This is my attempt at an unpretentious music year in review.  I hope you will take these words and use them to find the good stuff and avoid the bad.  

It was a so-so year for Hip Hop in my opinion.  There were a few albums that didn’t come out that were supposed to.  Also there were some albums that I just thought were disappointments (see below).  However, it was a good year for this continued trend of indie/electro/pop.  My list reflects what I liked this year in that genre(s).  All my lists are my opinion.  This doesn’t mean you will agree.  I would love for these lists to stimulate some conversation.  I didn’t get a chance to listen to everything that came out this year so I want to hear about your favorites for the year.  However, I will not care what you write because I am an all knowing musical being.  So, tentatively send your suggestions, but the backlash might hurt your feelings.  Let it begin!

Top 15 Albums:

1. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest

2. Tegan & Sara - Sainthood

3. xx- xx

4. Miike Snow - Miike Snow

5. P.O.S. - Never Better

6. Matt and Kim - Grand

7. Passion Pit - Manners

8. Blakroc - Blakroc

9. DOOM - Born Like This

10. Kings of Convenience - Declaration of Dependence

11. Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Pt 2

12. Brother Ali – Us

13. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

14. The Decemberists - Hazards of Love

15. Mos Def - Ecstatic

 

Grizzly Bear gets the top spot.  They have won me over with Veckatimest.  It is truly an amazing album.  The hype is justified.  I love their sound and am thankful I finally gave them a shot.  Put this album on when driving through a wooded area or maybe laying in bed on a cold winter day snuggled up in a warm blanket.  This album relaxes me and makes me happy.

Top 35 Songs:

1. Grizzly Bear – “Two Weeks”

2. Passion Pit – “Sleepyhead”

3. Miike Snow –“Animal”

4. Phoenix – “Lisztomania”

5. Matt and Kim – “Good Ol’ Fashioned Nightmare”

6. Grizzly Bear – “While You Wait for the Others”

7. xx – “Heart Skipped a Beat”

8. Matt and Kim – “Daylight”

9. Miike Snow – “Burial”

10. Grizzly Bear – “Ready,Able”

11. Kings of Convenience – “Boat Behind”

12. Tegan and Sara – “The Ocean”

13. BBU – “Chi Don’t Dance”

14. Phoenix – “1901”

15. Empire of the Sun – “We are the People”

16. Raekwon ft. Inspectah Deck,Ghostface Killah & Method Man –“House of Flying Daggers”

17. P.O.S. – “Goodbye”

18. xx – “Crystalised”

19. Blakroc ft. Mos Def. and Jim Jones – “Ain’t Nothing Like You”

20. Netherfriends – “Friends with Lofts”

21. The Decemberists – “The Rake”

22. White Rabbits – “Percussion Gun”

23. DOOM ft. Kurious and Slug – “Supervillainz”

24. Mos Def ft. Slick Rick – “Auditorium”

25. Mr. Lif – “The Sun”

26. Tegan and Sara – “Someday”

27. xx – “VCR”

28. Rob Roy – “Fur in My Cap”

29. P.O.S. ft. Dessa, Sims, Cecil Otter – “Low Light Low Life”

30. Animal Collective – “Summertime Clothes”

31. Julian Plenti – “Games for Days”

32. The Dirty Projectors – “The Stillness is the Move”

33. Brother Ali – “Tight Rope”

34. F. Stokes – “So Into You”

35. Islands – “Switched On”

Biggest Pleasant Surprises:

xx - xx

Miike Snow - Miike Snow

Passion Pit – Manners and Chunk of Change

F. Stokes – Death of a Handsome Bride

Biggest Disappoint(s):

Arctic Monkeys – Humbug

Mr. Lif- I Heard it Today

Kid Cudi – Man on the Moon: End of Day

Albums that didn’t come out in 2009 but I listened to a lot:

Shad- Old Prince

MGMT- Oracular Spectacular

Passion Pit – Chunk of Change EP

Overrated Albums:

Kid Cudi- Man on the Moon: The End of Day

Arctic Monkeys- Humbug

The Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca

Albums to look forward to in 2010 with fingers crossed:

The Roots- How I Got Over

Vampire Weekend- Contra

Yeasayer- Odd Blood

MGMT- Congratulations

Lupe Fiasco- Lasers / LupE.N.D.

Dr. Dre.-Detox  hahahahahahhahahahahah

…and many more!

Hopefully this message finds you well.  I hope you find it useful. I hope you will now drop everything and listen to these selections.  I hope it will inspire you to put together your own lists and add them to this.  It doesn’t matter how small or large the list I would appreciate some feedback and new music.  Thank you for reading and I hope you have a wonderful holiday season.

Your friend and colleague,

Bojan Jovanovic