My Top 15 Favorite Albums of 2009!

Well, folks, I have some bad news: my podcast appears to have died a sudden and tragic death, in the form of my Sony Sound Forge Audio Studio software not wanting to save my recordings anymore. Maybe it's for the better -- for some weird reason, I had started growing apprehensive before doing podcasts recently (one reason that you hadn't been seeing them every month or two for most of the last year); even though I had really been enjoying doing them before then, they had inexplicably turned from a "labor of love" to just plain "laborious". I don't know ... maybe I'll investigate trying to fix the software at some point in the future (usually re-installing it fixes most problems), but I'm just not interested in going through that crap right now. So for this year, at the risk of overloading you with countdowns and lists, I hope a written version of my Favorite Albums of 2009 will do ... and I'll even throw in an extra five for your trouble.

#15 ~ ADAM LAMBERT ~ "For Your Entertainment" (RCA)
Perhaps the ballsiest "American Idol" finalist in the history of the competition, he didn't disappoint with this entertaining album of electro-rock ear-candy ... I just wish I could be as complimentary about the cover art.

#14 ~ WES CARR ~ "The Way The World Looks" (Sony/Australia)
The latest winner of the Aussie "Idol" competition has put out one of the most intriguing and eclectic albums I've ever heard from an "Idol" alum. This totally delightful rock-pop debut is all the evidence one needs to see why he won the competition.

#13 ~ NEWTON FAULKNER ~ "Rebuilt By Humans" (RCA/UK)
The sophomore album by the acoustic folk-rocker is just as good as his first, with enchanting and entertaining songs like "Badman", "Over And Out" and "If This Is It". But will it see a U.S. release, like his debut? It sure deserves one.

#12 ~ BLAKE LEWIS ~ "Heartbreak On Vinyl" (Tommy Boy)
Here's the upside of losing an "Idol" show: you're usually released sooner from your major-label contract, as well as from the artistic restrictions that come with it. The result in Mr. Lewis' case: a delicious pop-tronica album like this!

#11 ~ MIKA ~ "The Boy Who Knew Too Much" (Universal Republic)
No sophomore slump here ... the UK popster's second album is just as chock-full of the technicolor pop goodness that poured forth from his promising debut, but with just a little bit of growth. Can't wait for album number three!

#10 ~ BILLY CRAWFORD ~ "Groove" (Universal/Phillippines)

The fifth album from the Filipino-American R&B singer is a set of delightful renditions of '70s and '80s pop, soul, and R&B tunes, including two Michael Jackson songs. By unfortunate coincidence, this album was released just a couple of weeks before MJ's death in June, but the two songs became what I thought was a fitting tribute to the King of Pop. The whole album is a fun listen for me, as I got to re-discover songs from my music-listening childhood that I had nearly forgotten about. Listen to: "Human Nature"

#9 ~ JONAS BROTHERS ~ "Lines, Vines & Trying Times" (Hollywood)
I didn't have very high expectations for this album, since I'd grown bored with their last two and traded them in. But soon after the first blast of horns in the opening track, I realized that this was an artistic leap forward for the boys, and I'm still enjoying it to this day. If there's any doubt that the Jo Bros, or at the very least Nick Jonas, have a long future in music ahead of them, this album should firmly cast such doubt away. I hope they carry this songwriting maturation forward, and that their audience follows them. Listen to: "Don't Speak"

#8 ~ JAMIE CULLUM ~ "The Pursuit" (Decca/UK)
I'd been waiting for this guy's next album for four years. There's something about the uniqueness of his voice that I totally love, and he's got a style all his own that similar artists like Michael Bublé simply can't touch. This, his third album, is just as wonderful a blend of classic standards ("Just One of Those Things", "Not While I'm Around") and piping-hot originals ("Mixtape", "You And Me Are Gone") as his previous ... oh, and his cover of Rihanna's "Don't Stop The Music" cannot be missed! Listen to: "I'm All Over It"

#7 ~ BETTER THAN EZRA ~ "Paper Empire" (Better Than Ezra)
This is another artist whose latest album I'd been anticipating for a few years, and again, an artist with an ear-grabbing voice which, in this case, brings back fond memories of picking up their debut album some 15 years ago and listening to it for hours on end. These guys have had their ups and downs over the years, as far as the quality of their albums goes, but this is definitely one of the ups ... and it makes me proud to have been a casual follower of theirs for all these years. Listen to: "Hell No!"

#6 ~ THE SCRIPT ~ "The Script" (RCA)
As I've mentioned before, I might never have checked these guys out if it hadn't been for the intriguing fact that they rose out of the ashes of a (really sucky) boyband from the beginning of the decade ... but then it turns out I probably wouldn't have been able to avoid the cyber-buzz about them anyway. I'm glad I gave these guys a chance, 'cause they sure do the rock thing infinitely better than they did boyband pop. I'll be quite interested to check out their second album! Listen to: "Fall For Anything"

#5 ~ BASIA ~ "It's That Girl Again" (Koch)
Of all the artists on this list, Basia is the one of whom I've been a fan for the longest. It's too bad we had to wait a decade and a half for her next studio album of Latin-inflected jazz-vocal pop, but it turns out it was well worth the wait. After all this time, she's still got the same magic in her voice that enchanted me when I first heard it twenty years ago. Just take a listen, and you'll be under her spell too. Listen to: "A Gift"


#4 ~ BEN LEE ~ "The Rebirth of Venus" (New West)
As I said in my 2007 countdown, this guy is all but guaranteed a slot in my top five every year that he puts out an album. I'm just a bit surprised he didn't rank higher this year than he does. This is his seventh album, and this time he's embraced his feminine side by dedicating it to the goddess of love and beauty, and to the fairer sex in general. I know Ben Lee may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I can't imagine what my music listening would be like if he weren't mine. Listen to: "Blue Denim"

#3 ~ TYRONE WELLS ~ "Remain" (Universal Republic)
This one seemed to come out of nowhere and win me over in a big way, 'cause I just didn't expect it to end up this high on my list this year. It's his second major-label album, and though he's the son of a preacher man and some of his songs have vaguely spiritual undertones, I don't seem to mind all that much (surprisingly, given my general dislike of spiritual music) ... mostly 'cause each and every one of the songs are just so darn good. Listen to: "Along The Way"


#2 ~ SAM & RUBY ~ "The Here And The Now" (Rykodisc)
Here's another album that sneaked up on me and ended up becoming far more of a favorite than I ever expected. (Don't you just love it when an album hits you from out-of-the-blue like that?) Sam & Ruby are a male-female duo that have mostly a folk vibe to their music, though it'd be foolish to pigeonhole them so quickly. It's all the more surprising that I love them so much, given my general ambivalence toward folk. I still just can't get over how wonderful their voices sound individually, let alone together. Listen to: "Won't Let You Go"

#1 ~ TINTED WINDOWS ~ "Tinted Windows" (S-Curve)
The beauty of this album is that it doesn't try to be anything more than what it is: a totally scrumptious slice of power-pop goodness. And considering the bands that the members of this supergroup come from -- Fountains of Wayne, Cheap Trick, Smashing Pumpkins and Hanson -- it's no wonder it's so much fun to listen to. It's probably a darn good thing that I didn't find out about this album months before its release, 'cause I would have been chomping at the bit for it all that time. I'm glad to hear that Hanson are working on a new album right now ... but I sure hope that this isn't all we hear from Tinted Windows! Listen to: "Messing With My Head"

Well, I hope you enjoyed my Favorite Albums of 2009 countdown, despite it being in written form instead of podcast. Maybe next year I'll have the technical difficulties figured out and it'll be back in podcast form. I hope you all have had a wonderful holiday season, and that you continue to enjoy my decade countdowns. Happy 2010!