I am missing a lot of great albums from this list, but this is basically what I listened to most this year. I'll start with the albums that should maybe be on this list but aren't because I didn't really give them the time. So, apologies to:
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Javelina:
Beasts Among Sheep
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The Rural Alberta Advantage:
Hometowns
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Tiny Vipers:
Life on Earth
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Sunn O))):
Monoliths & Dimensions - to be fair, their live show blew this album out of the water this year.
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Krallice:
Dimensional Bleedthrough - great album, but I rarely have the time or desire to digest 70 minutes of this.
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Bear In Heaven:
Beast Rest Forth Mouth
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Wolves in the Throne Room:
Black Cascade
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Francis Harold and The Holograms:
Who Said These Were Happy Times - paranoid, creepy, noisy; this band is awesome.
Top 25 of 2009:
25.
Memory Tapes:
Seek Magic - try as I might, I couldn't escape this album, which holds up surprisingly well after repeat listens.
24.
Dark Castle:
Spirited Migration - sludgy Southern metal at its finest.
23.
Cold Cave:
Love Comes Close - Wes Eisold does electronic music, and it's actually good.
22.
TV Ghost:
Cold Fish - it sounds as if the Birthday Party were fucking up a cover of "Monster Mash"; great post-punk-whatever stuff.
21.
Fight Amp:
Manners and Praise - I've only listened to it 4 or 5 times so far, but it's solid despite their constant line-up changes; still heavy, more punk-oriented than "Hungry For Nothing."
20.
WHY?:
Eskimo Snow - it's only this low on the list because I know it's not that good of an album, but I find the songs to be catchy and well-orchestrated, and the lyrics are as solid as ever.
19.
Japandroids:
Post-Nothing - stupid band name, but I love the big lovesick anthems they produce. "Wet Hair" is such a good fucking song.
18.
Former Ghosts:
Fleurs - slow-burning goth-y electronic stuff from Freddy Rupert. Features contributions from Jamie Stewart and Nika Roza Daniolva, the latter of which kills it on "The Bull and the Ram."
17.
Keelhaul:
Keelhaul's Triumphant Return to Obscurity - their most focused album to date, streamlining the crushing riffs and sardonic humor.
16.
Mount Eerie:
Wind's Poem - Phil Elverum's "black metal record" has little in common with the genre, but the album turned out beautifully melancholic anyhow.
15.
Tim Hecker:
An Imaginary Country - Hecker keeps on creating desolate ambient landscapes for the cynical. The man can do no wrong.
14.
Skeletonwitch:
Breathing the Fire - more bone-headed thrash metal from these Ohioans, somehow managing to make it interesting and fun rather than tired and hackneyed.
13.
Fever Ray:
Fever Ray - this is one of a number of albums on this list that didn't make sense to me until the cold arrived, but it is an excellent companion for it. Somehow creepier and (maybe) catchier than the Knife's last album.
12.
Abe Vigoda:
Reviver EP - fantastic 5-song EP from Abe Vigoda showcases a more "mature" (read: better) sound. I don't think I listened to a song more than their cover of "Wild Heart" this year.
11.
Portal:
Swarth - this Australian band gets a lot of flack for being gimmicky, and I might agree with that if their albums weren't consistently terrifying and atmospherically brilliant. Maryland Deathfest 2010 might be a go just to see these guys.
10.
A Sunny Day in Glasgow:
Ashes Grammar - one of the unfortunately overlooked records of the year. 22 seamless tracks of sunny music bolstered by angelic vocals, and remains on the "Easy to Swallow" side of sweet.
09.
Atlas Sound:
Logos - I hated this album when I first heard it ("You'll be my wife/You'll share my life"? Fuck off) but it all makes sense when heard at once. Not a weak track on the album. Bradford Cox continues to impress me.
08.
Liturgy:
Renihilation - this is the black metal album that did it right this year. 11 tracks, 38 minutes of "pure transcendental black metal" punctuated by haunting instrumental or vocal interludes. Black metal for people who don't like black metal (and even more so for those who do).
07.
The xx:
xx - indie breakouts make a convincing stab in the R&B genre, with all positive results. This girl has a seriously sexy voice. I listen to and sing along with this record way more than I am allowed to admit.
06.
Coalesce:
OX - hardcore/metal veterans make a comeback of sorts, and deliver their best album to date. There's a strong blues influence at work here, but mainly this is Coalesce letting us know that they're still better than 99% of the bands at work today.
05.
Phoenix:
Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix - poppy and catchy but remaining intelligent and slick. One listen to "Rome" or "Lisztomania" or any other track off of this album takes me straight to summertime. The most flat-out enjoyable record of 2009.
04.
Dirty Projectors:
Bitte Orca - the first time I heard this album, I put it on repeat for close to seven hours or however long it took me to drive from Alfred, NY to Boston, MA. Complex and maintaining a pop sensibility, every song has a subtle sense of beauty to it, yet is so volatile as to explode at any moment ("Useful Chamber"). Believe the hype.
03.
Converge:
Axe to Fall - a friend turned me on to Converge a number of years ago, and their progression continues to fascinate me. This album is as unrelenting and fierce as ever, but closes with two somber and tastefully relaxed tracks that prove that this band still has more to say.
02.
Fuck Buttons:
Tarot Sport - this duo sounds more confident that on "Street Horrrsing," losing the indecipherable vocals (sadly) in favor of epic pop-leaning electronic compositions that are as harsh as they are (almost) danceable. This one's a gem. I can't see myself getting tired of listening to this album (or band) anytime soon.
01.
Pissed Jeans:
King of Jeans - I am a normal guy with normal problems and sometimes, I am a little angry and sarcastic and cynical and I am getting older and watching the dreams of my youth slip away. This is what that sounds like. Pissed Jeans turn up the riffs and the awkwardness and make my favorite record of the year.
Converge
