As the year comes to a close, here at 99X we wanted to share our staff picks with you for the Top 9 Alternative Albums of 2009. We all have our own opinions of what bands mattered to us this year, and we invited some local musicians and tastemakers to take part too. We'd also like to hear from you and see who you thought had 2009's best. We all think we know our alternative rock, but we are all always eager to hear about other bands and your opinions.
Vote below for the album of the year, or leave your own Top 9 in our comments section.
You can download the list of major label alternative rock releases HERE as a guide.
Kinard 99X Program Director and Afternoons 3-7p Muse - The Resistance The Constellations - Southern Gothic 30 Seconds to Mars - This Is War Pearl Jam - Backspacer Paramore - Brand New Eyes Breaking Benjamin - Dear Agony Band Of Skulls - Baby Darling Dollface Honey Crash Kings - Crash Kings Silversun Pickups - Swoon Lewis Middays 10a-3p Clutch - Strange Cousins from the West Manchester Orchestra - Mean Everything to Nothing Cage the Elephant - Cage the Elephant Them Crooked Vultures - Them Crooked Vultures Jay-Z - The Blueprint 3 30 Seconds to Mars - This is war The Constellations - Southern Gothic SilverSun Pickups - Swoon Metric - Fantasies Shawn Nights 7p-Midnight Neko Case "Middle Cyclone" Band of Skulls "Baby Darling Doll Face Honey" Ida Maria "Fortress Round My Heart" Paolo Nutini "Sunny Side Up" M. Ward "Hold Time" Eilen Jewell "Sea Of Tears" Brandi Carlile "Give Up the Ghost" Joe Purdy "Last Clock On the Wall" Katie Herzig "Apple Tree" Pat O'Brien 99X Asst. Promotions Director and Website Content Manager Co-Host "The Pat and Dutch Experience" Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix Kasabian - The West Rider Pauper Lunatic Asylum Muse – The Resistance Cage The Elephant – Cage The Elephant Doves – Kingdom Of Rust The Heavy – The House That Dirt Built Hockey – Mind Chaos Metric – Fantasies Them Crooked Vultures – Them Crooked Vultures Dutch 99X Promotions Director Co-Host "The Pat and Dutch Experience" Them Crooked Vultures – Them Crooked Vultures Crash Kings – Crash Kings Metric – Fantasies Silversun Pickups – Swoon Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix Muse - The Resistance The Constellations - Southern Gothic Mutemath – Armistice Cage The Elephant – Cage The Elephant Rob Roberts 99X Operations Manager Muse-Resistance Weezer-Ratitude Switchfoot-Hello Hurricane Wilco-Wilco Metric-Fantasies Pearl Jam-Backspacer Phoenix-Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix Owl City-Ocean Eyes Cage The Elephant-Cage The Elephant Green Day-21st Century Breakdown (honorable mention?) Russ Berg 99X Roadie Mew- "No More Stories Are Told Today, I'm Sorry They Washed Away" Chimaira- "The Infection" Chris Cornell- "Scream" Muse- "Resistance" Kasabian- "West Rider Pauper Lunatic Asylum" Mono- "Hymn To The Immortal Wind" Buckethead- "Slaughterhouse On The Prairie" Them Crooked Vultures- "Them Crooked Vultures" Owl City- "Ocean Eyes" Sam Schreiber 99X Intern Mutemath – Armistice Cage The Elephant – Cage The Elephant Miike Snow – Miike Snow Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix Muse – The Resistance The Flaming Lips– Embryonic Jet – Shaka Rock Metric – Fantasies Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It's Blitz Chris Siciliano Capitol Records Sick Puppies -Tripolar Bat for Lashes - two suns Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career Gomez - New Tide Great Northern - Remind Me Where the Light is Iron and Wine - Around the Well Muse - Resistance Tinted Windows - Tinted Windows Mountain Goats - Life of the World to Come Brandon Mize Rival Entertainment (Center Stage/The Loft) Cage the Elephant- Cage the Elephant Gomez - A New Tide Ben Harper & Relentless 7 - White Lies For Dark Times K’naan - Troubadour Mike Doughty - Sad Man Happy Man Muse - The Resistance Them Crooked Vultures - Them Crooked Vultures Barcelona - Absolutes Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix Tim Sweetwood The Masquerade Them Crooked Vultures – Them Crooked Vultures The Dead Weather – Horehound The Big Pink – A Brief History of Love Miike Snow – Miike Snow The Thermals – Now We Can See Monsters of Folk – Monsters of Folk Matt & Kim – Grand White Rabbits – It’s Frightening Pearl Jam – Back Spacer Brad Broadrick Rock Solid Entertainment Passion Pit – Manners Band of Skulls – Baby Darling Doll Face Honey Akron/Family – Set ‘em Wild, Set ‘em Free Wilco – Wilco (The Album) Decemberists – The Hazards of Love The XX – XX Crash Kings – Crash Kings Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix Andrew Bird – Noble Beast Kim Burdges Mixtape Atlanta Fun - Aim and Ignite Passion Pit - Manners Mute Math - Armistice Band of Skulls - Baby Darling Doll Face Honey Matt and Kim - Grand U2 - No Line on the Horizon Metric - Fantasies The Killers - Live from Albert Hall Empire of the Sun - Walking on a Dream Read More »
Kinard
99X Program Director and Afternoons 3-7p
Muse - The Resistance The Constellations - Southern Gothic 30 Seconds to Mars - This Is War Pearl Jam - Backspacer Paramore - Brand New Eyes Breaking Benjamin - Dear Agony Band Of Skulls - Baby Darling Dollface Honey Crash Kings - Crash Kings Silversun Pickups - Swoon
Lewis
Middays 10a-3p
Clutch - Strange Cousins from the West Manchester Orchestra - Mean Everything to Nothing Cage the Elephant - Cage the Elephant Them Crooked Vultures - Them Crooked Vultures Jay-Z - The Blueprint 3 30 Seconds to Mars - This is war The Constellations - Southern Gothic SilverSun Pickups - Swoon Metric - Fantasies
Shawn
Nights 7p-Midnight
Neko Case "Middle Cyclone" Band of Skulls "Baby Darling Doll Face Honey" Ida Maria "Fortress Round My Heart" Paolo Nutini "Sunny Side Up" M. Ward "Hold Time" Eilen Jewell "Sea Of Tears" Brandi Carlile "Give Up the Ghost" Joe Purdy "Last Clock On the Wall" Katie Herzig "Apple Tree"
Pat O'Brien 99X Asst. Promotions Director and Website Content Manager Co-Host "The Pat and Dutch Experience"
Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Kasabian - The West Rider Pauper Lunatic Asylum
Muse – The Resistance
Cage The Elephant – Cage The Elephant Doves – Kingdom Of Rust The Heavy – The House That Dirt Built Hockey – Mind Chaos Metric – Fantasies Them Crooked Vultures – Them Crooked Vultures
Dutch
99X Promotions Director Co-Host "The Pat and Dutch Experience" Them Crooked Vultures – Them Crooked Vultures Crash Kings – Crash Kings Metric – Fantasies Silversun Pickups – Swoon Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix Muse - The Resistance The Constellations - Southern Gothic Mutemath – Armistice Cage The Elephant – Cage The Elephant
Rob Roberts
99X Operations Manager
Muse-Resistance Weezer-Ratitude Switchfoot-Hello Hurricane Wilco-Wilco Metric-Fantasies Pearl Jam-Backspacer Phoenix-Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix Owl City-Ocean Eyes Cage The Elephant-Cage The Elephant Green Day-21st Century Breakdown (honorable mention?)
Russ Berg
99X Roadie
Mew- "No More Stories Are Told Today, I'm Sorry They Washed Away" Chimaira- "The Infection" Chris Cornell- "Scream" Muse- "Resistance" Kasabian- "West Rider Pauper Lunatic Asylum" Mono- "Hymn To The Immortal Wind" Buckethead- "Slaughterhouse On The Prairie" Them Crooked Vultures- "Them Crooked Vultures" Owl City- "Ocean Eyes"
Sam Schreiber 99X Intern
Mutemath – Armistice Cage The Elephant – Cage The Elephant Miike Snow – Miike Snow Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix Muse – The Resistance The Flaming Lips– Embryonic Jet – Shaka Rock Metric – Fantasies Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It's Blitz
Chris Siciliano Capitol Records
Sick Puppies -Tripolar Bat for Lashes - two suns Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career Gomez - New Tide Great Northern - Remind Me Where the Light is Iron and Wine - Around the Well Muse - Resistance Tinted Windows - Tinted Windows Mountain Goats - Life of the World to Come
Brandon Mize Rival Entertainment (Center Stage/The Loft)
Cage the Elephant- Cage the Elephant Gomez - A New Tide Ben Harper & Relentless 7 - White Lies For Dark Times K’naan - Troubadour Mike Doughty - Sad Man Happy Man Muse - The Resistance Them Crooked Vultures - Them Crooked Vultures Barcelona - Absolutes Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Tim Sweetwood
The Masquerade
Them Crooked Vultures – Them Crooked Vultures The Dead Weather – Horehound The Big Pink – A Brief History of Love Miike Snow – Miike Snow The Thermals – Now We Can See Monsters of Folk – Monsters of Folk Matt & Kim – Grand White Rabbits – It’s Frightening Pearl Jam – Back Spacer
Brad Broadrick
Rock Solid Entertainment
Passion Pit – Manners Band of Skulls – Baby Darling Doll Face Honey Akron/Family – Set ‘em Wild, Set ‘em Free Wilco – Wilco (The Album) Decemberists – The Hazards of Love The XX – XX Crash Kings – Crash Kings Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix Andrew Bird – Noble Beast
Kim Burdges
Mixtape Atlanta
Fun - Aim and Ignite Passion Pit - Manners Mute Math - Armistice Band of Skulls - Baby Darling Doll Face Honey Matt and Kim - Grand U2 - No Line on the Horizon Metric - Fantasies The Killers - Live from Albert Hall Empire of the Sun - Walking on a Dream
Read More »