I’m starting to remember why I wasn’t able to continue with this thing. It is good and time consuming. This should be my top 15, but I did number 15 last night, so we’re starting with number 14.

For those of you who missed the previous post, scroll to the bottom or go here.

#14: Antony and the Johnsons – The Crying Light

This is another one of those picks that you’re either going to love or you’re going to hate. I had heard of Antony and the Johnsons for years before I gave them a chance and picked up an album. Antony is such an interesting character. It’s hard for me to picture a scene where he would fit in, but his music is so personal, heartfelt, and beautifully different, that it’s hard not to pull for the guy.

Favorite lyric: “Cut me in quadrants / Leave me in the corner”

Favorite song: Kiss My Name

#13: Peter Wolf Crier – Inter-Be

Quick disclaimer – I went to high school with Peter Wolf Crier’s drummer. That being said, I think that this album deserves to be in many top albums of 2009 lists. They are quickly becoming the darlings of Minneapolis. The first thing that you notice when listening to Peter Wolf Crier is the obvious comparison between lead singer Peter Pisano and indie stallwart M Ward. Pisano’s ability to jump between full voice and falsetto bring the music to a different level. The highlight of the album is the second track – Hard as Nails. To steal a phrase from Kevin, the drumming on this track “sounds like a broken washing machine.” Terrific. I’d recommend listening to the entire album here. Please purchase it if you like it.

Favorite lyric: “Big you, little me.”

Favorite song: Hard as Nails.

#12: Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca

This album took a while to grow on me. Then it took a while for me to grow tired of it. And that’s where it sits right now. It’s a courageous album with more time signatures and funky harmonies than I’m willing to figure out. Band leader Dave Longstreth is lucky to have the talented Amber Coffman and Angel Deradoorian providing the often difficult female harmonies. It’s not an easy listen, but it is a rewarding one.

Favorite lyric: “On top of every mountain / There was a great longing / For another even higher mountain”

Favorite song: Stillness Is The Move

#11: Mos Def – The Ecstatic

Who’s been waiting for some hip hop to show up in this list? Raise your hands. Me too. It’s great to see Mos Def having fun with music again. Here’s where my description of hip hop is going to fail me. Mos Def is hard to pin down in this album, spitting lyrics at a frantic pace – it’s hard to sit back and catch everything he’s talking about, but it’s fun to try to.

Favorite lyric: “Peace before everything / God before anything / Love before anything / Real before everything.”

Favorite song: Quiet Dog

#10: White Rabbits – It’s Frightening

White Rabbits was one of my favorite bands from 2007. The way that they combined dance beats to their simple indie rock hit me just right. Now they’re back with their second album, this time produced by one of my favorite men in the music business – Britt Daniel of Spoon. This was a great choice for a band like White Rabbits, because they tend to focus more on bringing their drums and keyboard to the forefront of their music, which is something that Spoon does really well. Some of the songs end up sounding a bit too close to Spoon for my tastes, but overall, this is great music for a lazy summer drive.

Favorite lyric: “Now where do you get off and how can I get there too?”

Favorite song: Percussion Gun

#9: Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavillion

I would expect that this is about as low as you’re going to find this album on your typical end of  year lists. In fact, I’m not sure that I’ve seen any other lists that don’t have this album number one. That means that this will be less of a review and more of a defense of why I have this album so low. I think that Merriweather Post Pavillion starts out fast. Very fast. You’re not going to find many more fun songs than My Girls or Summertime Clothes, but something about the album makes me stop listening midway through Daily Routine. If I’m having a hard time finishing an album, it’s going to be near impossible for me to put it at the top of my list.

Favorite lyric: “I don’t mean to seem like I care about material things, like a social status / I just want four walls and adobe slabs for my girls”

Favorite song: Summertime Clothes

#8: The Mountain Goats – The Life of the World To Come

John Darnelle, lead singer of The Mountain Goats, has always snuck spiritual-infused lyrics into his music. In his most recent album, he has named every song after a bible verse and written songs that are loosly based on them. It’s an amazing journey. Songs like 1 John 4:16 leave me stunned, with my mouth hanging wide open. Darnelle has always been great at purveying emotion in his music, possibly going to the extremes on 2006 overly depressing Get Lonely. I’ve always preferred The Mountain Goats when they’re peppy, but The Life of the World To Come is making me rethink that opinion.

Favorite lyric: “But I know you’re thinking of me, ’cause it’s just about to rain. / So I wont be afraid of anything ever again.”

Favorite song: 1 John 4:16

#7: Neko Case – Middle Cyclone

I think that people familiar with this blog know how much I loved the opening track from Middle Cyclone – This Tornado Loves You. Neko continues to combine an unbelievably strong voice and the ability to effortlessly find the human in anything. I find it amazing the amount of word power when you combine Neko, AC Newman, and Dan Bejar in The New Pornographers. The only critique that I can give this album is the pace – it tends to drag. Well, that and filling up the last half hour of the disk with cricket noises. That’s just silly.

Favorite lyric: “The next time you say forever, I will punch you in your face. / Just because you don’t believe it, / Doesn’t mean I didn’t mean it. / You never know when I’ll show you the never.”

Favorite song: This Tornado Loves You

#6: Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

First of all, congrats to Phoenix on their rise to popularity. Phoenix holds a special place in my musical catalog. I owned Alphabetical back in 2004 and enjoyed it enough to pay attention to the band, but not enough to pick up their 2006 album, It’s Never Been Like That. They’re one of two bands that I’ve done this to and both had albums come out this year.

The majority of this album is about the closest thing to indie pop perfection as you’ll find. I knock it to sixth because I recently lost the ability to skip tracks in albums and I really don’t understand the Love is a Sunset tracks. When you start an album with the energetic Lisztomania, and 1901, and then force your listener to slog through Love is a Sunset to get to my favorite song on the album, Rome, it doesn’t make much sense to me.

Favorite lyric: “Not easily offended / Know how to let it go / From the mess to the masses.”

Favorite song: Rome

#5: Metric – Fantasies

Hey, look at that, it’s the second band I was talking about. I skipped out on Live It Out and picked up Fantasies. The difference is that I absolutely loved Old World Underground, Where Are You Now? If you’re ever able to find that album, do not hesitate to pick it up. Back to this album.

The thing that Metric does better than most bands this side of Stars is combining itelligent lyrics with excellent pop music. Sure, they tend to the minor key and it’s not what Erin considers “upbeat” but it’s still awesome pop music. Lead singer Emily Haines is at the top of her game throughout and the band does a good job of layering without making the songs overly complicated. This album, like the rest in the top five, could easily have been put in my #1 spot.

Favorite lyric: “Did I ask you for attention when affection is what I need? / Thinking sorrow was perfection, I would wallow till you told me, / ‘There’s no glitter in the gutter. There’s no twilight galaxy.’”

Favorite song: Help, I’m Alive

#4 The Antlers – Hospice

If I had kept this thing going last August, there would have been a post about albums that you need to listen to with headphones to catch everything. Hospice is a concept album, telling the story of a  man who meets and falls in love with a dying patient in the cancer ward where he is working. But it’s not a happy love story. The woman is depressed and abusive, but he continues in the relationship.

The album starts out quiet, almost too quiet to pay close attention to. Slowly, but surely, the main character finds his voice, culminating in Wake, where he repeats, “Don’t ever let anyone tell you you deserve that,” over choir and pipe organ. The album ends with an acoustic track called Epilogue detailing his struggles with the loss, remembering both the good and the bad. It is a touching and beautiful journey into the concepts of love and loss.

Favorite lyric: “There’s two people living in one small room / From your two half-families tearing at you, / Two ways to tell the story no one worries, / Two silver rings on our fingers in a hurry, / Two people talking inside your brain, / Two people believing that I’m the one to blame, / Two different voices coming out of your mouth, / While I’m too cold to care and too sick to shout.”

Favorite song: Two

#3 The XX – xx

It’s not often that you get a first-hand view of young love in music. xx is a collection of songs that sound like an intimate conversation between two people new to this love game who aren’t sure if what they’re doing is right. Why do they find themselves staying in, watching movies together, instead of going out and having fun like the rest of their friends?

The pace of this album is near perfect, showing incredible maturity. A typical band this young would want to take what they have an run with it, but The XX is happy to instead walk at a brisk pace, taking time to view their surroundings. One of my favorite things about this album is the use of the bass line to continue a thought, specifically in Fantasy. The dynamic between lead singers is worth the price of admission.

Favorite lyric: “Don’t think that I’m pushing you away / when you’re the one that I’ve kept closest.“

Favorite song: Crystalised

#2: Fun. – Aim and Ignite

After The Format broke up, I wasn’t sure where I would go for my playful, Queen-esque harmonies. Luckily for me, Nate Reuss formed a band with former members of Steel Train to create a whimsical journey of excess. Aim and Ignite continues the tradion that music doesn’t have to pretentious to be considered great. This album feels more like musical theater than indie pop.

Fun. does an amazing job of not only using an entire arsenal of musical instruments, but also using voices as instruments. There is rarely a time in this album where there isn’t a harmony or a line being sung in the background of a song. The band has the talent to bring back the harmonies I remember growing up listening to. It takes incredible skill to mix all of these elements into something focused. I haven’t been able to put this album down since it came out at the end of August.

Favorite lyric: “I always knew you’d be the one to understand me. / I guess that’s why it took so long to get things right.”

Favorite song: Be Calm

#1: Passion Pit – Manners

Look at that, we made it here. If you asked me why I chose Manners over an other album in my top 5, I probably couldn’t. This top 5 switched places so many times since Sunday that I’ve lost count.

The main reason why Manners sits atop this list is simple – it’s classic pop music. Show me a person who doesn’t want to dance to this and I’ll show you a person who deserves a punch in the stomach. It’s the type of album that you can’t help but sing along with, losing your voice in the process. I have no idea how lead singer Michael Angelakos manages to keep his voice while touring. Sometimes you have to choose your favorite album of the year based on how the music makes you feel and not on how stupid you look dancing and singing with it like an idiot.

This album is the equivalent of a friend who constantly pushes you on the dance floor and acts stupid so that you can act stupid while not looking stupid in comparison.

Favorite lyric: “Why do I always need to need you when you’re fleeing? / Where do you go when I’m around? / What have I done? What have I lost that’s so defeating? / And have the nerve to wear the crown?”

Favorite song: To Kingdom Come

So there you have it. It’s been nice to be able to sit back and enjoy music like a normal person again and not have to always be looking for the newest and best. Now, lets get ready for some great music coming out in 2010!

Honestly, it wasn’t supposed to be this long. I was never going to be posting regularly, but I hoped to at least be poting irregularly. No time for regrets, though. We’re almost to 2010 and I haven’t sent out my best of 2009 lists. Let’s get to that.

(For those of you checking this out via facebook, I recommend checking out the real thing. You’ll get more out of it)

According to iTunes, I picked up roughly 70 albums last year, down slightly from last year. There’s a couple of reasons for that ranging from monetary to the eMusic mix-up that’s costing me 28 tracks a month. Can’t blame eMusic for that, though.

Out of those 70 albums, I came up with a list of my top 20, but then noticed that I was missing the new White Rabbits, It’s Frightening and decided to instead give you a top 21. Let’s get started with that. Edit – I also noticed another missing album, so we’re up to top 22. Let’s see how the rest of this goes.

I’m a bit rusty at describing music, so bear with me. I was never great at doing it anyway.

#22 Muse – The Resistance

I’m fully aware that a lot of you will be disapproving of this entire list based on this first entry. Some of you may even stop reading the post all together. Hear me out. This album is good, unadulterated fun. Look past the obvious fact that they write the music first and then figure out the lyrics. Enjoy the Queen lyrics. Watch a video where a teddy bear gets his revenge. Sometimes you want to sit back and enjoy the sun, and other times you want to split two defenders and knock a shot past the goalie and into the upper corner. Can’t say I’ve ever done that listening to Good Vibrations, although that doesn’t sound half bad for next week.

Favorite Lyric: That’s not a great question for this album…

Favorite Song: Uprising

#21 The Decemberists – Hazards of Love

I’ll be honest. Much like The Resistance,  I didn’t love Hazards of Love on my first listen. Apparently, I have a soft spot in my heart for bands with good live shows. The album is a rock opera that follows the story of William, a human that apparently changes between human and fawn, and Margaret, a woman who finds him in the forest. An over-protective mother and a man who hates children add to the story, but only minorly. It’s a bit over the top, but really, that’s game typically played by The Decemberists, so I have no complaints.

Favorite lyric: “The prettiest whistles won’t wrestle the thistles undone.”

Favorite song: The Wanting Comes in Waves

#20 We Were Promised Jetpacks -These Four Walls

While we’re talking about types of bands that I have a soft spot, we’ve reached the part of the list reserved for “insert band from Scotland.” I love the Scottish music scene right now, even if I’m thousands of miles away from it. These bands understand wall of sound guitar rock, funny accents, and live shows you’ll be talking about for weeks. Lead singer Adam Thompson has just enough vocal abilities to keep up with this upbeat and loud band. Lyrically, they’re behind last year’s top album by Frightened Rabbit, but make up for it with intensity.

Favorite lyric: “You’re a habit. / Another bad habit. / Keep biting my nails in case all else fails for us.”

Favorite song: Quiet Little Voices

#19 Various Artists – Dark was the Night

This is a first for me. I’ve never had a compilation album make my top anything. This year, there were two compilations that were pretty strong contenders. Besides Dark was the Night, there was also War Child – Heroes. What’s exceedingly excellent is that each albums’ profits went to charity. It’s hard to find the star power found on this compilation anywhere else. The National, Bon Iver, Feist, Ben Gibbard, Dirty Projectors, Grizzly Bear, Sujan Stevens, Spoon, and The New Pornographers are just some of the artists performing for this double CD. The first CD ends with one of the jewels of 2009, a 10-minute journey called You Are The Blood by Sufjan Stevens.

Favorite Lyric: “You’ve been hummin’ in a haze forever / Prayin’ for Pavement to get back together.” (from So Far Around the Bend – The National)

Favorite Song: Sufjan Stevens – You Are the Blood

#18 The Pains of Being Pure At Heart – The Pains of Being Pure At Heart

If 2009 wasn’t the year that tried to bring us back to the 80’s, then my ear must have been removed from the door of future popularity. This album is pure breakfast club, but would probably be better suited for the turn of the decade – 1988, 1989. I really wasn’t much for teen angst back in my pre-teen days and I’ve never been forced to revisit John Hughes movies. I have to assume that I now understand the jist of it. Musically, most of this album relies on fuzzy power chords and the mid turned up to 11.

Favorite lyric: “Between the stacks in the libraray / Not like anyone stopped to see / We came, they went, our bodies spent / Among the dust and the microfiche.

Favorite song: Come Saturday

#17 Discovery – LP

Number 17 may be a bit high for this album, but I’m upping it due to the number of times I’ve listened to it. Discovery is a project combining Rostam Batmanglij from Vampire Weekend and Wes Miles from Ra Ra Riot. It would be polite to say that it is a polarizing album. My opinion is that the people who don’t like it tend to not like it for two reasons – 1. It’s judged as a poor attempt at modern R&B or 2. It’s a fairly shallow album. My response to number one is that it’s not supposed to be compared to modern R&B.I’m also not saying that this is a deep album, but it’s not as shallow as your typical pop release. Indie pop is supposed to be fun, and in that respect Discovery hits it out of the park. Check out So Insane for a good example of the playfulness of this album.

Favorite lyric: Sleep on the train to Tokyo / Google yourself when you get home.

Favorite song: Osaka Loop Line

#16 St Vincent – Actor

St Vincent is the touring name for Annie Clark. Actor is her sophomore album. I’m having a hard time pinning down exactly why I enjoy this album so much. What St Vincent does really well is adding unexpected sounds to her music and using distortion to her advantage. This is music for people who have studied music. Above all of the dissonance and chaos of some of the songs comes this beautiful voice to calm everything down. Even when she’s tearing what I assume to be an ex boyfriend a new one in Actor out of Work, it’s done in such a way that I can’t immediately discern the malice.

Favorite lyric: “Honey, what reveals you is what you try to hide away / You could tell the planets or your pillow case.”

Favorite song: Laughing With a Mouth of Blood

#15 – DM Stith – Heavy Ghost

This is the part of the show where I get a bit artsy. I remember reading a review for this album from an eMusic subscriber, complaining that just because someone does something weird, the indie community loves him. It’s like when I go to an art museum with Erin and casually mention that I could probably have created a specific painting. Her typical response? “But you didn’t.” Simple and to the point. I love how this album encompasses me in sound. Listening to this, there’s something going on in every corner of the room. It could be disturbing if it weren’t so beautiful.

Favorite lyric: “I’ll tell the truth / I’ve been sleeping with the lights on ever since I left you”

Favorite song: Pity Dance

Well, it took me three hours to get to this point, so I’m going to publish what I’ve got and try to finish the top 15 sometime this week. It’s nice to be back, even if just for these couple of posts.