But before I start I'd like to part one of my caption awards, this one being...
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Blakrok-Self Titled
Lights-The Listening
The Lonely Island-Incredibad
Dethklok-The Dethalbum II
Q-Tip-Kamaal The Abstract
The Cool Kids-Gone Fishin'
Wu-Tang Chamber Music
All of these albums are good, don't get me wrong. And there are several other albums that came in 2009 that were good. These ones however would fill my 21-27 slots.
20. Kid Cudi-Man on the Moon: The End of Days
When I first heard “Day N Nite” back in the early part of the year I was a little annoyed. I don’t like that song that much and I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was making it so popular. But as the months passed I got more and more into the way that Cudi crafts his music. He’s a rapper by definition, but the collaborators on this album only prove the fact that he is far from that. While Kanye West and Common show up and deliver decent verses, it’s Ratatat and MGMT that truly bring out the best in Cudi on the tracks “Pursuit of Happiness” and “Alive”. While this album is far from perfect, Cudi’s relaxed flow and spacey beats make it a worthwhile listen.
Notable tracks: “Soundtrack 2 My Life” “Alive” “Pursuit of Happiness”
19. KISS-Sonic Boom
The early reviews for this album were nothing but positive, screaming about how KISS had returned to their greatness. But then again, those reviews were written by Guitar Magazines and members of the KISS Army. The later reviews were in the middle, sure it was vintage KISS, but is vintage KISS even worth listening to? The answer, to put it quite simply, is yes. This album rocks from top to bottom. Gene and Paul still have it, and the “new” faces of Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer mesh in perfectly, never once making me say “I miss Ace and Peter.” The album wreaks of testosterone and alcohol, but isn’t that what we want from KISS? Even at 60 years old, Stanley and Simmons have the act in check, if there’s any event that has more than 2 men, beer, and overall awesomeness, Sonic Boom is the way to turn that awesomeness way up!
Notable tracks: “Modern Day Delilah” “Danger Us” “Yes I Know (Nobody’s Perfect)”
18. Maxwell-BLACKsummers’night
I don’t generally listen to R&B music, especially modern R&B music. I feel like all that you’ll hear on the radio is auto-tuned guys with six packs that croon the women on stage and then go and act like they are thugs once they leave. Maxwell, however, is what an R&B singer should be. His voice is fantastic and the music that is very clearly written by himself and not a team of producers and record executives, follows suit. The single “Pretty Wings,” while overplayed on the radio is a beautifully crafted song with several layers of instrumentals that just make you feel good. A great listen, and proof that there still is hope out there for popular R&B.
Notable tracks: “Pretty Wings” “Phoenix Rise” “Help Somebody”
17. Manchester Orchestra-Mean Everything to Nothing
The rock music this year has been very diverse. Bands like Passion Pit and Mute Math followed the lead of MGMT’s Oracular Spectacular as far as psychedelic indie rock is concerned, but Manchester Orchestra really stood out on their own as a force in the rock scene of 2009. Mean Everything to Nothing, the bands third album, is a collection of really interesting and original rock music that seems to pull its roots from everything from blues to folk to pop rock. In a decade dominated by over the top theatrical bands like Coldplay and wailing vocals of Fall out Boy and Panic at the Disco, it’s good to hear a band rock out without remorse and still manage to get over with critics and fans.
Notable Tracks: “The Only One” “Pride” “Everything to Nothing”
16. Them Crooked Vultures-Self Titled
When the lineup of this band was announced, any true rock and roll fan cried tears of joy. Nirvana and Foo Fighter’s Dave Grohl, Queens of the Stone Age frontman (and best of the year regular) Josh Homme and Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones. Let the weight of these three dudes sink in. With expectations so high, and early releases of snippets pumping up the fans, it seemed as though Them Crooked Vultures were going to make an album that topped the charts and lists similar to this before they even released one song. But alas, upon the release of the album the world had to come to terms with the fact that no matter how great the band may have looked on paper, greatness should never be assumed. While all three musicians have distinct styles, the only one who truly shines here is Homme, and while that makes for good bluesy riff rock, with the potential of this band, that’s not enough. The album is certainly worth listening to for fans of any of the three members, but it didn’t quite hit the mark it should’ve and thusly falls far short from number one.
Notable tracks: “No One Loves Me and Neither Do I” “New Fang” “Elephants”
15. John Mayer- Battle Studies
If there is one thing that’s certain about John Mayer’s career it’s that you can’t predict what’s next. After Room For Squares and Heavier Things, who could’ve predicted Mayer’s radical change to the blues with his Trio’s Try! and Continuum. I thought that Mayer would follow suit from Continuum on his newest album Battle Studies and I was proven wrong. While he doesn’t revert back entirely to his acoustic strumming days, he doesn’t truck forward with his Stevie Ray Vaughn blues either. There’s a strange vibe to this album, one that makes the listener question where exactly Mayer is not just as an artist but as an individual. Some say the album was rushed together, and others say it is heavily calculated. Wherever it really is, I don’t know, and honestly I don’t care to. What I can say is that I enjoyed much of this album, and it keeps beckoning me back in for more listens.
Notable tracks: “Heartbreak Warfare” “Perfectly Lonely” “Crossroads”
14. The Dead Weather-Horehound
Another returning list member is Jack White, who never seems to stop making new bands. This year’s The Dead Weather proves yet again why Jack White is one of this generation’s greatest musicians. Dead Weather is a supergroup of sorts, White teaming up with Raconteurs bassist Jack Lawrence, former Queens of the Stone Age guitar player Dean Fertida and The Kills singer Allison Mosshart. Together they play White’s now signature brand of blues rock, with a little kick of punk flare from Mosshart, whose vocals combined with White’s, flat out rock. Unfortunately, this album may fall into obscurity behind the White Stripes records and the two Raconteurs albums, but if The Dead Weather decide to put out another album half as good as this, it’ll certainly be worth a listen.
Notable Tracks: “I Cut Like a Buffalo” “Hang You From The Heavens” “Rocking Horse”
13. Easy Star All-Stars-Easy Star’s Lonely Hearts Dub Band
I’ve always liked the concept of Easy Star All-Stars, but they’d never really appealed to me. I’m not a big enough Floyd fan to enjoy Dub Side of the Moon, nor am I a big enough Radiohead fan to enjoy their OK Computer cover album Radiodread, but finally, they have done something that I wanted to hear, a reggae interpretation of The Beatles classic Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band! This cover album is really fun, the All-Stars really have a way with retaining the identity of a song while still transforming it into their own work. All of the background noises anyone who grew up listening to Sgt. Pepper have nitpicked are still in tact, played by the incredibly tight horn section. The vocals seem to be the weakest point in this album, as there is no distinct Paul, John and Ringo voice throughout, but one can let that slide in favor of the overall experience.
Notable Tracks: “When I’m Sixty Four” “Within You Without You” “Lovely Rita”
12. Dylan Connor-Breakaway Republic
Dylan Connor has a way with songwriting that tugs at my heartstrings. His uniquely familiar voice combined with his savvy writing skills make him a force to be reckoned with. On Breakaway Republic, we see him break through the weaknesses of his last album Plug In, to deliver an extremely fun rock album. On his last album Connor seamed to peak with no real crescendo musically, due to the fact that most of the album was just him strumming his guitar and singing. Here we have that same mentality combined with a competent band. His backing band is phenomenal, always tightly locked in a groove, while still making sure that Connor himself is indeed the true focus of the music. Not to say Connor ignores the musicians, as their parts are all intricate and wrap themselves together to make some of the happiest rock songs that don’t sound like every other group around. While it’s not a completely perfect album, it’s a very well put together piece of art that just works, it hits when it’s supposed to hit and during it’s down time you can’t stop tapping your foot.
Notable Tracks: “Breakaway and Burn” “I Want Everybody To Know” “Soundwave Surfer”
11. Chickenfoot-Self Titled
Now when Grohl, Homme and Jones came together to form Them Crooked Vultures, people went “Oh man that is going to be the greatest rock group ever!” and I said, it falls a bit flat. But when Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony, Chad Smith and Joe Satriani came together to form Chickenfoot, the music world collectively said, “Okay, well that’s going to be something we’ll pass up on,” due to the ungodly amount of cheese present in the lineup alone. But when the album came out, the cheese had the skills to back it up. Chickenfoot straight up rocks. Anthony departs from his root pumping basslines from Van Halen to deliver some groovy jams, complimented perfectly by the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith, who feels like he’s just having a good time. Satriani is amazing as always, shredding through songs and laying down fun chords, and Hagar proves that there is no point of being “too old to rock.” If you like good old fashioned American rock and roll there is absolutely no reason to skip this album. It’s funky, fun, and best of all it’s fresh.
Notable Tracks: “Soap on a Rope” “Sexy Little Thing” “Turnin’ Left”
Stay tuned for number's 10-1, coming your way soon!
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