20. Dawes - North Hills
Kind of like The Band with special guests Stephen Stills and The Shins.

"When You Call My Name": http://www.box.net/shared/static/4cocp3zl8p.mp3

19. David Bazan - Curse Your Branches
The sound of Pedro The Lion after being struck by lightning on the 18th green at Bushwood.

"Bless This Mess": http://www.box.net/shared/static/zmkbcx6tbn.mp3

18. Andrew Bird - Noble Beast
Nobody whistles their way through a thesaurus like ol' Andy!

"Fitz and the Dizzy Spells": http://www.box.net/shared/static/o55nkdgyqf.mp3

17. John Vanderslice - Romanian Names
JV bounces back after a couple of subpar efforts with this interesting mix of styles.

"Carina Constellation": http://www.box.net/shared/static/1b2jx6ulzk.mp3

16. Pete Yorn - Back and Fourth
A solid, if not spectacular, return to form by the midget minstrel.

"Paradise Cove": http://www.box.net/shared/static/e150y8yiho.mp3

15. Robert Pollard - Elephant Jokes
Former GBV frontman high kicks his way through yet another solo album full of rockin' quirk.

"Symbols and Heads": http://www.box.net/shared/static/9beradfa63.mp3

14. Lucero - 1372 Overton Park
Barfights backed by Tower of Power.

"What Are You Willing to Lose?": http://www.box.net/shared/static/c33onq9qxj.mp3

13. V.V. Brown - Travelling Like The Light
Kind of like Amy Winehouse minus drugs plus talent.

"L.O.V.E.": http://www.box.net/shared/static/i9gkpuinu1.mp3

12. The Gourds - Haymaker!
I don't always listen to accordion-laced porch jams, but when I do, I prefer The Gourds.

"Tighter": http://www.box.net/shared/static/5x63k3a8ml.mp3

11. Franz Ferdinand - Tonight
Disco for soccer hooligans.

"Bite Hard": http://www.box.net/shared/static/lspf3pmmtm.mp3

10. Reno Bo - Happenings and Other Things
Elements of Big Star, The Byrds and Tom Petty flirt around with a modern bent.

"You Don't Know": http://www.box.net/shared/static/ulk6n32i0q.mp3

9. The Oranges Band - Are Invisible
Ballmer's kings of DIY art bar rock bring it stronger than McNulty after an ass-chewing by Rawls.

"Do You Remember Memory Lane?": http://www.box.net/shared/static/quovf54ta4.mp3

8. Wilco - Wilco (The Album)
Dad rock for dads who are cooler than their dads were at their age.

"You Never Know": http://www.box.net/shared/static/g8xxgqof94.mp3

7. Neko Case - Middle Cyclone
Indie's most magnificent voice overshoots a spot in the top 5 by a half-hour worth of chirping crickets.

"Prison Girls": http://www.box.net/shared/static/pizzgnh8sa.mp3

6. Hayden - The Place Where We Lived
Canada's finest troubadour since Gordon Lightfoot strikes gold once more.

"Disappear": http://www.box.net/shared/static/7l0jo7ejqc.mp3

5. Monsters of Folk - Monsters of Folk
Bonnaroo headlined by The Traveling Wilburys.

"Say Please": http://www.box.net/shared/static/gen4j85r9b.mp3

4. Deer Tick - Born on Flag Day
95% of you will never be able to get past this guy's voice, but if you can, it will pay off in spades.

"Houston, TX": http://www.box.net/shared/static/yut4x1pd3q.mp3

3. Ike Reilly - Hard Luck Stories
The bastard love child of Westerburg and Mellencamp.

"Girls in the Backroom": http://www.box.net/shared/static/7xht3m2lfr.mp3

2. Art Brut - Art Brut vs. Satan
UK's answer to The Hold Steady hits their stride with Frank Black at the knobs.

"Slap Dash for No Cash": http://www.box.net/shared/static/4br49fljhz.mp3

1. M. Ward - Hold Time
Coupled with his contributions to Monsters of Folk (#5), this album (his best to date) cements 2009 as the year of M. Ward.

"To Save Me": http://www.box.net/shared/static/0lq0gvfkn2.mp3

what's robert pollard's appeal? i feel like i should like him but somehow always come up feeling lacking

Glad to see Dawes made the list. I forgot about Reno Bo too.

His appeal is Guided By Voices.
Have you heard Alien Lanes all the way through? If you haven't, once you do, you may gain that appreciation. Or maybe Bee Thousand will do it for you?

I feel the same way. Mainly because he IS lacking.

lots of obnish like gbv, but pretty much just me and mcaputo like solo pollard

if you feel like PMing me a record link you think is a good solid portal, i'll check it out and read all the supporting documentation to get a sense of context

if you feel like it...

i want to be more like you, bob

Get 'Human Amusements' by GBV. It's the best of, but doesn't show the "greatness" of him as demonstrated by full albums. Other than this disc, I never really "got" GBV.

I have one of Pollard's solo CDs and really find it to be long and fairly boring. I am a fan of GBV, though.

It is funny how we intercept and REALLY like some of the same things, and then have WILDLY divergent tastes on others.

FAIL

Btw- some good selections BB. I have a couple of those on my list as well.

GBV took a little while to click, but when it did it became an obsession.

I would have a hard time understanding how anyone could not like Alien Lanes, at the very least.

Capoooooooto!

I probably heard around 50 new albums this year...

a few of these I am interested in hearing like Monsters of Folk, Oranges Band, and Dawes.

Ah, noice!
When I was ten I met Werner Klemperer at LAX. I asked him if he had his monacle with him.

What's the deal with that Ike Reilly? Is that actually a new album? I thought it was just b-sides so I never bothered listening to it.

New album. And his best for some time IMO.

The b-sides/outtakes album was last year's Poison The Hit Parade.

If you want to hear my favorite song from each of my Top 20 albums, go to http://bobhasablog.com/2009/12/18/top20of09/

Here's a 20-song mix containing my favorite track from each album...

http://www.box.net/shared/static/oemmr7kp3k.mp3

damn, didn't even know about this one

I love this time of year on Obner. Seeing lists of people whose taste you've kinda sorta followed over the years and seeing how the year's music was filtered by them, for them.

This is a very, very solid and satisfying list and only one or two of these will wind up on my list.

Thanks for the kind words, Harry.

Catch any college hoops today?