Sonic Outpost

I won't say 2009 was a high point for new music, but there were some things to be excited about. Animal Collective reached the apex of their creative journey with Merriweather Pavilion. Dirty Projectors built upon Animal Collective's efforts to start a new creative journey.

Here are my top 5 Albums of 2009:

5. YACHT - See Mystery Lights

This is my fun, summer time album for the year. 

4. Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca

Far from a complete album, but this is an album where you can see the signs of sound exploration really pay off.

3 Japandroids - Post-Nothing

My rock album of the year. I keep finding myself wanting to hear the songs again and again.

2. The XX - XX

Where did they come from with such a polished lo-fi sound? The male - female vocals play off each other like they have been together for a decade. I want to see what they do next.

1. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post-Pavilion

I have been pretty clear about this opinion since the beginning. This is the album we have been waiting for ever since Animal Collective teased us on 2004's Sung Tongs. No album released this year is more complete and exciting. 

I am haven't seen much new music that grabbed my attention lately, so I am going to continue to revisit my collection and find my top albums from a given year. Generally, I choose my top 5 based on three criteria: 1) No. of songs that I would want to hear again; 2) No. of standout songs; and 3) exploration of new sounds and potential future influence on other bands.

2006 is a pretty good year for indie music. While indie pop is going strong with Belle & Sebastian and Regina Spektor and indie rock is getting solid contributions from young bands like The Futureheads and Band of Horses (not too mention honorable mentions TV On The Radio), we are starting to see the electro movement come to the forefront of the scene with Hot Chip offering up two of the best songs of the decade!

My Top 5

5. Belle and Sebastian - The Life Pursuit

If you like listen to some poppy music on a lovely sunny day this is your soundtrack. Seems like Belle and Sebastian have been around forever, but their pop music always sounds fresh. Please put away your Britney and put this on. You will thank me.

4. The Futureheads - News and Tributes

I don't think this album got the credit it deserved when it released. A British indie rock band with a angular, brit pop sound, The Futureheads' News and Tributes is a surprisingly great listen. It may stand a bit back in the pack because their is no standout track, but it is filled with solid songs (maybe more than any other album on this list).

3. Band of Horses - Everything All the Time

Music for the open plains where you can lounge in your own thoughts. Beautiful indie rock album led by the stellar songs, "The First Song" and "The Funeral". This first album helped them carve out their distinct niche in the indie rock scene.

2. Regina Spektor - Begin to Hope

This album brought Regina Spektor some mainstream success, but while borrowing from pop and rock influences her songs keep her unique style. No album on this list starts out as strongly as Begin to Hope with "Fidelity", "Better", "Samson", and "On the Radio" commanding the listeners attention with their grace and beauty; but that is just the start...

1. Hot Chip - The Warning

A little electronic soul to end the countdown. While this album may not have the most songs I would want to listen to repeatedly, it probably has two of the greatest songs of the year (and among the best songs of this decade), "Over and Over" and "And I was a Boy From School". Absolutely brilliant.

I am digging into the past to find my top 5 albums of a given year. 2005 was another good year for indie music. Animal Collective's new album shows they are entering their creative peak and Gnarls Barkley brings R&B sound to indie music. This is a list of the albums I found to be the most compelling listens.

5. Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere

Gnarls Barkley's R&B influence brings a refreshing sound to indie music. Songs on the album are either hit or miss for me, but when they hit it is memorable. See Crazy for the album high point.

4. The National - Alligator

Straight-forward rock music by incredible songwriters. Numerous memorable lines and moments in their songs.

3. Metric - Live It Out

One of those albums that after my first listen I thought it was OK, but got exponentially better with each additional listen. I still find myself returning to listen to this album on occasion.  

2. Coldplay - X & Y

To my chagrin, I am going mainstream for a top album, but I have to give credit where its due. This may not be classic album in the sense that it brought rock music in new directions, but it does what it does very well. 8 of the 13 songs are just solid rock songs.

1. Animal Collective - Feels

This is the album where you can tell they are pulling all of their previous experimentation together to create some incredibly compelling songs. It may not have as many great songs as XY, but the incredible new sounds of songs like Grass and The Purple Bottle make Feels my top album of the year!

I am digging into the past to find my top 5 albums of a given year. 2004 was a great year for indie music. It was also a year that a number of bands (Animal Collective and Of Montreal) released some music that hinted at some great albums to come. This is a list of the albums I found to be the most compelling listens.

5. Libertines - Libertines

This was a tough one. Art Brut and the Killers had great debut albums, but I keep coming back to this album. The self-titled album was produced by Mick Jones of The Clash and you can definitely hear his influence.  The band was quickly destroyed by strong personalities and drugs, but not before they release this statement record. It makes the case that all other British rock groups are pretenders. 

4. Interpol - Antics

Yes, they sound a lot like Joy Division, but is that a bad thing? While their previous album may have their best song, this album is their best album; solid start to finish.

3. Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand

Angular dance music makes a comeback after a 2 decade absence. So many great songs on this album.

2. TV On The Radio - Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes

An incredible pastiche of sounds integrated into a compelling rock album. Songs Dreams and Staring at the Sun among the best songs of the decade.

1. Arcade Fire - Funeral

I have never heard an album of songs that translate the emotion of catharsis so well. Music that is driven by the spirit that will completely pull in the listener from the first notes of the first song.