The Best Albums of 2009

I know you've all been waiting in anticipation. Here is my top ten album list of 2009. It was a pretty good year for music. Better than 2008, but nothing can top 2007. Sigh. Here we go folks. Hold on to your hats headphones.

10. Album - Girls
I must admit that I only heard this album in its entirety for the first time about a month ago. Weird that it's landing on my top ten list? A little cheap even? Yeah ok, I'll give you that but it's darn good. This is a collection of songs about girls. Duh. Sometimes heartbreaking and always poppy, Album is a really fun album to listen to that manages to encompass a wide range of genres. Best song: "Hellhole Ratrace"

9. Wolfgang Amadeus - PhoenixThis very pleasant rock album can be played and enjoyed by just about anyone. I'm pretty sure I could play Wolfgang Amadeus for my Nana and she would rock out, walker and all. It has that much mass appeal - you're guaranteed to like it. I guess that's why Cadillac used the song "1901" to sell their cars. Best song: "Love Like A Sunset"

8. Face Control - Handsome Furs
If Modest Mouse and New Order had a baby, the result would be the Handsome Furs album Face Control. Dan Boeckner from Wolf Parade and his wife Alexei Perry rock pretty hard. The album also makes for a good dance party when you've had a little too much to drink and you feel like singing really loud.
Best song: "All We Want, Baby Is Everything"

7. The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - The Pains of Being Pure At Heart
This self-titled album is poppy, low-fi, and perfect for dancing around in your room by yourself. The four-piece New York band cranked out an album that is noisy, melodic, and effortless sounding - if that even makes sense. For some inexplicable reason, it makes me feel like a giddy teenager which is somewhat awesome and gross all at once.
Best Song: "Young Adult Friction"

6. Bite Orca - The Dirty ProjectorsThe Dirty Projectors are a different kind of band. They kinda sound like Vampire Weekend but with awesome lady vocalists. They could make a whole song with just their voices if they really wanted to. In fact, they should just throw all of their instruments in the trash and give it a try. Everyone in this band just reeks of talent. When I saw them live it was sort of overwhelming - there was nothing they could not do. The pleasant timber of their voices could probably save starving children and cure Cancer. Oh, and the ladies are really hot.
Best song: "Stillness is the Move"

5. Logos - Atlas Sound
Deerhunter front man Bradford Cox put out yet another amazing album to follow up last year's Let the Blind... The best song on the album (and probably the best song of the year) is Walkabout - a Beach Boys-esque melody created with Noah Lennox. Logos is totally depressing, but that's a given with Atlas Sound. If you ever want to bike around the Pacific Northwest taking drugs and crying, I imagine this is the album you'd want to listen to.
Best song (evah): "Walkabout"

4. Tarot Sport - Fuck Buttons
The buttons on my winter coat exploded right the fuck off my winter jacket upon hearing this album for the first time. A lot of heavy beats and industrial noises is totally what you'd expect for Fuck Button's second album, yet somehow this year's vocal-less Tarot Sport is totally easy on the ears. Even for someone who usually listens to music with poignant lyrics. I like walking around the city listening to this album and pretending I'm cruising through the apocalypse.
Best Song: "Surf Solar"

3. Psychic Chasms - Neon IndianI don't take acid anymore, but if I did I would listen to this album while doing so. If you went to a beach in outer space, you would play this album on your ghetto blaster. The track "Deadbeat Summer" is something I refer to as my summer jam of '09. The whole album is worth listening to though - for reals. Do it this instant. The live show was pretty alright too, but I wasn't blown away.
Best Song: "Deadbeat Summer"

2. The xx- The xx
The XX kids will blow your mind in a quiet, sexy, understated way. The over-exaggerated bass and simple guitar riffs accompany the soft wailing of Jamie Smith, who sounds so hot she'd turn any girl into a lesbo. Unfortunately when I saw them live, I learned she looks more like a high school boy, but that's ok. Their live sound wasn't that great either, but The Friendly Fires (whom the XX opened for) brought the party hardcore. Thanks for saving the day, FF. Anyhoo, this album is rad and you need to own it.
Best song: "Heart Skipped A Beat"

1. Merriweather Post Pavilion- Animal Collective
I don't know what I would have done in 2009 without this album. Animal Collective have come a long way, baby... sort of. Merriweather Post Pavilion takes a lot of cues from band member Panda Bear's 2007 album, Person Pitch. It's shocking that I love this album so much since most of the lyrics were inspired by babies... and we all know I'm terrified of babies. Panda Bear's lyrics for "My Girls" describe how all he wants are four walls and adobe slats for his girls, and normally it's pretty lame to sing about stuff like that. But this album rises above any rules and explodes in your eardrums with harmonic awesomeness. Also, I saw Animal Collective play the album live this summer in Prospect Park and the show was amazing. My friends who I went with took mushrooms which was a really good idea, but not required to enjoy this album.
Best Song: "Brother Sport" (but it was so hard to choose because they're all so good!)