Halfway through the year SPIN tipped their hand by offering the 20 Greatest Albums Of 2009 … So Far. If you remember, the list wasn’t in any specific order. Their 40 Best Albums Of 2009 are, and it’s interesting to see all the titles that popped up after the last one was published. As well as the albums that missed the cut after they were spun a bit more: Peter Bjorn And John, Blk Jks, Regina Spektor, Glasvegas, Mavado, and Sa-Ra Creative Partners are nowhere to be found. The list — one of oh so many lists — is also refreshingly interesting in and of itself, a fine example of a publication stepping outside of the hive mentality and coming up with something that feels personal. Even if I don’t personally agree with a lot of it.
40 Kiss – Sonic Boom
39 Wilco – Wilco (Wilco The Album
38 Rick Ross – Deeper Than Rap
37 Gallows – Grey Britain
36 Brakesbrakesbrakes – Touchdown
35 Miike Snow – Miike Snow
34 Mariachi El Bronx – Mariachi El Bronx
33 The Avett Brothers – I And Love And You
32 U2 – No Line On The Horizon
31 Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca
30 Julian Casablancas – Phrazes For The Young
29 Them Crooked Vultures – Them Crooked Vultures
28 The Flaming Lips – Embryonic
27 Jarvis Cocker – Further Complications
26 The Mountain Goats – The Life Of The World To Come
25 The Big Pink – A Brief History Of Love
24 Wolfmother – Cosmic Egg
23 St. Vincent – Actor
22 Tegan And Sara – Sainthood
21 Raekwon – Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Pt. II
20 Paramore – Brand New Eyes
19 Lily Allen – It’s Not Me, It’s You
18 Antony And The Johnsons – The Crying Light
17 Mastodon – Crack The Skye
16 Japandroids – Post-Nothing
15 Neko Case – Middle Cyclone
14 Amadou & Mariam – Welcome To Mali
13 Jay Reatard – Watch Me Fall
12 Ida Maria – Fortress Round My Heart
11 Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson – Summer Of Fear
10 The Dead Weather – Horehound
09 Drake – So Far Gone
08 Florence And The Machine – Lungs
07 Mos Def – The Ecstatic
06 Bat For Lashes – Two Suns
05 Girls – Album
04 Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest
03 Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
02 Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz!
01 Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion
You can read the accompanying blurbs over at SPIN.
[Animal Collective photo by Takahiro Imamura]
You Might Also Like
 Panda Bear – “You Can Count On Me” Video |  Avey Tare Debuts New Tunes On Tour |  Watch Newly Released Footage From Animal Collective’s 2010… |  CMJ 2011: Stereogum, Domino, Ribbon Music, Todd P Showcase… |
 |
 |
Am I the only one who thinks that Girls are wayyy overrated? Love seeing Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Phoenix up there though.
you’re not alnoe
i am here with yuo
Yeah, they opened for Los Campesinos this summer and were pretty dull.
Also, are there really any surprises on these lists anymore?
I’m glad to see The Mountain Goats and Neko Case placing, though.
me too (i misplaced the last two letters but i guess it didn’t work for me)
They were making it so interesting: Ida Maria! Drake! Florence and the Machine! And then the top 5 are uber cliche indie faves :-/
And What The Fuck?! Why is Bitte Orca so low?? BO > 99% of this list.
Speaking of cliche indie favs?
love that you complain about indie cliche faves then gripe about dirty projectors…
There is nothing cliche about Bitte Orca.
you’re not alone
Sadly agree. Though I like them, they’ve gotten more praise than deserved.
Am I the only one who thinks that Animal Collective are wayyy overrated? Love seeing Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Phoenix up there though.
Yeah. You’re the only one.
I totally agree. I’m also glad to see the Mountain Goats but wish i saw the Pains of Being Pure At Heart and Passion Pit.
i agree where is passion pit??
Those are the exact same two bands i thought should be on the list….. Passion Pit should be in the top 20 (if not higher)
Yer not the only one. Merriweather Post Pavillon brought boredom to new levels. Animal Collective should be renamed Pitchfork’s House Band
you’re not alone
I’m with you on Girls. Then again I think Animal Collective is the most overrated band of the decade.
I think Side A of the Girls album is one of the best of the year, but goes downhill from there. Overall, wouldn’t put them in the top ten. They def made a couple of the years best SONGS though
totally agree that they made some of the best songs of the year, but I would not even put the album on the list. the singles are great but most of the rest of the LP is sub par.
Girls are so bad. So so Bad.
Jarvis and Julian should be higher methinks.
no love for Fever Ray?!? this list is VOID.
i know it. fever ray fail.
Pitchfork nailed it with this list!
HA HA HA HA. YOUR SO FUNNY!!! STOP BEING SO FUNNY!!!!!!!!!
No the Rolling Stone readers nailed it ….
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/31234753/the_decadeend_readers_poll/2
In regards to that Rolling Stone list, here’s my question: how the hell did those two Radiohead albums get on there? I mean, the rest of the list makes sense for RS readers: they are all hugely popular Top 40 records supported by hugely popular Top 40 singles (except for The Boss, but you know, he’s The Boss). It’s the records that will fill a VH1 “I Love The 00s” someday. Then you have Kid A and In Rainbows just wedged in there. In Rainbows, maybe, because Radiohead played at the Grammys the past year, but Kid A at #3? What?
Are you honestly telling me that the majority of RS readers listen to “When I Disappear Completely” in between all those tracks by Avril Lavigne, Green Day, and Beyonce? It doesn’t make sense. Radiohead has had plenty of accessible singles, but none on Kid A. And if enough hipsters invaded the site to get those 2 near the top, why wasn’t, say Funeral or Kala able to knock off a middling Mariah Carey record? That list seems to represent a demographic that I can’t, for the life of me, see existing in the real world.
Oops, before I ruin any credibility I had left, I realize I put, for some ungodly reason, “When I Disappear Completely”, when I meant “How To Disappear Completely”. Embarrassing.
I am a subscriber to rolling stone and I own every Radiohead album and love them.
lmao @ “middling mariah carey album”…..that you’ve never heard, you bottom feeding dork
I’m not sure, maybe you should ask Miley Cyrus about that demographic?
I’m not too surprised. I mean, Radiohead is the one really good band that many mainstream music outlets seem to gush about (Rolling Stone, Spin, MTV, etc.), they’re probably the one “weird/experimental” band that many of the voters in that poll listen to.
It only means that Radiohead fans are the new ICP fans.lol. If it’s popularity that we are talking about then I agree with the RS readers. The musicians / critics ballots are fun to read, though. They didn’t choose their own albums/songs.lol. Surprising choices from Lars Ulrich, Jarvis Cocker, Pete Wentz.
The REAL Rolling Stone list…from their list of “critics and artists”. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/31248017/100_best_albums_of_the_decade/
And the songs…http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/31248926/100_best_songs_of_the_decade
Uhhh….where is Lucero on this list??? One of the best albums this year!!!
YES, i agree. lucero and manchester orchestra are two of my favorite albums of the year.
Questionable inclusions on the bottom half of that list (KISS??, U2, etc.) but I do appreciate the attempt at appealing to more diverse groups of music listeners. I most people in America could find some music they have heard of/like on this list. For every Dirty Projectors and Japandroids-like selection, there’s Drake or Them Crooked Vultures.
yeah i think the diversity of this list is awesome and really refreshing. but to be honest, julian casablancas album is the cheesiest collection of music i’ve heard all year. he even looks cheesy when he plays, his stage presence makes me feel like i should be watching him as some shitty act on some shitty cruise boat. and girls are amazing but shouldn’t be that high. =]
After putting BLK JKS’ 4 song EP on their halfway through 2009 album list, you’d have thought that their full length, After Robots (which was admittedly quite a bit weaker than the EP), would have at least beaten Kiss on to the list.
That’s because, as great as their EP was, and as much mad skill as they have, the album was clearly a misfire, excepting some golden moments like “Skeleton” and “Mololatdladi.”
I really wanted to love it.
all of the physical mags seem to really love it’s blitz… am i the only one who wasn’t too impressed?
i wasnt impressed that much either
julian c deserved to be higher
Judging by the comments, I’m clearly not the only person who thinks that Girls is overrated, but I am obviously the only person who thinks that Julian C has become a caricature of himself and should’ve stopped after “Is This It?” and his “Phrazes For The Young” (with it’s ridiculous ‘z’) has sunk to a new level of embarrassing and unlistenable.
I agree with you on both counts 100%. I pray history does not look favorably on the Strokes, ‘cos I certainly won’t. The few things I liked about that band are totally absent in Julian C’s clusterfuck of an album.
19 Lily Allen – It’s Not Me, It’s You
18 Antony And The Johnsons – The Crying Light
17 Mastodon – Crack The Skye
they couldn’t have found a more random three to put together
I think that’s what made Brandon type “stepping outside of the hive mentality”. Otherwise there’s not much different here. Their Top 5 is almost guaranteed to be on pretty much every list.
What about the trifecta of Kiss, Wilco, and Rick Ross? Somewhere Jeff Tweedy is playing “Heavy Metal Drummer” and weeping
ew. girls is above dirty projectors? not ok.
I’ve warmed up to Girls a bit more, but i still don’t see why they are worthy of such hype and praise. Nothing really new or groundbreaking whatsoever.
I must have read the headline wrong. I thought it was SPIN’s 40 Best Albums Of 2009, not SPIN’s 40 Most Ground-Breaking Albums Of 2009.
I question Paramore making the Top 20. I’m a closet fan (ridicule please), but Brand New Eyes was kind of a lame duck besides the lead single. The list is impressively broad and sufficiently fair, though I would like to see a less commercial version of a list with the same variety.
And where the heck is Manchester Orchestra? They’ve been snubbed from pretty much every list despite a really solid album.
You’re a big ‘tard for liking that shit. Way to go. Go put your tampon in the wrong hole.
You asked for it?
don’t be ashamed of being a paramore fan. i’ve been a fan since 2006 when they had one (very good) album to their name. they’re a diverse, extremely aware band who are often under rated by indie snobs how don’t know anything about thier history or where they’re coming from. or maybe just music. BNE was their best album to date – it had variety, a wide range of influences, was very experimental and definitely upped the standards and pushed boundaries in thier respective genre area.
for a really long time I would “Girls” on the radio and I thought it was just a really horrible Elvis Costello album….
So true… so true. Girls is a perfect example of how critical praise can influence the many. Borrrrring. On a side note, the list is pretty respectable, but I’ve still overall been kinda surprised at how low Dirty Projectors are placing.
I am thoroughly sick of MPP receiving such high praise. Two great songs and one good song. The fact that the Phaseone remix of Daily Routine blows the original one out of the water alone justifies the sentiment.
i agree.. i like MPP but i really don’t think that its anything great.. my favorite album of animal collective is still strawberry jam i would say. thats a bummer that there’s no love for the xx and fever ray. and fuck kiss, u2, and ida maria.
Much earlier in the year, I knew that Two Suns by Bat for Lashes would undoubtedly be one of the best albums of the year. Even though it has a very specific kind of sound, I listened to it and enjoyed it while in almost any mood. It’s catchy and immediately satisfying, yet it is also thoughtful and meditative in both lyrical content and musical composition. I really thought its fate would be doomed to getting lost in the heap of more hype-friendly albums as the year passed. It is very satisfying to see that it ranked so well on this list. I admit it has been a couple months since I’ve listened to the album, yet I could listen to it right now or in a week and still enjoy it. It is a rare album that hasn’t dulled or soured in the least in my mind over time.
xx and wavves?
Horrors? Raveonettes? Obits?
Siilversun Pickups?
thier last album was icky
i didn’t like it as a follow up to Carnarvas 
From the Dept of Finally, that Mos Def LP is one helluva career resurrection. The New Danger’s the worst hip hop CD I’ve ever bought, and its followup is apparently worse so I haven’t heard a hot lick of it, but The Ecstatic is tip top hip hop top to bottom.
I cannot respect a top 09 list that does not even MENTION The Bird and the Bee’s “Ray Guns are Not Just the Future”.
Finally some love for The Dead Weather
i can’t take seriously the list if Paramore is up there…..
The new Paramore record is actually really strong. They deserve the nod.
no tv on the radio? i scanned that list 3 times because i couldn’t believe it. best album of their career and maybe of the year i’d say. also seems lots of people hating on girls and julian casablancas. two great pop albums in my opinion. i listened to that girls album maybe 40 times in a row before taking it out of my cd player. not everything has to be art rock.
Really? What album did TV On the Radio release?
You’re thinking 2008. They had no record this year (though Kyp Malone had a solo project. maybe that’s what you’re thinking of..?) Anyways, it’s 2009, and the end of it to boot. Welcome.
and, Come On!
No passion pit??
Bat for Lashes made the list! Nice.
Listen to that Girls album again, it definitely deserves to be in the top 5, the songwriting is brilliant, and the fact that they were the only band of the recent “Lo-Fi” craze that made an album of fully listenable songs(sorry Wavves & Vivian Girls).
Girls is awful. And Anon, Passion Pit is neglected because they’re awful as well. And I agree with noahholla about MPP.
This hipster music is getting out of control. Just stop.
No Blueprint 3, yet the requisite Grizzly Bear and AC atop the list? Gimme a break.
Also, The Avett Bros. are getting a lot more praise than that album (or the brothers themselves) are worth. (Especially that stupid 9th best album of the decade nod from Paste).
Normally I try not to get to upset over other people’s opinions regarding music, but I feel like your opinion’s regarding the Avetts are, for lack of a better term, wrong.
I don’t care that you don’t like the album (I certainly don’t think it’s their best work), but to claim that they don’t deserve the praise they have earned is ridiculous. They are amazing lyricists, songwriters, and musicians and honestly, I don’t think their talent can reasonably be disputed.
The Sunn 0))) ain’t gonna shine anymore. I quite like that St. Vincent album
cheap trick’s new lp ‘THE LATEST’ should totally be on here.
Where the fuck are Brand New and Manchester Orchestra?
Where they belong – not on any lists. Are you an ap.net droid or something? Daisy is my AFOTY (album fail of the year)
Although, he didn’t need to post it 6 times, I agree totally regarding Passion Pit. It’s my top album of the year. Whoever said TV On The Radio really needs to brush up on their music knowledge and is obviously not that big of a fan. I also think The Decemberists new album is better than a lot of the album on that list as is Thrice’s new album, Andrew Bird, The Horrors, Paper Route, Pearl Jam, Peter Bjorn & John, The Thermals, and William Elliott Whitmore. I’ve also loved the new Russian Circles and Mono albums but don’t know how to gauge them against music with vocals.
No love for “Hold Time” by M. Ward? Or Pearl Jam? And Yay for Miike Snow….that record is alot of fun!
Sonic Boom. Really.
MSTRKRFT-Fist of God. My AOTY. I gots my love for Veckatimest and Phoenix and all that jazz but, sometimes, a nigga likes to dance.
Veckatimest at #4?! I beg to differ Spin. MPP is the only album that came close this year.
31 Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca
20 Paramore – Brand New Eyes
Incorrect.
I agree with those who note the lack of love for Bitte Orca. WTF. That CD is unreal.
Offenses in Order of Importance
1. HOW ARE THE DIRTY PROJECTORS SO LOW? Way better than Grizzly Bear.
2. WHERE IS FEVER RAY?
3. LILY ALLEN AND PARAMORE ABOVE ST. VINCENT? Let alone even on the list.
4. WHERE ARE THE THERMALS?
5. U2 AND KISS, YUCK AND WAY PAST THEIR PRIME
Animal Collective deserved the number one spot. Girls are amazing, and deserved number five. Love that Antony and the Johnsons made it, although a bit too low. Same goes for The Mountain Goats. Liked YYY’s, but 2 is much too high. Phoenix is too high. Okay list overall.
I agree with everything you just said 110%. YYYs is good, but not great. It’s probably their 3rd best album. And Phoenix have some fun songs, but there is nothing special or original about that album whatsoever. Ridiculously overhyped.
Anybody grouping U2 with Kiss is either 16 or deaf.
WORD. WHERE IS FEVER RAY?!
yeah, i would have liked to have seen Pearl Jam on a lot more lists. it seems they’re forgotten about b/c of their history, even after receiving 4 and 5 stars from those same reviewers.
girls- album definitely deserves its high placement…one of the best albums of the decade..every song is a worthwhile listen!!
NO GOSSIP, FUCK BUTTONS OR XX?
Where the hell is The Pains of Being Pure at Heart? That’s one of my favorite albums of ’09.
veckatimest deserves every bit of praise that has gotten and will get. it’s one of the greatest albums (easily) of the decade, rivaling the fleet foxes from last year.
That magazine blows. Maybe P4K shouldn’t have thrown down the gauntlet by asking if Bitte Orca was the best album of the year. The other rags/blogs seem to want to go anti…
Looks like a list made by guys who really like other styles of music who were forced to pick from a set list so the publisher could look like it’s actually kind of relevant…
“Maybe P4K shouldn’t have thrown down the gauntlet by asking if Bitte Orca was the best album of the year.”
Wrong site — it was Stereogum that posted that piece.
And, having thought long and hard about it, I think, yes, “Bitte Orca” is the album if the year. Followed by “Bromst” and “Merriweather Post Pavilion.”
no one is mentioning tegan and sara.. let me tell you.. sainthood is awesome.. i can listen to that album a million times. rightfully deserves every ounce of praise it gets. i hope that when future 2009 lists come out.. sunset rubdown gets their due… and yeah thermals album is near perfect.
Really Wolfmother? What the hell! And that album beat out Bitte Orca?
Hahaha Girls is in the top 5. Girls suck my dick!!
Im Ughhhhing all over myself here. Let’s just reiterate some basic facts that seem to be floating around here. Kiss, U2, Paramore, Rick Ross?? UGHHHHHHHHH. Girls is overrated, as is MPP and It’s Blitz (as is the xx so just calm it). Where in the shit is Wild Beasts on any list other than awful NME? Where is White Denim? Dan Auerbach? Etc.
errrr are all these magazines just listening to the blitz singles and assuming the album is probably of the same quality? seriously, that album belongs nowhere near this sort of list.
as everyone’s already said, these people are effing nuts for putting dirty projectors so low. seems they didn’t listen to that one either…
Very glad The Big Pink is being appreciated. I feel they were very over looked this year.
Overall the list kinda bites, but the top 8 are really good choices (I’m not that big on hip-hop, but I’ve heard that the Mos Def album was a good one).
OK
One more voice indignantly yelling about Bitte Orca here. #1 this year easily.
And Veckatimest is not that good, Yellow House is better.
Go Phoenix, I think MPP is only slightly overrated, and whoops, they forgot Mew, Pains of Being Pure at Heart, and Atlas Sound. And Passion Pit definitely gets the nod over… Kiss.
BITTE ORCA ORCA BITTE.
BITTE ORCA ORCA BITTE.
you guys can’t be serious.. Bitte Orca belongs at the end.. there are MAYBE 3 good songs on that entire album.
Interesting that they left off Sa-Ra, Brother Ali, & Noisettes, considering that they gave all three albums 9/10, which was one more star than they gave Animal Collective, their #1 album.
no atlas sound, deerhunter, xx, washed up, band of skulls, passion pit or jay-z? umm sure bro. i don’t understand dirty projectors. i put the album on my ipod and got real blazed and rode around town on my bike trying to like it but it is horrible. no melody, just whining.
phoenix should be #1.
girls album is a creeper. all you haters should give it a few more listens. it took me a while but now i love it.
jason lytle, richard swift, fanfarlo, and elvis perkins all made some impressive recordings this year…too bad none of them have been mentioned.
Now that you’re on it. This might interest you:
http://www.spinner.com/2009/12/08/best-albums-of-the-2000s/
Stoked to see girls right on up there too – it topped animal collective for me this year – to my great surprise.
A few more crumbs from big media…They need to put Midnight Special or Liquid Television back on…
Where is Franz Ferdinand!?!
love the hartford whalers symbol! my cousin used to play for them
i used to live in ct. now i’m in texas.
Whalers had a great theme song…Like Burt Bachrach good…Say Nikki…
I like seeing Mariachi el Bronx on there. Very original album.
OMG list overload already.
WTF no fever ray?
it saddens me how terribly overrated animal collective are.
Right you are. Still odd never the less. MPP had universal praise when it came out and seems to be everyone’s automatic choice for #1 in best of lists. Bitte Orca had almost as much praise (and in some cases more) and is ending up far down the lists, if it makes them at all. (Which it didn’t on GvB and STG) Odd outcome for an album that sounds better the more you listen…
Fever Ray was my favorite of the year start to finish. Bitte, Vecka, and MPP followed in that order, but all can get fatiguing and are saddled with some weakish songs…
Wait, wait, wait . . . I cannot believe that out of over 100 comments, only a handful have referenced the fact that a KISS album is on this list. KISS? KISS? You have got to be kidding me!! I didn’t even know they were still with us in the land of the living, much less that they released an album of new material this year. And it’s the 40th greatest album of 2009? Wow, I really need to check out this Spin magazine. They obviously have their finger on the pulse . . .
am I the only one who thinks dirty projectors and phoenix are overrated? for two different reasons, but they are still boring as fuck to me.
You’re right on Phoenix.
Switch Veckatimest with MPP and this list would be OK
This list is kinda fucked. No fever ray or XX but Lily Allen, U2, Kiss and Paramore all get a mention. I thought spin was really cool.
“No Line On the Horizon” is a turd in the toilet of 2009.
“No Line On The Horizon” is a turd in the toilet of 2009.
No Line on the Horizon-what a fuck show of a embarrassment that record is.U2 should have just put out another “Hits” record for this tour…
And that Julian Casablancas record is miserable drec
While I do dig the new Phoenix record, It’s Never Been Like That was better…
Long Distance Call is the best song on either record…
At least Raekwon’s newest is on the list. I think it is the best album of 2009, but I’ll settle with the album being on some sort of list. I agree with the Fever Ray comments. That was a brilliant album. What they do by substituting percussion with left field synths is fantastic. I thought Yeah Yeah Yeahs album was underrated, but on this list it is overrated.
I think The Very Best put one of the strongest albums out this year. I haven’t seen them on many list.
“40 Kiss – Sonic Boom” I stopped reading here.
Animal Collective owned 2009 for a lot of people. It is a great album from start to finish and is deserving of the top spot over Veckatimest (even though I dig it). Sure there is some backlash for AC, but whatever, it is typical when you get a lot of attention.
I really think the Phoenix album is way over rated and bores the hell out of me.
I really don’t read Spin, so whatever, some good picks and some really bad ones overall.
I have not yet to see any of the the New Dodo’s album “Time to Die” on any of these list, its kinda a shame….
Fanfarlo anyone? They should be up there somewhere…
Kind of thought Manchester Orchestra would of made this list. But it’s really not everyone’s cup of tea. Passion Pit should of been in the top 10. Loved that album.
More lists by any publication other than Stereogum itself, please! Can’t get enough of other peoples’ lists, right here, on Stereogum.com, to dissect and discuss! Where’s the Popular Mechanics Top 40 Albums Of All Time List? Please To Post, Post-Haste!!
WTF. People still read Spin?
I know Wilcos new album wasn’t the strongest they’ve made but they don’t deserve this
39. Wilco – Wilco (Wilco The Album)
32. U2 – No Line On The Horizon
I think it’s a shame that none of these lists show any love to WHY?’s “Eskimo Snow.” Easily one of the best albums of the year, seems they always get overlooked.
for those hating on the Girls album:”Hellhole Ratrace” and “Lust For Life” are twice as good as anything from Merriweather Post Pavilion that doesn’t have “Girls” in the song title.
Not bad. Maybe a list that I can finally agree with, never mind the rankings, but not bad.
It bothers me that people erroneously refer to Animal Collective/MPP as “overrated.” Clearly, the great majority of intelligent listeners, perspicacious critics and the many music aesthetes who comment on this site find the album to be the pinnacle of what was a great year in music. Therefore, it does not follow that Merriweather Post Pavilion is overrated, rather the numerous acknowledgments of the album’s acclaim are directly proportional to caliber of the music.
Instead of attempting to reduce the well-documented merit an amazing work of art with logical fallacies, simply state that you do not care for the album. Then accept your down votes as penance for having insipid taste in music.
you have got to be kidding me. just because you’re okay listening to noise, doesn’t give you the okay to bash those who like listening to music with RHYTHM. listen to your noise, and congratulate yourself on getting “thumbs up” for your deafening taste in music.
Your haphazard use of the term “noise” was the whole point of my comment. I did not intend to “bash” any person that dislikes advancing forms of sound. Those that scratch their heads at MPP will be in the same musical purgatory as those who questioned Revolver, Kid A and Dylan’s electric movement. I guess a diplomatic way to put it is, for every old man that shakes his fist at these damn kid’s “noise”, there will be thousands of belated accolades affirming the aforementioned “noise” as truly influential and revolutionary art.
This is the second list I have read that had the KISS cd on it. The only reason I can imagine as to why it was include is that Sonic Boom is the absolute best cynical cash grab by overweight aging jewish former rock stars (2 of them anyway) in high heels and makeup released in this past year. Congratulations, guys! You’ve finally arrived!
Kiss? KISS!?? Even at 40, that’s bloody ridiculous.
Good to see Raekwon on there, it’s deserved. And while i’m not overly suprised, the lack of Sunset Rubdown’s Dragonslayer on any of the lists thus far is a bit of a let down. Though I guess if their opus Randon Spirit Lover didn’t make it on in ’07, nothing will.
I can’t believe Grils is in the 4th place and Rules by Whitest Boy Alive is not even mentioned. It’s insane.
Great to see Brakes in there (or BrakesBrakesBrakes as they are in the U.S.) another awesome with no weak tracks.
Although I hope they don’t get on too many lists, I enjoy seeing them live for a tenner.
MPP is the best album of 2009. Girls is that good. That is all.
whether or not i agree with them on every single choice as some people here feel the need to, Spin keeps me guessing and it’s interesting to see each list that comes out this year. it’s a goddamn list, take it for what it is, not whether it featured or didn’t feature your favorite artist or rank them exactly like you did
Anyone else think Embryonic was the album of the year? i mean i can appreciate the Yoshimi and The Soft Bulletin but ill take the new one any day.
Soft Bulletin crushes Embryonic. Yoshimi does, too. So does farting into a plastic bag.
Sincerely,
Your Face
Not a bad list but where’s the love for Sonic Youth’s “The Eternal”?
u can hate all you want but merriweather post pavilion is the best album of the year
XX, Girls, Animal Collective, Dirty Projectors, and Grizzly Bear suck.
There, I said it.
you might be to too late for this one, troll
holy shit ur pretentious
I think some jerks in Stereogum listen to music they listen to because it is underground and because they are hipsters. Hipsters, I tell you. What other subspecies of human beings would criticize another’s favorite band? And care if a band is getting way more praise than it deserves? Hipsters. Stereogum should set up a witch-hunt to banish said hipsters from Stereogum.
Having KISS on the list pretty much totally blows its credibility right off the bat.
Two albums that really should be on this list:
Handsome Furs-Face Control
Dan Mangan-Nice, Nice Very Nice
Agree with most of this list. I loved Bat For Lashes’ album this year. Also, one of my favorites was Paper Route “Absence”. Probably the best-kept secret, not for long though. Agree with most of the top 10 on this list.