As my compadres have eloquently explained, there is simply too much music out there for me to even attempt to produce a “best of” list.  Nonetheless, here are the nine albums that, in my personal preference, set themselves apart from the pack this year.  

 

Enjoy.

 

1.  The Decemberists – The Hazards of Love.  Okay, so Colin Meloy wrote a musical.  This should come as no surprise following the band’s 2006 song cycle, The Crane Wife.  But here’s the thing about Meloy’s latest creation…it’s incredible.  Upon an initial listen, I admit I was put off.  Upon closer inspection, though, The Hazards of Love is an absolute masterpiece, complete with thematic motifs, supernatural intervention, and even a heart-wrenching, tragic finale.  And of course, it’s delivered with the Decemberists’ now signature complex musical texture and Meloy’s uber-literate and hyper-pronounciated prose.  In a year devoid of a clear number one album, this album stands alone as the most ambitious endeavor of 2009 and the most successfully executed.  As often as I credit albums as standing as a complete thought, I am happy to give The Decemberists the nod this year.

 

2.  Harlem Shakes – Technicolor Health.  One of the more creative and complete albums of the year.  I enjoy virtually every song on here, no matter how many times I hear them.

 

3.  Rural Alberta Advantage – Hometowns.  Perhaps I’m cheating a little bit, since Robert has been talking about this album for quite some time.  But the official original U.S. release date for this album was July 2009 and it kicks dingus.  A+ effort, I eagerly await their next release.

 

4.  Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix.  Phoenix has quietly achieved a stylistic idiom all their own.  Being able to produce music that everyone knows instantly was made by your band is impressive.  Creating inventive and fresh sounding music within that dialect is rare.  I tip my chapeau to them.

 

5.  Felice Brothers – Yonder is the Clock.  The Felice Brothers have drawn comparisons to Freewheelin’ era Bob Dylan and Tom Waits.  Amazingly enough, such high praise is actually deserved.  I would even add that any lover of John Prine will feel right at home with this roadhouse, hard-spun, folk rock album.  And what better title for such a piece of Americana than quoting Mark Twain?

 

6.  Mos Def – Ecstatic.  Back from the dead?  At least back from his acting career?  Too soon to tell, I suppose, but this collection of grooves easily qualifies as his best in many, many years.  

 

7.  Iron & Wine – Around the Well.  A new, two-CD collection of old b-sides and previously unreleased tracks, Sam Beam released Around the Well this year, proving that I, in fact, cannot get enough Iron & Wine.  Furthermore, Beam cements himself as the anti-Ryan Adams, in that I actually do, apparently, want to hear every recording Sam Beam has ever made.

 

8.  Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest.  Over-played?  Perhaps.  Over-hyped?  Certainly.  Incredibly creative and complex, sounding like absolutely no one else, and generating entirely enjoyable listens that seem completely devoid of traditional structure?  Absolutely.

 

9.  The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – The Pains of Being Pure at Heart.  I think if I had heard this album when I was 15, this album might have caused me to run away from home, grow my bangs out, and write tortured, esoteric poetry in a particular brand of celebrated and chic poverty.  Fortunately, I didn’t hear it until this year and, as such, I just really enjoyed this album.