My Ten Favorite Albums of 2009

Listing your favorite ten albums of the year seems to be the current fad bouncing around the internet like a beach ball at a Nickleback concert. So I’m joining in because my preferred mode of transportation is the bandwagon. In all seriousness these are albums I really enjoyed and  thought maybe you would too.

Switchfoot Hello Hurricane

Finally a new Switchfoot album. I like everything they do and nearly every song on this album is new ground for them.

Standout songs: Needle and Haystack Life, Red Eyes, Yet.

Paper Route Absence

A great experimental pop band. Orchestral in nature.

Stand out songs: Enemy Among Us, Wish, Dance on Our Graves

Mute Math Armistice

Different than their first album, but they did that on purpose. More songs, less flash, more virtuosity.

Standout songs: The Nerve, Pins and Needles.

M. Ward Hold Time

The first album of his that I’ve bought. I love the low-fi/wall of sound contrast he achieves on songs.

Stand out songs: Fisher of Men, Never Had Nobody Like You.

Jars Of Clay The Long Fall Back To Earth

This is another band that I like no matter what. Again they reinvent themselves.

Standout songs: There might Be a Light, Boys (Lesson One) , Headphones.

Andrew Bird Noble Beast

This album just kept surprising me. Every Song.

Bon Iver Blood Bank

I can’t get enough of this album. Great reading/raining music.

Standout Songs: Woods, Blood Bank.

Fiction Family Fiction Family

A Collaboration of Switchfoot’s Jon Foreman and Nicklecreek’s Sean Watkins that sound nothing like their two main bands. Their live show was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen.

Stand Out Songs: Betrayal, We Ride.

Kelsey Shields Flannel E.P.

It might be a little narcissistic to include this on my list, as I produced and played a lot of the instruments on this album. Though for me the strengths of this album are Kelsey’s writing and singing. She’s one of my favorite people and one of my favorite people to play music with.

Standout Songs: Flannel, Thaw Me Out, All Will Be Ok.

Delta Spirit Ode To Sunshine

I know this album came out in late 2008, but I discovered it this fall and can’t stop listening. Songs that make you want to sing and run at the same time.

Standout Songs: People Turn Around, Trashcan.

All of these can be found on Itunes or Amazon.