It’s the end of the year again–the end of a fabulous year in music. While I think the lower end of this list probably could stand some tweaking, time is running out. There are five more albums that I think could fit on this list; particularly the albums put out by The Low Anthem, St. Vincent, Passion Pit, Micachu & the Shapes, and Bat for Lashes. [Ed. Note: That was a sneaky way of getting them in there anyway.]
But the deal this year was 20 albums, so here goes. The write-ups this year will be briefer than normal, since I’m also spending a good bit of time ranking the best 40 albums of the noughties, which is a tremendously difficult task. Look for a post or a series of posts to drop sometime next week on that one.
Obviously, this list reflects my own personal tastes and opinions. For example, I don’t listen to a lot of hip hop, so it naturally wouldn’t make it into this list (though it has in the past).
When the Animal Collective album came out in January, I said then that it would probably be my album of the year, and lo and behold, that distinction held. There’s not a weak track on the album, and “My Girls” could be a candidate for song of the year.
2010 looks to be a good year as well, with new albums from Arcade Fire, Spoon, Liars, TV on the Radio, Interpol, Wolf Parade, and Magnetic Fields all in the works.
But the deal this year was 20 albums, so here goes. The write-ups this year will be briefer than normal, since I’m also spending a good bit of time ranking the best 40 albums of the noughties, which is a tremendously difficult task. Look for a post or a series of posts to drop sometime next week on that one.
Obviously, this list reflects my own personal tastes and opinions. For example, I don’t listen to a lot of hip hop, so it naturally wouldn’t make it into this list (though it has in the past).
When the Animal Collective album came out in January, I said then that it would probably be my album of the year, and lo and behold, that distinction held. There’s not a weak track on the album, and “My Girls” could be a candidate for song of the year.
- Merriweather Post Pavilion – Animal Collective
- Veckatamist – Grizzly Bear
- Rated O – Oneida
- Hospice – The Antlers
- Logos – Atlas Sound
- Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix – Phoenix
- Post Nothing – Japandroids
- Wind’s Poem – Mount Eerie
- The xx – The xx
- The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
- Bitte Orca – Dirty Projectors
- Dark Was the Night – Various Artists
- A Brief History of Love – The Big Pink
- Dragonslayer – Sunset Rubdown
- Middle Cyclone – Neko Case
- It’s Blitz! – Yeah Yeah Yeahs
- Fever Ray
– Fever Ray
- Blood Bank – Bon Iver
- Know Better Learn Faster– Thao with the Get Down Stay Down
- Hometowns – The Rural Alberta Advantage
2010 looks to be a good year as well, with new albums from Arcade Fire, Spoon, Liars, TV on the Radio, Interpol, Wolf Parade, and Magnetic Fields all in the works.
