Listmania: Favorite Albums of 2009 (50-26)

Wow. How is it possible that there was this much good music released in 2009? I’ve been frantically trying to play catch up throughout the Fall and have just been overwhelmed. Even so, this list was relatively easy to compile. It’s made up of 30% what you might call punk albums, 32% what could loosely be classified as some type of Americana or alt-country, 10% are of the heavier variety, and the remaining 28% are all over the place, with 0% being business cards. Additionally, the overwhelming majority of albums on my list were released by independent labels (41) but I was surprised that there are more major label albums (5) on my list than there are self-released albums (4). 25 of the albums on the list (a full 50%) were released by a group of only 9 record labels. More proof that even though many artists are choosing to self-release their records, even just being associated with a particular label can have it’s benefits. That’s about all I’ve got. Here’s part one of my favorites of 2009 list. The top 25 will follow tomorrow.

50. Truckstop Coffee – For Dear Life (Self-Released)
Twangy slow-burning rock that’s steeped in earnest heartland barroom glory and bluesy Florida nights. It’s the perfect accompaniment for your whiskey neat. Read more…
MP3
Truckstop Coffee - Ghost Or An Angel

49. Freshman 15 – Throw Up Your Hands For One Night Stands (Standby)
Cheesy (at best) pop-core that I should hate but surprisingly don’t. It’s catchy-as-hell and it speaks to my inner fifteen year-old. Read more…
MP3
Freshman 15 - Phoneix Can Keep You

48. Foundation – Chimborazo (Paper + Plastick)
Ever wondered what it might sound like if Russ & Rob from Inquisition/Ann Beretta started a country band? Well, now you have your answer. Read more…
MP3
Foundation – Begging To Bleed

47. Lightning Bolt – Earthly Delights (Load)
These guys are the best noise-rock band on the planet right now hands down. They are loud, abrasive, and my wife hates ‘em.
MP3
Lightning Bolt - Sound Guardians

46. Rehasher – High Speed Access To My Brain (Paper + Plastick)
Fast-paced and ultra-melodic punk rock from Roger (of Less Than Jake) and a few of his Gainesville buds. Buy this album. Read more…
MP3
Rehasher – No Eye In Team

45. American Steel – Dear Friends And Gentle Hearts (Fat Wreck)
This is the best album from these East Bay punks and it also sounds the most like their synthy alter-ego Communique. Coincidence? I don’t think so. Read more…
MP3
American Steel – Emergency House Party

44. Micah Schnabel – When The Stage Lights Go Dim (Suburban Home)
The solo debut from Two Cow Garage’s frontman is, for the most part a stripped-down and beautifully imperfect album featuring little more than Schnabel’s distinctive raspy vocals and acoustic guitar. Read more…
MP3
Micah Schnabel – American Static

43. Noise By Numbers – Yeah, Whatever… (Asian Man)
Chicago pop punk featuring Danny Vapid (Screeching Weasel, The Riverdales, The Methadones), Jeff Dean (The Bomb, CPIK), and (on this recording) Neil Hennessy (The Lawrence Arms, Smoking Popes). Read more…
MP3
Noise By Numbers - Paris In September

42. Julie Doiron – I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day (Jagjaguwar)
She’s Canadian. She’s got a couple kids. She used to be in Eric’s Trip. She plays some of the best indie folk rock you’ll here anywhere on either side of the border. Read more…
MP3
Julie Doiron - Nice To Come Home

41. Castevet – Summer Fences (Count Your Lucky Stars)
It’s a beardy vintage post-emo rock throwdown from Chicago that sounds like a cross between Latterman, American Football and Explosions In The Sky. Read more…
MP3
Castevet - Beating High Schoolers At Arcade Games

40. Propagandhi – Supporting Caste (Smallman)
This is heavier and faster than I remember, but still retains enough of a biting melodic edge that some might dare call this pop-punk. Read more…
MP3
Propagandhi - Potemkin City Limits

39. Left Lane Cruiser – All You Can Eat (Alive Naturalsound)
A rumbling tinnitus-inducing musical vertigo of ferocious swampy punk-ass Mississippi-style ghetto electric blues that’s greasy, grimy, gritty, and basically un-fucking-real. Read more…
MP3
Left Lane Cruiser - Crackalacka

38. The Thermals – Now We Can See (Kill Rock Stars)
Raw but tuneful indie punk songs that just sound like brash kids singing their hearts out. The melodies are insidious and will manage to work their way into your brain no matter what. Read more…
MP3
The Thermals - Now We Can See

37. The Mercury Program – Chez Viking (Lovitt)
The band’s first new album in almost seven years is full of the same jazzy instrumental post-rock (complete with grooving basslines and delay-heavy guitar) I loved way back when. Read more…
MP3
The Mercury Program - Arrived/Departed

36. Chris Wollard & The Ship Thieves – Chris Wollard & The Ship Thieves (No Idea)
The former Hot Water Music frontman’s debut solo album meanders through a myriad of different takes on what we loosely like to call Americana. Read more…
MP3
Chris Wollard & The Ship Thieves - No Exception

35. Dinosaur Jr. – Farm (Jagjaguwar)
Despite not sounding radically different than some of their albums from almost 25 years ago, there is something fresh, vibrant, and energetic about Farm. Read more…
MP3
Dinosaur Jr. - Over It

34. Sara Watkins – Sara Watkins (Nonesuch)
Sara Watkins’ solo debut is a summer afternoon album that makes me wish it was hot, sunny, and humid. It makes me wish I was lying in the tall grass looking up at the bluest sky and the whitest puffy clouds with my sweetheart… Read more…
MP3
Sara Watkins – Long Hot Summer Days

33. Russian Circles – Geneva (Suicide Squeeze)
This album straddles the line between moody instrumental metal and atmospheric post rock. It’s so epic they don’t even need vocals.
MP3
Russian Circles - Fathom

32. Red Collar – Pilgrim (Self-Released)
With their mix of jagged post-punk and heartland Americana, Red Collar could be the world’s most subversive bar band. Just imagine Neil Diamond fronting Birdmonster while covering The Replacements. Read more…
MP3
Red Collar - Radio On

31. New Found Glory – Not Without A Fight (Epitaph)
On their sixth full length NFG almost sounds like a band that just got a new lease on life. It’s still nothing more than hardcore-influenced pop punk, but the band sounds revitalized and re-energized. Read more…
MP3
New Found Glory - Don't Let This Be The End

30. Mike Hale – Lives Like Mine (Suburban Home)
In contrast to what he’s done with In The Red and Gunmoll, this is an album of intimate and sad songs that’s hauntingly downtrodden in both the tone of the music and the lyrics. Read more…
MP3
Mike Hale - Lives Like Mine

29. Coalesce – OX (Relapse)
A brutally abrasive and sludge-heavy soul jam, Coalesce’s first album in ten years is complex, aggressive and dizzying. It’s like they never missed a step. Read more…
MP3
Coalesce - Wild Ox Moan

28. Mariachi El Bronx – Mariachi El Bronx (Swami)
Who would have ever thought a glam-punk band like The Bronx could make a mariachi album this good? I mean, really? Seriously? Read more…
MP3
Mariachi El Bronx - Cell Mates

27. The Low Anthem – Oh My God, Charlie Darwin (Nonesuch)
An almost schizophrenic amalgam of hushed folk and quiet high lonesome Americana into something much more raucous and stomping. Read more…
MP3
The Low Anthem - Charlie Darwin

26. The Bomb – Speed Is Everything (No Idea)
With infectious melodies, driving rhythms, and at least as many “woah-oh’s” as you’d expect, the latest from Jeff Pezzati’s post Naked Raygun group might be better than anything Raygun ever released. Read more…
MP3
The Bomb - Not Christmas Night