Best of 2009

Lots of cool stuff this last year. I found some new bands that I really fell in love with. Anyway. If you haven't head these... hear them.

1) The Protomen - Act II: The Father of Death
2) Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
3) Themselves - Crownsdown
4) Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
5) Why? - Eskimo Snow
6) Sole & the Skyrider Band - Plastique
7) The Flaming Lips - Embryonic
8) Toma - As We Fall Into Static Our Hearts Sing
9) The Flaming Lips - The Dark Side of the Moon
10) Animal Collective - Fall Be Kind

 Honorable Mentions

1) Themselves - theFREEhoudini
2) Mt. Harpsichord - Mt. Harpsichord
3) Steven Wilson - Insurgentes
4) The Mars Volta - Octahedron
5) fun. - Aim and Ignite
6) Our Ceasing Voice - Steadied Stars in the Morphium Sky
7) Volcano Choir - Unmap
8) Bike For Three! - More Heart Than Brains
9) Dan Deacon - Bromst
10) Andrew Bird - Noble Beast/Useless Creatures

Here we go 2010.

-Ben

Best of 2008: A Recap

2009 has come and gone, and I'm while still trying to make sense of all the fantastic music that broke through to my speakers and headphones, I'm going to throw out my best of 2008 list. Let's call it a throwback to some stuff that some of us may have forgotten in the excitement of 2009.

1) Why? - Alopecia
2) Anathallo - Canopy Glow
3) Toma - Dakota Took to Wing and History Was Made
4) The Mars Volta - The Bedlam in Goliath
5) Nine Inch Nails - The Slip
6) Son Lux - At War With Walls and Mazes
7) Bracken - Eno About the Need
8) Cloud Cult - Feel Good Ghosts
9) Astronautalis - Pomegranate
10) Ratatat - LP3

Honorable Mentions

1) Why? - Almost Live From Eli's Room
2) Department of Eagles - In Ear Par
3) Alias - Resurgam
4) Sole & the Skyrider Band - Sole and the Skyrider Band Remix LP
5) Have a Nice Life - Deathconsciousness
6) Mike Patton - A Perfect Place
7) Subtle - ExitingARM
8) The Notwist - The Devil, You + Me
9) Sigur Rós - Með Suð í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust
10) Animal Collective - Water Curses

If you haven't listened to these yet (Alex, I think you're the only one even sporadically reading this), do yourself a favor and get to it.