Thou

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I’m afraid if I tried to write about it, I would have trouble expressing how great I think this band is. I love them as much as any one man can love a band he found on the internet – platonically. There really is no more satisfying metal band for a compulsive record collector. They didn’t even come out with an album and yet somehow I still spent like $100 on Thou vinyl this year.

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Burial / Four Tet

Moth + Wolf Cub

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Burial could have farted into a tin can hooked up to a dictaphone, and it still would have been considered by me as one of the best recordings of 2009. Lucky for us, he decided instead to hook up with Four Tet to release a collaborative 12″ EP. I actually freaked out for real when I found out this was coming out. Heart racing, palms perspiring – I could not order a copy fast enough. But all the excitement and anticipation could not have actually prepared me for the sounds that came out of my speakers when the needle first touched down on this slab o’ wax. So. Good.

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Emeralds

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A huge vinyl release year for Emeralds which saw proper pressings of Solar Bridge, Allegory of Allergies, the Fresh Air 7″ and of course the brand new self-titled album. I couldn’t really tell you what it is about this band that places them above their peers, I just know I can listen to all the previously mentioned titles over and over again and not get tired of hearing this wonderful noise.

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Tape

Luminarium

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There is no other album that came out this year that sounded better on the vinyl format. Absolute class act on the mastering and pressing of this sonically superior album.

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Absu

s/t

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Some people might say that this wasn’t one of the best metal releases of the year. As evidence to the contrary I would like to submit: every track on this album. Official pec-juicing anthems of ’09.

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Converge

Axe to Fall

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There were some really fantastic metal albums that came out in the first half of ’09. Then this came along and just ripped the throat out of every single one of them. Absolutely amazing and brutal insanity. If your neck isn’t snapping by two minutes into “Dark Horse”, then you must be completely paralyzed… in which case, I apologize for my crudeness.

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Animal Collective

Merriweather Post Pavilion

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If you’ve read a lot of these top 10 things this year, then you’ve probably noticed – this is an incredibly easy album to pick for a top ten list. Not only is it totally deserving of the honor, it also came out in January of 2009. So putting it in your list next to something like Axe To Fall makes you appear to have given careful consideration to every single release that came out this year, instead of just tossing off a list of albums bought in the past 3 months that you have listened to more than once. If you play this album for some square, they will ask you to “turn this off”. Conversely, If you play it for some hipster or music critic – his/her panties will become so incredibly moistened that they will literally disintegrate, exposing their poorly washed genitals. As far as I’m concerned, “My Girls” is the fucking jam of the decade; sorry “Hey Ya”.

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Rafael Anton Irissari

Daydreaming

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To me, this is about as peaceful and interesting as ambient music not being played by Brian Eno can be this year. One of the most potent sleepy-time aids ever pressed onto vinyl – certainly the most powerful in it’s class for 2009.

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3 Huge Tupperware Boxes

Filled with Radio Promo 45s

Me and McNatty (that “Mitch” guy from below) found these three huge tubs stuffed overflowing with promo 45s from some long defunct radio station at a Midwest garage sale. Using his supernatural powers of negotiation, McNatty talked the seller into a reasonable parting price, and we lugged them back to the ManCave™, much to the horror of his long-suffering wife. Needless to say, all three boxes were filled with gems, including the two hits below. Sitting down and flipping 45s all day is easily the best time I’ve had listening to vinyl this year. For awhile I didn’t care about limited editions and overpriced singles or cartridge alignment and inner-groove distortion; I was just having shit tons of fun listening to music that most people have forgotten about. Obsessive behavior comes pretty naturally to collectors – hopefully every one was able to settle down long enough to experience some genuinely good music this year. Cheers.

R.I.P. Sky Saxon

Play ‘em off, Artie.