What a difference a year makes. In 2009 I quit a cushy, high-paying job, sold my car, moved to a new city, was struck by a car on my bike which left me wheelchair-ridden for nearly a month, collected a massive amount of debt, and most importantly, slid into a news editor position here at Punknews.org. It's really been the best and worst year of my life, but I don't know where else I would be without this website and the opportunities it's given me, as well as the sense of community it has fostered over the past decade. Writing and editing news articles for Punknews.org has been really fun and extremely rewarding so far, and everyone on our staff has been extremely helpful to the 'new guy,' and most of the commenters have been okay, too. Thanks, buddies.
On another bittersweet personal note, my webzine/podcast What We Hate effectively ended in 2009, making way for my latest project, Overheated, which is slated to launch on January 4. It's going to be more Florida-slanted than my previous work, and I hope you'll check it out, even if you're not a resident of The Sunshine State.
As you'll read, 2009 was an awesome year for music. Put it this way: When I wrote my first draft of a list, it had sixty-five full-lengths on it. That's more than one release per week that I found to be at least decent. Cutting said list down to twenty was extremely difficult, and there isn't much of a gap from 1-20 here. Nevertheless, the mathletes on staff insisted that they be ranked, so here we go.
The Best 20 Records of 2009 (so says I)
20
   ÂHellmouth: Destroy Everything. Worship Nothing.
   ÂJanuary 6 on Ferret
   Â19
   ÂRed Collar: Pilgrim
   ÂMarch; self-released
   Â18
   ÂBroadway Calls: Good Views, Bad News
   ÂAugust 18 on Side One Dummy
   Â17
   ÂRiverboat Gamblers: Underneath the Owl
   ÂMarch 10 on Volcom
   Â16
   ÂAustin Lucas: Somebody Loves You
   ÂMarch 10 on Suburban Home
   Â15
   ÂBanner Pilot: Collapser
   ÂSeptember 1 on Fat Wreck Chords
   Â14
   ÂCastevet: Summer Fences
   ÂJune 9 on Count Your Lucky Stars
   Â13
   ÂShook Ones: The Unquotable A.M.H.
   ÂJune 15 on Paper + Plastick
   Â12
   ÂCity of Ships: Look What God Did to Us
   ÂJuly 21 on Translation Loss / Sound Study Recordings
   Â11
   ÂDear Landlord: Dream Homes
   ÂJune 30 on No Idea
   Â10
   ÂCheap Girls: My Roaring 20s
   ÂOctober 6 on Paper + Plastick
   Â9
   ÂGuiltmaker: Dilemmas
   ÂJune 24 on Kiss of Death
   Â8
   ÂCobra Skulls: American Rubicon
   ÂJuly 14 on Red Scare
   Â7
   ÂFrank Turner: Poetry of the Deed
   ÂSeptember 7 on Epitaph
   Â6
   ÂFake Problems: It's Great to Be Alive
   ÂFebruary 17 on Side One Dummy
   Â5
   ÂMy Heart to Joy: Seasons in Verse
   ÂJune 30 on Topshelf / Asbestos
   Â4
   ÂThrice: Beggars
   ÂOctober 13 on Vagrant
   Â3
   ÂBomb the Music Industry!: Scrambles
   ÂFebruary 15 on Quote Unquote / Asian Man
   Â2
   ÂThe Sidekicks: Weight of Air
   ÂSeptember 15 on Red Scare
   Â1
   ÂThe Swellers: Ups and Downsizing
   ÂSeptember 29 on Fueled by Ramen
   ÂHonorable Mentions
There were so many good records released in 2009 that could've easily cracked the top 20 in any other year. Here's just a sampling:Heartsounds - Until We Surrender; Polar Bear Club - Chasing Hamburg; Dead to Me - African Elephants; Person L - The Positives; Teenage Cool Kids - Foreign Lands; Andrew Jackson Jihad - Can't Maintain; American War - Rhetoric; Teenage Bottlerocket - They Came from the Shadows; Used Kids - Yeah No; The Thermals - Now We Can See; Tegan and Sara - Sainthood; The Takers - Taker Easy; Strike Anywhere - Iron Front; Soul Control - Cycles; Shark Speed - Sea Sick Music; Set Your Goals - This Will Be the Death of Us; Russian Circles - Geneva; Red Fang - S/T; Paramore - brand new eyes; Orphan Choir - S/T; The Only Sons - Steel Hearts; O Pioneers!!! - Neon Creeps; Nothington - Roads, Bridges and Ruins; North Lincoln - Midwestern Blood; Noise by Numbers - Yeah, Whatever...; No Friends - No Friends; Nakatomi Plaza - Ghosts; Lucero - 1372 Overton Park; Low Red Land - Dog's Hymns; Jon Snodgrass - Visitor's Band; Green Day - 21st Century Breakdown; The Golden Age - Unlock Yourself; Doomriders - Darkness Come Alive; Converge - Axe to Fall; Dave House - Intersections; Cursive - Mama, I'm Swollen; Mariachi el Bronx - Mariachi el Bronx; Brand New - Daisy; Attica! Attica! - Napalm & Nitrogen; Annabel - Each and Everyone; American Steel - Dear Friends & Gentle Hearts; Alexisonfire - Old Crows/Young Cardinals.
EPs/7"s/Demos
10
   ÂLemuria: Ozzy
   ÂHex
   Â9
   ÂSakes Alive!!: Act II 7"
   ÂCavity
   Â8
   ÂTransit: Stay Home
   ÂRun for Cover
   Â7
   ÂThe Menzingers: Hold on, Dodge 7"
   ÂRed Scare
   Â6
   ÂRed City Radio: To the Sons & Daughters of Woody Guthrie
   ÂThe Independent Record Company
   Â5
   ÂA Wilhelm Scream: A Wilhelm Scream 12"
   ÂPaper + Plastick
   Â4
   ÂThe Lawrence Arms: Buttsweat and Tears 7"
   ÂFat Wreck
   Â3
   ÂDefeater: Lost Ground
   ÂBridge Nine
   Â2
   ÂFarewell Continental: Farewell Continental
   ÂPaper + Plastick
   Â1
   ÂTigers Jaw: Spirit Desire 7"
   ÂTiny Engines
   ÂHonorable Mentions
The Wild - The Wild; Cave In - Planets of Old; Iron Chic - Shitty Rambo; Lipona - Pigeonholed; Make Do and Mend - Bodies of Water; How Dare You / The Knockdown - split 7"; Young Hearts - Nowhere Kids; We Are the Union - The Gun Show Must Go On; Such Gold - Stand Tall; Small Brown Bike - Composite, Volume One; Kudrow - Lando; Psyched to Die - Sterile Walls; Only Thieves - Greetings from Levy Park, T.L.H.; Balance and Composure - Only BoundariesMy 2009 mixtape
-
SIDE A
- Tigers Jaw - Spirit Desire Â
- The Lawrence Arms - The Slowest Drink at the Saddest Bar on the Snowiest Day in the Greatest City Â
- Paramore - Ignorance Â
- Castevet - Space Jam: The Return Â
- The Swellers - Fire Away Â
- Lemuria - Ozzy Â
- Frank Turner - The Road Â
- Bomb the Music Industry! - Sort of Like Being Pumped Â
- Banner Pilot - Starting at the Ending Â
- Sakes Alive!! - The Open Maw Â
- Broadway Calls - The Wake Up Call Â
- Austin Lucas - Somebody Loves You Â
- Defeater - The Red, White and Blues Â
- My Heart to Joy - Seasons in Verse
- Farewell Continental - Do You Wanna Tangle?
-
SIDE B
- Guiltmaker - Convocation
- Red City Radio - We Are the Sons of Woody Guthrie
- Transit - Stay Home
- The Sidekicks - Small
- Thrice - Doublespeak
- Dear Landlord - Last Time I Checked
- Red Collar - Hands Up
- City of Ships - Wraiths in Flight
- Fake Problems - Heart BPM
- Riverboat Gamblers - Catastrophe
- Hellmouth - Crooked Teeth
- Cobra Skulls - There's a Skeleton in My Military Industrial Closet
- A Wilhelm Scream - Skid Rock
- Cheap Girls - Ft. Lauderdale
- The Menzingers - Sunday Morning
Records that will be out in 2010 that are verifiably awesome
Gatorface - Wasted Monuments; Native - Wrestling Moves; Pianos Become the Teeth - Old PrideMost anticipated in 2010
2010 looks to be a fantastic year on paper, with new material expected from Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Against Me!, Motion City Soundtrack, Bayside, Alkaline Trio, Bad Religion, Tim Barry, Crime in Stereo, Castevet, Dillinger Escape Plan, the Menzingers, Murder by Death, Look Mexico, Chris Wollard and the Ship Thieves, forgetters, Swingin' Utters, the Riot Before, Hostage Calm, the Thermals, Spanish Gamble and probably several others.Thanks for reading.