Top Ten:
Super Furry Animals – Dark Days/Light Years
The Phantom Band –  Checkmate Savage
The Big Pink – A Brief History Of Love
The Drones – Havilah
Jarvis Cocker – Further Complications
Arctic Monkeys – Humbug
The XX – XX
Tinariwen – Imidiwan
Leader Cheetah – The Sunspot Letters
Bat For Lashes – Two Suns

Bubbling Under:
Eddy Current Suppression Ring – Primary Colours
Blue Roses – Blue Roses
Karen O And The Kids – Where The Wild Things Are Soundtrack
Wilco – The Album

The Toppermost Of The Poppermost: Florence + The Machine – You’ve Got The Love (XX Remix)

The ‘Didn’t They Do Well’ Award For Old Folks In Rock: Manic Street Preachers – Journal For Plague Lovers

I Could Listen To This Song All Day: The Hazey Janes – Losing Speed

It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time: – Johnny Marr joins The Cribs

Check em all out, if you haven’t already. Here’s SFA..

** Except perhaps Australia. Where those 2008 albums originated. Ahem.

So I’m splitting my Best Of The Year review in two: the new music list will be out early in 2010, but here’s the vintage stuff I was happy to discover (and re-discover) in 2009.

I’ve already talked about The Jayhawks’ Music From The North Country anthology – unfortunately for my bank balance, there were many more re-issues of an equally good standard. Ah, well..

REM’s Reckoning -  25 years old this year, a serious contender for my top ten albums that influenced my musical taste (yep, I realise I have to complete that series of articles.. two to go), great to hear it again in pristine remastered glory.
The Feelies – Crazy Rhythms – skittery, geeky new wave from New Jersey that sounds just as otherworldly now as it did in 1980.
Radiohead’s mighty Kid A –  better than it was in 2000. One of the albums of the decade, though I wouldn’t have said that when I bought it originally. The ultimate grower.
Nirvana – Live At Reading – all the Nirvana you need. Definitive.
Disc 4 of the Big Star box set Keep An Eye On The Sky – the band play to a disinterested audience, classic songs fly out over the heads of the crowd and connect with us, a quarter of a century later.
Muddy Waters – Authorised Bootleg – an essential live document of the legendary bluesman to put alongside his best.

And some bands felt the need to spruce up their whole catalogue - some guys from Liverpool and einige Jungs aus Düsseldorf were particularly good at that.

But maybe the best of them all was a compilation called Can You Dig It? – Music & Politics in Black Action Films 1968-75 – creative funky soul scoring some of the most remarkable movies. Just read the names on the cover: Isaac Hayes, Bobby Womack, Quincy Jones, Roy Ayers, Curtis Mayfield, and many more.  Damn!

Have a great Christmas and I’ll be back early in the New Year with my new music picks from 2009. Here’s Curtis..

So, all my old friends out there with Eagles and Tom Petty albums on the shelf, pop out to your local emporium and grab ‘Music From The North Country’.

Check it out here (UK) or here (US) .. you know it makes sense.

No frills this year, no ‘Ones To Watch’ or all of that lark – truly, I wouldn’t know. When I find someone I’ll let you know right away. What got on my wick this year? Two things worth mentioning. Pacific Ocean Blue – what’s that all about? In fact, let’s not hold back – all things Wilson related. Classics? No. Don’t get it, never will.

And to the umpteen British indie bands who seem to be content with their lot – god knows why – either get to work and produce something worth listening to or pack it in, because a bunch of old blokes and their mate made you look a bit irrelevant this year. And that can’t be a good thing.

Top Ten:
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!
Paul Weller – 22 Dreams
Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes
The Ruby Suns – Sea Lion
Lightspeed Champion – Under The Lavender Bridge
Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago
The Last Shadow Puppets – The Age Of The Understatement
Mercury Rev – Snowflake Midnight
Los Campesinos! – Hold On Now, Youngster!/We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed
A.A. Bondy – American Hearts

Bubbling Under:
The Hold Steady – Stay Positive
The Black Angels – Directions To See A Ghost

I Could Listen To This Song All Day: Hayes Carll – She Left Me For Jesus

The Toppermost Of The Poppermost: Duffy – Warwick Avenue

The ‘Didn’t They Do Well’ Award For Old Folks In Rock: Oasis – Dig Out Your Soul. Nice one.

Play It One More Time (Remastered Oldies & Re-issues):
David Bowie – Live Santa Monica 72
Neil Young – Sugar Mountain Live At Canterbury House 1968
New Order remasters

Somethin’s happenin’ here, what it is, is now pretty clear.. for what it’s worth, here are the Captain’s Picks for 2007, the stuff that’s really floated my boat.

Four whacking great ‘big act’ albums at the top – I don’t know what that says about me. Am I becoming more mainstream? Can’t be a pioneer all your life, though, if indeed I ever was. All I know is this bunch of records is probably the most consistently enjoyable set I’ve bought for quite some years. Classics in the making, no less.

You can argue with me if you like, or just let me know what you think. Click the comment link.

If Arcade Fire do a secret pre-Big Day Out gig, my year will be complete. Watch the Kings at YouTube.

One more thing – a festive plea: support your local specialist retailer!

Top Ten:

Kings Of Leon – Because Of The Times
Radiohead – In Rainbows
Arcade Fire – Neon Bible
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Baby 81
M.I.A. – Kala
The Cribs – Men’s Needs, Women’s Needs, Whatever
Fujiya & Miyagi – Transparent Things
The Phoenix Foundation – Happy Ending
David Kilgour – The Far Now
The Brunettes – Structure & Cosmetics

Bubbling Under:
Neil Young – Chrome Dreams II, Nina Nastasia & Jim White – You Follow Me, The National – Boxer, White Stripes – Icky Thump

I Could Listen To This Song All Day: The Red Button – Cruel Girl

The Ones To Watch 2008: The Electric Confectionaires

The Toppermost Of The Poppermost: Arctic Monkeys – Favourite Worst Nightmare

The ‘Didn’t They Do Well’ Award For Old Folks In Rock: Bob Dylan for the Never Ending Tour, 2007 leg

I Blinked And I Missed It Last Year: The Fratellis – Costello Music

Play It One More Time (Remastered Oldies & Re-issues):

Neil Young – Live At Massey Hall 1971
Pink Floyd – Piper At The Gates Of Dawn (40th Anniversary Edition)
Young Marble Giants – Colossal Youth
Dr Feelgood – Down By The Jetty (Collector’s Edition)
Lulu – The Atco Sessions 1969-1972
Aretha Franklin – Rare And Unreleased Recordings

The ‘Oh, Do Shut Up’ Award: Mika @ Coachella (in fact, Mika anywhere)

I Just Don’t Get It, What’s That All About Then?: The cover to Smashing Pumpkins ‘Zeitgeist’ – spend some money, why don’t you?

A Very Bad Thing: Tony Wilson RIP