much Amazing’s 25 best albums of the 2009.
At the end of this list, you will have the chance to enter the last PMA contest of 2009. I will be giving away — courtesy of my wallet, unless someone wants to sponsor 
— a copy of every album on this list on vinyl (or CD, at winner’s request) in a Vinyl is Forever Tote Bag, along with a poster featuring one of the listed artists of their choice, and a custom one year subscription to Paste Magazine. More details on that at the end of the list.
I want give a big shout out to Brian Kuperman for designing this awesome artwork for our list. I also want to thank the wonderful contributors to this blog who reviewed most of these albums throughout the year for PMA and helped me share the music I love with all of you; and thank you for reading and coming back and subscribing to PMA in 2009. I look forward to starting 2010 with all of you, but before we do, here’s one last look at our favorite albums of the 2009
25. Fanfarlo
Reservoir
24. Various Artists
Dark Was The Night
23. fun.
Aim and Ignite
22. Harlem Shakes
Technicolor Health
21. Lady GaGa
The Fame Monster
20. Florence + The Machine
Lungs
19. Yeah Yeah Yeahs
It’s Blitz!
18. Music Go Music
Expressions
17. Passion Pit
Manners
16. Camera Obscura
My Maudlin Career
14. The Very Best
Warm Heart of Africa
13. Discovery
LP
12. Dan Deacon
Bromst
11. Sunset Rubdown
Dragonslayer
Read on for our 10 Favorite Albums of 2009 →
Pages: 1 2
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I haven’t listened to Antlers or Japandroids yet, but I suppose I’ll get on it…
hopefully those lala players help! I wanted it to where you can stream the entire album without leaving PMA.
Also, a quick PS: I know I’m lacking in the representation of hip-hop and rap on my list. There is a reason for that. I don’t mean that as harsh as it sounds… there were some great hip-hop albums released this year: raekwon, kid cudi, mos def (to name a few)… but because of my 25 album limit, like many other great albums, they dropped off my list. Hip hop will be better represented in my Best Songs list, which I will update in a few days.
You know what was a great HipHop album this year?
N.A.S.A.
also, I posted this list on FB.
Retweeted.
I agree with the albums on the list that I’ve heard. Definitely with MPP (my hometown venue! Love shows at Merriweather) and Veckatimest. Two wonderful albums.
Though the list is somewhat predictable (did anyone really think that Merriweather Post Pavilion was not going to top this list?) the music itself is great and certainly justifies its placements.
Also, it’s great to see fun. and Freelance Whales represented on the list! I feel like the albums have been mostly ignored by the blogosphere.
i agree with most of this list, and i’m particularly happy to see music go music included on it, as i feel they’ve been overlooked by many. i was lucky enough to be introduced to them as they opened for little boots and slowly they worked their way into my playlist, and now i am obsessed.
to me, passion pit is surprisingly low on the list and grizzly bear surprisingly high, but top 25 lists are so difficult and so subjective, especially when it comes to music.
but i am pleased since i haven’t listened to several of the albums, meaning i have new music to check out! thank you!!
and i retweeted.
Great list Luis!
Here’s mine:
1. Bitte Orca – Dirty Projectors
2. Merriweather Post Pavilion – Animal Collective
3. Hospice – The Antlers
4. My Maudlin Career – Camera Obscura
5. Veckatimest – Grizzly Bear
6. xx – The xx
7. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix – Phoenix
8. Manners – Passion Pit
9. Dark Was The Night – Various Artists
10. Matt & Kim – Grand
Wondering if people are going to complain about the Girls omission…
I’m gonna back you up and say that Girls really doesn’t deserve to be on year end lists.
There was better music this year.
Also, even though I personally agree with Dirty Projectors at #4, behind AnCo, GBear, and Phoenix, didn’t PMA review the DP album with a 91 and AnCo with a 90?
I remember wondering what Louis was gonna do with end-of-year placement when I saw those scores.
Shared on Facebook
Great list!… Thank you so much…. (Hospice)
Retweeted (But I’m private, so just add me up to follow and see)
Loved the list and completely agree with the top, however albums 11 through 20 I feel are the more unknown bands and albums and they should get a lot more respect. Great list though.
And I love the fact that I can play every song right next to the album and purchase what I want. Very clutch while sitting at work.
shared
Good List
My favorite is Lady Gaga Fame Monster, its kicked my ass and on the dancefloor. The xx, phoenix and passion pit also have made my year. I’m late to grizzly bear but am excited to get into them.
Awesome list! My #1 of ’09 was Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix – pure pop perfection. Excited that Harlem Shakes, Freelance Whales and Sunset Rubdown got some love too!
*Retweeted*
i’m not excited by this list at all.
It seems that Animal Collective is at the tippy top of a good number of these end of the year lists. The album is spunky and full of energy, not to mention all of the quality videos to go along with the songs (My Girls in particular).
However, I feel that Grizzly Bear was this was better than Merriweather . All of the tracks are quality and the collective voices of Grizzly Bear outweigh Animal Collective’s in my opinion.
While You Wait For The Others was one of my favorites of the year. Not to mention the silly puddy work in the “Ready, Able” video.
Atlas Sound – Logos was also a doozy
I would
Definitely agree with a good number of your choices, especially: Gaga, Florence +, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Very Best, Phoenix…
My list would would also have some Me’Shell NdegeOcello, Maxwell, Pearl Jam…and I would SERIOUSLY reconsider putting Mos Def back up there, sir! Haha.
I agree mainly with your top 10 (though I would definitely put Phoenix at number one, personally).
I’ve only seen The Thermals on one list so far, so I was disappointed by that. Surprisingly pleased at your inclusion of Lady Gaga, considering that she writes her own songs and has had a multitude of hit singles in the last year is incredibly impressive. I’m surprised as well, that you included fun. and Harlem Shakes, as I haven’t really heard much hype about their albums, though they seem to have pushed them into the consciousness of hipsters/p4k. I suppose I also don’t want to accept that the Format is really broken up, so its strange to hear his voice singing a completely different style of song…
I retweeted this. Fantastic.
RETWEETED (done and done).
Solid list. Love seeing Dirty Projectors up there with Sunset Rubdown and The Antlers. Grizzly Bear and Animal Collective will be topping a lot of lists (and are deserving of the praise). Good year for music!
My top albums:
1. Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca
2. Clues – Clues
3. Neon Indian – Psychic Chasms
4. Sunset Rubdown – Dragonslayer
5. Grizzly Bear – Veckatimist
6. Animal Collective – MPP
7. Avett Brothers – I and Love and You
8. Royal Bangs – Let it Beep
9. Rodrigo y Gabriella – 11:11
10. Neko Case – Middle Cyclone
11. Bonny Billy – Funtown Comedown
12. Bowerbirds – Upper Air
13. Antlers – Hospice
14. Portugal. The Man – The Satanic Satanist
15. Mono- Hymn to the Immortal Wind
16. The Very Best- Warm Heart of Africa
17. Andrew Bird- Useless Creatures/Noble Beast
18. Dent May- The Good Feeling Music…
19. The Big Pink- A Brief History of Love
20. Dan Deacon – Bromst
I could go on forever, but I’ll stop there.
My record player is looking forward spinning the records on your list!!
this is the first list i’ve seen this year that i largely agree with, though i wish Matt & Kim and No Age were represented.
Merriweather is definitely my favorite as well. It was such a great way to start off the year.
The Harlem Shakes finally getting some much deserved end of the year list love from a website.
I agree with this list at least more than I agree with most lists. You definitely got the number one right. Everybody wants to be different and not put MPP at number one, but you can’t ignore it. AnCo managed to neatly encompass, and simultaneously transcend, everything that indie rock has been offering recently, and craft an album that will inevitably stand through time.
Number two I have to disagree with, in my opinion Phoenix earned that spot. But I can see why you’d give it to Grizzly Bear.
A lot of people feel like Britte Orca should have been higher. I don’t see it. The album definitely showed a lot of creativity, and a lot of talent, but I just don’t see it being that high. Maybe I’m missing something when it comes to Britte Orca, but I think that it’s just a little TOO unpredictable to be cohesive. There are some good standouts, and I can see it on the list, but lower. I think “music you’d play for your friends with a pretentious disclaimer” was the best description I’ve heard of Britte Orca to date.
Going on down the list, I can’t see any gross errors. I’ll admit I’m not familiar with every album that you chose, but I’ve come to trust your judgment. I just have one album that I feel earned a place… Kid Cudi, Man on the Moon: The End of Day. A lot of people felt he was over-hyped, a lot of people pigeonholed him for Day n Night, and not everybody loved the album. But, he managed to bring electro/indie style to the hip-hop community, put together a well thought out concept album filled with enough variety to please everyone. Definitely top 20 worthy.
And I shared on Facebook.
Yep you are defiantly missing something. Bitte Orca is great, I dont know about ‘Britte Orca’.
Seriously though, I can’t tell you how you’re supposed to like the record and I understand where you’re coming from. So here is why I think it deserved its high place and that it could have been higher.
To me, Bitte Orca is amazing because it IS unpredictable AND surprisingly cohesive. They defiantly nailed the right mix of creativity and listenability.
MPP just feels too drawn out and meanders in some places for just too long. If they would just cut the bullshit and make the album shorter it would have been my #1.
Retweeted!
I feel like I will have many of the same albums on my list, but I don’t know if I will put them in the same order. However I’m thrilled that Sunset Rubdown made the list. It’s probably going to be my number one, and I feel compelled to add Merriweather Post Pavillion to my list. I didn’t like that album at all until I saw it perfromed live and I still don’t think it’s as good as Feels or Sung Tongs. However I do love Animal Collective so I will support them.
Dragonslayer by Sunset Rubdown
Mean Everything to Nothing by Manchester Orchestra
Merriweather Post Pavillion by Animal Collective
Reservoir by Fanfarlo
Bitte Orca by Dirty Projectors
Know Better Learn Faster by Thao Ngyuen
White Water, White Bloom by Sea Wolf
Hometowns by The Rural Alberta Advantage
Aim and Ignite by Fun.
Shared on Facebook & Retweeted
Great list! I enjoyed the commentary on the albums.
My top seven albums this year:
10) Jon Hopkins – Insides
La Roux – La Roux
9) Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion
7) The xx – xx
6) Royksopp – Junior
5) Passion Pit – Manners
4) Miike Snow – Miike Snow
3) Discovery – LP
2) Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
1) The Temper Trap – Conditions
Great blog!
*shared on Facebook*
*retweeeeeeeeted*
so my thoughts:
there are only three albums on this list that I haven’t heard: Fanfarlo, Harlem Shakes, & Dragonslayer (thought I put Dragonslayer on my iPod just recently so that I would get around to listening.) i’ll definitely check them all out ASAP.
Of the remaining 22 on the list there is only two that I flat out could not get into: Japandroids’ “Post-Nothing” and The xx’s self-titled. “Post-Nothing” is just flat out not my thing/style. and The XX, after reading about how you re-rated it, I think I could have just put a better effort into trying to get into it – and I still mind do so. the xx is probably more my fault than theirs.
Of the remaining 20, there were only 2 that wouldn’t make my personal list: Röyksopp, Camera Obscura, and Music Go Music…. though i still enjoyed them…
Of the remaining 18… while I might slightly re-arrange some of the order (i’d move the nostalgic jj n° 2 somewhere in my top 5 and Discovery in my top 10) I love them all dearly and that is what counts… MPP would also be #1 on my list… or will be my #1 when I make a fav albums of ’09 list on my blog.
The only albums that would rank high on my list that I don’t see on yours would be:
Wild Light – Adult Nights (totally a very personal and less critical pick… the album brings back memories of a awesome time not to long ago… they also opened for the killers… its music that has that nostalgic grip on me)
Princeton – Cocoon of Love
Girls – Album (I know you weren’t big on that album)
Islands – Vapours
&
Miike Snow
of all the lists’ i’ve seen, this one is by far my favorite… but that might just be because I am avid PMA reader… or maybe I am an avid PMA reader because of lists like this? not sure… props anyhow…
but enough of my rant… great list and thanks for all the music you have covered and/or introduced to us this year! I can’t wait for some of the great albums that are coming in 2010!
wow i should have proof-read that
wow i just realized how epic winning would be…
Great list!
My top album of the year is (at this moment, anyway), “The Resistance” by Muse.
I also retweeted this post.
i’m sorry but calling phoenix the vampire weekend of 2009 is a dumb thing to say. you know they’ve been around since the mid-90s right…
Of course we know Phoenix has been around for a while
Just meant that their rise to indie superstardom was vampire weekend-esque (see:examples used). they were definitely not this big or relevant before, and Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is their strongest album yet.
Pretty good list, although following all the blogs this year makes it look a little standard.
My favorite of the year is either It’s Blitz! or the Smith Westerns’ album. I’d say it’s a tie.
understand where you’re coming from, but I was definitely not going to make a list of albums I didn’t enjoy as much to be edgy.
I didn’t mean for that to come off as rude, it’s just that everyone who has a similar blog/website has almost the same list. But I honestly can’t blame them because most of the albums really are solid releases.
retweeted
lilblig7@yahoo.com
Great list. Very similar to mine. Move up fun and Passion Pit and it’s mine. Great work guys.
i never really liked dan beacon, but i never really listened to a song from him more than once so who am i to say? and HELL TO THE YES FOR SUNSET RUBDOWN.
Fbook shared.
First thing off, I love how varied this list is. Most blogs and lists of this sort are terribly biased towards or against certain genres.
I don’t have much to say about most albums on your list, (There never seems to be enough time in the day to devote to music, so I’m not familiar with a lot of them) but I definitely agree with your inclusion of Vekatimest in your top numbers, and in my opinion that was the best album this year.
Why? It all comes back to why songwriters write music… Being a songwriter myself, I get critiques a lot concerning my lyrics and the stories in them, mostly asking whether the songs are autobiographical, cause that makes sense to listeners. In reality though, I think most writers start very simply. Instead of relating a story, it seems like most of the time a powerful song blossoms from a simple feeling.
And in the end, the best songs I can think of all communicate whatever feeling they need to perfectly. Whether it’s pure bliss or the deepest loneliness, it moves your heart to truly listen. To quote a friend of mine, when words fail we speak through music. Veckatimest does this flawlessly and consistently.
What’s more, Veckatimest seems to pull heavily from classical styles, the vocals seeming almost choirlike in many places. This catapults the album into a strange realm of sheer… originality. In this age, it’s getting very hard for songwriters to push the limits without being completely strange. Grizzly Bear pulls off incredible creativity while still being very accessible to people who, like you said, are patient enough to give the album a chance.
Anyways, just what I think. Thanks for keeping up with the blog, it’s great!
pretty strong list. i personally would have added boy crisis. in my opinion phoenix and the yyy’s are tied for the best album of the year especially with songs like 1901 and hysterics which were insane. props for putting japandriods !
i retweed the story but it didnt show up twitter.com/nickcamey
bummed you put MPP over Veckatimest. I think in the grand scheme of things Veckatimest is a much better album and will stand the test of time. Sure MPP sounds exciting and fresh now, but ultimately it wont last long….
Grizzly Bear just simply write better songs. Tisk tisk PMA
Great List.
Personally, I would have put Blitz! higher up, but I’m probably biased because Karen O is my idol. Other than that, I agree with the top five. All great albums. I love seeing The Antlers so high up!
I just “retweeted” the post!
thanks for being pretty much amazing.
great list. i would take lady gaga off and move up passion pit, but overall i think you got it right.
fbook shared..
I kinda <3 that you put Fame Monster on here. With the addition of "Bad Romance," that album is just a powerhouse.
Retweeted
Great list. Although a distinct lack of my favourite album of the year: Fuck Buttons’ Tarot Sport.
A very solid list here. Can’t say there were any surprises in the top 5. I was happy to see the JJ album in there. I don’t know if I would have put it so high. I also think Passion Pit could have been a little higher. My favorite album this year was Lee Fields and the Expressions – My World.
I retweeted this post. @polpoet.
what about Kid Cudi?!
Love the list. I found myself nodding in agreement over almost all albums. 2009 was such a great year in music!
I personally believe that the best release this year is The xx’s “XX” LP because it’s just so dang loveable. You listen to “VCR” and can’t help but be wowed by the brilliantly dark, simplistic arrangement. Then there’s “Heart Skipped A Beat” and all minimalist hell breaks loose.
I also loved it because it’s a slow-burn album. One that takes a part of you over time. Songs are supposed to help express one’s feelings and every song in this album greatly help and in a very unique, “xx-ish” way.
Other personal faves of mine are: It’s Blitz!, La Roux, Two Suns, Lungs, The Fame Monster, and Invasion’s The Master Alchemist.
definitely a great list but i think the fame by gaga should be on there too. shared the list on fbook.
??
“the fame monster” made #21 and “the fame” came out in 2008.
Shared.
AGreed, Kid Cudi should be on there and Passion Put should be moved down but overrall, great list
Amazing list and superb writing. My favourite album of the year was Grizzly Bear’s Veckatimest and your wine metaphor was spot on. Everytime I hear “While You Wait For The Others” or “Ready, Able”, my ears get slightly intoxicated. I love that you included Lady Gaga’s Fame Monster as well. Keep up the sublime work.
FYI I retweeted this post — @paganpoetry
this is pretty good. I would definitely have included the Blueprint 3 by Jay-Z.
fb shared.
pretty good list. after being frustrated with your top 10 poll, I was relieved to see sunset rubdown’s “dragonslayer” at number 11 (although it could’ve been higher). personally, I think you neglected some pretty big albums: atlas sound “logos,” cymbals eat guitars “why there are mountains,” do make say think “other truths,” bear in heaven “beast rest forth mouth,” and also woods “songs of shame.” however, I admit that I haven’t heard every album on your list, although there are a few I’d like to check out now.
well done, keep it up!
This list is good – slightly predictable, because I keep up with your blog and have read most of the reviews throughout the year. Still, I love the choices, and the only changes I would make are moving albums up and down the list.
I think my fave album this year is freelance whales – weathervanes and I have this blog to thank for finding them.
I tweeted this!
retweeted.
I love the variety on your list! Lady Gaga AND Dirty Projectors (that’s a good list). My favourite album of the year has to be Yeah Yeah Yeah’s It’s Blitz! The Yeah Yeah Yeah’s have put out some good music, but this album is better than the first two put together. I love it.
Great list! I really enjoyed Florence + the Machine this year along with My Gold Mask, both had great albums! Thanks PMA!
Retweeted!
this is all sad,
cept jj
Passion Pit’s Manners was my favorite of the year. Every time some music publication gave it a bad or “just good” review, it angered me a bit. I kept on yelling at my computer screen crap like “Did you actually listen to this album?! Did you happen to miss all the awesome hooks and catchy beats and vocals?” I really can’t speak enough about it
(I retweeted by the way)
As much as I rarely agree with NME, I do agree with their choice of The Horrors Primary Colours for album of the year. It definitely showed that the band had talent underneath all the noise. And I know it is the same shit different day, but I loved Jay Reatard’s newest album. Watch Me Fall is a pretty solid record.
I agree with this list so much! I shared it on Facebook
Retweeted!
I like the list a lot – I would put GBear and Animal Collective in a tie for first, and probably The Antlers third, as well as possibly move Passion Pit up a few spots.
Solid list, especially towards the top. I’m with Nick in that I’d put Boy Crisis on there, but I wouldn’t know where because I agree with everything in the positions they’re in up there. I would switch Grizzly Bear and Phoenix, but maybe that’s just me. Merriweather Post Pavilion definitely takes the cake though, hands down.
Retweeted and shared.
Enjoyed the list. Frankly I would have liked to see Phoenix and jj higher on the list. Mostly, I enjoyed the fact that these artists were covered by the blog in this recent year, as I have become quite interested in the music that they put out.
But my favorite album of the year was The Fame Monster. Say what you will, Lady Gaga has really developed as an artist as apparent by her new singles.
And this was of course shared on Facebook.
I think this list is pretty spot-on. I am not surprised to see Animal Collective in the number 1 spot. It really does meet up to all the hype it’s receiving. Röyksopp and Passion Pit are probably tied for my favorites. Oh and I’m tweeting this for sure.
Great list. It seems like each year I have more and more of these albums, but I guess that’s due to you guys! Freelance Whales “Weathervanes” was easily my favorite album, closely followed by “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix”. I just can’t get into Animal Collective though, not sure why.
I agree that Merriweather’s gotta be in that top couple of spots. Woulda put ‘Manners’ a bit higher up, but also Raekwon’s second installment in the ‘Only Built…’ Series takes the top 5 easy. Other than that, good post.
I shared it on Facebook, it’s a really great list — I agree with Animal Collective being #1. I’d switch out Dirty Projectors for Jay-Z, but that’s just me I guess. I hope I win
I would just like to say that that image up there is totally rad and so is the contest!
I love year-end lists, and this one in particular is great!
Some notes:
* I really enjoyed seeing The Antlers near the top – that album really got me too, and I would probably put it at the top of my 2009 list.
* Although I definitely enjoyed Phoenix’s album, I don’t think it has enough substance to make it so high in a year-end list. Having said that, (Curb reference anyone) it was one of the most contagious albums of 2009.
* Grizzly Bear – YES!
* Missing: Andrew Bird?
Retweeted. Cheers!
retweeted & shared
great list best i’ve seen so far, a few i don’t know which is always nice, and a little upset to not see the new flaming lips! AC wins for sure, Merriweather is the best album for 09.
Great list.
Just saw 2 on the list about a week ago. Phoenix nearly blew the roof off the place. Passion Pit were very good as well and were much better live than I thought they would.
My personal fave on the list, Discovery. Orange Shirt is my jam.
And I almost forgot, retweeted.
My favorite album on the list is xx. When the xx came out I was blown away at their unique sound. I really love their music. I also really like your list. You seem to have a deep appreciation for music and your choices exemplify that. Kudos.
Hi Luis,
Well, I love the Fame Monster, as you know. I thought it was a real statement for Gaga. However, musically, Dragonette and Florence & The Machine were tied for 1st on my list.
I like AnCo but don’t really buy into the whole US indie scene hype so much- I thought Passion Pit’s Manners was a superior album overall.
Great list- glad to see Grizzly Bear in second, and also showing love to The Big Pink.
x
Shared on fb
The list is solid. I think it really does captivate this year in music’s best albums. I only would rather see Passion Pit’s Manners up a little more. This year I’ve been listening to their music all year long and for a reason. And it would have been nice to see Little Boots or La Roux on the list. Both delivered terrific albums this year, but I think the latter’s was a bit more Best worthy.
FBook Share – [Check!]
First of all, I pretty much agree with nearly all of the albums included in this list, which is varied and reasonable. These albums all created a little bit of something special in what they did, especially those in the top ten, like ‘Hospice’ and ‘Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix’.
That being said, I would place Florence + The Machine and Röyksopp a bit higher on my list. Also, at least top ten would be Mos Def’s ‘The Estatic’ – one of the best rap/hip-hop albums in a long time.
Still, though, my year was made by jj and The xx. “Are You Still in Vallda?” and “Basic Space” (respectively) have been in heavy-intense rotation every. day.
Anyway, awesometastic list. Kudos on using ‘lala’ too, I really love it. Thanks for being Pretty Much Amazing, PMA!
I loved the list–definitely a fair assessment of the year’s bests. I would have probably put Manners and It’s Blitz at higher spots, but to each his own. My favorites of the year were probably Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix and Reservoir. As an avid fan of both Beirut and Arcade Fire, Reservoir just did it for me by combining the sounds of both bands, and seeing Fanfarlo twice this semester further reinforced my love for the album.
shared.
The xx is an amazing band, saw thier Chicago debut earlier this month. Can’t wait to hear what they do next. Great list here!! Some I already knew of others I haven’t…yet!!!
Retweeted and posted on my Facebook.
Shared.
Have Fanfarlo vinyl edition sitting in my room. ‘fun’. is on it’s way. Our Top3 is identical. One question: where is the urban stuff? (i.e. Kid CuDi, Blacrok etc)
Great List but I gotta think that Phoenix needs to be number one, I never take that out of my rotation.
Great list!
I really liked Discovery’s LP and probably would have ranked them a tad higher.
The top 4 are all solid, and potential #1′s. Who cares about order, really?
I would have included Raekwon, Girls, Neon Indian, and Bill Callahan in my list.
Amazing list. These were definitely the better albums of this year. But my favorite album of the year was either Paper Route’s Absence or The Temper Trap’s Conditions. Probably Paper Route’s album more.
Anyways I re-tweeted this.
Wonderful list PMA. I shouldn’t really be surprised at how good you seemed to summarize one of the best musical years in recent memory.
In my mind, the top 3 all share the #1 spot. Maybe calling it a tie isn’t far — MPP definitely sounds like the winner, but then again so does Grizzly Bear. Phoenix’s album flat out beats both of them as the most played album of 2009 (for me, and many others, I see as I read the comments).
The great thing about the top 3 is that they are all extremely replayable. These 3 albums probably consumed most of my “recently played” smart list on iTunes all year long. Something that probably didn’t happen as often with Dirty Projectors or the Antlers.
I also love the big surprises in this list. Freelance Whales- I know PMA has been creaming about them for a month or two now, but I never thought you’d put them on this list! Much less the Top 10. Not because they don’t deserve it (they definitely do!), but because they’re barely coming into their own… won’t their album “officially” be out until 2010? Another surprise was the inclusion of Lady Gaga. It takes guts for a mainly “indie” writer to admit The Fame Monster was one of the best albums of the year!
Anyway, great list. My favorite album of the year was also Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, and I hope I win this mindnumbingly amazing year-end bundle. I’m asking Santa for a turntable this year and 25 LPs is a great way to get my collection started!
oh and I shared!
Nice list. I love love love that phoenix, passion pit, freelance whales, and grizzly bear are on here. not sure how i feel about animal collective being number one, though. I liked the album but i LOVED the others
oh also, shared on facebook. i don’t have a twitter lol
Retweeted!
Great list. I love Bitte Orca, id move it up a few spots… also i would add she wolf of shakira in the list… i dont know why im so in love with her.. hehe
I really admired this list. A lot of the lists I’ve seen have been straightforward, boring, and predictable. Somehow this one completely made sense while being interesting and relevant. I am, however, kind of disappointed that The Big Pink didn’t crack the top five. Velvet alone should have done that! Does ass kissing get me a bag of vinyl? Cause i refresh PMA 12 times everyday. Well. Can’t really call that ass kissing. That’s my OCD. Anyway. You guys have a good holiday.
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The list is a lot different from my own, there’s actually quite a few (8) albums on it that I haven’t heard before. Nonetheless, based on the albums I do know, I can tell that this is a great list and I’m going to look into the records I haven’t heard before as soon as I can get my hands on them. My favourite record of the year is definitely Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, one of my favourite records of all time. And, like the Animal Collective record, it’s a summation of all the great stuff Phoenix have done before.
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Love the list. AC/Grizzly Bear seem to be going 1-2 in a lot of lists, so there is no suprise there. It’s nice to see xx and jj in the top ten (jj is COMPLETELY underrated in my opinion — absolutely great album). I only have two major qualms, the first of which is that I think the inclusion of Discovery is unwarranted. And the second happens to be the exclusion of my favorite album of the year: Flaming Lips “Embryonic”
Seriously, I think this is a flawless album and one of the finest of the decade — and I’m not even that much of a Lips fan. It seems like Wayne got fed up with all the noise/garage rock that was passing as music this year and decided to put them all to shame and show them how to do fuzz right. Anyways, just my 2 cents.
I was afraid someone was going to mention Flaming Lips. I just don’t like the band. They’re one of those bands I never got into. I’m obviously not going to like everything, right?
Anyway, I’ve heard from so many people that “Embryonic” is great but I still haven’t given it a listen. Even if it is good, it might just be too hard for me to start liking them now, haha.
Yeah, I totally get what you’re saying and I think we all have those bands “we should like but can’t”. The thing that first comes to mind that resembles this is that NPR had a panel discussion a while back where Carrie Brownstein (of Sleater-Kinney fame) revealed that she just didn’t get Radiohead. Of course she got slammed by the other people at the roundtable (and personally, I found it hard to believe) — but then I got to thinking about it and how it is completely unreasonable and statistically improbable for a person to like/love all the great bands out there. There is just too many of them.
Yeah, so I can see where you’re coming from, and that’s what is so great about these sort of “year in perspective” posts is that it sparks discussions like these. Anyways, I would at least give Embryonic a spin and an open mind and you might come out liking it, and if not you only lose an hour.
Now excuse my, I have my own list to enumerate…
Great list. I would have put Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix above both Veckatimest and Merriweather Post Pavilion. And on WAP, I would argue that “Armistice” champions “Countdown”through its initially mild rhythms, which distill into one of the most forceful outros yet conceived.
Great list. Glad to see Dan Deacon made the cut. I definitely need to check out more of The Antlers and The Big Pink, like yesterday.
Great list, but I gotta say Hospice is the best of ’09.
Great list, Luis!
I really need to check out The Antlers. I’ve heard about them for so long and still haven’t gone out and bought it yet!
Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix has got to be my favorite, though.
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I don’t know if my e-mail address got on that comment…
Fantastic list! Although I seriously disagree with some of these choices and lack of some albums here. But hey that’s why music is so opinionated. Great list! Keep up the good work.
In regards to the list I really think Animal Collective’s album should have been second and the Dirty Projectors’ album should have been first. I loved that album and it is definitely my favourite album of 2009, it showed how talented and diverse the band is, it gave me a song for every mood in one album and still somehow made the whole album flow together beautifully. I can listen to two doves anytime of any day and it will make me feel fantastic, albeit nostalgic. I loved it, I’m glad it’s high on the list. I would have liked to see Regina Spektor’s latest album on this list. Although I like her older and jazzier songs better (11:11 is my favourite) this album was still wonderful and featured studio recordings of old songs she would play live (Folding Chair). Great list though! I shared this on facebook, by the by.
Fantastic list! Although I seriously disagree with some of these choices and lack of some albums here. But hey that’s why music is so opinionated. Great list! Keep up the good work.
While I do think Animal Collective is a talented band and MPP is a solid album, I am going to vote it as the most overhyped album on this list.
My favorite album of the year would have to be Bitte Orca or Them Crooked Vultures.
I have retweeted upon request. Sorry, the first time I posted was a mistake. This is my legit post.
Great List! Totally agree with many of the albums you put, Especially Hospice, I started it off on number 9 on my top ten and I feel like it’s slowly creeping upward
I’m not sure if they’d be quite your thing or not but you should totally give the new Mountain Goats Album a spin, it’s near perfect
And I retweeted you list and used the word “Ballin” in description of it and your contest, I hope that’s ok
Great list. I’m dissapointed that my favorite album wasn’t on the top 25 which was The Decemberists, Hazards of Love.
I really felt like coming off of a big success of The Crane Wife they didn’t fold from signing with a big label. They stayed true to themselves and made a great album. Added new sounds and still kept what’s great about them.
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Very similar list to my own! Got into Antlers and The Big Pink this year thru this site (thanks). My album of the year, however, would have to be Veckatimest (got so many spins on the long drives to work each morning and the long drives home). Great year and definitely a great decade… looking forward to a new decade of new music and hopefully PMA will continue to introduce me to new artists. Happy Holidays!
Wow, what a Christmas present this would be!
Glad to see the inclusion of Florence + the Machine, Phoenix, the XX, and Gaga. Other favorites this year are the Dead Weather and Bat for Lashes.
Retweeted & didn’t share because I don’t use facebook. Keep up the amazing work next year PMA!
there are quite a few albums on here that i haven’t heard, but i would definitely have to agree with you putting freelance whales on that list. great album, i especially like the use of a banjo. (thanks PMA for introducing me) also i enjoy passion pit, just saw them live and i think i love them more now after seeing them perform 100 ft in front of me. thanks for all the work this year on this blog, i look forward to what music has in store for us in 2010.
That list wasn’t too shabby. Nice to see British bands The xx and The Big Pink getting the coverage they deserved. All was missing was a bit of Wild Beasts and/or Micachu and the Shapes.
Loved the presentation too. Another British-related moan: shame Lala isn’t available over here on these shores but once it is it’ll be grand.
A list not too dissimilar from my own over at Music Fan’s Mic:
http://musicfansmic.com/2009/12/07/mfm-albums-of-the-year-2009/
great list. no better way to cap it off than with animal collective. alot of music i havent heard but is good none the less. Shared on facebook, would tweet it if I had twitter.
Pretty typical 1,2,3 picks with AC, Grizzly and Phoenix. I especially love the antlers right now it is honestly mind blowing.
I have the exact same top 3, but in a different order. For me, it’s Phoenix, then AC, then Grizzly Bear.
Excellent list, the only problem I have with it is that Them Crooked Vultures aren’t included. I know it doesn’t really fit the genres that this site covers, but it’s still an amazing album.
Oh, and I shared the list on FB.
Great post, put it up on twitter. I thought that the Bibio and Memory Tapes albums should have made the list, but it’s a pretty good list none the less. Best album of the year has got to be Veckatimest, I can listen to that all day.
This is a great list. There were a couple of albums that I haven’t listened to and will definitely check out. I was really happy to see Phoenix, Florence + The Machine, and Discovery on the list, although personally I would have switched Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix and Merriweather Post Pavilion.
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Definitely agree with almost every album on this list and I totally understand the AC pick for the #1 spot. I have Hockey, Girls, Polar Bear Club, and a few others within my top 10 and only a couple more differing in my top 25.
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Antlers are so good. I would’ve had them in the top 3.
awesome list. hope i get the vinyl!
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