Year-end lists! All music nerds love them, especially those who publicly profess their hatred for lists. As usual, I voted in PopMatters’ “Best 60 Albums of 2009” poll and contributed write-ups on two of my favorite albums of the year (the Dirty Projectors’ Bitte Orca and Converge’s Axe to Fall). This year, I also participated in the Village Voice’s 37th annual Pazz + Jop Critics’ Poll, which is like the Destroy All Monsters of critics’ polls. My personal ballot, which lists my picks for the best albums and singles of 2009, can be found here. Thanks to the magic of personal computing, you can sift through P+J’s wealth of data easily by drilling down by album, track or critic. Which means that I can feel smug in the knowledge that Michael Azerrad and I both dug Wye Oak’s criminally underrated The Knot. Of course, no list is ever definitive and there were a handful of albums and singles that I really loved during this past year but couldn’t include in either of my ballots due to space constraints. They are as follows: Sparklehorse + Fennesz — In the Fishtank Diamond District — In the Ruff Real Estate — S/T Lady Gaga — “Paparazzi” Das Racist — “Rainbow in the Dark” The Depreciation Guild — “Dream About Me” Gucci Mane f. Piles — “Wasted”

Year-end lists! All music nerds love them, especially those who publicly profess their hatred for lists. As usual, I voted in PopMatters’ “Best 60 Albums of 2009” poll and contributed write-ups on two of my favorite albums of the year (the Dirty Projectors’ Bitte Orca and Converge’s Axe to Fall). This year, I also participated in the Village Voice’s 37th annual Pazz + Jop Critics’ Poll, which is like the Destroy All Monsters of critics’ polls. My personal ballot, which lists my picks for the best albums and singles of 2009, can be found here. Thanks to the magic of personal computing, you can sift through P+J’s wealth of data easily by drilling down by album, track or critic. Which means that I can feel smug in the knowledge that Michael Azerrad and I both dug Wye Oak’s criminally underrated The Knot. Of course, no list is ever definitive and there were a handful of albums and singles that I really loved during this past year but couldn’t include in either of my ballots due to space constraints. They are as follows:

Sparklehorse + Fennesz — In the Fishtank

Diamond District — In the Ruff

Real Estate — S/T

Lady Gaga — “Paparazzi”

Das Racist — “Rainbow in the Dark”

The Depreciation Guild — “Dream About Me”

Gucci Mane f. Piles — “Wasted”

Jan 23 2010

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