Top 40 Albums of 2009

The closing of this decade ended up clocking out many a decent album. One I was really excited about, Face Control by the Handsome Furs, had some pretty IMPORTANT funky house tracks. Another IMPORTANT album of the final year of the Double-Zeros was the new Passion Pit album, Manners. I remember when Passion Pit was just some unknown group . Now look at 'em. I heard one of their songs in a commercial and they're practically famous. I have a feeling alot of these rising indie bands are going to play a part in the coming trends of the next decade. I'm glad Animal Collective was first, (Good work julian) I thought they had a really sweet style. Overall, we heard from alot of great bands this year that made it on the list. Neon Indian, the Decemberists, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, blah blah blah you can read the list. Bands like these make us remember this past ten years fondly, as we enter another decade of new gismos and gadgets, yet more IMPORTANTly, new groovy music for us to get down to.
-Charlie
Special thanks to our friend Jon for doing this supercool Top 40 image.
-Julian


40) Jay Reatard - Watch Me Fall











39) Royal Bangs - Let it Beep











38) Islands - Vapours











37) Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz!











36) Metric - Fantasies











35) The Love Language - The Love Language











34) The Most Serene Republic - ...And the Ever Expanding Universe











33) DM Stith - Heavy Ghost











32) Beirut - March of the Zapotec











31) Handsome Furs - Face Control











30) Andrew Bird - Noble Beast











29) Why? - Eskimow Snow











28) Peter Bjorn and John - Living Thing











27) M. Ward - Hold Time











26) Dead Man's Bones - Dead Man's Bones












25) The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love











24) Black Moth Super Rainbow - Eating Us











23) Memory Tapes - Seek Magic











22) You La Tengo - Popular Songs











21) Passion Pit - Manners











20) Neon Indian - Psychic Chasms
Like 80s music, except more captivating and addictive. And more synthy.
-Julian








19) Wild Beasts - Two Dancers
The Antlers (overly-dramatic singing) meets St. Vincent. Meets Islands. Briefly encounters The xx.
-Julian








18) Various Artists - Dark Was the Night
When terrific bands and performers like Grizzly Bear, Dirty Projectors, Bon Iver, The National, Feist, Sufjan Stevens, Arcade Fire, Spoon, Andrew Bird and more get together, they make one double-album called Dark Was The Night.
-Julian





17) The Thermals - Now We Can See
Loud and often obnoxious, Now We Can See is a great blend of in-your-face instrumentals and a couple tunes that lay off the noise (a bit).
-Owen







16) Atlas Sound - Logos
Bradford Cox's second solo album is more alive and, at times, acoustic than his stuff with Deerhunter. Also, Walkabout (with Noah Lennox of Animal Collective) and Shelia are both catchy tunes not to be overlooked.
-Julian





15) The Antlers - Hospice
I have never been so excited about an album about someone dying.
-Owen








14) Thee Oh Sees - Help
A few words can describe the Thee Oh Sees' second studio album: Loud, fun, raw, rock, singing, guitars, songs, music, and loud.
-Julian







13) Neko Case - Middle Cyclone
Neko's powerful and naturally-smooth vocals make this album a classic, despite it having a half-hour cricket fest at the end.
-Julian







12) Cymbals Eat Guitars - Why There Are Mountains
This album has some pretty nifty guitar riffs, and a very big sound. Don't see why the cymbals should be eating the guitars.
-Julian








11) Charlotte Gainsbourg - IRM
Most of these songs clearly show Beck's influence. That's why IRM is awesome.
-Julian








10) The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
A great debut from the really promising shoegazing indie poppers.
-Owen







9) Bibio - Ambivalence Avenue
Dreamy and floaty, funky and poppy, one guy mixes it all together in a delicious, soupy pot that is Ambivalence Avenue.
-Julian







8) Micachu and the Shapes - Jewellery
Too quirky for her own good, Micachu and her gang The Shapes bust out their miscellaneous and catchy beats on a homemade guitar, a bowed instrument fashioned from a CD rack, a vacuum cleaner, and other various wacky instruments.
-Julian





7) The xx - xx
One of my top picks. Both fresh and easy on the ears.
-Owen








6) Dan Deacon - Bromst
Fun fact: This fast-paced energetic kick-of-an-album has a bunch of long, but pleasing songs. And one really bizarre and outfitting 3 minute song with overlapped vocal tracks.
-Julian






5) Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
Intricate melodies, falsetto voices, a nice bass, Veckatimest has it all. This is a must-have for this holiday season, so come on down--nevermind.
-Julian







4) Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion
Blech.
-Owen
NO WAY!
-Julian






3) Phoenix - Wolfgang Amedeus Phoenix
Although one might object to the lack of depth in the Frenchmen’s album, you really can’t escape the catchiness and likability of their songs.
-Owen







2) Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
Zany, slightly weird, and beautifully disorganized, Dirty Projectors deliver another satisfying record.
-Julian








1) St. Vincent - Actor
Although her need to overpower her brilliant music with fuzz still confuses me, she is still definitely one of a kind.
-Owen