Top 50

Like most blogs, I would like to initiate this one with my top 50 of 2009. 2009 was a stellar year for music, especially from new bands. We saw the rise of new music from the 'Crystal' bands (Crystal Antlers, Crystal Castles, Crystal Fighters, Crystal Stilts, and The Crystal Method) and the 'Whale' bands (Black Whales, Or, the Whale, Sleep Whale, Said the Whale, and don't forget Noah and the Whale). It also saw the demise of some great musicians (Michael Jackson, Les Paul and Vic Chestnutt)
I derived my top 50 mostly from what I listened to the most (according to iTunes) throughout the year and what I kept returning to. I took into account later releases and their lack of play compared to earlier releases, but this list is pretty accurate. There is so much music I did not have the time or resources to listen to that I would have liked to consider for this list, but that is another post.