2009 My Lamb Sells Condos Most Favoritest Albums of the Year List: 25-16

Okay, well we are reaching the end of 2009 so I figured it was about time to introduce the first annual "My Lamb Sells Condos Most Favoritest Albums of the Year List". It took longer than I expected to compile, but bellow are the 25 albums that stood above the rest.

So....

Without further ado....

#25: Various Artists - Dark Was the Night

I generally don't like compilation albums, but Dark Was the Night is far to good to ignore. Bringing together some of the most talented musicians in the indie / underground music scene, Dark Was the Night is easily one of the coolest compilations you could ever hope to come across.

#24: Taken By Trees - East of Eden

Swedish musician Victoria Bergsman, who performs under the stage name Taken By Trees, is probably most well known in the States for her duet with Peter Bjorn and John in Young Folks. On East of Eden though Bergsman shows that she is an extremely talented solo artist. Combing Swedish indie pop with Pakistani influences, East of Eden creates soundscapes that are both elegant and jarring, walking a fine line between complexity and simple beauty.

#23: The Paper Chase - Someday This Could All Be Yours, Vol. 1

The Paper Chase is a weird band. The closest thing I could say to come close to describing them is that they sound a bit like The Flaming Lips playing in hell. Someday This Could All Be Yours, Vol. 1 is their follow up to the amazing (and rather creepy) Now You Are One of Us and what appears to be the first part of a series of concept albums. The lyrical theme of the album is sunny as usual, this time the focus is placed upon natural disasters and our ultimate helplessness against the whims of nature. It's dark, crazy, and utterly engrossing.

#22: Girls - Album

Was this album a bit over hyped? Yeah. Was it still quiet good? Yup. The mere fact that this still comes in at number 22, even though it was kind of a let down for me after all the hype I heard about it, is a testament to how good this album really is. The band itself has an amazing back story and the music they make is warm, quirky, very emotive (in a good way), with decidedly classic rock tendencies. It isn't the potential album of the year I went in expecting, but it is very, very, very good anyway.

#21: Florence + the Machines - Lungs

Bombastic is probably the best word to describe Lungs. This album is huge, the drums boom, the instrumental work is diverse and at times orchestral, and Florence Welch's voice soars as she tells fairy tales of love, loss, and coffin building sons. An amazing full length debut.

#20: .fun - Aim and Ignite

The word fun could not be a more perfect name for this band. Rising from the ashes of The Format, Aim and Ignite takes everything that made The Format great and brings those strengths to the forefront while amping up the theatrics and mixing in a heavy dose of Queen.

#19: M. Ward - Hold Time

Hold Time isn't really the kind of album bloggers or big name reviewers are generally gonna faun over very much. It isn't a release from some shiny new band that everyone wants to be one of the first to promote, nor is it some sort of revival or rebirth. Instead with Hold Time Ward has simply released a beautiful album. It was never gonna be the buzz of the blogosphere, but it's a damn good record and one of my favorite releases of the year.

#18: Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion

Yeah I know, this is supposed to be in my top 3 right?

Merriweather Post Pavilion was easily the most universally cool album of 2009. It will probably earn more number one spots on year end lists than any album this year. I totally understand why this is the case, it's weird and catchy, it basically bleeds coolness from the way it sounds to the moving optical illusion on the cover. Yet, though this is the case, the reason I placed this album at number 18 is quite simple; there are 17 albums that for some reason or another resonated with me just a little bit better. It isn't a slight against the band or those who absolutely adore the album (it is quite excellent), it's just personal preference.

#17: Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest

I'm probably killing any chance at indie cred by placing both Merriweather Post Pavilion and Veckatimest outside my top 10 but oh wells. Anyways, Veckatimest is the album that really got me into Grizzly Bear. I've had Horn of Plenty and Yellow House in my iTunes forever (and they are both great), but this album is the one that really made Grizzly Bear into a band I could listen to regularly. Here Grizzly Bear has taken their sound and allowed it to fully grown, managing to craft songs that retain the original haunting quality of older Grizzly Bear but doing it with a more expansive sound.

#16: Malcolm Middleton - Waxing Gibbous

Malcolm Middleton is actually having some fun. Who woulda thunk it? Waxing Gibbous is probably the most upbeat collection of tracks the former Arab Strap multi-instrumentalist has ever released. Though it certainly isn't all sunshine and puppies, Waxing Gibbous shows a new side to Middleton, and though it was unexpected, it works very well. There is nothing quiet as stunning as the title track off his last official full length, A Brighter Beat, but the album meshes together so beautifully who cares?

Anyway, how could anyone possibly not dig that heavy Scottish accent?

Alright so that ends part 1 of the My Lamb Sells Condos Most Favoritest Albums of the Year List. Tomorrow I'll be putting up part 2 which will contain albums 15 - 1.