As everyone knows, Nashville is Music City. This name came about in a simpler time, when relatively few places were known for their musical output. Detroit had Motown, Memphis had the blues, New Orleans had jazz, but Nashville was simply where "music" came from. However, it has become painfully apparent that the days of Johnny Cash, Roy Acuff and Chet Atkins are gone. Nashville can't even claim its hipper transplants, like Jack White and David Berman (Silver Jews), as its own. However, Nashville has become something different, something new: Terrible Music City.

Exhibit A:



Exhibit B:


Exhibit C:


So yeah, if you're a young female singer with major ego baggage, could you find another city's good name to tarnish? Stay out of Birmingham too. The American Idol connections are hard enough to live down.

You have not lived until you have scoured your local Kroger grocery store looking for wasabi mayonnaise, which you've never been able to find in previous attempts, only to find it, buy it, then have it poorly bagged, causing it to inadvertently roll out of the bag on the counter at home, hit the floor, cracking the sealed lid, which splatters a green glob of nasal-tingling deliciousness across the floor, but mercifully does not crack the jar, allowing the remainder of the product, that cost $4 in the first place, to be salvaged for future use.

Upcoming nearby tour dates for the Best of 09 inclusions:

We Were Promised Jetpacks
2/18 Atlanta Masquerade
2/19 Nashville The End

The Big Pink
4/3 Atlanta Masquerade

Girls
2/4 Birmingham Bottletree
2/5 Atlanta The Earl
2/6 Nashville Exit In

Wilco
3/26 Atlanta Fox Theater

Lucero
2/5 Memphis Minglewood Hall
2/13 Lexington Buster's
2/27 Auburn The Strutting Duck
3/11 Chattanooga Rhythm N Brews
3/12 Nashville Mercy Lounge
3/13 Nashville Mercy Lounge

If you live somewhere else, check for more dates for these bands by clicking their name above. They'll surely be playing near you if they're playing near here. That goes for all of you in Seattle, Portland, Houston, New York, California, etc.

Just for the sake of it, how about some honorable mentions?

Neko Case - Middle Cyclone

If given more listens, it might have forced its way into the list. It's just really good, but it doesn't demand you listen to it.

The Dimes - The King Can Drink the Harbour Dry

The premise of historical indie rock might be hokey, but it sounds pretty good here. This one is all about Boston during the American Revolution. Its like the indie rock companion to the HBO miniseries John Adams...or something.

The Low Anthem - Oh My God, Charlie Darwin

Not bad, but just didn't quite take flight as hoped for. The louder songs just seem out of place. There's nothing wrong with making a full album of quiet songs.

Cymbals Eat Guitars - Why Are There Mountains?

That first song is great and then the rest of album sorta just happens and you're left thinking about that first song while the others come and go.

St. Vincent - Actor

If given a proper amount of listening, it would probably have easily made the list. That's not to say it won't be listened to in the future just as much as if it made the list. So yeah, go ahead and pretend it was on the list. If you need a number, consider it number 13.5.

Phosphorescent - To Willie

Maybe if there were a shortage of deserving albums of original material, an album of covers could make the cut, but such was not the case in 2009.

The Decemberists - Hazards of Love

Not a bad album, but not really significant given the band's prolific output previously. This album is one of those that is a victim of the band being so good to start with that almost anything will seem to fall short of expectations.

Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career

Very good, but painfully reminds the world that it needs The Delgados to reunite.

Andrew Bird - Noble Beast

It just didn't have that "something" that made Armchair Apocrypha so great. Short of covering Ke$ha, nothing Andrew Bird makes would be bad, though.

The Thermals - Now We Can See

Simply put, not as good as The Body, The Blood, The Machine, which, simply put, was not as good as F***in' A.

Frank Turner - Poetry of the Deed

A well-educated British guy singing folksy acoustic songs and doing so quite well.

David Bazan - Curse Your Branches

It was good, just not quite good enough. It probably deserves more listens, though. It was easy to get distracted by all the attention paid to the premise of the album and not the songs themselves. Maybe that's not fair.

Well, the list is out so now it's time for the second-guessing. It's time for each of you to say to yourself, "How could that idiot have forgotten about...?". As far as critically acclaimed indie rock, the most likely conclusion to that sentence might be one of the following:

Animal Collective - Ok, their 2 releases in 2009 were both great, but hardly life-altering or something that might make you redefine your taste. They definitely make interesting and creative music that is actually pretty fun to listen to, but from a personal perspective, it just doesn't make that strong of a connection. As an earlier post mentioned, "My Girls" is great and some other songs are very good. Honestly, though, it just didn't seem like Animal Collective needed to be on another list and if they had shown up around #17, it might have sparked more attention than just leaving them off all together.

Grizzly Bear - Again, a good album, but just not foolproof. Grizzly Bear just has such a unique sound that if it doesn't grab you, then it probably won't even really make an impact. That seems to be the reason they don't make the list. The album has a good sound, per se, but it just doesn't seem like something you'd want to listen to very often. Furthermore, Grizzly Bear just doesn't seem like it would be anyone's "favorite band". It may seem hypocritical since the Grizzly Bear side project Department of Eagles made the cut last year, but it just seemed better for all these reasons.

Dirty Projectors - Here's where things get interesting. Is it possible this album just wasn't very good? Sure, it's listenable, but even after multiple listens, not a single song sticks out. This might be the most overrated album of the year, which isn't the band's fault, so no ill will is intended toward them. Their music just isn't very remarkable, or at least not to every ear it comes in contact with.

Phoenix - This one was a challenge. This album is very easy to listen to and several songs linger after just one listen. A far cry from Dirty Projectors for sure. Anyway, it may be a victim of its own quality. If the idea is to write insanely catchy songs that make people feel good and make them hum/tap along, then this is easily album of the year. It just doesn't have any teeth and that makes it expendable.

The Flaming Lips - While they've never been bad at all, is it heresy to suggest that they might not be THAT great? Given the choice, The Soft Bulletin seems to be better than anything after it. They're obviously fun to see live and sometimes fun to listen to and even fun for reminiscing about listening to "She Don't Use Jelly" in 8th grade, but that seems to be about it.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - That "Heads Will Roll" song is really catchy, but so was The Macarena. Maybe if Karen O wasn't so annoying looking?

The Dead Weather - Jack White's third best band. No matter how good it is, if one of the members is already in two better bands, it just ain't happening.

As for mainstream albums, nobody really needs to be reminded that some bands put out strong albums this year. Even if the albums were among the 20 best of the year, it just doesn't flow right to list a great album by Dave Matthews Band or Pearl Jam with stuff like The Silent Years or Fanfarlo. A difficult decision was made on Muse's The Resistance. While they are not mainstream like DMB or PJ, they have made the crossover to the world of being bumper music for ESPN and other such outlets. You don't need to hear "Uprising" in this arena, even though it would sound great in an arena (Atlanta, 2/27; Nashville, 3/15). Muse is one of those bands that needs to be listened to for what they are, not for what list they appear on.

The final group of notable exclusions are albums by metal bands. Again, much like previously discussed, its hard to rank a Converge album alongside an Orenda Fink album. Let the record show that bands like Converge, along with Baroness, Mastodon and Isis made really great albums that could easily be among the 20 best of the year. However, the idea was to have a 20 song CD with 20 songs that people would actually want to listen to. Maybe there should be a companion disc that has only metal on it. If you're interested, make your interest known. Deal?

Alright, there have already been 13 days to pass in 2010 and still no "Best of 2009" here. Ok, that's changing right now. There'll be a little different approach this year: an actual comparative ranking. Usually it's just too hard to rank one great album to another since different seasons bring different sounds and different genres, but everyone seems to like it that way, so here goes:

20. Orenda Fink - Ask The Night

Ok, so having a song about her home state simply titled "Alabama" made her a lock for this list. There are other good songs on the album, though, including "High Ground", which features Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse. This is an improvement on her previous solo effort, but it would still be nice to see a new Azure Ray album at some point. With Maria Taylor, Azure Ray is greater than the sum of its parts.

19. Lightning Dust - Infinite Light

Another female lead vocalist. Thankfully its not Ke$ha. No, it's the girl from Black Mountain (Amber Webber is her name). She has a very unique voice that makes itself known pretty much anywhere (see #16). This is very sedate music that requires the right time and place for greatest enjoyment, so take heed.

18. Built to Spill - There Is No Enemy

Ok, so this is not on par with Perfect From Now On, Ancient Melodies of the Future or Keep It Like A Secret, but that is hardly an insult. When you put on a new BTS album, you're automatically listening for something like those three albums, but it just can't happen. Once you listen a few times, you realize this is a really good album because the creativity is there, the variety is there and of course the guitars are there. If it weren't Built to Spill, there would have never been a problem in the first place.

17. Pink Mountaintops - Outside Love

Ok, this is only the fifth album on the list and already the second Black Mountain side project. That's not to say that Black Mountain is the best band on Earth, but they're pretty good, particularly on last year's In The Future. Anyway, Pink Mountaintops does that hazy psychadelic thing and does it well. It's the kind of stuff that sounds like it might not be that hard to write yourself, but if that were true, more people would be doing it.

16. Old Canes - Feral Harmonic

This seems to be the year of the side project. This one comes from the once-mothballed side project of The Appleseed Cast's Chris Crisci. TAC also released an album this year, Sagarmatha, but this simply sounded better. It does, however, sound almost identical to the first Old Canes album, 2004's Early Morning Hymns. At least its good.

15. White Rabbits - It's Frightening

Alright, a non-side project. This album was produced by Britt Daniel of Spoon and, appropriately, it sounds not unlike a Spoon album. It definitely falls short of their debut, which happened to be one of the best albums of the decade. There are some good songs on here, but it just doesn't have that extra "it" of Fort Nightly. So long as these guys stick around a while, they'll continue making good albums.

14. Lucero - 1372 Overton Park

The dreaded major label debut. But wait, it's good. Yes, there are horns and yes it sounds more polished, but it works here. Ben Nichols still sings about what a slacker he is and how much whiskey he drinks, so its not like any long-time Lucero fan will be lost. Lucero might never be what they were again, but its not like they're going on tour with Ke$ha or anything.

13. Elvis Perkins - In Dearland

This album kinda falls into the same category that White Rabbits' did. It's a really good sophomore effort, but it remains somewhat hidden in the very long shadow if its unbelievably good predecessor. As compared to Ash Wednesday, this album has more variety, more pop, but less emotion and resonance. That'll happen.

12. M. Ward - Hold Time

If you ever needed a reason why She & Him should be just Him, this is it. Matt Ward is a great songwriter, but his songs sound best when he is singing them, not playing second fiddle to a B-lister that appears to only be an actress because she brings mediocre singing skills to the table and a singer only because she brings mediocre acting skills to the same table. Maybe that's harsh, but this isn't about her anyway. At the very least it should be He & Her.

11. Manchester Orchestra - Mean Everything to Nothing

This album was maybe the biggest surprise of the year. There was absolutely no reason to think that Manchester Orchestra would come back with a strong album, but they're really young and really talented, so maybe it shouldn't be a surprise. Hearing some of these songs for the first time last summer at Sloss Furnace, you would have definitely pictured the new album being much darker and harder to get into, but it ended up being only just as dark as I'm Like A Virgin Losing A Child and very easy to get into. Overall, it rocks very heavy, but Black Sabbath-esque riffs will tend to do that. Some of the songs seem expressly radio-friendly, but who listens to the radio anyway?

10. Wilco - Wilco (The Album)

Wilco gathered a fair amount of mainstream exposure this year, which is of course deserved, and went the somewhat hokey route of putting out a song called "Wilco (The Song)" on an album called Wilco (The Album). In spite of such distractions, this album is quite good. Granted, its not quite the revelation of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot or even A Ghost Is Born, but it more than adequately legitimatizes itself with songs like "I Will Fight", "One Wing" and "You and I".

9. Girls - Album

This was somewhat of a late entrant that quickly found a spot among the best. This album effectively balances grittiness with melody, which can sometimes be tricky. It must be all the drugs that were apparently taken during recording. The guy behind Girls, Christopher Owens, has a pretty interesting life story, but you can look into that yourself if you wish. The opening track is called "Lust for Life", but its not an Iggy Pop cover. That might not have been so bad, though.

8. The Silent Years - Let Go E.P.

So it's just an EP and it shares the name of a Nada Surf album, so it doesn't take long to warm up to this record. It's probably the best thing to come out of Detroit in 2009 in all arenas, not just music, so that's got to count for something. There seems to be a nice little seam of midwestern indie rock coming out these days, including these guys, Envy Corps (Iowa) and The Uglysuit (Oklahoma). Hopefully there'll be more than 6 songs on future releases.

7. The Big Pink - A Brief History of Love

There isn't an immediate description of this band that comes to mind. They're British. They have a huge sound. They incorporate dance beats into some songs. They exude confidence in their music. Despite all of this, they somehow don't really sound like Muse. They did open for Muse in the UK, though.

6. The Kingsbury Manx - Ascenseur Ouvert!

This is the first of those albums which at some point was the clubhouse leader for "Album of the Year". It just sounds good. There's enough of a Wilco thing going on to suit that interest, but with more folk. While it did slip down to #6, that certainly isn't a slight. This album still has that start-to-finish listenability quality, which might cause it to possess more lasting power than the higher ranked albums.

5. The Avett Brothers - I and Love and You

Another album of the year place holder that faded a little bit. Paste Magazine didn't think it faded, though, as it was their clear-cut AotY. There isn't a bad song on this record and Rick Rubin's production makes the Avett Brothers sound like a full-scale professional band for maybe the first time in their career. Unfortunately some of the intensity that marks much of the Avetts' earlier stuff is lost in the crispness. The raucous foot-stomping is largely replaced with ballads, but the album does finish with 2 legitimate rocking songs to leave you on the upswing. All of this and not a single song title that starts with "Girl from...".

4. Fanfarlo - Reservoir

Yes, it sounds like Arcade Fire sometimes. Now that that is out of the way, it cannot go unnoticed how great this album is. Besides, even if you do end up sounding like someone else, isn't it better to sound like Arcade Fire than Ke$ha, for instance? It's not like it's a blatant ripoff or anything. Mixing somewhat operatic male vocals with female harmonies and indie rock flourishes will tend to make parallels easy to spot.

3. Dinosaur Jr. - Farm

It's really nice to laud a band for their release in 2009 without mentioning how, as good as the new album is, it just can't compare to previous efforts. Dinosaur Jr. are old dudes and definitely to the point in their careers where you don't even really expect great albums anymore. They've already broken up for several years and slowly reconvened to make some of the best music of their career over past few years. This is beyond Beyond, though, and seemed like the de facto choice for album of the year a few months ago. J Mascis' moaning vocals and guitars are clearly the focal point, which is what could lead to many more age-defying great albums.

2. We Were Promised Jetpacks - These Four Walls

If this list were being made a week or two later, this might be number one. It has kinda come out of nowhere to make the list and would probably surprise most to see it this high. Thing is, it's just that good. It rocks very hard and very Scottish, neither or which is a bad thing. It almost seems like the Scottish equivalent of a band like Small Brown Bike. So yeah, Glasgow meets Gainesville.

1. Sunset Rubdown - Dragonslayer

It's only appropriate that this list end with what is technically a side project (of Wolf Parade). Its easy to see, though, why people think SR should be Spencer Krug's main gig. There is just so much creative randomness throughout this album that you don't really notice that it's only got eight songs. Each song is like a mini-album in itself, so you certainly don't end up feeling slighted. This album might simply be too odd for mass consumption, but if it clicks, it will click very much.