Hey boys and girls! I'm compiling my Best of '09 list today, which is a great excuse to just sit at my desk, pop on the 'phones and listen to 8 straight hours of music (unlike, uh, usual). I'm not sure there was one album that I couldn't live without, not like last year's masterful Raising Sand by Plant and Krauss. But there were definitely goodies out there, and they're still rolling in. (Them Crooked Vultures is certified badass.) The following is a mondo list (in no particular order) of my faves, which I'll eventually whittle down to a tidy 10. Let me know if I forgot anything crucial...unless you're Sparky blathering on about Chickenfoot.

St. Vincent, Actor
Gliss, Devotion Implosion
Rihanna, Rated R
The Duke and the King, Nothing Gold Can Stay
Wolfmother, Cosmic Egg
Weezer, Raditude
Regina Spektor, Far
Randy Newman, The Princess and the Frog
Animal Collective, Merriweather Post Pavilion
The Dead Weather, Horehound
Yeah Yeah Yeahs, It's Blitz
Mandy Moore, Amanda Leigh
Them Crooked Vultures, Them Crooked Vultures
Jay-Z, The Blueprint 3
Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson, Break Up
Rufus Wainwright, Milwaukee At Last!!!
Mark Knopfler, Get Lucky
Kelly Clarkson, All I Ever Needed
Green Day, 21st Century Breakdown
Bob Dylan, Together Through Life
Yim Yames, Tribute To
Steve Martin, The Crow
Tinted Windows, Tinted Windows
Miranda Lambert, Revolution