Shaun Chapman

Top 10 albums of 2009

I really got into music in 2009—moreso than any other year. Some really awesome music was released. Out of all the albums (iTunes says 45) I listened to in 2009, here are my personal favorites.

While you’re reading, listen to the songs that I feel will best introduce you to these albums. Ready. Set. Go!

10. Bibio - Ambivalence Avenue (Buy on Amazon)

What I really like about this album is it’s variation. Every song is from a different planet, it seems. This is a fun, funky album.

9. Peter Bjorn and John - Living Thing (Buy on Amazon)

This album puts me in an interesting mood. I like it.

What sparked my initial interest was the album artwork. The idea is clever and the colors are brilliant. Check it out in high resolution! It’s the work of Swedish artist Thomas Broome.

Peter Bjorn & John are a band from Sweden. I’ve really gotten into music from Nordic countries lately. There’s a lot of really great music coming from that area of the globe (now that I think of it, 20% of this list is from that area).

Also, I totally just realized that the acronym for Peter Bjorn & John is PB&J. P-B-&-motherfucking-J!

8. Volcano Choir - Unmap (Buy on Amazon)

Volcano Choir is the collaboration of Justin Vernon (the guy from Bon Iver) and Collections of Colonies of Bees (who I had previously not known existed).

This is a great album to listen to this winter. Grab it and listen while drinking hot chocolate or, better yet, a fine scotch by a fire.

Listeners of Bon Iver, this album is a little more experimental than anything on the Bon Iver records.

7. Girls - Album (Buy on Amazon)

This is a record about love and life (especially that of a teenager/young adult). It’s very honest. The lyrics pull you in and make you feel what the singer feels.

Hellhole Ratrace is a powerful song. “I don’t want to cry my whole life through. I want to do some laughing too. Some come on, […] and laugh with me.” It’s a song about enjoying life and it’s definitely one of my favorites of the year.

6. Neon Indian - Psychic Chasms (Buy on Amazon)

I listened to this a lot at the end of summer. It was perfect for that time of year. It’s a fun record that has an 80s analog sound. Actually, the sound reminds me of those terrible “Don’t do drugs” videos from the 80s that high school teachers show their students. Seriously, those were awful, but this definitely isn’t.

5. The Whitest Boy Alive - Rules (Buy on Amazon)

Holy Rhodes, Batman! Yep, Rhodes. If this album was beef stew, the Rhodes piano would be the beef. Without it, it’s just stew (but that doesn’t make it any less awesome).

I’ve always admired the ability of Erlend Øye (better known as a member of Kings of Convenience) to make beautifully simple music. This is music stripped down to the very basic essentials. It shows us that you don’t need complicated guitar solos and a 25 piece drum kit to make good music. Sometimes, all you want are some meat and potatoes.

4. Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca (Buy on Amazon)

This album is unique. And in a world where being unique is absolutely imperative, this album thrives. It’s a feast for your ears. The girls’ background vocals continually impress me. They sing like angels, I tell ya.

This album screams quality. Every last detail, the melodies, rhythm, harmonization has been precisely tuned to delight your ears.

3. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (Buy on Amazon)

I can’t pick a favorite song from this album. I’ve never been in a mood where I didn’t want to listen to every one of these songs. They are addictive.

Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix makes me want to dance. It makes me want to drive with the windows down on a summer day and sip on some wine at a café in Paris on a cool night. It makes me want to hang out with friends and enjoy life. This is an album for the times in your life that you feel alive.

2. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion (Buy on Amazon)

Music is unlike any other media. The emotions I feel when I listen to music are stronger than when I watch a movie or look at a photograph or painting. The feelings are more enduring too. When I listen to music months or even years later, the feelings are just as strong.

This album makes me feel things I didn’t know I could feel. It has made me love music more than I ever have and for that, I can’t recommend Merriweather Post Pavilion enough.

1. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest (Buy on Amazon)

Here we are. Number one. Grizzly Bear has made a masterpiece here. Veckatimest is a smörgåsbord. It has the beautifully crafted subtleties and harmonies that made me love Bitte Orca, and, like Merriweather Post Pavilion, it makes me feel things I didn’t know I could feel. It’s a solid album that has much to be admired and enjoyed.

Two Weeks is easily the best song of the year. I first listened to it via Youtube from a live performance on Later with Jools Holland and was immediately blown away. Check out While You Wait For The Others as well.

Veckatimest is a beautiful album that deserves every bit of attention it’s received. Grab it, listen to it, then come back here and tell me what you think.