My Top 10 Albums of 2009

My top albums of 2009 in no specific order (with the exception of Girls)

Girls
I don't like to order my top albums of the year, I prefer to say I love them all equally but if I had to set one album apart from the rest it would be Girls. "Hellhole Ratrace" is beautifully haunting.

Girls - Hellhole Ratrace sound bite

Metric - Fantasies
Who isn't in love with Emily Haines! Solid pop album that had me singing along all year.

Gimme Sympathy sound bite Fantasies sound bites

Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Like Metric this album was solid from beginning to end. One of those albums where you feel like you should have paid more for it due to how damn good it is. I owe my love of Phoenix to Sofia Coppola for first introducing me to the band when she put them on the soundtrack to Lost In Translation.




Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career
Favorite Scottish rockers return with such a sad album that some how manages to make me happy when listening. I love the heavy 60's influence in songs like "French Navy."

Camera Obscura "The Sweetest Thing" sound bite

Passion Pit - Manners
Easily the best dance album of 2009. I had Sleepyhead stuck in my head all summer long



Brand New - Daisy
Album is delightfully dark and seriously makes me wonder what it must be like to be Jesse Lacey and what horrible events inspired such a dark album. The album can be a shock to the system when compared to their earlier work but may God help you once it burns into your brain trying to get it out of your head.


The Ravoenettes - In And Out Of Control
This was my most anticipated album of 2009 and it did not disappoint. The Guardian summed it up well when they said "fantasy fusion of the Phil Spector-produced Ronettes and C86-era indie stars the Primitives."



Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - s/t
Surprise new band of the year for me. These guys came out of nowhere and quickly became one of my new favorite bands. Young love as told through the lens of this dream pop sugary goodness that is the Pains Of Being Pure At Heart. Makes you want to be a teenager in love all over again.



The Big Pink - A Brief History Of Love
The 2nd album to kick me in the gut and take me by surprise. I started to hear some buzz but it wasn't until my friend Andy at Eenie Meenie tweeted about it that I finally gave them a listen. The album has that bigger than itself "wall of sound" feel that is like crack to me, and will have you in a euphoric daze.


Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz
Though I feel Karen O has had a few stumbles (Where The Wild Things Are Soundtrack) together as the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, they never disappoint. The album was full of synth, keyboards and beats to make anyone want to dance, also made for some amazing remixes.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Heads Will Roll (A Trak Remix) sound bite

Breakout bands to look out for: 2010 will easily be about Ellie Goulding. Ellie is a genius, though her album has yet to drop her singles that have been released and leaked like "Under The Sheets" and "Starry Eyed" are absolutely amazing and have played on my iTunes nonstop. With that being said her side project GoldSmith which is her collaboration with StarSmith might very well be the other big thing in 2010 if this video and sample of the material they are working on is any indication of what to expect.

What were your top albums?

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