God help us all.

From the team that fired Joe Girardi….this could have a more lasting negative effect on baseball than the ’94 strike and steroids combined! Other teams should play this when the Marlins visit as a gag…

I want to see Ted Leo live so bad, this guy absolutely throws it down… and sounds great. New album is out today, do yourself a favour and check it out! Also don’t forget to have a boo at Broken Bells, performing live this Thursday on the Jimmy Fallon show.

Here’s the albums that didn’t quite make my “Best of” list, that are still really great. It starts with some indie/alt picks, moves into more rockin’ territory and closes out with a handful of hip hop releases that had my head bobbin’ in ’09. It’s really a testament to how great this year was when some of my favorite bands (Wilco, Built to Spill) don’t make either list. Check it out!

Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz!
Critically I can’t help but say this is one of the best albums of 2009. Problem is I didn’t really listen to it enough (on purpose) for it to make the big list. But honestly, everything Karen O touches turns to gold. Shiny, shiny gold.

Sonic Youth – The Eternal
Really strong new album from the alternative mainstay. Not as solid cover to cover as Dinosaur Jr.’s album but really good nonetheless.

Drummer – Feel Good Together
Patrick Carney (Black Keys) side project comprised entirely of drummers. They prove they can do it without those pesky frontmen, cranking out a surprisingly solid alt-rock album.

The Thermals – Now We Can See
I like this album quite a bit, but I just can’t love it. Good but not great, it never really gets there for me…too safe, not enough edge. Can’t put my finger on it.

Obits – I Blame You
Listen to it alone, so you can crank it up and rock out with wreckless abandon. Fantastic.

Japandroids – Post-Nothing
Not many albums released this year were as raw and rockin’ as this Vancouver duo’s wonderfully noisy output. Except for maybe…

Titus Andronicus – Airing of Grievances
Punk. Rock. Loud and brash and reminiscent of early Clash. For real.

Doom – Born Like This…
Pretty good year for hip hop, and Doom is consistently one of the best MC’s around.

Mos Def – The Ecstatic
Mos Def comes back from Hollywood and pumps out a solid album (and some solid guest appearances), hilighted by an awesome Kool Keith collab.

Raekwon – Only Built For Cuban Linx… Pt. 2
Suddenly it’s the mid-nineties again and it’s a new Wu-Tang Album!

Blakroc – Self-Titled
The Black Keys meet a plethora of hip hop guest MCs with generally good results…Black Keys might be band of year without even releasing an album, solely on the strength of their three side projects…

Dinosaur Jr. – Farm
Their second album since reforming in 2007, Dinosaur Jr. really returned to form this year, releasing what I would consider to be their best album. Farm showcases the band’s maturity as they effortlessly jump from catchy guitar epics to silky ballads and back again. The guitar solos are classic J. Mascis, the songwriting is stellar, it’s really essential Dinosaur Jr.

For me, this was definitely the album of the summer (maybe the year? a close second anyways…), as I found myself listening to it over and over on the highway (Highly recommended as a road trip album!). The standout track is the opener, Pieces, but really there isn’t a track here that doesn’t stand out.

The Mountain Goats – Life of the World to Come
I really didn’t like this album at first, but now it’s somehow found its way onto my “best of” list. That is what you’d call a grower. It’s basically a theme album based on biblical themes John Darnielle has gleaned (and wrestled with) from specific bible verses which serve as the song titles. While thematically heavy, it’s really quite understated sonically (even for a Mountain Goats album) but I’ve found it definitely rewards repeated listens as I’ve found myself returning to it frequently throughout the fall and on into the short, dark days of December.

Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band- Self-Titled
Blend some wailin’ 70’s guitar riffs, a 14 year old drummer, some unexpected twists and turns, and the strained harmonies of frontman Benjamin Verdoes and you get something that resembles the unique sound of MSHVB. Not your mother’s indie band, this Seattle quintet delivers eleven tracks of spastic indie rock that never quite settles into a category. Fave tracks include the slow building Cheer For Fate, and the intense Albatross, Albatross, Albatross. Really quite a sensational album from start to finish, regardless of what the jerks at Pitchfork say.

Cymbals Eat Guitars – Why There Are Mountains
There might not have been a better debut in 2009 than this short self-released album from NYC indie starlings Cymbals Eat Guitars. They’ve been compared to acts like Modest Mouse a lot (seems most new bands get compared to Modest Mouse), but I’m not sure that’s a very accurate comparison… What we have here is a rare new band who has carved a sound of their own in the crowded indie landscape. Layer upon dense layer of sounds contributes to a unique sum of sound, the least of which is not Joseph D’Agostino’s fantastic vocals. This album has it all: sprawling indie epics, jangly singles and some obligatory amp-burners. Best of all these guys are really young (20), so we’ve really just hit the tip of the iceberg here. Start with Some Trees (Merrit Moon) and Wind Phoenix (Proper Name) and go on from there once you fall in love.

BONUS! A couple entries from Jason Dorn at our sister blog, This Revolution Looked Better on Paper, that didn’t quite make my grade but are fine releases in their own right:

Death – …For the Whole World to See
This disc actually is a certified diamond in the rough, recorded in 1975 and unreleased until 2009, this disk showcases the emerging punk scene, even if it was slightly a head of the curve. The story of this disc is as such, three brothers start a garage band, record half an album’s worth of material, get into a fight with the record company, forget about the album and grow up to live their lives. This has happened to 100’s of go-no-where garage bands before, and it’ll happen again. The startling thing about this disc is what’s contained on it, amped up garage rock in the vein of the stooges, and hints of the punk that bands like the Bad Brains & Black Flag would go on to record just a few years later.

The thing that this disc showcases the best though is that punk-rock in the 70’s wasn’t just an explosion one night in a dingy New York club. There were other bands tinkering with a similar sound in their garages at the same time as the Ramones and The Sex Pistols.

The Thermals – Now we can see
This album is so strong I even recommended it mid-year because I was enjoying it so much. Months later and I’m still enjoying the heck out of it. Somehow this albums got a “diamond in the rough” quality to it. It’s just low-fi enough to sound like something a hopeful musician would be selling CDRs of out of a bus shelter. And yet the songs are polished and complete, never sounding forced or over-processed, and just sloppy enough to be endearing.

Truth be told I’m shocked this album isn’t overplayed yet, I’d expect stations like x929 to be all over it by now and I’d be sick of it, luckily this hasn’t happened.

Dan Auerbach – Keep It Hid
I’m an unabashedly huge fan of the blues-soul-rock of the Black Keys, so of course Dan Auerbach’s first solo album would be among my favorites of the year. If you’re familiar with the Black Keys, this album won’t be much of a stretch in terms of sound and style – it’s a raw soulful rocker in the style of the Keys. 14 solid tracks of Auerbach baring his soul and emoting through his guitar much to the delight of my ears. There just isn’t a white man on the planet with more soul than Mr. Auerbach. Some choice cuts on this one include Mean Monsoon, My Last Mistake and Street Walkin’.

Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest
Veckatimest is a psychedelic dynamically layered masterpiece. Composed together by all band members, with all sharing vocal duties creating a thick, haunting wall of soaring harmonies. Grizzly Bear really has no peers that I know of that I can compare their sound to. It can probably be best described with words like eerie, ghastly, haunting, harmonious and beautiful. A really good album – chill music great to work to. Favorite tracks include the opener, Southern Point, and the singles Two Weeks and Cheerleader.

Rural Alberta Advantage – Hometowns
Sometimes you discover a band so close to home through a channel not so close to home. This is how I came across the RAA, by first hearing them on woxy.com (in Cincinnati, now based in Austin, TX). A Toronto band whose lead singer hails from Edmonton, they released a real indie pop-rock gem this year – I’d go as far to say it’s the best album released this year just edging out the aforementioned Dinosaur Jr..

What really sets this album apart from the other indie rock it may be grouped with is the fantastic and frantic drumming, which sets the groundwork for a set of finely written songs woven with themes and locales familiar to any Alberta resident (Franks Slide, Lethbridge, Edmonton). My favorite tracks reside in the #4 and 5 slots, the percussion driven Don’t Haunt This Place and it’s follow-up track The Deadroads.

The buzz surrounding the RAA continues to build as they gather glowing reviews and sell out tour dates across the USA. They’re currently featured in a TV ad for Whistler, and are slated to be a featured performer at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. If you missed this record somehow this year, I’d highly recommend you check it out.

Overall 2009 easily goes down as one of the best music years of the decade. While in previous years I’ve struggled to come up with a top ten, or even five albums of the year, this year it was hard to keep the list to a manageable size. Next entry I’ll briefly run down the best of the rest with limited commentary…because I just can’t leave it at this, too may great albums this year!

This gave me goosebumps, honestly. Such a good live band… even without The Boss. Can’t wait for the concert in September.

For more information, visit: www.theraa.com