2010年 Jan 9日 Saturday, 12:57

I don't even know how to explain this anymore. Between iTunes/Pod, Last.fm, and the Internet, the way I buy and listen to music is changed forever. So my top albums here aren't going to be my top 10 albums of '09 that were released in '09 - it's going to be the stuff I most-listened-to in 09. Yeah, there's some new stuff there, but there's also some old stuff, some old stuff I just discovered, and at least one vinyl album from the 70's that never made the transition to Compact Disc…

#1
The Aliens – Astronomy For Dogs
The debut album from the practitioners of neo-psychedelia continued to be a favorite in 09.

#2
Benjamin Faust – Walkabout
My son's second album, proving there's room for nepotism everywhere.

#3
The Conet Project – The Conet Project
Field recordings of numbers stations. Did well because there's like 4 cd's of tracks, so it popped up frequently in random play.

#4
The Aliens – Luna
The follow-up to Astronomy for Dogs. Not as good, but still not bad.

#5
The Dandy Warhols – Earth To The Dandy Warhols
There's always room for a new Dandy Warhols album.

#6
The Chemical Brothers – We Are The Night
The latest from the Chemicals, who keep getting better and better.

#7
Captain Sensible – Revolution Now
A boatload of electropop fun from the ex-bassist of The Damned.

#8
Cowboys International – Revisited
My favorite album of all time.

#9
The Chemical Brothers – Push The Button
Hmm, I seemed to have listened to a lot of Chemical Brothers this year. Probably because this one contains my favorite Chemicals track, "Hold Tight London."

#10
Preston Thomas – Amends 4the Prodigal Son
Some guy out in Illinois who did a record of great R & B and self-released it. My son found him on Garageband.com and recommended him because his style reminded him of Brian Protheroe.

BONUS TRACKS - TIDBITS FROM THE NEXT 15 ON THE LIST

The Decemberists – The Hazards of Love
Who would have thought The Decemberists were this ambitious? Just when I thought the album was dead, they make a piece of music that demands to be listened to from one end to the other. (H/T Rob Treynor)

Brad Sucks – I Don't Know What I'm Doing
The debut from the one man band with no fans continued to be a favorite with me this year.

Tony Levin – Double Espresso
Levin's live album shows off his remarkable career, with tasty covers (including Genesis) and some great original stuff. It's prog-tastic! (H/T Dan Sonnier)

Dom Liberati – Humans
I met this local boy while freelancing for a public access cable TV program. He's now rocking in L.A., reaching for the brass ring.

Joe Jackson – Rain
Still the man.

Bram Tchaikovsky – Funland
The greatest powerpop album never reissued on CD. H/T to some anonymous vinyl ripper.