Amazon Editors' Best Albums Of 2009
Remember every list is like a snowflake. So far this year folks have been focused on the bigger picture, offering their thoughts on the best albums of the decade. Amazon's Editors, though, clearly getting ready for the Holiday season, have jumped out with the first official Best Of 2009 to get our attention. They're in the business of selling things to you, true, but even if I don't agree with a number of the inclusions, this is a pretty interesting, sometimes oddball collection of favorites. Leave it to someone driven by sales and not the hipster zeitgeist to to add variety to what will invariably be a repetitious Winter.
50 The Lonely Island - Incredibad
49 Rodrigo y Gabriela - 11:11
48 Thao - Know Better Learn Faster
47 Mayer Hawthorne - A Strange Arrangement
46 Noisettes - Wild Young Hearts
45 Doom - Born Like This
44 Bonnie Prince Billy - Beware
43 Throw Me the Statue - Creaturesque
42 Lily Allen - It's Not Me, It's You
41 Vieux Farka Touré - Fondo
40 St. Vincent - Actor
39 Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
38 Silversun Pickups - Swoon
37 Cass McCombs - Catacombs
36 Bob Dylan - Together Through Life
35 Antony And The Johnsons - The Crying Light
34 Iggy Pop - Preliminaires
33 Julian Plenti - Julian Plenti Is Skyscraper
32 A.C. Newman - Get Guilty
31 U2 - No Line On The Horizon
30 Imogen Heap - Ellipse
29 Cave Singers - Welcome Joy
28 La Roux - La Roux
27 Yusuf/Cat Stevens - Roadsinger (To Warm You Through The Night)
26 Mark Knopfler - Get Lucky
25 Steve Martin - The Crow: New Songs for the Five-String Banjo
24 The Bird and the Bee - Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future
23 Various Artists - Dark Was The Night
22 Iron & Wine - Around The Well
21 Mastodon - Crack The Skye
20 Horrors - Primary Colours
19 Leonard Cohen - Live In London
18 Amadou & Mariam - Welcome To Mali
17 Sarah Jarosz - Song Up In Her Head
16 Steve Earle - Townes
15 The Swell Season - Strict Joy
14 Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
13 Passion Pit - Manners
12 Wilco - Wilco (The Album)
11 Metric - Fantasies
10 Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career
09 Jay-Z - The Blueprint 3
08 K'Naan - Troubadour
07 Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion
06 Girls - Album
05 The Avett Brothers - I And Love And You
04 The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
03 Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
02 Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz
01 Neko Case - Middle Cyclone
They take it up to 100, so if you want to be a completest (and see where Muse landed) you can check out the rest at Amazon. (A tip of the hat for including French Alcest/Peste Noir-associated post-black metal pop crew Amesoeurs' excellent self-titled collection on the list, even if it's at no 95.)
Posted at 10:31 AM by brandon in List
oh my god...
really?!
no radiohead in the whole list. jesus. usually i just complain that kid a isn't number 1.
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rufn kidding me?
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its a list of the best albums of 2009 you moron
last time i checked radiohead didn't release anything this year
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pretty sure he was being sarcastic
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where is embronic?
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where is embronic?
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I like Amazon calls them "editors" as if to lend some sort of credibility to a group of people who, as far as I can tell, don't really edit nor write any editorial content, outside of some product descriptions. I thought those people were called "marketers," "advertisers" or simply, "employees."
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you hate employees don't you?
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There's an official Amazon review for every product, and no, it's not always favourable.
I'd say that needs editors
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K'Naan! hahahahaha
"Together Through Life" isn't very good. And i was fully biased and prepared to love it no matter what.
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K'naan is awesome!
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While I don't think it's the best record of the year (that would be Hospice) Middle Cyclone is probably the most underrated. I really think the people who were just "meh" on it, need to take another listen. It's Neko's best album.
Score = 4
See, I might be in the minority (and obviously I don't work for Amazon) but I don't really care for Middle Cyclone. I feel like she really phoned in the songwriting and when you're listening to someone like Neko Case songwriting is critical. I mean "This Tornado Loves You" is probably one of the worst songs I've ever heard, and that's a shame coming from her.
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Let the lists begin!!! Album by Girls is my choice for numero uno. The XX is a close second....
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What Friedberger said...
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Where's Bat For Lashes? Where's Noah and the Whale?
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Noah and the Whale is where it belongs. Really it's not too terrible, this list.
I would say major oversights include the Antlers, the Mountain Goats, Dan Deacon, Yo La Tengo, and Sunset Rubdown.
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Yo La Tengo @ #57. Noah and the Whale @ #74.
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Agreed about The Antlers.
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man, built to spill never gets any love :(
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I'm not going to dissect this list, I will only say that the Neko album cover is my favorite of the year.
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yeah, i'm totally going to take an album of the year list made by a site where i can buy groceries seriously.
not that i take any of these seriously, because all of the 'best of' lists are pretty bullshit, but this one especially.
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So post yours and let everyone rip it.
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pay attention.
it says 2009.
radiohead hasnt released anything in this year.
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pay attention.
it says 2009.
radiohead hasnt released anything in this year.
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I hate it when people complain about 'best of' lists, but No Line on the Horizon shouldn't have crossed anyone's mind while creating this list.
Glad to see It's Blitz so high, since it's was my favorite of the year.
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That's all that really counts, though, right? Seriously, if/when I do a list this year it will be something like "10 albums that I, me, this guy right here, got the most enjoyment from". I can pretty much guarantee that Art Brut won't be on many lists this year, but dammit if I didn't have more fun listening to that album than all but a couple others.
And while I'm sure things like Sunset Rubdown and Mastadon and La Roux are great and all, who was time to listen to EVERYTHING? Nothing against any of those act, who I may love if I wasn't busy listening to something else. Only so many hours in a day, right? I consider myself a pretty good consumer of music of the indie genre and its periphery, but man, there's still a ton of stuff on my radar that I just haven't gotten around to. It's hard to get worked up about lists this size when you've only had time to really devour about 35-40 albums all year, tops. I don't just mean listen to, I mean really spend some time with.
I hate that I care about music criticism.
Also, I like Metric, but I think that's a little high for this album.
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But the important thing is that they recognized the greatness of Steve Martin's bluegrass album.
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Absolutely no love for Califone's All My Friends are Funeral Singers. Ugh!
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I was expecting worse.
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This list is Lame-to-the-100th-power. Amazon needs to stop trying to be have music-cred and stick to selling overstocked inventory before year's end. How-TF is Passion Pitt's Manners better than St Vincent's Actor?! REALLY... How?!
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Well, for one thing, it's the catchiest electro-pop album I've ever heard. It's a fantastic record all around. St. Vincent is in my top 10 and I want to marry her but Passion Pit is far and away my number 1 album of the year. I'm just wondering where The Decemberists are on that list. Also, Paper Route and Thrice released their best records this year. Of course, Thrice has no indie cred even though they are awesome. There are rules.
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Yeah I'm with you about outrage over St. Vincent's Actor. I mean it's on the list ... at 40, so it's getting some recognition I suppose, but so many albums ahead of it are at a much lower caliber. So far, it's looking like this album's going to end up with the short end of the stick when it comes to end of year roundupness in favor of a lot of overhyped nonsense (not that that's particularly shocking). It's such an brilliantly written, intricately composed work; it's miles beyond Marry Me. It's got an interesting, cohesive lyrical theme running through all of the songs (women in circumstances requiring putting up a facade or witholding the truth) without coming across as a screwy concept album. The woman's also just such a little virtuoso. Though it seems like a lot of people just kind of dismiss it as boring or overly precise and controlled, which I just don't get since it has a lot of liveliness and variation to me -- The Strangers, Marrow, Black Rainbow etc etc. Plus the album ends with the line "bodies like wrecking balls fuck like dynamite."
I love alot of the other albums ('twas a good music year) ... but c'mon. Yeah Yeah Yeahs -- it's energetic and it does its job, but it's all just attitude, with a few more splashes of vulnerability than they normally pull out. Metric at 11? I'm sorry but that's plain horse shit -- Fantasies is alright but it's the same old metric nonsense with the same old gratingly bad attitude. Grizzly Bear? They're obviously talented composers, but it seems like they're one of those bands that are allowed to get away with anything in indieland now, because that album's only got a few songs that don't get under my skin or bore me.
It's also the fundamental problem with Top __ lists -- it's kind of rediculous to precisely quantify something which is inherently unquantifiable... and while they're amusing sometimes, I also feel kind of annoyed when I first read them because I always end up feeling like some guy's trying to belittle my tastes (until I remind myself "oh yeah, it's some guy's opinion ... no reason to care"). Anyway -- rambling. (No I don't have anything that much better to do right now than posting a long-ass comment reply about a top album list, in case you're wondering)
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because manners is my favorite of the year
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This is the 2nd time Neko Case has landed the top spot on Amazon's year end best of list. They really love her over there me thinks.
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Neko's album is a prime candidate to land on my "Most Disappointing Albums of 2009" list.
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Freelance Whales, anyone? I thoroughly continue to enjoy Weathervanes every time I listen to it.
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They somehow forgot the Arctic Monkeys.
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Humbug is definitely one of the best of the year.
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i would have liked to see the clientele's new one on here. it's absolutely the perfect autumn weather album.
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U2 nd Lily Allen is on there...your opinion is not valid. I shall now record myself throwing pots and pans down the stairs and self proclaim it as the Best in the EVER!
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Finally, Steve Martin gets some recognition for what a great musician...wait a second, STEVE FUCKING MARTIN IS ON THIS LIST??? The Amazon Editors are wild and crazy guys lol
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AC Newman 30 places too low.
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Awful list.
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all i gotta say is
BLK JKS
no one is giving props to this album as much as they should. they guys rule, i hope they make music for a long time
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Neko Case is great. The album was great. Felice Bros. should replace Avett Bros. Where's Dan Auerbach, Arctic Monkeys, Micachu, the Wild Beasts?? That's all my bitching for now.
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For me the album that started off '09 is still on top for the year: Andrew Bird's Noble Beast
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pains of being pure at heart 4th best album of the year? thats a joke right
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such a bizarre list. love it.
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Exactly! This is great entertainment reading. I mean Incredibad at #50...
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Why is 2008's Songs in A and E from Spiritualized on there? Yeah, #75.
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Wow, way to go Pains of Being Pure at Heart and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Seeing them that high made me smile.
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no handsome furs? would've liked to have seen edward sharpe and the magnetic zeros on the list too.
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I'm not even gonna look at this. it's only November 5th guys. wait at least another month.
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Wow, did not expect the Neko backlash at all. And here was me thinking she was snark-proof. How wrong was I. What, was it Middle Cyclone's 30 minute-long track of frogs that got to you?
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I can't believe anyone likes "It's Blitz"!!! What a terrible record. I'd rather listen to Panda Bear filter Geologist's mother's pussyfarts through a dusty old sofa cushion.
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That's pretty graphic.
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Am I the only one who would actually want to listen to that?
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EXCELENTT TOP 3!!! :D
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Thats really odd, I think its one of her most interesting songs. Musically, it feels at home beside the rest but has some new tricks up it's sleeve and lyrically, I found it fascinating. I think this album was a worthy follow up to Fox Confessor (if not as great)
Then again, indie-folk tend to get annoyed when people produce a "good album" after a "great album." I guess the internet just exposes us to so many bands that its hard to be as interested in people's artistic journeys..
P.S.
Whenever she come up, I always feel its necessary to point out that all the attention her voice and looks get sadly oversdhadow her great lyrics. So here I am bringing it up again :)
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I agree, I loved the fuck out of Middle Cyclone. That and Sunset Rubdown's Dragonslayer were probably my most played for the year.
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Timber Timbre ?
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Where's Tegan and Sara?! I can't stop listening to Sainthood!
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It's on there at # 60.
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Also, Bitte Orca is my #1.
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Once again Amazon leans towards the adult contemporary and indie female singers. Norah Jones in the past, Neko Case this year, ect. Not that that's a bad thing, just not very close to my taste.
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Regina Spektor is missing.
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That's because Far was terrible.
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I hope more lists include Dinosaur jr!
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yeah where the hell is farm!?
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Pretty good list --
Maria Taylor -- Ladyluck
The Twilight Hours -- Stereo Nights
Rhett Miller -- Rhett Miller
The Raveonettes -- In and Out of Control
Ben Kweller -- Changing Horses
Connor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band -- Outer South
God Help the Girl -- God Help the Girl
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ummm, where's the New Moon OST?
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I can say I only really like 7 of the albums on that list. That = a fail in my books.
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Or maybe the "FAIL" is in your taste in music.
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Top Ten Albums of 2009 (Act-Album-Best Song(s) on album)
1.Mastodon Cracke the Skye (The Czar, Oblivion, Divinations,Crack the Skye, the Last Baron)
2.The Flaming Lips Embryonic (Silver Trembling Hands, Gemini Syringes, The Ego's Last Stand, Sagitarius Silver Announcement, Worm Mtn)
3.The XX - XX (Crystalized, Basic Space, Shelter, VCR)
4. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes (Blue Ridge Mountains, Your Protector, Tiger Mtn Peasant Song)
5.Grizzlybear - Veckatimest (While You Wait for the Others, Southern Point, Dory, Two Weeks)
6. Metric - Fantasies (Satellite Mind, Sick Muse, Front Row)
7. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix - (Love Like a Sunset pt1&2, 1901, Rome)
8. Alice in Chains - Black turns to Blue (A looking in View, Check my Brain, Last of my kind)
9. Muse - The Resistance (Undisclosed desires, I Belong to You)
10. The Mars Volta - Octahedron (Copernicus, Teflon)
Score = -2
Fleet Foxes is great, but that's a 2008 release.
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Mew.
Mew Mew Mew Mew Mew Mew Mew Mew Mew Mew Mew Mew.
Mew?
Sigh...
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They forgot to put Portugal. The Man on the list
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damn, where is Lil Boosie?
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listgum.com
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FINALLY, Neko Case deserves this...
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The list is pretty decent except for a few albums that made the cut, I can agree with them. But they should also let us know their criteria or methods for choosing the albums. Otherwise this is just a pretentious listing, trying to push the careers of lesser known artists. I'm not gonna sneer Steve Martin's banjo album. It's actually good, but it's nothing special either. It's really more of a novelty album. So far the only list that i find fun and natural is the Aquarium Drunkard's best of the decade. It's not even a best of list nor is it done yet. It's devoid of pretentiousness and you won't feel that the editors are being pushy or critical of other albums they don't like. Even in the commentaries, you won't find snarky ones rather posters are appreciative of discovering albums they missed out or ignored and give another listen to albums they thought was crap.
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Where the Flaming Lips at? Embryonic is top 3 for sure. And what about Mos Def? Fever Ray, anyone? RAAAAAEKWOOOOOON!
A lot shouldn't even be near this list. Most albums shouldn't have been placed that high.
Rolling Stone gave Wale's new album a mediocre rating, so it's probably going to be one of the best releases of the year, right? And isn't LCD Soundsystem releasing a new album this month?
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Monsters of Folk will top my best of 2009 list. Guess I needed some safe rock n' roll songwriting in these hard economic times.
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It's not a bad list. Certainly less conceited than the pitchfork et al lists!
I am going to give Middle Cyc a bit more of a listen now I think.
It's a shame Miike Snow's album will probably miss most of these lists. Easily my top album for 2009
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While I don't personally agree with it, their choice of Neko Case for no. 1 was a really good one. It's certainly a fine album that came out this year.
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this list picked some albums i think were overlooked but not necessarily worthy of being included as the best of the best. plus there appears to be a huge bias on folk & albums that would appeal to the rolling stone writers. granted all things tend to have biases towards one thing or another, but they really brushed off electronic & metal completely, and most the good hip hop released this year.
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Bunch of crucial oversights, especially considering it's a list of 100: Franz Ferdinand, Ocote Soul Sounds, Quantic and His Combo Barbaro, Little Dragon
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I actually agree with Middle Cyclone being #1. But I'm also an unrepentant Neko fangirl.
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Where did Wavves go at? Any list that don't have Wavves on it is bunk.
At least Pearl Jam didn't make it. America is probably mad angry about that.
Mark Knophler, U2, Wilco???
I can picture how proud the dude who made this list must feel now. Thinking he's a mad awesome dude. And that chicks are gonna dig him now.
What an A-hole.
-Farmer Ted
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#14?
Fail.
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huh?
how come the mars volta never gets *ANY* love?
i havent seen them on any of these listsssssss. screw people. people suck.
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#1: MOS DEF - THE ECSTATIC
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Honestly it was a lot better than I thought it would be, but putting Steve Martin above Dirty Projectors??? Even if it was actually a good album its been done before there's no way it tops how amazing and innovative Bitte Orca was which practically created a new style of pop music(and a lot of other things), geez if people look back at that in the future they'll probly laugh their ass off. St. Vincent should be higher, Animal Collective is at a pretty good spot but should certainly be above Yeah Yeah Yeah's, Girls, and Phoenix, those three are good albums but nothing original or new, and Bitte Orca should be above all of them including AC. Neko Case is understandable at the top just because of her accessiblity. And XX should be in top ten and its not even on there.
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I'm pretty sure those bastards at the Canadian Amazon Store made it so that Embryonic didn't make the list because of Wayne's comment about Arcade Fire, then his apology and then making fun of them again. Blame Canada.
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Monsters of Folk....hands down
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OMG, they like my favorite record less than i do!! and even like some i don't!!! outrage!!!!
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I listened to a lot of these albums and plenty more and it's pathetic that these people didn't put hardly any of my favorites on the list, considering my favorites aren't exactly all completely under the radar...in fact some are considered by many people, other musicians, and even some lowly critics as "geniuses."
Mosters of Folk - Monsters of Folk (this is a great album, not just a novelty in case you care)
Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band - Outer South
Circulatory System - Signal Morning - (are these editors mentally disabled?)
Flaming Lips - Embryonic (hello revolution...for anyone who has any clue)
Sam Roberts - Love at the End of the World (I know these guys are from canada, but they aren't that small-time)
M Ward - Hold Time
others i can't think of without thinking about it more as well...
I could let this list fly as some kind of hipster bullshit, but there are bands/artists like Wilco, Neko Case, Bonnie Prince Billy who have been in the game for a while, and their albums are nothing compared to the likes of Flaming Lips, Circ. System, Jim James, Conor Oberst, etc, and they have oldies like Dylan, Earle, and even Cohen on there, and that is an insult to the evolution of music to have washed up musicians just trying to make another dollar ahead of great albums made by musicians still in their primes and singing about things that REALLY MATTER. Dylan had his chance and blew it...let's move on stereogum.
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uuuughhhh I hateeeee Passion Pit
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I've grown to expect lists like this, but I remember reading some pretty intelligent articles written by people on this website and expected a bit better, rather than this vomit.
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the mars volta
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Man I thought I was only one who loved St. Vincent and wanted to marry her. She looks exotic, old-school and modern. Her sound is so bad-assed. If people say this record is too controlled, I say it's restrained. She lets loose only when it's effecient to, which is to say she is an artist making excellent choices for a reason.
And Rodrigo y Gabriela is on this list. F yea. That album rocks!
But why is U2 here? and I've heard that the Iggy Pop record sucks. no offense to iggy. And the Yusuf album isn't that good.
Grizzly Bear deserves to be higher, but I've heard the record so many times this year in my car or a friends car or at work that I don't care anymore. They are exempt from all future lists.
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Why are the YYYs and Phoenix higher than AC and Grizzly Bear? And why are U2 and La Roux even on the list?
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I'm gonna go ahead and say it's because the Amazon Editors like the YYYs and Phoenix albums better than AC and Grizzly Bear albums. When did people forget that taste in music is subjective?
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i think subjctive is not enough for the list because i think some of the albums are not in the list deliberately.
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amazing how andrew bird doesnt even crack the top 100, i didnt even know there were 100 albums worth putting on a list for 2009
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No Pearl Jam, yet U2's so-so record makes this list? Poor choice.
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And what about Music for Men by The Gossip??????
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Monsters of Folk? Vlcano Choir, while not for eveyone, is fucking awesome. Dead Weather?
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I hope Wild Beasts get a bit more of a mention around the proper '09 lists. Two Dancers is absolutely mint, it's in my top 5, easily.
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Is it me or does "Time to die" by the Dodos deserve to be here
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Top 10 greatest gayest albums of '09? LOL
1.Bitte Orca - Dirty Projectors
2. Don't Stop - Annie
3. My Maudlin Career - Camera Obscura
4. Veckatimest - Grizzly Bear
5. Middle Cyclone - Neko Case
6. Between my head and the sky - Yoko Ono and the Plastic Ono Band
7. La Roux - La Roux
8. The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - The Pains of Being Pure At Heart
9. xx - The xx
10. Wilco - Wilco
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Did anyone listen to Raekwon's newest album??? Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt. II.... I'm judging that a lot of you might not listen to much Hip/Hop or even care about Hip/Hop. Raekwon's newest dives into some of the best beats constructed byJ Dilla and Pete Rock in their careers. With the current climate around the urban areas in this country, the lyrics reflect what many in our poorest areas are experiencing right now. The album falls into the category of timely album.
There are only two albums I recommend in 2009... Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix and Only Built 4 Cuban Linx.... Pt. II. All of you should check out Raekwon's newest.
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I work at the record store. I hear everything before anybody else. But I'm losing my edge.
1. AC MPP
2. DP Bitte Orca
3. Girls Album
4. Cass McCombs Catacombs
5. Phoenix Wolfgang Amadeus
6. Junior Boys Dull Begone (Most underrated album of the year)
7. Horrors Primary Colors
8. VA - Dark Was the Night
9. Cold Cave Love Comes Close
10. Kris Kristoferson Closer to the Bone
Haven't heard the Raekwon record yet, so... forgive me. I know lists are lists and really what do you expect, but I just can't take seriously any list featuring that new U2 album or Lonely Island or the forgettable Neko Case album as number 1. I mean I love Neko Case, but other than the Sparks cover and that 'slower song in the middle' it was... who am I talking about, oh, I mean forgettable.
Honorable mention: YYYs Blitz... didn't expect to like that one as much as I did.
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i know its not cool for guys to dig young tweenie girls... but i am soooo hooked on Sainthood by Tegan and Sara... that album is awesome especially compared to their last album which i thought was just ok. they are no joke.
and yes still waiting for a list that treats spencer krug and sunset rubdown like the genious he is. monsters of folk i agree with you guys.. super high understated quality
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