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My 25 Favorite Albums of 2009:

25. Sun O))) - Monoliths & Dimensions // Ambient, noise; Almost simultaneously scary and beautiful at times. ***

24. Doves - Kingdom Of Rust // KOR is no Lost Souls, but it does have some pretty great moments. Even if the album itself is sort of schizophrenic with its flashes of what-the-kids-want-now electronic pop, “Winter Hill,” “Spellbound,” and “Lifelines” are sure to please any fan of well-crafted, layered brit-rock. All in all, it’s nice to see an elegant and bold return to form for them after a couple of boring affairs. ***

23. Mew - No More Stories Are Told Today... // The first thing you notice about Mew upon first listen is how unique they are. (Labeling them properly certainly requires hyphenated words.) This is pretty impressive considering how accessible they are. The other striking thing you notice about them is their keen sense of melody, rhythm, and production. “Introducing Palace Players,” “Repeaterbeater,” “Hawaii,” and “Tricks Of The Trade” would be the standouts for me. The whole album is pretty remarkably paced though. Even if it's not as good as ATGHK. Great “pretentious art rock” band. ***

22. Delorean - Ayrton Senna EP // I love this dance-y electronic pop music that's very much in the vein of Air France, Cut Copy, etc. It is quite addicting and I can't wait to see them in March. "Senna" has one of the best grooves this year and the remix is probably even better. ***

21. Bear in Heaven - Beast Rest Forth Mouth // Art-y indie rock in the vein of TV on the Radio or Yeasayer, but more sublime. It's a grower. "You Do You," "Lovesick Teenagers," and "Casual Goodbye." ***

20. Sonic Youth - The Eternal // What really can I say about a band that has quite honestly shaped the way I listen to music? Even though I didn’t care for Rather Ripped, this band has gone through several transformations since the glory days. And they pretty much do what they want at this point, as they have absolutely nothing left to prove. Add “Massage The History” to the list of SY classics. ***

19. Deerhunter - Rainwater Cassette Exchange EP // Atlas Sound's Logos was pretty good too, but this is more consistent I think. Short and sweet effort from my neighbor. I love Atlanta! ***

18. 800beloved - Bouquet // Understated (and underappreciated) throwback to 80s indie pop music. Kinda like the XX, but better. "Skeleton Collection" will stop the world and melt with you. ***

17. The Antlers - Hospice // Pitchfork discovery right here. Funeral-esque in feel. Not as majestic or anything although it has its moments. Very depressing, but that won't stop you right? Overall pretty sincere and heartfelt stuff. "Two" is really good, but I still like "Kettering" the best. I got this really eerie sense of dread the first time I heard it. Like I was really in for it. ***

16. Various Artists - 5: Five Years Of Hyperdub // Double-disc dub-step compilation. If you like dubstep and Burial, you'll dig this. If not, you probably won't. Speaking of Burial, he's on it. And "Fostercare" is one of his best songs. Zomby, Darkstar, Ikonika, and King Midas Sound are really good too. ***

15. Fleeting Joys - Occult Radiance // Shoegaze by-the-numbers. And my favorite kind of shoegaze as well. Not the droning brit-pop of yesteryear kind (The Sleepover Disaster). Or the scuzzy Sunset Strip BRMC/JAMC kind (Gliss). But rather takes its playbook from the genre's early 90's canon. It's basically this year's best attempt at recreating MBV's Loveless. Doesn't succeed, of course, but it sure is pleasant. Even great at times. Especially on "You Are The Darkness." They really need to tour. ***

14. O+S - O+S // Orenda from Azure Ray. Would probably rate this higher, but I've only been listening for a month. Very much in the vein of Cat Power, et al. Straightforward, heart-on-sleeve female singer-songwriter kinda stuff. Very well-produced. I dig it. "New Life" is as elegant as they come. ***1/2

13. A Sunny Day in Glasgow - Ashes Grammar // Sprawling ambient/ dream pop album. Better and more coherent than their solid debut. With its vast scope and indirect approach to song structure, it really tries to eschew the concept of zeroing in on a single track. But I pinpointed the ones with some of the best moments. "Close Chorus" and "Passionate Introverts." But you really owe it to yourself to experience this spacious album in its entirety. Headphones recommended. ***1/2

12. Mono - Hymn To The Immortal Wind // Best post-rock band in existence? i'm probably rating this so high because i saw them live and was completely floored. If you dig this kind of loud-quiet-loud instrumental stuff at all, I'd check them out. "The Battle To Heaven" is a titan of a song. ***1/2

11. Love of Diagrams - Nowhere Forever // Noise-rock/indie rock. Got dropped by their label. A very good thing because it made them release a great album. The self-titled EP showed potential, but didn't contain anything special. Well, now they are. Think Dirty-er Sonic Youth, Sleater-Kinney, etc. Grows on you with repeated listens. ***1/2

10. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz! // You've all probably heard this, but "Zero" is one of the songs of the year. By the way, none of them are subpar. ***1/2

09. The Horrors - Primary Colours // Joy Division, Pornography-era Cure, accessible Bauhaus, etc. post-punk throwback band. This time, album delivers. Unlike, say, The Killers and other pop bands like that, Horrors dare to use feedback and other atonal qualities to give their songs more character and definition. A band that I thought/hoped would really get huge this year and usher in a "New Ice Age," but didn't. Oh well. ***1/2

08. Metric - Fantasies // I listened to this more this year than probably any other '09 album. First 6 songs are impeccable. The "Waves" b-side wasn't included. If it was, this album would be top 5 material easy. The last 4 songs are spotty and don't really measure up to the first 6 IMO, but what can ya do? I'm sure you've all heard this. ***1/2

07. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion // You've all heard this. I'm not big on Animal Collective, but I really did enjoy the even-numbered songs on this album. "Bluish" is amazing. "My Girls" is too. The odd-numbered ones got old after an initial fascination back in January. [On a side note: they really fell back out of favor with me after their latest EP though. I don't want to hear songs about smoking weed and watching construction workers pissing.] ***1/2

06. Fever Ray - Fever Ray // Hey it's what's-her-face from The Knife. No, but seriously. I like this more than I like The Knife's albums to be honest. It's much more intimate. "When I Grow Up" and "Keep The Streets Empty For Me." ***1/2

05. White Lies - To Lose My Life // Post-punk, new wave, brit-rock band in the vein of The Sound, Interpol, Editors, etc. The first three songs on this album are spectacular. Utilizes one of my favorite guitar sounds of all-time. ***1/2

04. Yagya - Rigning // Perhaps the best ambient artist currently recording music? Eno and Aphex Twin 's best ambient work had this evocation of modern environments: airports, hospital waiting rooms, other modern facilities. Yagya is all about nature. Rigning isn't groundbreaking like his 2002 Rhythm Of Snow album, but anywhere's a good starting point with him. ***1/2

03. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart // Shoegaze/Twee-pop. In fact, the ultimate splicing of these two genres. I'm sure you've heard it, but if not, it is a must-hear. If this band dared to crank their amps up sometimes (such as at the end of "Stay Alive"), they'd be out of this world. Anyway, this album is really addicting. Every song above average and memorable. ***1/2

02. National Skyline - Bliss & Death // Art rock/shoegaze. NatSky's first new album in 8 years. Jeff Garber was in the emo-turned-heavy-post-punk band Hum during the mid-90s. This band was formed because he wanted to record a really long song. That song didn't happen and they made some incredible art rock recording instead that sounded like they could have been answers to OK Computer or Priest = Aura. This album is less experimental than their earlier stuff, but still very well-produced and lush. Lots of good songs with interesting twists and turns. "Glimmer," "Revenge," and "Kingdom." The guitar textures of Dempsey (also from The Joy Circuit) are lovely and often evoke late 80s and early 90s indie bands. Great for headphones. ***1/2

01. Bat for Lashes - Two Suns // The only 4-star album for me this year. And it's a good one. Kind of like Saturdays = Youth last year, but everything is sultry; sweet; and sophisticated in that very feminine way. I knew this girl had talent with Fur and Gold in 2006, but now she's truly released something spectacular. Album does seem to kinda taper off toward the middle-end, but it really doesn't. It only seems to because "Pearl's Dream" is so damn good. And not even a song as good as "Good Love" (which would be the standout on most albums) can follow it. "Daniel" is appearing in many top 10 song lists this year - and I don't disagree. But "Pearl's Dream" is still better. Hell, "Glass" and "Sleep Alone" would probably make my Top 20. This album is just phenomenal and I love Natasha Khan very much right now. ****

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Other albums I heard this year with star ratings and key songs:

AC Newman - Get Guilty [***]
Andrew Bird - Noble Beast [***]
Animal Collective - Fall Be Kind EP [*1/2]
Asobi Seksu - Hush [**] "Familiar Light"
Atlas Sound - Logos [***] "Walkabout" and "Quick Canal"
Bibio - Ambivalence Avenue [**]
The Black Lips - 200 Million Miles (WORST album of the year)
Bon Iver - Blood Bank EP [**1/2]
Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career [***] "French Navy"
The Church - Untitled #23 [***]
Cymbals Eat Guitars - Why There Are Mountains [*1/2]
The Decemberists - The Hazards Of Love (2nd worst)
Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca [**]
dredg - The Pariah, the Parrot, the Delusion [**1/2]
Editors - In This Light And On This Evening [**]
Engineers - Three Fact Fader [**1/2]
Fuck Buttons - Tarot Sport [***] "Surf Solar"
Girls - Album [*1/2] "Hellhole Ratrace"
Gliss - Devotion Implosion [***]
Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest [***] "Two Weeks" and "Ready, Able"
Headlights - Wildlife [***]
JJ - jj n 2 [**]
Julian Plenti - Julian Plenti is... Skyscraper [***]
Manic Street Preachers - Journal For Plague Lovers [***] "Jackie Collins Existential Question Time"
Memory Tapes - Seek Magic [***] "Bicycle"
Neko Case - Middle Cyclone [**]
Neon Indian - Psychic Chasms [*1/2]
Passion Pit - Manners [**]
Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix [***] "1901"
Real Estate - Real Estate [*1/2]
Scarlet Youth - Breaking The Patterns EP [***]
Screen Vinyl Image - Interceptors [***]
A Shoreline Dream - Recollections Of Memory [***]
Silversun Pickups - Swoon [***] "Panic Switch"
The Sleepover Disaster - Hover [**1/2]
St. Vincent - Actor [***]
Dark Was The Night [***] "Tightrope" and "Lenin"
Volcano Choir - Unmap [***]
Wavves - Wavves (3rd worst)
Wild Beasts - Two Dancers [***] "The Fun Powder Plot"
William Basinski - 92982 [***]
The xx - The xx [**]
YACHT - Mystery Lights [***] "Psychic City"
Yo La Tengo - Popular Songs [**1/2] "More Stars Than There Are In Heaven"

party in the usa

Animal CollectiveSonic YouthBlack DiceSunn O)))John ColtraneAlbert AylerOrnette ColemanBoards of CanadaKayo Dotmaudlin of the WellFuck ButtonsDevendra BanhartBig BloodWilliam ParkerKoenjihyakkeiBurialAntipop ConsortiumBinary StarCannibal OxMadvillainViktor VaughnSupersilentDJ /ruptureLowStendeckAnimal CollectiveJohn FaheyRachel'sTim HeckerBlackaliciousTortoiseA Silver Mt. ZionMutyumuRobert AshleyDerek BaileyNew York Art QuartetBattlesEdanBonnie 'Prince' BillyThe NationalM83Nurse With WoundKevin DrummJim O'RourkeWhite RainbowXiu XiuGhostface KillahCurrent 93Wadada Leo SmithDirty ProjectorsThe xxPeter KingPortisheadRadioheadGyörgy LigetiSix Organs of AdmittanceNatural Snow BuildingsVenetian SnaresGang Gang DanceAnthony BraxtonHammockUnwoundThe MicrophonesYo La TengoScott WalkerMilford GravesGasThe AvalanchesWorld's End GirlfriendMorton FeldmanAutechreBroadcast and The Focus GroupStars of the LidKashiwa DaisukeWilliam BasinskiGodspeed You! Black EmperorJoanna NewsomHave a Nice LifeThe Fall

> these lists will soon be completed
This year, I liked this music the most:
rock/pop:
1! Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion [Domino]

2. Nadja - When I See the Sun Always Shines on TV [The End Records]
3. The xx - XX [Young Turks]
Other contenders that will be ordered here soon: Yo La Tengo, Jim O'Rourke, Phoenix, City Center, Tortoise, Health,...

ambient/drone/noise:
1! Mokira - Persona [Type]

2. Peter Broderick - Ten Duets [Digitalis Limited] (only released on tape!)
3. Giuseppe Ielasi - Aix [12k]
4. William Basinski - 92982 [2062]
5. Alva Noto - Xerrox Vol.2 [Raster Noton]
6. Brock Van Wey - White Clouds Drift On And On [Echocord] (has an extra disc with dub versions)
7. Ben Frost - By The Throat [Bedroom Community] (feat. Nico Muhly and Lawrence English)
8. Emeralds - What Happened [No Fun Productions] & Emeralds [Gneiss Things]
9. Hildur Guðnadóttir- Without Sinking [Touch]
10. Kenneth Kirschner - Filaments & Voids [12k]
11. Clouwbeck - Wolfrahm [Shining Day]
12. Mika Vainio - Black Telephone Of Matter [Touch]
13. Jon Hassell - Last Night the Moon Came Dropping Its Clothes in the Street [ECM]

techno/dub/etc. records:
Burial & Four Tet - Moth / Wolf Cub
The Field - Yesterday And Today
DJ Sprinkles - Midtown 120 Blues (a.k.a. Terre Thaemlitz)
Moritz von Oswald Trio - Vertical Ascent
Shackleton - Three EPs (he delivered my fav remix of last year)
The Black Dog - Further Vexations

Favourite EP:
Animal Collective - Fall Be Kind

Favourite soundtrack:
John Zorn - Filmworks XXII: El General

Favourite (contemporary) classical music:
Arvo Pärt - In Principio

My favourite tracks of 2009 (ranked alphabetically by artist):
Air - Sing Sang Sung, Animal Collective - My Girls, Animal Collective - Brother Sport, Animal Collective - Bleed, Animal Collective - On A Highway, Antony & The Johnsons - Another World, William Basinski - 92982.2, Andrew Bird - Sectionate City, Peter Broderick - Piano & Toy Piano, Peter Broderick - Mandolin & Theremin, Dinosaur Jr. - Over It, Dirty Projectors + David Byrne - Knotty Pine, Canyons - Big City Lights, City Center - This Is How We See In The Dark, Fever Ray - When I Grow Up (or the Version by Lissvik), Franz Ferdinand - Ulysses (Beyond The Wizards Sleeve Re-Animation), Fuck Buttons - Surf Solar, Girls - Lust For Life, Grizzly Bear - Two Weeks, Grouper - False Horizon, Grouper - Rising High, HEALTH - Before Tigers (CFCF Remix), Giuseppe Ielasi - Track 9, Jonathan Jeremiah - Happiness (Morgan Geist's Port Authority Remix), Lake Heartbeat - Between Dreams, Loscil - Strathcona, Major Lazer - Hold The Line (feat. Santigold), Mokira - Oscillations and Tremolo, Mokira - Invitation To Love, Nadja - Needle In The Hay (Elliott Smith cover), Nadja - Long Dark Twenties (Kids In The Hall cover), Jack Peñate - Tonight's Today, Ratatat - Mirando (Animal Collective Remix, Röyksopp - Happy Up There, Röyksopp - The Girl And The Robot (Kris Menace Remix), Tame Impala - Remember Me (Blue Boy cover), Team William - Lord Of The Dogs, The xx - Crystalised, The XX - Basic Space, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Higher Than the Stars (Saint Etienne Visits Lord Spank Remix), Tiga - Shoes, U2 - Magnificent (Fred Falke Remix),YACHT - Psychic City (Joe Goddard Remix), Yo La Tengo - Nothing To Hide, Thom Yorke - All For The Best (Miracle Legion cover), John Zorn - Los Cristeros,...

According to last.fm's top tracks, I listened the most to:
1. City Center – This Is How We See In The Dark
2. Animal Collective – My Girls
3. Animal Collective – Brother Sport
4. Burial & Four Tet – Moth
5. Mokira - Ode to the Ode to the Street Hassle & Invitation To Love
6. Ratatat – Mirando (Animal Collective Remix)
7. Grouper – False Horizon
8. Franz Ferdinand – Ulysses (Beyond The Wizards Sleeve Re-Animation)
9. Mokira – Oscillations and Tremolo
10. Arvo Pärt – Da Pacem Domine


Favourite techno/dub/etc. tracks:
Burial & Four Tet - Moth
Max Cooper - I (Long Version)
DJ Koze - 40 Love (=> inventive!)
In Flagranti - Brash & Vulgar
Maxïmo Park - Let's Get Clinical (Clark Remix)
Plaid - Dett (=> previously unreleased track from Warp20's Unheard)
The Field - The More That I Do (samples Cocteau Twins!)
DJ Sprinkles - Sisters, I Don't Know What This World Is Coming To
...

°°°
Favourite album sleeve:

(picture taken by Taylor Deupree)

°°°
Movies/documentaries I liked a lot:
Das Weiße Band (Michael Haneke)
Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino)
The Cove (Louie Psihoyos)
(I have yet to see Up, Moon, A Serious Man, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Avatar, El General... but overall, I think it was quite a bad year for film...)

°°°
Conclusion:
will follow at the end of the year...

Records:


01. Mountains - Choral
02. Tim Hecker - An Imaginary Journey
03. Richard Skelton - Landings
04. Carousell - Black Swallow & Other Songs
05. Heidika - Tide Of Bells & The Sea
06. Alva Noto - Xerrox Vol. 2
07. Marissa Nadler - Little Hells
08. Ben Frost - By The Throat
09. Danny Saul - Harsh, Final
10. Tiny Vipers - Life On Earth
11. Ethan Rose - Oaks
12. Seaworthy - 1897
13. A Wake A Week - Little Black Cloud
14. William Basinski - 92982
15. Finale - A Pipe Dream And A Promise
16. Chihei Hatakeyama - Saunter
17. 36 - Hypersona
18. Mamer - Eagle
19. Washed out - Life Of Leisure
20. Headlights - Wildlife
21. La Roux - La Roux
22. Loscil - Strathcona Variations
23. Greg Haines - Komarovo
24. Lawrence English - A Colour For Autumn
25. Dirac - Emphasis
26. Various Artists - Siamese Soul: Thai Pop Spectacular Vol. 2
27. HTRK - Marry Me Tonight


Tracks:


1. Ben Frost - There are no others, there is only us
2. Burial - Fostercare
3. The Black Heart Procession - Forget My Heart
4. Future of the Left - You Need Satan More Than He Needs You
5. Polysics - Eye Contact
6. Patrick Wolf - The Messenger
7. Neko Case - People Got a Lotta Nerve
8. Röyksopp - This Must Be It
9. Aarktica - Corpse Reviver No. 2
10. Shiina Ringo - Togatta Teguchi

16 - Julianna Barwick ~ Florine (no label)


15 - Rameses III ~ I Could Not Love You More (Type)


14 - Animal Hospital ~ Memory (Barge)


13 - The Gentleman Losers ~ Dustlands (City Centre Offices)


12 - Clark ~ Totems Flare (Warp)


11 - William Basinski ~ 92982 (2062)


10 - Ben Frost ~ By the Throat (Bedroom Community)


9 - Odawas ~ The Blue Depths (Jagjaguwar)


8 - Jasper TX & Anduin ~ The Bending of Light (SMTG limited)


7 - Mountains ~ Choral (Thrill Jockey)


6 - Ben Woods ~ Moments(Wise Owl)


5 - Emeralds ~ What Happened (No Fun)


4 - Zelienople - Give It Up (Type)


3 - Tim Hecker ~ An Imaginary Country (Kranky)


2 - Bvdub ~ A Prayer to False Gods (Shoreless Recordings)


1 - Alva Noto ~ Xerrox Vol. 2 (Raster-Noton)

1. Christof Kurzmann/Burkhard Stangl - neuschnee
2. Master Musicians of Bukkake - totem one
3. Aidan Baker/thisquietarmy - picture of a picture
4. MASS OF THE FERMENTING DREGS - world is yours
5. Glenn Jones - barbeque bob in fishtown
6. Natural Snow Buildings - daughter of darkness
7. James Blackshaw - glass bead game
8. Amen Dunes - dia
9. Vivian Girls - everything goes wrong
10. Yair Yona - remember
11. Sir Richard Bishop - freak of araby
12. Tom James Scott - schools and rivers
13. OOIOO - armonico hewa
14. Emeralds - what happened?
15. Kurt Vile - childish prodigy
16. Harappian Night Recordings - glorious gongs of hainuwele
17. TwinSisterMoon - the hollow mountain
18. Blue sabbath black cheer - crows eat the eyes from the leviathan's carcass
19. Zs - music of the modern white
20. Longmont Potion Castle - volume 7
21. Wavves - wavvves
22. Jim O'Rourke - the visitor
23. Blank Dogs - under and under
24. Suishou No Fune - gold labyrinth
25. Ben Reynolds - how day earnt its night
26. Polysics - absolute polysics
27. The Skull Defekts - the temple
28. Ajilvsga - white crow
29. Preslav Literary School - beautiful was tie time
30. Dan Deacon - bromst
31. Wet Hair - dream
32. Richard Youngs - beyond the valley of ultrahits
33. Drip House - sewer ghost
34. Red Deer - s/t
35. Lightning Bolt - earthly delights
36. Six Organs of Admittance - luminous night
37. Peaking Lights - imaginary falcons cs
38. Venetian Snares - filth
39. Experimental Dental School - forest fields
40. Brethren Of The Free Spirit - the wolf also shall dwell with the lamb
41. Predator Vision / Sun Araw split
42. Greg Davis - mutually arising
43. Skyramps - days of thunder
44. Polvo - in prisms
45. 10-20 - s/t
46. Ducktails - acres of shade
47. Oneohtrix Point Never - betrayed in the octagon
48. Loren Connors/Jim O'Rourke - 2 nice catholic boys
49. Gamelan Son of Lion - sonogram
50. James Ferraro - heaven's gate
51. Jandek - not hunting for meaning
52. Alva Noto - xerrox vol. 2
53. Lilypad - signal longings
54. Robedoor - exorcist blues
55. UUUUUU - su aside
56. Isengrind - journey of the 7 stars
57. Mark McGuire - tidings ii
58. Tetuzo Akiyama/Kevin Corcoran/Christian Kiefer - low cloud means death
59. Thee Oh Sees - help
60. Tim Hecker - an imaginary country
61. Monks of the Balhill - lost and hide side
62. Xela - heirs of the fire
63. Pan America - white bird release
64. Lustmord - the dark places of the earth
65. Super Minerals - multitudes
66. Pocahaunted - gold miner's daughter
67. Bones of Seabirds - sink thy hands deep into earth
68. Group Bambino - guitars from agadez vol. 2
69. Flower Man - peppermint steamroom
70. Sunn O))) - monoliths and dimensions
71. X-Ray Eyeballs - s/t
72. John Wiese/C. Spencer Yeh - cincinnati
73. Eat Skull - wild and inside
74. bionulor - bionulor
75. Infinity Window - articial midnight
76. Sun Araw - leaves like these
77. Mist - certain expansion
78. C. Spencer Yeh - the strangler
79. Medroxy Progesterone Acetate - mar'ah
80. Boredoms - super roots 10
81. Khanate - clean hands go foul
82. William Basinski - 92982
83. Zu - carboniferous
84. Ephel Duath - through my dog's eyes
85. Squarepusher - numbers luscent
86. Pelt - a stone for angus maclise
87. Toshimaru Nakamaru/Ami Yoshida - soba to bara
88. 8rolek - fat pigs
89. Neokarma Jooklo Trio - time's vibe
90. Pixel - the drive
91. Svarte Greiner - kappe
92. Secret Chiefs 3 - traditionalists: le mani destre recise degli ulaimi uomini
93. Kabyzdoh Obtruhamchi - estcho
94. Sparkling Wide Pressure - seven inside and out
95. Kane Pour - wand in the beak of the yellow bird
96. Peter Broderick - ten duets
97. City Center - s/t
98. Real Estate - fake blues
99. Teepee - voodoo
100. Million Mists - haleakala


Check out "Time Dilation" by Robe. and "Shrine to Salvaged Junk" by Scissor Shock.

1 Broadcast & The Focus Group- Investigate Witch Cults of the Radio Age
2 Oneohtrix Point Never - Rifts
3 Bill Orcutt - A New Way To Pay Old Debts
4 Alasdair Roberts - Spoils
5 Sunn O))) - Monoliths & Dimensions
6 David Sylvian - Manafon
7 Group Doueh - Treeg Salaam
8 Jim O'Rourke - The Visitor
9 Ben Frost - By The Throat
10 King Midas Sound - Waiting For You
11 Harappian Night Recordings - Glorious Gongs of Hainuwele
12 Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
13 Shackleton - 3EPs
14 Sa-Ra Creative Partners - Nuclear Evolution: The Age of Love
15 AtomTM - Liedgut
16 Mordant Music - SyMpToMs
17 Masayuki Takayanagi - Archive 1
18 Matias Aguayo - Ay Ay Ay
19 Hecker - Acid In The Style Of David Tudor
20 William Basinski - 92982
21 The xx - xx
22 Flower-Corsano Duo - The Four Aims
23 Gary War - Horribles Parade
24 Courtis/Moore - Brokebox Juke
25 Leyland Kirby - Sadly The Future Is No Longer What It Was
26 Group Bombino - Guitars From Agadez Vol 2
27 Peter Evans - Nature/Culture
28 Kevin Drumm - Imperial Horizon
29 Dam Funk - Toeachizown
30 Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
31 Pan Sonic & Keiji Haino - Shall I Download A Blackhole And Offer It To You?
32 Moritz von Oswald Trio- Vertical Ascent
33 MEV - MEV 40
34 Black Dice - Repo
35 Emeralds - What Happened
36 Position Normal - Position Normal
37 Belbury Poly- From An Ancient Star
38 Julie Tippetts & Martin Archer - Ghosts of Gold
39 Billy Bao - <ay 08
40 Sun Araw - Heavy Deeds
41 Richard Youngs - Under Stellar Stream
42 Subway - Subway II
43 Lionel Marchetti & Oliver Capparos - Equus
44 The Stooges - You Don't Want My Name You Want My Action
45 Eliane Radigue - Triptych
46 Fuck Buttoons- Tarot Sport
47 Glenn Jones - Barbecue Bob In Fishtown
48 Black to Comm - Alphabet 1968
49 Cold Cave - Love Comes Close
50 Hildur Gudnadottir- Without Sinking

Atlas Sound - Logos
Alva Noto - Xerrox Vol.2
William Basinski - 92982
Belbury Poly - From An Ancient Star
Bibio - Ambivalence Avenue
The Big Pink - A Brief History Of Love
Blackbelt Andersen - Blackbelt Andersen
Bodycode - Immune
Broadcast and The Focus Group - Investigate witch cults of the radio age
The Clientele - Bonfires on the Heath
Cold Cave - Love Comes Close
Joe Crepúsculo - Chill Out
Patrick Cowley & Jorge Socarras - Catholic
The Drums - Summertime!
Echo & The Bunnymen - The Fountain
Extraperlo - Desayuno Continental
Fontan - Whinterwhila
Luke Haines - 21st Century Man
Arve Henriksen - Cartography
The Horrors - Primary Colours
JJ - n 2
Emilio José - Chorando Apréndese
Joakim - Milky Ways
Kreidler - Mosaic 2014
La Roux - La Roux
Lawrence - Until then, goodbye
Letting Up Despite Great Faults - Letting Up Despite Great Faults
Lindstrom & Prins Thomas - II
Lusine - A Certain Distance
The Mary Onettes - Islands
Meanderthals - Desire Lines
Memory Tapes - Seek Magic
Neon Indian - Cosmic Chasms
Nosaj Thing - Drift
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - The Pains of Being Pure At Heart
Pastels / Tenniscoats - Two Sunsets
Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Bruno Pronsanto - The Make Up The Break Up
Sally Shapiro - My Guilty Pleasure
Sorcerer - Neon Lion
St. Vincent - Actor
Subway - Subway II
Smith Westerns - Smith Westerns
Swan Lake - Enemy Mine
David Sylvian - Manafon
Tortoise - Beacons of Ancestry
Various Artists - Milky Disco 2
Wild Beasts - Two Dancers
Washed out - Life of Leisure
The xx - xx

If I had to choose, probably my favorite album would be The xx's debut album, so pretty, nostalgic and modern at the same time.

I wish you better music, love and health in 2010.

ejival