Best of 2009/Decade
Happy 2010 (“twenty-ten”) Everyone!
I’d hoped to post this yesterday, but the day — just like the year — seemed to get away from me. So, just about 18 hours ‘late’, I present the annual “Best 75 Albums of the Year” list. As a special, but not surprising, bonus, I’ve also cobbled together a “Best Albums of 2000-2009″ list … I’ll leave the debate about when the ‘decade’ started to other forums of discussion.
- Best 75 Albums of 2009 — #1: Animal Collective, Merriweather Post Pavilion
- Best 25 Albums from 2000-2009 — #1: Arcade Fire, Funeral
Regarding the ‘09 list: much like last year I haven’t heard all of the top-25 albums, so I have some work to do in 2010. Last year this resulted in many wonderful discoveries, so I’m looking forward to catching up on what I’d missed in 2009. I honestly don’t know what my personal ‘album of the year’ would be from 2009, but it’d likely be Canadian in origin. This really was the year that I found CBC Radio3 (and, to a lesser extent, Radio2). There were lots of great albums/songs that I first heard on the R3-30 Countdown and I’m still trying to track down some of them, such as Ohbijou’s album, Beacons, which I’ve just recently fallen in love with.
Regarding the ‘00-’09 list: I was more than a little surprised by some of the albums on this list… and even more surprised by the absence of some albums. I can sort of understand the lack of any albums from 2009 making the ‘best of the decade’ list, but where are some of the top albums from 2007 and 2008? Doesn’t anyone remember the Fleet Foxes disc? What about TV on the Radio’s third studio effort, Dear Science? And yet, Amy Winehouse, who ranked just 26th overall in 2007, lands at #6 for the past ten years? I’m sure that there are lots of reasons that some albums did or didn’t make it onto this list, and oddly, I’d put more value into a ‘best of the year’ list rather than a ‘best of the decade’ list — heck, I’d probably even put more value into a ‘best artist of the decade’ list (included below the ‘best album’ list, btw) — but these sorts of lists are what they are… snapshots of an era to be debated and cast aside by everyone and anyone with an opinion.
I’m very happy to see Ryan Adams’ album, Heartbreaker, included in the decade-long list; Arcade Fire’s inclusion in the artists portion is also well deserved I believe. However, I’m very sad to see the lack of Canadian talent on the 2009 list. I’d include a more Canadian source in the calculations, however, I can’t find one that isn’t so heavily CanCon balanced that it doesn’t throw off the whole process. Any suggestions? Any other publications/sources to consider for next year?
If you’ve got a moment, go have a look at the lists and let me know what you think (not that I have had any personal influence on these lists; it’s all quasi-scientific). Did you have a favourite album from the last twelve months? Past ten years? that is or isn’t included here?