Is it really the end? It seems like I blinked and this year was gone. Having a new baby in the house will do that I suppose. It seems these Top Ten lists get closer together every year. *sigh*. Sad old man disease is creeping in. Save your pity. I can still put a ten together with the best of them. On with the show…

Here’s ten of what I consider my favorites of 2009.

10) White Rabbits – “It’s Frightening”

I expected to see this on more best of lists, not sure if I’m not looking in the right places or what, but just not seeing the love for this. Until now. This has to be one of the consesus Row Three picks for one of the favorites of the year. It’s impossible to not like “Percussion Gun” and the album reveals itself to be no one hit wonder. From the arty atmospheria of “Lionesse”, to the Spoon-ish pop of “The Salesman(The Tramp Life)”, this band proves they have the ability to fill an album with no filler.

9) Dashboard Confessional – “Alter The Ending”

I fully expect to be attacked for putting this on my year end list. I’ll have to deal with it. This record made me feel like I was eighteen again and my biggest worries were parties, summer road trips to the beach, and that melancholy of lost love. I’ve always been a closet Dashboard Confessional fan and this is my coming out party. A terrifically fun album from front to back.

8 ) Hatebreed – “Hatebreed”

Caught this late in the year after watching “That Metal Show” on VH1 Classic (a must see for metal fans by the way, wish they’d concentrate a bit on more new metal like this, but it’s still a hell of a lot of fun to see Peter Criss of Kiss or Stephen Pearcy of Ratt or Geoff Tate of Queensryche, etc.. and seeing where they are now. Good fun.) Anyway, this isn’t for everybody, but it is a somewhat accessible modern metal effort that I like more on each listen. Aggressive, take no prisoners, beat you over the head metal like it should be.

7) Cymbals Eat Guitars – “Why There Are Mountains”

I tried many ways to write about this, but this thing is all over the map. I hear punk melding in to Americana exploding in to psychedelic freak outs. It’s really one of the hardest things to categorize I found this year. A fabulous debut.

6) Neko Case – “Middle Cyclone”

A few months back I posted a short behind the scenes snippet of the making of this record. At the time, the few sounds that were being presented made me think that this album was going to be a top ten entry. Ms. Case didn’t do much to disappoint. She hasn’t made her masterpiece yet and this album is probably a couple songs too long (“Never turn your back on mother earth”, blechh) but minus a couple missteps, overall it’s nice effort musically and lyrically.

5) Animal Collective – “Merriweather Post Pavillion”

Not exactly an original choice, (I’ve seen it on most lists this year), but it’s brilliance just can’t be denied. From the saccharine sheen of “Summertime Clothes” to the acid-ey psychedelic of “My Girls”, there’s so much interesting stuff going on constantly it begs to be listened to again and again. An immensely taleneted group.

4) The Dead Weather – “Horehound”

What more can one say about Jack White. He’s already a legend in my opinion. From the Stripes to Raconteurs to Dead Weather he’s reinventing how interesting rock and roll can be. With this he takes raw blues and fuses it with Alison Mossharts sexy vocals and the results are goosebump inducing. This is probably my favorite of his various groups.

3) A.A. Bondy – “When The Devils Loose”

My favorite find of the year. I was able to catch him live the night before Thanksgiving and he was in great form. Great banter with the audience and he’s really able to create a nice mood within each song. This is a great record from front to back. From the opening “Mightiest of Guns” in to “A Slow Parade”, he sets a tone that he holds for the remainder of the effort.

2) Grizzly Bear – “Veckatimest”

The only thing keeping this amazing album from the top spot was Phoenix and really it’s pretty much a tossup. This takes what they did on “Yellow House” from a few years back and improves on it in every direction. A wonderfully crafted album in the classic tradition, there is not a weak spot on this one.

1) Phoenix – “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix”

Impossible to deny this record from it’s rightful place as my favorite of the year. This is the first time I’ve heard a bands song in a commercial and NOT had the song ruined for me. I want to turn that Cadillac commercial up every time it comes on because “1901″ is a tremendous song from a tremendous collection of just absolutely brilliant pop songs that form a true cohesive whole. I really hope to get a chance to see them live soon.