FT50: Songs of 2009
We have to start this list off with a disclaimer. We have three writers, all with different tastes, so the list should reflect that a little bit. Also, these are our opinions, and by no means, are they meant to be seen as an “end all be all” to the question of what were the best songs of 2009. That being said, we like our list quite a bit. Sure, it’s got some expected numbers at the top, but the rest of the list is genius. We’ve got some of the songs streaming for you, and the rest take you straight to youtube. Follow the jump for full list.
50. Islands – Switched On
49. Volcano Choir – Island, Is
48. The Mary Onettes – Dare
47. Blank Dogs – Tin Birds
46. Thao and the Get Down Stay Down – Know Better Learn Faster
45. I Was a King – Norman Bleik
44. St. Vincent- Actor Out of Work
43. Malcolm Middleton – Carry Me
42. Atlas Sound – Walkabout
41. Patrick Wolf – Hard Times
40. Dan Deacon – Woof Woof
39. The Twilight Sad – I Became a Prostitute
38. Bowerbirds – Northern Lights
37. Generationals – Nobody Could Change Your Mind
36. The Antlers – Two
35. The Dodos – Troll Nacht
34. The Crayon Fields – Mirrorball
33. My Latest Novel – All in All is All
32. Julian Casablancas – 11th Dimension
31. Fruit Bats – My Unusual Friend
30. Telekinesis – Coast of Carolina
29. Akron Family – The River
28. The Big Pink – Dominos
27. Papercuts – Future Primitive
26. Castanets – Rose
25. Harlem Shakes – Niagra Falls
24. The Thermals – Now We Can See
23. Cymbals Eat Guitars – And the Hazy Sea
22. Tegan and Sara – Hell
21. The XX – Crystalised
20. Foreign Born – Early Warnings
19. Iran – Buddy
18. J. Tillman – There is No Good in Me
17. Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson – The Sound
16. Crystal Antlers – Andrew
15. David Bazan – In Stitches
14. Metric – Help, I’m Alive
13. Here We Go Magic – Fangela
12. The Dutchess and the Duke – The River
11. The Drums – Let’s Go Surfing
10. Bon Iver – Blood Bank
9. White Rabbits – Percussion Gun
8. Dirty Projectors – Stillness is the Move
7. Camera Obscura – French Navy
6. The Strange Boys – Heard You Wanna Beat Me Up
5. Animal Collective – My Girls
4. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Young Adult Friction
3. Girls – Lust for Life
2. Grizzly Bear – Two Weeks
1. Phoenix – 1901/Listzomania
The following songs just missed the cut: “Kiss My Name” (Antony and the Johnsons), “Knotty Pine” (Dirty Projectors and David Byrne), “Berkley by Hearseback” (Why?), “Never Had Nobody Like You” (M. Ward), “Through Sparrows to Rest” (Coalesce), “My Body’s a Zombie For You” (Dead Man’s Bones), and “Starting Over” (The Black Lips).
Sure, we have two songs on there called “The River,” but you can’t really argue with this list. You can however tell us what you think we should have included, or excluded. We’re always glad to listen, so drop us a line.



JRD said on Dec 04th, 2009
Good compilation. for future lists it would be great if you could use Yahoo media player or something similar that would allow me to listen to it as a full play list.
King Tut said on Dec 04th, 2009
@JRD, grooveshark.com….go nuts.
King Tut said on Dec 04th, 2009
Passion Pit – The Reeling
Matt And Kim – Good Ol’ Fashion Nightmare
Muse – Uprising
Esser – I Love You
Jay-Z – Empire State Of Mind
Every Girl – Young Money
The Lonely Island – I’m On A Boat
“Take A picture, trick,
I’m on a boat, bitch;
We drinking Santana champ ’cause it’s so crisp”
bRETT said on Dec 04th, 2009
i’ll see your “on a boat,” but will raise you Flight of the Conchords – Hurt Feelings
“I’m not gonna wear a lady’s wetsuit,
I’m a man,
Get me a small man’s wetsuit please”
And nicely done with 1a,1b, and 2.
Swell Season – I have loved you wrong
Elvis Perkins – 123 Goodbye
The Very Best – w.h.o.a.
Flaming Lips – Watching the Planets
mwilliamrice said on Dec 07th, 2009
The lack of arguing leads me to believe that the list was accurate. Good work, mates!
chuy said on Dec 07th, 2009
i hate the lack of credit for Kasabian
levi said on Dec 07th, 2009
nice list guys. here’s a couple more of my favs this year…
deer tick – ‘houston, tx’
the aggrolites -’musically on top’
john k. samson – ‘heart of the continent’
the avett brothers – ‘january wedding’
rancid – ‘i ain’t worried’
she & him – ‘change is hard’
k’naan – ‘take a minute’
el perro del mar – ‘change of heart’
thorns of life – ‘from a tower’
the sounds – ‘beatbox’
pastels/tenniscoats – ‘vivid youth’
lucero – ‘sound of the city’
p.o.s. – ‘optimist’
floating action – ’50 lashes’
mwilliamrice said on Dec 08th, 2009
@levi great additions. Esp. John K., Avett Brothers. I would have def. pushed for Thorns of Life had they actually released anything. The bootleg is fantastic. It’s a shame it wasn’t meant to be.