Pitchfork's and The Wire's Best Albums of 2009

My two most anticipated Best of '09 lists are here. Those lists belong to (coincidentally) (not coincidentally) my two favorite music publications: Pitchfork and The Wire.

The albums included on Pitchfork's are largely unsurprising, but the order provides some intrigue. 9.0/#45ish of the decade achieving Veckatimest slipped to #6. 9.1 garnering Girls barely cracked the top 10. I appreciate the inclusion of Micachu's Jewellery and the high placement of Bitte Orca. Overall, though, the list is semi-predictable.

The albums included on The Wire's are much more surprising, mostly because I haven't even heard of at least half of them. That said, I always appreciate The Wire's lists because I look up those artists I've never heard of and often like them. Their list does include some more conventional groups like The xx, Dirty Projectors, and Animal Collective, but it's definitely heavier on experimental stuff.

The top 15 of each are below, and Pitchfork's is here and The Wire's is here.

Pitchfork

15. Japandroids--Post-Nothing

Not a huge fan.

14. Neon Indian--Psychic Chasms

Definitely good, but not great.

13. St. Vincent--Actor

I'm not crazy about her.

12. Yeah Yeah Yeahs--It's Blitz!

This album is interesting, but not that good.

11. Fuck Buttons--Tarot Sport

Great album, should be higher.

10. Girls--Album

Overrated but still good.

9. Fever Ray--Fever Ray

Should also be higher.

8. Phoenix--Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

Overrated and just not that good.

7. Bat For Lashes--Two Suns

A great album and an understandable ranking,

6. Grizzly Bear--Veckatimest

See above.

5. Raekwon--Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, Pt. II

See above.

4. Flaming Lips--Embryonic

I just don't really like Flaming Lips.

3. The xx--The xx

Good album, nothing more.

2. Dirty Projectors--Bitte Orca

Makes sense.

1. Animal Collective--Merriweather Post Pavilion

Makes sense.

The Wire

15. AtomTM--Liedgut

Never even heard of it.

14. Sa-Ra Creative Partners--Nuclear Evolution: The Age of Love

I don't have this album, but I like these guys.

13. Shackleton--3EPs

I know the name, but not the music.

12. Dirty Projectors--Bitte Orca

I'm glad they included it, but it could be higher.

11. Harrapian Night Recordings--Glorious Gongs Of Hainuwele

Never heard of it.

10. King Midas Sound--Waiting For You

Great album, and this number makes sense.

9. Ben Frost--By The Throat

I haven't heard this album, but I like his other stuff.

8. Jim O'Rourke--The Visitor

Maybe a touch overrated, but still a very good album.

7. Group Doueh--Treed Salaam

I've read about this, but I've never heard it.

6. David Sylvian--Manafon

I don't really like him.

5. Sunn 0)))--Monoliths & Dimensions

A tolerable choice, but I'm not sure it's this good.

4. Alasdair Roberts--Spoils

Never heard of it.

3. Bill Orcutt--A New Way To Pay Old Debts

See above.

2. Oneohtrix Point Never--Rifts

See above. (But I just listened to it a little, and it sounds interesting.)

1. Broadcast And The Focus Group--Investigate Witch Cults Of The Radio Age

This is indeed a great album, but I'm not sure it's #1 material.

Those are probably the two best lists we'll see, so soak 'em in.