My Favorite Songs of 2009

The year 2009 was very fun for me musically, as I discovered a plethora of heretofore unknown artists whose works made a strong impression on me. Most of them started out with their recording careers during either the 1990s or the early 2000s. And they all belong to the genre of music commonly referred to as "independent (indie)/alternative".

I have, from time to time last year, referred to some of these artists and their songs. With a few exceptions, my favorite songs of 2009 are actually from earlier albums. Here is my list of favorites (artist and actual year of release in brackets):

1. Casimir Pulaski Day [Sufjan Stevens, 2005]
2. Calculation (Theme) [Metric, 2003]
3. Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head [Sufjan Stevens, 2003]
4. Jacksonville [Sufjan Stevens, 2005]
5. Fiery Crash [Andrew Bird, 2007]
6. Empty [Metric, 2005]
7. Chicago [Sufjan Stevens, 2005]
8. Pittsfield [Sufjan Stevens, 2006]
9. Merchants of Soul [Spoon, 2005]
10. A Sunday Smile [Beirut, 2006]
11. Flint [Sufjan Stevens, 2003]
12. Come On Feel the Illinoise [Sufjan Stevens, 2005]
13. Niagara Falls [Sufjan Stevens, 2002]
14. 15 Step [Radiohead, 2009]
15. Cause=Time [Broken Social Scene, 2002]
16. The Lightning Strike [Snow Patrol, 2008]
17. Cellphone's Dead [Beck, 2005]
18. The Fear [Lily Allen, 2009]
19. Bodysnatchers [Radiohead, 2009]
20. A-Punk [Vampire Weekend, 2008]

And there are many, many more great songs as well. From the above list, it would be a safe bet to presume that my "artist of the year" was Sufjan Stevens. Which then confuses me a bit.

When I go to Best Buy or Borders or Barnes & Nobles and look at their music CDs, Sufjan Stevens is there with most of his works well-stocked for sale. He is a big enough artist that they have special dividers with his name on them. He has critically highly-acclaimed albums and instantly sells out his concerts whenever they are announced. He has been interviewed on MTV and performed on Austin City Limits. In other words, he sells! So why then haven't I ever heard anything of his on broadcast radio? Especially in a college town like Gainesville, Florida, where you just might suppose that his music would be better received? Instead, I hear stale crap being repetitively played on stations like 103.7/WRUF and 100.5/WHHZ.

Well, no matter. I have been weaned from radio and have fully embraced the Internet as THE source for my favorite music. And it keeps coming and coming!