We’re more than halfway through 2009 so, hey, why not a little list? That’s what the people over at SPIN are thinking: They just put together what they consider “The 20 Best Albums of 2009 … So Far.” It isn’t in any order, but each entry comes with a brief declarative writeup explaining why the record was chosen. For instance, “[BLANK] throws herself into every song as if it’s all a big finale, which makes for an auspicious beginning.” Or, “[BLANK] won’t double as anyone’s dance-party playlist. But it’s an uneasy, bracingly honest soundtrack to life after fame.” And, “With the economy tanking, homes being lost, and folks switching to survival mode, America may need [BLANK]‘s back-to-nature fantasias more than ever.” Any ideas? (Hint: That last one is not Sarah Palin.) Before we get started: Your favorite bookmarks of the such and such is > than such and such are both here. And there are a couple Mercury Prize 2009 nominees. Of course, the accompanying image ought to be helpful, too.
Ida Maria – Fortress Round My Heart
Peter Bjorn And John – Living Thing
Blk Jks – Mystery
Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca
Mastodon – Crack The Skye
Amadou & Mariam – Welcome To Mali
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz!
Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion
Regina Spektor – Far
Mos Def – The Ecstatic
Glasvegas – Glasvegas
Jarvis Cocker – Further Complications
Bat For Lashes – Two Sun
Mavado – Mr. Brooks… A Better Tomorrow
Wilco – Wilco (The Album)
Neko Case – Middle Cyclone
Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest
Sa-Ra Creative Partners – The Age Of Love
Antony And The Johnsons – The Crying Light
See the list in its contextual photo gallery with accompanying blurbs over at SPIN.
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notably missing from this list is st.vincents “actor”. she really turns instrumentation on its head, and combined with her unusual key changes, its really a one of a kind album.
They appear to be mostly indie rock type music.
As far as the indie thing, t’s interesting to note how this list didn’t actually make it into the magazine, just on the website
Needs more Sunset Rubdown.
No Pigface “6″
No Appleseed Cast? Or are they not SPIN-ny enough?
future of the left is better than grizzly bear or st vincent
Really…giving Deceiver negative scores for giving props to Future of the Left? None of you guys like blistering vocals and face melting guitars? Really? That’s a great album!
I’m with you. In my opinion, Future of the Left has the best album this year. I wonder why Deceiver is getting negatives.
Because there’s no need to disparage two other great albums while being hideously, hideously wrong in the process.
Disparage the other albums? Really? You are the only one who is guilty of being disparaging in this mini-thread. Negative to you.
For real, this album needs more love.
Not that I’m hating on Futures…it’s just not nearly as good as Grizzly Bear…that’s all
I don’t know though, seems like comparing apples and oranges. One album is atmospheric and orchestral with jazzy undertones, poppy sensibilities and beautiful choral harmonies (and suffers from some SERIOUS mid-album slump, btw.) The other has snarky biting lyrical content, harsh vocals and post-hardcore style guitar riffs. While it’s certainly possible to love both types of albums, I imagine that some people into the latter would probably be bored by Veckatimest.
And I do happen to disagree with Spin’s & Deceiver’s assessment of the St. Vincent album. Actor’s pretty amazing.
comparing apples and oranges is ridiculous. apples are way better.
actually, oranges are waaaaay better than apples.
Nah man, you definitely need to give apples another listen.
apples > oranges.
really? future of the left is good but i’d prefer grizzly bear over them by loooong shot
that’s because you’re boring
Dinosaur Jr-Farm, is missing fo sure.
Franz Ferdinand’s latest really needs some love. I’ve been rocking that probably harder than anything else this year. NOMO’s invisible cities also outplays a lot of albums on this supremely predictable list.
NOMO!
Michigan Love!
word. on both the michigan love and the nomo. great album.
They must have been listening to a different version of Living Thing than the rest of the world.
No kidding!
There are 2 great songs on Living Thing and the rest is blah…
Very predictable list although a few of these are on my “09 So Far” list, including Amadou & Mariam and Neko Case…
Shoot…I only have one, Fortress ‘Round my Heart, which is awesome and addictive and I cannot wait to see Ida at Lollapalooza!
Sunset Rubdown and Asobi Seksu
yup, that looks like a list Spin would make. if anyone is concerned that their particular favorites are missing i would like to remind you now that this looks like a list Spin would make.
The Horrors?
I wish my album had the means to get to the masses! get it here! http://www.strangefamousrecords.com/store/dilly-dilly-of-art-and-intention-mp3-download-p-304.html
you’d have better luck if you didn’t insist on charging $9.99 for your unheard-of band’s album.
You really think that putting a link to a ten dollar price tag on stereogum’s comment section is going to get it out there? Come on, man. I was fully intending to give it a listen too.
I bought it! What an album!
Na, I didn’t really. Next time link to a page that will actually get your album to ‘the masses’ (or the three guys that were willing to give your music a chance).
Regina Spektor?! Really? Living Things and Further Complications also did very little for me.
But all that would’ve been forgiving had they included Elvis Perkins.
My big three (Vecka, MPP, Bitte Orca) are here. But Living Thing, really? That was my biggest disappointment of the year so far.
I like how you said that as if that top 3 was exclusive to you
Ah there be Neko, but I’m guessing Lungs was released after this issue went to print?
Aw. Been a few years since I let my subscription to spin run out. How cute that they haven’t changed a bit.
Someone should fix the Jarvis album. Further Complications, not Explanations, people.
This list is kinda mediocre and boring. ’09 went downhill after everyone blew their wads over AC and Grizzly Bear. I don’t even think those two albums are deserving of the year’s best either and am still struggling to find an album that has amazed me. So far, Oneida Rated O gets my pick.
I hate “true” indie people like you. Go listen to blank dogs.
I hate both of you.
Yeah. You are a cock gobbler. I hate people who are too “scenester” for something that’s actually good. Veckatimest and MPP are two incredible albums. If you don’t like it than say so. Don’t act like you know balls about music and diss them.
Hey Mr. ASSumption, I never said I didn’t “like” them but what I am saying is that they aren’t the best (IMHO since music is subjective) music has ever had to offer in comparison to music as a whole and other years’ best. Veckatimest is solid and good and I like it, but it’s not going to be my number 1 and maybe not even in my top 10. 09′s only half over and my prediction is that the new Fuck Buttons and HEALTH will win me over, and the list above also forgot Japandroids.
For the record, you guys are being childish.
I don’t think either of those albums are “album of the year” material either. I’d give that nod to something less monotone, like maybe David Byrne’s new one (or is that last year?) St. Vincent or Neko Case. Am I scenester too?
Not sure… I havent been to a concert in months.
When people react so strongly to such a minor comment its kind of embarrassing for everyone involved. Then, when kids start calling eachother hipsters and shit it just gets worse.
Stop trying so hard.
Why is everybody lashing out at Spin? This is a thoroughly decent list. Sure, I could complain about the absense of Sunset Rubdown, but it’s pretty good for a major publication like Spin.
‘Actor’ only has one song with key changes in it.
Yes, quite, as well as a positively vulgar lack of the augmented sixth.
Neither do the following records (in my quick estimation…): Blood on the Tracks, Nevermind, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Vampire Weekend, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga.
Those are 5 GREAT albums from a couple different eras, that don’t have key changes in their songs. Chew on that for a while.
Hell, blood on the tracks is mostly in one key and its my favorite album ever.
That said, he was responding to an earlier comment that raved about Actor’s key change.
He needs to use the reply button
missed reply button ftl
Florence? St. Vincent?
At least they didn’t go Rolling Stone and put Relapse and 21st Century Breakdown on there.
awesome, spin is exactly what i thought, out of the loop musically; i hate how all people getting paid to write about music don’t actually listen to good music
Like?
Metric’s Fantasies is the album of the year.
Aw. Been a few years since I let my subscription to spin run out. How cute that they haven’t changed a bit.
cymbals eat guitars ” why are there mountains”….
Black Nasty “SHARK TANK”???
Yeah this list needs more Rated O by Oneida, S/T by Here We Go Magic, Bromst by Dan Deacon and No. 2 by jj. I’m surprised Spin did suck off MGMT a little more by including them on this list even though they haven’t released anything this year. Please go out of business already Spin.
not that I expected to see it there, but the new Jerky Boys album is truly amazing. an honest, courageously original piece that gets tastefully iintrospective while keeping a curious eye on the rapidly changing world.
I would actually have to say that Spin’s the best music magazine out there right now. They’re not too far to one side of the spectrum, but fit comfortably in the middle between Rolling Stone and Pitchfork. They’re not too cool but they’re not putting the Jonas Brothers on the cover either.
The best music magazine out there? You should try Filter and/or Paste (though soon to be going under) and/or Under the Radar. It’s a shame that print media is being replaced by blogs like this one, but those three do a decent job. Sure they cover buzz bands cause that’s what sells, but they give some little guys the time of day too.
Spin’s okay, but certainly not the best.
To the poor guy that believes Spin to be the only print media between Rolling Stone and Pitchfork, that’s a shame. First, because you even referenced Rolling Stone as a legitimate source of actual music news/reviews and, more importantly, because you have never read a FILTER, which can be counted on for brilliant writing and phenomenal photography issue in and issue out. And though I’d love to have more issues per year, their unwillingness to sacrifice the quality of the magazine for a few extra appearances on the newsstand is what keeps it so top notch. Someone else mentioned Above The Radar which packed with band profiles. And if you’re really A.D.D. and your eyes are gluttons for punishment (and can bear the high-school-yearbook-collage-style layouts on every page) then NME might strike your fancy. They’re pretty tough to come by (at least in the midwest), I ended up subscribing (which will set you back about $160/yr), but it was just too much and too manic to keep up with every week. Plus I just couldn’t get into the whole “creaming our pants over Pete Doherty” stories every other week. Paste, if you’re into “adult rock”/alt country/folk and there’s also XLR8R and FADER, if you’re into… whatever they’re into (I’ve never been able to decipher who their target audience is).
I don’t mean to be professor magazines over here, but thought I’d help you out a bit. Obviously, you’re here, so you already have pretty good taste.
Bill Callahan’s new album should definitely be there. I also really love the new Fiery Furnaces’. Oh yeah, and the new Tortoise, Condo Fucks, and Boston Spaceships albums. Damn, this has been a good year . . . so far.
Do we really need ‘best of’ lists already?
Haha these posts always turn “wheres my favorite album, HELLO!!!??” type responses. I love it.
Spin’s opinion doesn’t mean much to me. I’m assuming its a pr hype booster paid by the labels to promote albums. I mean, just thing about it. Best of 2009…so far…?
Sounds more like an advertisement than a legitimate opinion.
YES. Or else what would we music snobs monsters have to argue about in our music blogs??
How about some foreign born love? Person to person is a great album. Better than some albums on that list for sure. And Spin is a magazine that just skims the surface of the music scene. I guess I always thought that was understood. They’re not bad but you’d want to look elsewhere for real substance.
Just got tha album and fell in love with it.
This could be a lot worse. Besides, they put BLK JKS on there! I’m thoroughly impressed.
Metric and Maxwell are pretty solid. Just sayin’.
Glad Passion Pit didn’t make it. Zzz…
Yessss, let the lists begin!
I don’t know why they’ve included BLK JKS’ Mystery EP here though, being only 4 songs in length you can’t really justify including it in a best albums list. However, it’s nice to see them getting a bit of love.
White Denim’s ‘Fits’ should be on there; my favourite of the year thus far.
Fever Ray? St. Vincent? Those have been two of my favorite releases this year.
Where’s ANTLERS? Where’s CYMBALS EAT GUITARS?
Questions that need answering.
YES!! the antlers’ hospice. totally mind-blowing concept album.
Where the fuck is Akhbar Indu? Best Banga-Jams of three decades!
Now i remember why i never buy SPIN. Every album on that list is an absolute snoozefest. I agree about Future of the Left and The Appleseed Cast. Criminal omissions. Not to mention the new ones from Therapy?, Grammatics, And So I Watch You From Afar, Silversun Pickups …
Hmmmm, i must be getting old for i don’t care for any of the bands on this list.
Best album of 2009 (so far) is easily Tragic Boogie by The Life And Times.
I hate Spin for those vomity blurbs. Or SPIN, whatever.
Welcome to Mali came out in 2008
C’mon, guys. We all know this list is just a warm-up for the transcendent Monsters of Folk debut.
Which means I think I can confidently say Monsters of Folk < MPP + Veckatimest + Bitte Orca < Dragonslayer
What a shitty year of music so far. none of these are truly great or classic record they are all just alright
Yeah, I hope that Tegan and Sara get a record out before the year ends. That would be a good addition to my year end list.
Ummm. I’m sorry I can’t read past the inclusion of Ida Maria, whose every “song” is all about getting to yell out a “catchy” line: “Oh my god! Do you think I’m in control?! Oh my god!”, “I like you so much better when you are naked!” and the remaining 3 minutes are just getting in the way of her big catchy and “bold” line. Give me a f’ing break.
The dudes at Spin just wanna be cooler, and “indie” is what’s in, my friends.
Well if Spin is going indie nowadays, then here are some which they might have overlooked…
Handsome Furs, The Horrors, Isis, Japandroids, Jason Lytle, John Frusciante, M Ward, The Maccabees, Manic Street Preachers, Marmaduke Duke, MF Doom, Other Lives, TPOBPAH, Passion Pit, PJ Harvey & John Parish, Richard Swift, Royksopp, Sonic Youth, St Vincent, Sun O))), Super Furry Animals, The Veils, White Rabbits, Woods, Dinosaur Jr., Allen Toussaint, Bibio, Andrew Bird, Bill Callahan, Bob Dylan, Heartless Bastards, Junior Boys, P.O.S., Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Camera Obscura, Cymbals Eat Guitars, Dan Auerbach, Dan Deacon, The Decemberists, Department Of Eagles, Doves, Fever Ray, Frans Ferdinand and I’m surprised a magazine such as Spin didn’t even mention a little band from Ireland that I’m sure has helped them sell their magazine when they’ve put them on the cover over the years.
Gotta get the word out about that Bob Dylan guy. He’s all undeground and hip.
If you limit your list to anything less than seven digits, someone’s going to bitch what you put on it and what you left on. No need for the laundry list.
You copy and pasted a list of bands that released albums this year, omitted those on the list, and then pasted the first half on the end so nobody would notice. Why do you do this?
The first list came from my iPod and the rest came from iTunes since I had not updated it recently. But either way.. why do you ask? Was I not supposed to do that dude? ? I’m sorry to have done it this way. I’ll make sure to keep you in mind next time I do it.
I hope you’re talking about flogging molly.
This ACTUALLY made me laugh out loud. Bravo.
Thank you very much Spaghett.
I see you went alphabetically through your iTunes. Cool list! But, Department of Eagles’ record came out in 2008.
…the Antlers?
Glad nobody is putting down Wilco. They deserve it this time ’round.
Andrew Bird. Noble Beast. Where art thou?
Yeah, I feel like everyone’s forgotten about this one. I really liked it; more mellow than past Bird albums but great nonetheless.
who would want to listen to an Andrew Bird album more mellow than his earlier ones?
he blew me away at Bonnaroo, but I could never sit through an entire album of his, let alone that double cd package
Missing Now We Can See, where is the Thermals love at SPIN? Also I’m kind of surprised at the lack of St. Vincent like a lot of other people have said.
well um. at least jeff looks good on the cover.
Personally I really loved Patrick Wolf’s – The Bachelor but i guess people dont love glam rock like they use too. BUT im really glad to see antony and the johnsons – the crying light up there awesome album!!!!
I may in fact be the only one glad to see Ida Maria in here – it isn’t as divisive or as memorable as a lot of the year’s big stuff, but there’s not a bad song on the album. “Stella” was one of my favorites last year and she delivered plenty more.
Well, for all you keeping tabs, looks like Anco > GB… Or, rather, PBJ>Anco+GB?
there is no order to it. just 20 best albums.
Passion Pit? Foreign Born? C’mon, both those albums are awesome!
st. vincent- actor!
Passion Pit should be on there…
Wavves, Ganglians, The Woods, Amen Dunes, Jeremy Jay.
All missing.
No excuses.
The editor should be tarred, feathered, and run out of town to jeering.
-Farmer Ted
Hey Ted,
My ship’s wavves wiped out your farm last night and left only sand dunes in your woods.
I’m probably the only one……..Grizzly Bear, Animal Collective and Dirty Projector’s are completely LOST on me. I truly believe it’s artsty for the sake of being artsty. There’s no SONG there. At the end of the day it’s all about the song.
Also, We Were Promised Jetpacks is friggin’ great.
I hope I don’t end up meeting you
mostly a decent list but where the heck is passion pit?
manners should be at the top of this list!
where isAkron/Family?
Not a bad list but leaving out Sunset Rubdown is a glaring omission.
Andrew Bird, Sunset Rubdown, Akron/Family and Cymbals Eat Guitars, I agree are missing, but my biggest objection(s) to this list is the absence of Bibio’s Ambivalence Avenue and the Danger Mouse/Sparklehourse/David Lynch/et al collaboration Dark Night of the Soul. In my opinion, the best albums of 2009. But who cares what my opinion is anyway.
I expected the Danger Mouse/Sparklehorse album to be on there too. It’s the only reason I checked the list!
A “So Far…” List is just completely unnecessary. Half of these albums are undeserving, and they will undoubtedly write up an extremely similar list at the end of the year anyways. I’m wondering if they were just sooo excited to tell the world about the staffs favorite albums, or (the more likely reason) that they didn’t have anymore bullshit to dish out.
Phantogram deserves to make some kind of list. While they only released an EP, it’s easily one of the best things I’ve heard this year. They forgot Fresh & Onlys, Bibio, and some others… but maybe those are too under the radar?
Speaking of which, I’m curious to see Under the Radar’s end of year list.
see, now spin even had a feature on black joe lewis & the honeybears a couple of months ago, so i know they’ve heard of them , and their album. i guess the fact of the matter is tell ‘em what your name is just isn’t going to get any love. and that’s a crying shame. definitely, definitely top twenty material.
ambivalence avenue is also quite good.
St. Vincent’s awesome, but the list really needs the new Mew album, oh wait that hasn’t come out yet. But you cant get that LP and everything else free, here:
http://twitter.com/leaktweet
You’re welcome. PS–I, for one, and very happy that Passion Pit is NOT on this list.
Does Mr. Tweedy look more like the Mask or the Joker?
When did Jeff Tweedy turn into Jack Nicholson?
FEVER RAY!! That is all…
oh spook electricbixxh I read your comment just after submitting mine – great minds etc! Shame very few people seem to agree…*fume*
That just confirms they have no ears – I mean Jarvis Cocker album is SHIT and I am a big fan, Pulp, Jarvis solo, side projects etc – but this is dire. Yeah Yeah Yeahs was disappointing.
Fever Ray? HELLO? Best album of the year for me, no question
A lot of people have already mentioned sunset rubdown missing from this list. They have consistently been under rated for a couple years now. Also, no love for the pains of being pure at heart?
No Elvis Perkins??? Whaaaaat?
and not to mention Manchester Orchestra, Kevin Devine, and Sonic Youth!
I just can’t avoid commenting– why does it seem that Regina Spektor has become a critical darling?… her lyrics are pseudo sentimental pastiches of bullshit… she’s stuck in 1996… and Joan Osborne is a fucking moron, so I don’t think there is any reason to crip some of her lyrics.
get a fucking theramin bitch!
Yikes.
Royksopp’s Junior. It’s one of my favorites…but i think nobody liked it
+1 on the St. Vincent and Sunset Rubdown
Bunch of dickheads on autostroke…
Vanderslice?? Decemberists?? Bowerbirds???
The lack of fiery furnaces kinda invalidates the list for me.
Sonic Youth – The Eternal…
James Yuill anyone?
No love for RAA’s Hometowns?
I LOVE RURAL ALBERTA!
I’ll be seeing them soon…
yeah, White Denim’s album is my favorite of the year too. Too bad it hasn’t been actually released stateside yet, because it’s a great summer record.
Well, I guess that everyone is going to ignore Clues. I wonder if that’s because of Pitchfork. It’s a shame, really, that people might be missing that record because of that ridiculous review.
Overall, this is a pretty typical list and nothing to get excited about. Though I am glad that somebody finally mentioned The Crying Light.
Also, did anyone else find it odd that the Welcome to Mali write-up was about one song?
Wait, I was the only one that cared enough to read the write-ups, wasn’t I?
Good list if you want to find some new tunes from 2009. I agree about st Vincent and everyOne should give Andrew birds album a listen. And am I the only one that likes Peter Bjorn and John’s Living Thing more than Writers Block? I love that album!
No love for Dan Auerbach’s Keep It Hid? I like it more than Attack and Release.
Keep It Hid is my #1 this year, he is amazing!
No Jandek-Myth of the Blue Icicles? COME ON!
Jesus
Is this real?
It better be!
where is the love for Akron/Family. Once again they get no recognition. They didnt on 07 either for Love is Simple, which was my favourite album of that year. Does nobody like fucked up folk? Set ‘Em Wild is fucking awesome. Come on people.
Oh man, I love reading comments on lists like these.
Stoked that Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is on this!
wasn’t glasvegas the best album of 2007?
and then 2008?
and now 2009?
wow
The “No [. . .]” posts are kind of odd given Spin’s credibility. I mean, they are almost in Rolling Stone territory and I’m pretty sure they have machines churning out lists like these. Guess the generator skipped Actor, somehow.
Where are my White Rabbits? It’s Frightening is a masterpiece, if Britt touched it, it’s gold.
This list is like a bad nob competition — not enough bitches.
I’m really shocked that more people aren’t talking about Vetiver’s “Tight Knit” this year. I love “Veckatimest,” but, as some have already mentioned, it does suffer from a bit of a mid-album slump. I also love the Animal Collective and Dirty Projectors albums, but for my money, no album is as consistently enjoyable as “Tight Knit,” and I think it’s a shame that it’s received so little attention. Just my two cents. Carry on!