Duk Koo Kim is our resident music expert, and he’s here giving you an epic, two-part
, post of the 20 best, must-listen, albums released in 2009. We got shit to throw on when you’re stumbling back to your room shitfaced, as well as when you’re trying to have “ok, this is consensual, right?” sex with the girl you found in the frat basement. We’ve got numbers 20 to 11 today, and check back tomorrow for the top ten.
20. Drake – So Far Gone Mixtape
So “Best I Ever Had” is pretty much the best hip-pop song ever, but with this mixtape, Drake actually made an entire album’s worth of great songs. Let’s see if he can keep up the winning streak on his proper debut, Thank Me Later.
19. jj – jj nº 2
Don’t be fooled by the marijuana leaf on its cover – jj does not just make drug music. It’s lush, dreamy pop music that is nearly impossible to resist…and it’s also good drug music.
18. Passion Pit – Manners
Last year’s Chunk of Change EP demonstrated that this electro-pop outfit showed promise, but this debut is more enigmatic and pleasurable than anyone could have expected.
17. The xx – xx
Four (now three) pasty white kids from London provided 2009 with its sleekest, sexiest R&B album. Interestingly, it also serves as a killer indie-pop record, owing as much to Interpol as it does to R. Kelly.
16. DOOM – Born Like This
In a time where the rap scene is dominated by singles and mixtapes, indie hip-hop hero Daniel Dumile dropped the MF and gave us a compelling argument that both hip-hop and the album format are very much alive.
The last 5 after the jump.
15. Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest
Despite the hyperbolic praise it received immediately upon release, Veckatimest is an album that takes time. It has its standout songs (first single “Two Weeks,” the epic, Michael McDonald-approved “While You Wait For The Others), but the small moments (the repeated coda of “Southern Point” and “All We Ask,” the haunting outro of “I Live With You”) are what make it so special.
14. St. Vincent – Actor
Anne Clark’s second album is just as unabashedly wide-eyed and inexplicably surreal as its album cover. Strings, harmonies, and music-box-melodies are everywhere. It’s expansive and big but somehow remains thankfully manageable and intimate.
13. Dinosaur Jr. – Farm
Old-fashioned guitar rock, heavy on epic solos and solid songwriting.
12. Bat For Lashes – Two Suns
An otherworldly pop record that bridges the gap between Kate Bush’s Hounds of Love and Björk’s Homogenic.
11. The Field – Yesterday & Today
Another gem from the minimalistic electronic genius known as The Field. There’s not much to see here, but you can spend a lifetime enjoying the view.
—
That’s it for today. Check back tomorrow to see what made the top ten!
Related posts:
- Remember Wiz Khalifa? His new album Deal or No Deal hit the shelves...
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
