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QKN: I asked my main boy Neil to give me his top ten records for the year, and here they are in all their glory.  I wish that I had listened to a few of these records, most notably the Flaming Lips nonsense.

Enrich your life, follow Neil on twitter @neilheyman.

Top Te(leve)n Records of 2009

I’ll start off by saying that whatever indie cred I might have will be revoked by not including either Animal Collective, OR Grizzly Bear on my list. The ten (or so) records that follow have been in constant circulation since I first heard them, and serve as a strong end to the decade.

10. The Flaming Lips – Embryonic

This album would be ranked higher if it didn’t make me feel so stupid because I had to listen to it about 6 times before I realized how truly great it is.

9. Camera Obscura – My Maudlin Career

“French Navy” is easily one of my top 3 songs of the year, and while the rest of the album can become saccharinely sweet at times, it still is fun to listen to repeatedly, the mark of any great album.

8. Bad Veins – Bad Veins

I’ve been following Bad Veins for a while now, seeing as how they are from my hometown of Cincinnati. Hopefully, because their debut album is so good, people can stop identifying Blessid Union of Souls as the best band to come out of Cincinnati.

7. Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

I was, admittedly, late to jump on the Phoenix bandwagon. The opening one-two punch of “Liztomania” and “1901” along with the rest of the album affirm my belief that I’d rather have 8 great songs make up an album than 8 good ones and 4 shitty ones.

6. The Decemberists – The Hazards of Love

They took a huge step backwards from the accessibility of The Crane Wife, but Hazards of Love is amazing because it creates the intricate story they desire, while still have great tracks that stand up on their own.

5. Girls – Album

If I were ranking just the first sides of records, this would be number 1. The first half of this album is almost perfect, and while the second half is great too it lacks the urgency and the punch of the first half.

4. Islands – Vapours

I loved Arms Way when it came out, but after listening to Vapours, it’s almost unlistenable in comparison. Vapours has solid track after solid track, making it my favorite Islands record to date.

3. Neko Case – Middle Cyclone

I now feel guilty for having written off most of Neko’s early work as “too country” for my tastes. Middle Cyclone translates well anywhere it is played live. Her show at the Chicago Theater brought the fucking house down, and those of at Lolla who didn’t want to see Vampire Weekend play the same songs they’ve been playing since 2007 were treated to a great set from this record as well.

2. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz!

Full disclosure: I’d almost certainly listen to Karen O sing selections from the Ikea catalogue. The album is able to make we want to dance (re: not actually dance) and listen to the lyrics at the same time. I was sitting around in March with practically nothing to do, and this album made that time just fly by.

1b. Passion Pit – Manners

There is no song on this entire record that I even think about skipping. I worry that their sound is apparently very appealing to bros judging from the crowd at Lolla this year, but I suppose even bros can have impeccable taste sometimes.

1a. The Rural Alberta Advantage – Hometowns

Ok, I know that top 11 lists are lame, but I don’t know where to put this album. E-music rated it in 2008, but the formal release this year landed it an honorable mention from Pitchfork. So let’s just give it a number one spot with an asterisk. Regardless of year, this album would be the top of my list. No record has hit me at exactly the right time as this record did. Something about backwoods Canada is conveyed so perfectly that it allows me to run the gambit of emotions. It is as close to a perfect album (for my own specific ear) as I can remember this decade.