It's that time of year again when we look back at the top albums that have carried us through the year and made life that much more enjoyable. We hope you discover some new music in these lists. Without further ado, LoveMusic staff's top 10 albums of 2009 are:
#
KR's
MG's
SC's
1
Ladyhawke - Selftitled "My favourite album of 2009 and one of my favourite NZ albums of all time. You just have to listen to it!
David Dallas - Something Awesome "Totally smooth rap style, great hooks. He makes his first solo album sound effortless.
Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion "Mind bending melodies, raucous pop, hypnotic beats, dream scapes of sound & band members with on-stage names like Panda Bear... FOR THE WIN."
2
Marilyn Manson - High End Of Low "Manson is back in form and Twiggy is back, perfect!"
Empire of the sun - Walking on a dream "They look like crazy hippies, sound like MGMT and their Aussies, but I love them. They're my sound of summer."
Vivian Girls – Everything Goes Wrong "It’s the sound of Brooklyn girls, cut offs & worn in sneakers married with Shangri-Las harmonies & tons of reverb. Love."
3
Moonsorrow - Tulimyrsky "2 tracks, 30 minutes per track. This album is pure celtic black metal at it finest. If you want some dark heavy but melodic rock then listen to this."
Jay Z - The Blueprint III "With all the huge collaborations on this album, how can you go wrong?"
Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca They’ve taken acappella from the days of Boys ll Men (awesome) & turned it into something entirely new & experimental (double awesome). See track: Stillness Is The Move.
4
Green Day - 21st Century Breakdown "Continues where American Idiot finished, what more can you ask for?"
Lawrence Arabia - Chant Darling "Nice to actually listen to some beautifully crafted pop songs."
The Horrors – Primary Colours Best sounding, hottest, hair-in-face, dressed-in-black, Brit band of the year. Tracks: Scarlet fields, Mirror's Image and Sea Within A Sea will BLOW YOUR MIND.
5
Immortal - All Shall Fall "Brutal traditional black metal from Norway."
Lily Allen - It's Not Me, It's You "Girl has attitude. Slick modern pop songs, sung with a bit of an acid tounge."
Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest The crystal clear harmonies of Grizzly Bear conflate the sound of choir boys and The Beach Boys, with more introspection. If you loved Fleet Foxes in 2008, this is a must have.
6
Nirvana - Live at Reading "Finally a full length high quality live Nirvana recording, just what I'd been waiting for."
Paramore - Brand New Eyes "Dont judge. They're my guilty pleasure."
Abe Vigoda - Reviver EP The tropical, punk band from Chino released this 20 minute ditty after their epic Skeleton album. Their cover of Stevie Nicks' Wild Heart is to die for.
7
Rihanna - Rated R "Not as upbeat as her previous albums, but filled with emotion."
Shapeshifter - The System is a Vampire "Because no one does Drum & Bass quite the same..."
Mint Chicks - Screens Is it ever possible to overlook a Mint Chicks release? We think not. This amazing group pull yet another unique, melodic & complex album out of the bag & reaffirm their place as one of NZ’s best bands.
8
Converge - Axe To Fall "This album is just insane, crazy, fast, metal."
The Dead Weather - Horehound "Jack White supergroup fronted by Alison Mosshart of the Kills. Hard to tell their voices apart in some songs. Sounds like the devil playing swamp rock blues."
Wilberforces – Haunted Auckland band Wilberforces put out their debut album Haunted this year and it OWNS. It’s everything we love about 90’s grunge, updated.
9
Pearl Jam - Backspacer "Good classic rock."
Them Crooked Vultures - Selftitled "Massive drums, mean riffs. Im a big QOTSA fan anyway,so this supergroup is instantly top 10 for me."
Julian Casablancas – Phrazes For The Young JulianJulianJulianJulian – does anyone have a pen so I can write his name across my chest? Oh yeah, the synth-laden music is good too.
10
Whitney Houstin - I Look To You "Not as good as her earlier material, but still deep and emotional."
Dizzie Rascal - Tongue n' Cheek "Raps over wicked 90s dance beats."
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz It’s Blitz! It’s the incredibly talented and insanely cool Yeah Yeah Yeah’s with their amazing front woman Karen O! It’s more pop, it’s more dance, it’s less rock, but it’s definitely just as much bang for your buck.
Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca
They’ve taken acapella from the days of Boys ll Men (awesome) changed it up, & created the aural sensation that is Bitte Orca (double awesome). Please see track: Stillness is the move.
