15) Kid Cudi - Man on the Moon: The End of Day
Everything that is right about this album is also everything that is wrong with this album, and it is all exemplified in the sing-songy chorus to "Soundtrack 2 My Life": "I've got some issues that nobody can see/And all of these emotions are pouring out of me." This guy is sad. We don't know why, but we know he's sad. But he can still write a hell of a song about it without giving away anything of note.
14) Wilco - Wilco (The Album)
Wilco has always found a way to reinvent themselves with every album - until now. Wilco (The Album) is the first album that has sounded so comfortably like Wilco; a fact that does not seem to be lost on the band themselves, based on the album title. Sure, it's not as adventurous as Yankee Hotel Foxtrot or Being There, but it's a pleasant listen, beginning to end.13) Mos Def - The Ecstatic
After years of falling from critics' best-of lists, Mos Def finally makes the return to form they've all been waiting for. Exciting beats abound here, and it doesn't hurt that Mos Def really sounds like he gives a shit. Add in a Black Star reunion on "History" and you've got one of the few noteworthy major hip-hop albums of the year.12) The xx - xx
Now that it's becoming increasingly evident that Stars' fantastic 2004 record Set Yourself on Fire was a complete fluke, a void has opened up that could do with some filling. Enter The xx: their trade-off male/female vocals, dreamy atmosphere, and sexual tension-filled lyrics certainly recall the Canadian outfit, but their relative freshness to the music scene seems to reinforce the idea that they may remain a bit more consistent for the long haul.11) Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz!
On their third album, Yeah Yeah Yeahs expand their horizons once again to include synth-driven dance-rock. Many have expressed regret that their trademark rawness is lost in the process - and it's not a concern that's without merit - but they thankfully have been able to maintain their high energy and bracing songcraft in this new turn.10) Cymbals Eat Guitars - Why There Are Mountains
You can hardly listen to Why There Are Mountains without thinking about a number of 90s indie bands - Pavement, Built to Spill, Modest Mouse. But such a heavy reliance on influences isn't necessarily a bad thing. Cymbals Eat Guitars manage to take these influences, mold them, and create music that at once seems familiar and yet still exciting and engaging.9) Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt. II
14 years after the fact, Raekwon follows up his previous Only Built 4 Cuban Linx..., and sounds just as visceral and relevant as he did back then. The Wu Tang Clan discography and all its spinoffs have been more than spotty in recent years, but everyone who steps up to bat here delivers as if they have something to prove, and ultimately, it pays off in spades.8) Andrew Bird - Noble Beast
Andrew Bird is one of the most consistent artists of the decade. Nothing matches his peak of 2005's Andrew Bird and the Mysterious Production of Eggs, but every one of his albums is at the very least extremely listenable. That being said, Noble Beast is the most interesting Bird has gotten since Eggs, beating out the relative one-note affair of Armchair Apocrypha and cementing its place as Bird's third best album.7) The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
2009 was a good year for up-and-coming bands, and no one exemplified that more than the Pains of Being Pure at Heart. Their brand of fuzzed-out indie pop seems like a throwback to the Smiths and the Jesus and Mary Chain, but in actuality it's a breath of fresh air - a band with a proclivity for hooks and an ear for a more classic production method that leaves the album layered and continuously engaging.6) Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
On its fourth album, France's Phoenix seems to have finally hit its stride. They have channeled all their hooky sensibilities into perfect pop songs such as "Lisztomania" and "1901", and in turn have created the rare album that doesn't seem strange when it's being used as the soundtrack to a car commercial. This is a nearly perfect album for a pop lover.5) The Flaming Lips - Embryonic
The Flaming Lips have reinvented themselves once again, and there is no reinvention more appropriate than to release this dark, dense double album. There are still Lipsian melodies abound here, but they're almost all obscured by fuzzy instrumentation and atmospheric noise. After the seeming cash grab of 2006's At War with the Mystics, this is probably the only way the Lips could have regained their absolute integrity - and they did it flawlessly.4) Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
Animal Collective has always had a problem balancing their melodic sensibilities with its off-kilter abstractism. But here, they have finally found a way to balance both and create the most perfect album of their career. A song like "My Girls" can be enjoyed by a pop music fan just as readily as it can be enjoyed by any smug indie rocker, and in this way, Animal Collective has finally made the album they've always threatened to make.3) Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
Despite the abstract song structures, shifts in tempo and time signatures, and shredding guitar heroics, Bitte Orca still feels more or less like a pop record. Yes, it can be hard to wrap your mind around; but it's also easy to find yourself humming the melody of any one of its nine songs at any given moment. This sort of duality is exactly what makes the album so irresistible, and exactly why it is an essential for 2009 and beyond.2) The Dead Weather - Horehound
The most disappointing thing about the Raconteurs is that it doesn't sound like Jack White's band - I'm not suggesting that it should be a carbon copy of the White Stripes, but a little more of White's singular personality would be nice. The Dead Weather, however, is obviously his band through and through. Even though he's just the drummer, his guitar tone is all over Horehound, and it's often hard to tell if it's him or lead singer Alison Mosshart taking vocal duties.1) Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
Veckatimest is a perfectly constructed indie record, start to finish. The spaces between the notes are just as important as the notes themselves, and there is not a song on the album that's lacking a perfectly-placed layered harmony. And yet, despite all of its labored perfections and mid-tempo rockers, it is also an inherently exciting record. This attention to detail and meticulous composition paid off for the band; Veckatimest is the best record of its type in a long time.
