The Best Albums of 2009

This page last updated on August 5, 2010.

John Metzger's Top Albums of 2009

1) U2 - No Line on the Horizon

2) Neko Case - Middle Cyclone

3) John Fogerty - The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again

4) Green Day - 21st Century Breakdown

5) Levon Helm - Electric Dirt

6) Chris Smither - Time Stands Still

7) Phish - Joy

8) Bruce Springsteen - Working on a Dream

9) Elvis Costello - Secret, Profane & Sugarcane

10) Pearl Jam - Backspacer

11) Morrissey - Years of Refusal

12) Bob Dylan - Together through Life

13) Jorma Kaukonen - River of Time

14) Wynton Marsalis - He and She

15) Manassas - Pieces

16) Monsters of Folk - Monsters of Folk

17) Moby - Wait for Me

18) Branford Marsalis - Metamorphosen

19) Alison Brown - The Company You Keep

20) Andrew Bird - Noble Beast

21) M. Ward - Hold Time

22) Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest

23) Steve Earle - Townes

24) The Black Crowes - Before the Frost...

25) PJ Harvey - A Woman a Man Walked By

For more information, please also see our annotated list:
Music Box Editor John Metzger's Top Albums of 2009.

Douglas Heselgrave's Top Albums of 2009

1) Tinariwen - Imidiwan: Companions

2) Van Morrison - Astral Weeks: Live at the Hollywood Bowl

3) Justin Adams / Juldeh Camara - Tell No Lies

4) Kimi Djabate - Karam

5) Po' Girl - Deer in the Night

6) Easy Star All-Stars - Easy Star's Lonely Hearts Dub Band

7) Rokia Traore - Tchamantche

8) Lily Storm - If I Had a Key to the Dawn

9) J.J. Cale - Roll On

10) Antony and the Johnsons - The Crying Light

11) Lal Meri - Lal Meri

12) The Idan Raichel Project - Within My Walls

13) Madeleine Peyroux - Bare Bones

14) Midival Punditz - Hello Hello

15) Mark Karan - Walk through the Fire

Best Reissues

1) The Rolling Stones - Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out!: The Rolling Stones in Concert

2) Dave Brubeck Quartet - Time Out: 50th Anniversary Legacy Edition

3) Miles Davis - Kind of Blue: 50th Anniversary Legacy Edition

4) Miles Davis - Sketches of Spain: 50th Anniversary Legacy Edition

5) Big Star - #1 Record / Radio City

6) Ray Charles - Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music: Volumes 1 & 2

7) Tito Puente - Dance Mania: Legacy Edition

8) The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses / self-titled: 20th Anniversary Edition

9) The Jayhawks - Music from the North Country: The Jayhawks Anthology

10) Pearl Jam - Ten: Deluxe Legacy Edition

11) Elvis Presley - From Elvis in Memphis: Legacy Edition

12) Charles Mingus - Mingus Ah Um: Legacy Edition

13) Beth Orton - Trailer Park: Legacy Edition

14) Rod Stewart - Unplugged...And Seated: Collector's Edition

For more information, please also see our 2009 Holiday Gift Guide.

Best Live Albums / DVDs

1) Grateful Dead - To Terrapin: Hartford '77

2) Sly & the Family Stone - Stand!: The Woodstock Experience

3) Grateful Dead - Road Trips, Vol. 2, No. 3: Wall of Sound, June 16 & 18, 1974

4) Grateful Dead - Road Trips, Vol. 2, No. 2: Carousel, 2/14/68

5) Leonard Cohen - Live at the Isle of Wight 1970

6) Various Artists - Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Live

7) Jerry Garcia Band - Pure Jerry 9: Bay Area 1978

8) Paul McCartney - Good Evening New York City

9) Jefferson Airplane - Volunteers: The Woodstock Experience

10) Grateful Dead - Road Trips, Vol. 2, No. 4: Cal Expo '93

11) Jerry Garcia Band - Jerry Garcia Collection, Volume 2: Let It Rock / Keystone Berkeley, November 17-18, 1975

12) Grateful Dead - Road Trips, Vol. 2, No. 1: MSG, September '90

13) Bruce Cockburn - Slice O Life: Live Solo

14) Jeff Buckley - Grace around the World

15) Paul Simon & Friends - Gershwin Prize for Popular Song

16) Jerry Garcia / John Kahn - Pure Jerry 8: Marin Veteran's Memorial Auditorium, February 28, 1986

Best Holiday Outings / Reissues / Compilations

1) Various Artists - A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector

2) Bob Dylan - Christmas in the Heart

3) Neil Diamond - A Cherry Cherry Christmas

Best Documentaries / Films

Mary Wharton - Joan Baez: How Sweet the Sound

Michelle Esrick - Saint Misbehavin': The Wavy Gravy Movie

Music for Children

Los Lobos - Los Lobos Goes Disney

Books

Soul Rebel: An Intimate Portrait of Bob Marley by David Burnett

Will You Take Me As I Am: Joni Mitchell's Blue Period by Michelle Mercer