Albums released in 2009 that I listened to more than once and still have a non-trivial number of songs in my iTunes library as of today. Best way I can think of to describe what I liked last year without resorting to an arbitrary top ten/whatever list.
- Aarktica – In Sea
- Adam Franklin – Spent Bullets
- Aidan Baker – Colorful Disturbances
- Air – Love 2
- Alasehir – Torment Of The Metals
- All India Radio – A Low High
- Ariana Delawari – Lion Of Panjshir
- Asobi Seksu – Rewolf
- Asobi Seksu – Transparence
- Assemble Head In Sunburst Sound – When Sweet Sleep Returned
- Au Revoir Simone – Still Night, Still Light
- Bardo Pond – Volume 7
- Barn Owl – The Conjurer
- The Black Ryder – Buy The Ticket, Take The Ride
- Blues Control – Local Flavor
- The Brian Jonestown Massacre – Smoking Acid
- British Sea Power – Man Of Aran
- Broadcast & The Focus Group – Broadcast And The Focus Group Investigate Witch Cults Of The Radio Age
- Caethua – The Long Afternoon Of Earth
- Camera Obscura – My Maudlin Career
- Candy Now! – Candy Now!
- Céu – Vagarosa
- Charlotte Hatherley – New Worlds
- Cheval Sombre – Cheval Sombre
- The Church – Untitled #23
- The Clientele – Bonfires On The Heath
- Clint Mansell – Moon (Soundtrack From The Motion Picture)
- D.A. – Odeon
- Dakota Suite – The End Of Trying
- Dakota Suite – The Night Just Keeps Coming In
- The Dead Sea – The Dead Sea
- Dean & Britta – 13 Most Beautiful… Songs For Andy Warhol’s Screen Tests
- The Dolly Rocker Movement – Our Days Mind The Tyme
- Dot Allison – Room 7½
- Doves – Kingdom Of Rust
- Emeralds – The Overlook
- Emily Loizeau – Pays Sauvage
- Engineers – Three Fact Fader
- Epic45 – In All The Empty Houses
- Espers – III
- Eternal Tapestry – The Invisible Landscape
- Evangelista – Prince Of Truth
- Expo ’70 – White Ohms
- Fell – Incoherent Lullabies
- Fever Ray – Fever Ray
- The Fiery Furnaces – I’m Going Away
- The Flaming Lips – Embryonic
- Floorian – More Fiend
- The Flowers Of Hell – Come Hell Or High Water
- Fog In The Shell – Private South
- For Against – Never Been
- Gareth Davis & Steven R. Smith – Westering
- Girl In A Coma – Trio B.C.
- Great Northern – Remind Me Where The Light Is
- The Green Pajamas – Poison In The Russian Room
- Heartless Bastards – The Mountain
- Holly Beth Vincent – Minnesota-California
- Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions – Through The Devil Softly
- Howling Bells – Radio Wars
- Iggy Pop – Preliminaires
- Imogen Heap – Ellipse
- Jack Rose – The Black Dirt Sessions
- Jack Rose & The Black Twig Pickers – Jack Rose & The Black Twig Pickers
- Jackie-O Motherfucker – Ballads Of The Revolution
- Jarvis Cocker – Further Complications
- Jasper TX – Singing Stones
- Jasper TX & Anduin – The Bending Of Light
- Jeniferever – Spring Tides
- Jets Overhead – No Nations
- John Doe & The Sadies – Country Club
- Julianna Barwick – Florine
- Kid Congo & The Pink Monkey Birds – Dracula Boots
- Lady GaGa – The Fame Monster
- Lamp Of The Universe – Acid Mantra
- Les Terribles – Ils sont formidables
- Lhasa – Lhasa
- Lindstrøm & Christabelle – Real Life Is No Cool
- Loscil – Strathcona Variations
- The Lovetones – Dimensions
- LSD March – Under Milk Wood
- The Madd – The Madd Are Pretty Quick!
- Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs – Under The Covers Vol. 2
- Maxïmo Park – Quicken The Heart
- Messer Chups – Heretic Channel
- Mia Doi Todd – Morning Music
- The Morning After Girls – Alone
- The Mountain Goats – The Life Of The World To Come
- A Mountain Of One – Institute Of Joy
- Múm – Sing Along To Songs You Don’t Know
- MV & EE – Barn Nova
- Natural Snow Buildings – Shadow Kingdom
- Neko Case – Middle Cyclone
- Nite Jewel – Want You Back EP
- Nouvelle Vague – 3
- Noveller – Red Rainbows
- Nudge – As Good As Gone
- The Observatory – Dark Folke
- Olivia Ruiz – Miss Météores
- Oneida – Rated O
- Paul Westerberg – PW & The Ghost Gloves Cat Wing Joy Boys
- Peter Wright – An Angel Fell Where The Kestrel Hover
- Peter Wright – Snow Blind
- Phantogram – Eyelid Movies
- Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
- Pocahaunted – Passage
- The Postmarks – Memoirs At The End Of The World
- Psychic Ills – Mirror Eye
- The Raveonettes – In And Out Of Control
- Robin Guthrie – Carousel
- Robyn Hitchcock – Goodnight Oslo
- Rowland S. Howard – Pop Crimes
- Sahara Hotnights – Sparks
- Sally Shapiro – My Guilty Pleasure
- Sam Phillips – A Piece Of My Brightside
- Sian Alice Group – Troubled, Shaken, Etc.
- Simon Wickham-Smith – A Seventh Persimmon
- Six Organs Of Admittance – Luminous Night
- Sonic Youth – The Eternal
- SPC-ECO – 3-D
- Speck Mountain – Some Sweet Relief
- Spectrum – War Sucks
- Spiral Joy Band – Little Sparrow
- Stela Campos – Mustang Bar
- Stella Peel – Stella Peel
- Steve Kilbey & Martin Kennedy – Unseen Music Unheard Words
- Steven R. Smith – Cities
- The Submarines – The Honeysuckle Remixes
- Sun Araw – Heavy Deeds
- Sun Araw – In Orbit
- Tannhäuser – Para Entonces Habrás Muerto
- Tara Jane O’Neil – A Ways Away
- Tiny Vipers – Life On Earth
- Tom Waits – Glitter And Doom Live
- U2 – No Line On The Horizon
- Viva Voce – Rose City
- Vivian Girls – Everything Goes Wrong
- The Warlocks – The Mirror Explodes
- White Hills – Dead
- White Rainbow – New Clouds
- William Basinski – 92982
- William Fowler Collins – Perdition Hill Radio
- Windy & Carl – Monolith: Earth
- Wye Oak – The Knot
- The XX – XX
- Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz!
- Yo La Tengo – Popular Songs
- Zak Sally – Fear Of Song