“Another one on the top of various lists. I kept hearing it piecemeal and I kept liking what I was hearing. Too bad about their being French.” - WarMachine“A month and a half plus of starting out my workday with this album spells out album of the year to me.” - ancient indian wizard
“Always had a soft spot for these guys. Really polished pop songwriting. So tuneful!” - Jeremy B.
“One of the best live shows i saw all year as well.” - Max D.
“The kind of music that can instantly change your mood... for the better.” - NightraiN
“This album just makes me happy every time I listen to it.” - ve1cro
“A band that's even better live, Phoenix makes danceable indie that leaves you feeling happy and relaxed. If you're looking for reasons to hate this band, good luck.” - Mona
“Thought they might be ridding on the coat tails of the MGMT scene and was skeptical at all the hype but this band won me over.” - Layne
“OMG, who knew the French made awesome music?!?! Seriously.” - The Crane Wife
2. Passion Pit - Manners
“Holy dancefest. I introduced this to a coworker who hated it at first and then blasted it on the regular. You kinda want to not like it but you totally love it. If it was a Facebook relationship it would be complicated.” - ancient indian wizard“Manners has been the #1 release of '09 for months now. Nothing can top danceable indie like this that is creative, inventive, flawless and addictive as hell. In the movie of my life, "Moth's Wings" would hopefully play in the trailer.” - Mona
“It's almost come to the point where I have to be embarrassed by this, but when I'm honest with myself, I listened to this album more than any other this year.” - WarMachine
“For all the ‘Chunk of Change’ lovers who turned into haters: WAKE THE F*** UP!” - Lucas C.
“This is just an all around great album.” - The Crane Wife
3. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion
“It's a hit!” - HotCatato“A beautiful album by an aptly named band.” - Jeremiah H.
“Took me a while to actually get into this album but it's really unlike anything I’ve ever listened to (and liked). One of those albums that reveals itself more and more with each listen.” - Max D.
“Probably the most accessible Animal Collective album to date, but then again that's not really saying all that much.” - Mona
“5 years ago I hated Animal Collective. This fact illustrates the beauty & joy of music.” - Lucas C.
“What can I add? This will probably end up being tops on the survey, and rightfully so. I'm just glad they finally dumbed down their music enough so that I could get into it.” - WarMachine
4. Metric - Fantasies
“Put this on and watch me dance the pop spaztastic.” - awmercy“Their songs pass the campfire test. I appreciate that.” - Jeremy B.
“When I first heard this, I asked myself, why would I listen to Metric when I could just pop in the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs? The answer, of course, is because the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs are awesome and this album has earned the comparison.” - WarMachine
“With lyrics like "higher than high, lower than deep" and "hard to be soft , tough to be tender" the female front woman proves she’s one hell of a song writer too. - Layne
5. Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
“You can find me stuck in LA traffic singing this song at the top of my lungs.” - HotCatato“An amazing melodic, at times discordant, audio soundscape. The three ladies singing backup show some mindblowingly innovative acapella chops. Stick with it....it grows on you.” - Tex
“Phew — took me some time to get the hang of this one. Can't say as though I love it, but it's a force, nonetheless, to be reckoned with.” - Jeremiah H.
“While I don't love this entire album as much as some, Stillness is the Move, Cannibal Resource and No Intention are amazing songs.” – WarMachine
6. Neko Case - Middle Cyclone
“Playing this album will get you laid. 60% of the time, it works every time.” - Rain“She calls them ‘Killer Whales’ but I call them ‘Panda Whales.’” - ancient indian wizard
“Perhaps this is my sentimental best album of the year (certainly, the most heavily played, for me). Neko is a beautiful force to be recokened with.” - Jeremiah H.
"I love the way she says 'killer whales'.” - HotCatato
"’People Gotta A Lot Of Nerve’ is a perfect song. One of America’s great unsung heroes does it again. “ - Lucas C.
7. The Builders & The Butchers - Salvation Is A Deep Dark Well
“Urgent and macabre celebrations of our oncoming destruction.” - awmercy“Kind of creepy, but kind of good.” - Jeremy
“They took a good thing and made it better. Dark, rollicking and unique. Tell your friends.” – NightraiN
8. Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career
“I really feel they hit their stride with this album. French Navy is bonkers good! I want to get all kissy face like they do in the video for the song. You should too!” - ancient indian wizard“Love this band, can they ever do any wrong? This album proves they can still inspire ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ when they sing ‘ooh’ and ‘aah.’” - Mona
“This album is great. It was in the CD player in my car for a long time until I almost burnt out on it and had to take a break. Now Fiest's first album is in the CD player. Although both are good, I like My Maudlin Career better.” - The Crane Wife
“Just popped this in recently and I still love it. Holds together so well as an album.” - WarMachine
“Great updated girl group sound.” - Brasilliant
9. Lucero - 1372 Overton Park
“It's the perfect mix of Memphis horns, country grit, and rock n' roll.” - awmercy“An album with that rare combination of.. well... everything. Oh the horns!” - NightraiN
“Solid outing from one of my favorites -- the horns grew on me.” – Jeremy
10. Julian Casablancas - Phrazes For The Young
“Can't really explain why this album pulls at my heart strings, it just does.” - ve1cro“It's amazing how great the Strokes solo efforts have been.” - Lucas C.
6 Comments:
Dang.. I'm gonna have to give Julian another try. Whilst I love "11th Dimension" tons, the rest of the album seemed really boring to me. Here's to second chances!
Based on the mutual love of Lucero and The Builders and The Butchers, I would definitely love to see Nightrain, awmercy, and Jeremy start a band!
Phoenix #1, Passion Pit #2?! I can't imagine how it's not the other way around. Good thing I didn't bet my unborn children. I'm fine with it, but I still think PP's album > Phoenix's...
Although it didn't make my list, Phrazes For The Young was a late contender. I love "Out Of The Blue" and "Left & Right In The Dark".
There are several fireworks in the first half of "Phrazes For The Young" and overall the album has a comforting and familiar vibe. I usually play it about an hour before I leave work, so I associate it with being able to going home and play!
@Mona - One important point to consider when evaluating the ranking of the Top 40: Not everyone who voted wrote comments. So, although your expectations of regular QC contributors can be reviewed and compared, it may not be representative of everyone who submitted lists.
Definitely a point to ponder. I'm finding these results interesting nonetheless. Plus, I'm pretty sure I'm probably the only one who voted Jimmy Eat World's Clarity Live on her list. I'm going to pretend it came in at #41 :)
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