The 30 Best Albums Of 2009

Here is the complete list of my 30 favourite albums of the year. For more detailed writeups on each album, as well as cover art, please refer to the links at the end of the post.

30. Paul Dempsey – Everything Is True

“Overwhelmingly, an intelligent and beautiful record.”

29. JJ – JJ N° 2

“Beautiful acoustic music.”

28. Cymbals Eat Guitars – Why There Are Mountains

“This is how an indie rock record should be done.”

27. Jonathan Boulet – Jonathan Boulet

“There is not a dull point in the album, and it is one that deserves to be explored thoroughly.”

26. Biffy Clyro – Only Revolutions

“The huge and majestic sound of the band ensure that every song has something to offer.”

25. Red Riders – Drown In Colour

“It has Ordinary on it!”

24. Miike Snow – Miike Snow

“It’s a sad day when we can no longer enjoy simple and addictive music.”

23. Kasabian – West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum

“It is the constant balance between the new and the old that makes this album work.”

22. White Rabbits – It’s Frightening

“You have just got to love this unique indie rock album.”

21. The Very Best – Warm Heart Of Africa

“It’s a relief to hear African music that is truly cultural.”

20. Muse – The Resistance

“It’s definitely not an easy album to like, but if you make the effort then there is enough here to satisfy any Muse fan.”

19. The Boxer Rebellion – Union

“An absolutely spectacular album in its own right.”

18. The Chairs – Nine Ways

“Intelligent and vivid, weaving elegant stories entwined with catchy pop music”

17. The Temper Trap – Conditions

“Probably Melbourne’s best and most significant contribution to international music in a long time.”

16. Fanfarlo – Reservoir

“The majestic, sweeping choruses of Arcade Fire, and the beauty and mixed instrumentation of Sigur Rós: it’s hard to go wrong.”

15. The XX – XX

“An infinitely subtle and intimate record that is as surreal as it is beautiful, even if it is beautiful in a strange, foreign way.”

14. Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion

“A great album that no music collection is complete without.”

13. Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest

“A gorgeous record that seamlessly mixes pop and folk elements.”

12. Girls – Album

“Refreshing and awesome. It’s as simple as that.”

11. Passion Pit – Manners

“Instantly dance-able and absolutely, resoundingly, brilliant.”

10. Freelance Whales – Weathervanes

“An atmospheric, sweeping record that manages to sound as intimate as it does grand.”

9. Lisa Mitchell – Wonder

“A wonderful record that thankfully bares no trademarks of the way Lisa Mitchell began her musical career.”

8. Pearl Jam – Backspacer

“Demonstrates perfectly how Pearl Jam adapt and change their musical style without losing the fundamental essence of their music.”

7. Metric – Fantasies

“Easily Metric’s best and most accessible record.”

6. Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca

“A record that is simply impossible to criticise”

5. Sunset Rubdown – Dragonslayer

“Dementedly brilliant.”

4. Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

“Slick and polished; musical cool encapsulated in a record.”

3. Yves Klein Blue – Ragged And Ecstatic

“A record that many established international rock groups would give anything to produce.”

2. Mumford And Sons – Sigh No More

“It is at all times honest and uncompromising, and for that, it is impossible not to love it.”

1. Harlem Shakes – Technicolor Health

“Indie pop, the way it’s fucking meant to be”

Near Misses:

Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz!

Julian Casablancas – Phrazes For The Young

The Antlers – Hospice

Bombay Bicycle Club – I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose

Fool’s Gold – Fool’s Gold

Ineligible:

The Middle East – The Recordings Of The Middle East

Various – Dark Was The Night

Cloud Control – EP

Complete Writeups And Cover Art:

#30-21

#20-11

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Near Misses And Ineligible