The New York state folk/Americana band won over critics with their sense of playfulness on this fourth release.Ī former member of The Band, the 69-year-old Helm has experienced a career resurgence after a bout with throat cancer, following 2007’s Dirt Farmer with this more plugged-in solo effort. But there will be more soon it’s the first disc in a planned trilogy. The top R&B album on our Best of 2009 chart, BLACKsummers’night is Maxwell’s first release in eight years. The Massachusetts metalcore band returned in ‘09 with perhaps their best album since their career-defining 2001 effort Jane Doe. The mainstream country star’s third album managed to match the stellar Metascore of its predecessor, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. One of a number of acclaimed 2009 albums (see also: Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear, et al) that veer toward the experimental end of indie rock, Bitte Orca may be the most genre-bending and strange of them all. The Steve Albini-produced Journal is intended by the radical Welsh band as a sequel to their third and best album, 1994’s The Holy Bible. One of several solo projects for Washington state artist Phil Elverum, Mount Eerie echoes at times the same mysterious Northwestern vibe heard on the Twin Peaks soundtrack on this, its best-reviewed release to date. The first full-length from the Brooklyn five-piece as a full band (rather than as a Peter Silberman solo project) is this highly personal concept album about losing a loved one to cancer.įresh from opening for Radiohead, Grizzly Bear returned to the studio and emerged with their best-received (and probably their most accessible) album to date, although it didn’t quite achieve the heights of the similarly collage-y Animal Collective release. This married African couple reached a worldwide audience with their 2005 breakthrough Dimanche À Bamako, and their follow-up has proved to be equally well-received by critics. And loud.īoth critically acclaimed and designed for maximum commercial appeal, Night is also our highest-ranked country album of 2009. The veteran drone metal duo Sunn O))) returned in 2009 with an avant garde 4-song album both intricate and epic.

The Wu-Tang member’s long-delayed sequel to 1995’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx finally emerged in 2009, but it was worth the wait: it’s the best-reviewed rap album of the year.Ī somewhat obscure hard rock band out of Georgia, Baroness impressed enough critics with this sophomore release to place third on our list. While the Collective may still be a little too 'out there' to seep into the collective consciousness, their amalgam of indie rock, twisted folk, and Beach Boys harmonies reached its finest expression yet in Merriweather Post Pavilion, an album that earned a 90 or higher from 19 of the 36 critics from whom we have a review. Here's a FLAC Collection of the top 20 Metacritic Best Reviewed Albums of 2009.Īlthough it's a bit late now, I still hope you can enjoy it.

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