Listeners Pick The Year's Best Music (So Far)
NPR listeners cast thousands of votes for the year's best music (so far) and kept the race tight. In the end, Animal Collective edged out every other artist in both the Best Album category, and for Best Song. Artists like Grizzly Bear, The Decemberists and Neko Case weren't far behind. One thing was clear: 2009 has been one of the strongest years for new music in recent memory.
Below are the top five songs and the top five albums, picked by NPR listeners in our online poll. We've got a more complete listing of the poll results on our blog.
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Listeners Pick The Year's Best Music (So Far)
Best Song 01: My Girls
- Artist: Animal Collective
- Album: Merriweather Post Pavillion
- Song: My Girls
Purchase Featured Music
- "My Girls"
- Album: Merriweather Post Pavillion
- Artist: Animal Collective
- Label: Domino
- Released: 2009
Best Song 02: Two Weeks
- Artist: Grizzly Bear
- Album: Veckatimest
- Song: Two Weeks
Purchase Featured Music
- "Two Weeks"
- Album: Veckatimest
- Artist: Grizzly Bear
- Label: Warp
- Released: 2009
Best Song 03: Blood Bank
- Artist: Bon Iver
- Album: Blood Bank
- Song: Blood Bank
Purchase Featured Music
- "Blood Bank"
- Album: Blood Bank
- Artist: Bon Iver
- Label: Jagjaguwar
- Released: 2009
Best Song 04: Zero
- Artist: Yeah Yeah Yeahs
- Album: It's Blitz [Deluxe Edition]
- Song: Zero
Purchase Featured Music
- "Zero"
- Album: It's Blitz [Deluxe Edition]
- Artist: Yeah Yeah Yeahs
- Label: Interscope
- Released: 2009
Best Song 05: Lisztomania
- Artist: Phoenix
- Album: Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
- Song: Lisztomania
Purchase Featured Music
- "Lisztomania"
- Album: Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
- Artist: Phoenix
- Label: Glassnote
- Released: 2009
Best Album 01: Merriweather Post Pavillion
- Artist: Animal Collective
- Album: Merriweather Post Pavillion
- Song: Summertime Clothes
Purchase Featured Music
- "Summertime Clothes"
- Album: Merriweather Post Pavillion
- Artist: Animal Collective
- Label: Domino
- Released: 2009
Best Album 02: Veckatimest
- Artist: Grizzly Bear
- Album: Veckatimest
- Song: While You Wait for the Others
Purchase Featured Music
- "While You Wait for the Others"
- Album: Veckatimest
- Artist: Grizzly Bear
- Label: Warp
- Released: 2009
Best Album 03: Hazards of Love
- Artist: The Decemberists
- Album: Hazards of Love
- Song: The Rake's Song
Purchase Featured Music
- "The Rake's Song"
- Album: Hazards of Love
- Artist: The Decemberists
- Label: Capitol
- Released: 2009
Best Album 04: Middle Cyclone
- Artist: Neko Case
- Album: Middle Cyclone
- Song: The Pharaohs
Purchase Featured Music
- "The Pharaohs"
- Album: Middle Cyclone
- Artist: Neko Case
- Label: Anti
- Released: 2009
Best Album 05: Wilco (The Album)
- Artist: Wilco
- Album: Wilco (The Album)
- Song: Everlasting Everything
Purchase Featured Music
- "Everlasting Everything"
- Album: Wilco (The Album)
- Artist: Wilco
- Label: Nonesuch
- Released: 2009
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