One of the reasons why I found pouring five years into producing the best 1,000 albums ever to be endlessly rewarding is because it taught me so much about myself and my life with music.
Looking at the project from a year by year basis unlocks a number of things. It shows me the new music that I was into at that point in time, sure, but it also tracks where I was in my life and the kinds of music that became important to me over the years.
2009 is fascinating because I can now quickly track down that I delighted in upbeat, danceable music from the likes of La Roux, Metric, Deadmau5, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, while hip hop attracted me in the form of releases from the likes of Eminem, MF Doom, the Method Man/Redman duo, and the Wu-Tang Clan. And then there’s a throughline of 2009 albums from bands I had long loved by this point, including The Dead Weather, NOFX, Green Day, and R.E.M.
And, finally, there’s Flight of the Conchords, who told you they was freaky, dig?
Here it is, the best 14 albums from 2009 ever.
1) R.E.M. – Live at the Olympia (#15 of the best 1,000 albums ever)
2) Flight of the Conchords – I Told You I Was Freaky (#115)
3) MF Doom – Born Like This (#155)
4) Wu-Tang Clan – Chamber Music (#182)
5) Adventureland: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (#241)
6) Eminem – Relapse (#260)
7) NOFX – Coaster (#420)
8) Deadmau5 – For Lack of a Better Name (#496)
9) The Dead Weather – Horehound (#535)
10) Green Day – 21st Century Breakdown (#561)
11) Method Man & Redman – Blackout! 2 (#575)
12) Metric – Fantasies (#678)
13) Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz! (#799)
14) La Roux – La Roux (#990)