Live in Concert from ALL SONGS CONSIDERED

One of Bob Boilen's favorite discoveries of the year, Watson makes imaginative pop with a cinematic bent. So NPR Music jumped at the opportunity to record his concert at The Mercury Lounge in New York City Thursday, performed as part of the CMJ Music Festival.

Moby's latest album, Wait for Me, is his best new release in a decade, full of beauty, sadness and celebration. The singer and electronic artist is currently on tour in support of the record, giving sold-out performances to packed arenas and smaller clubs throughout Europe and the U.S. For this stellar concert, recorded live in Berlin on June 26, Moby treated fans to nearly two hours of new songs and old favorites from a career spanning nearly 20 years.

Hear the original lineup of Dinosaur Jr., together again in a full concert, recorded live at Washington, D.C.'s 9:30 Club. The performance includes an opening solo set by Dinosaur Jr. bassist and former Sebadoh frontman Lou Barlow. Barlow is on tour in support of his latest album, Goodnight Unknown, and he's on tour with Dinosaur Jr. for the band's latest CD, Farm.

The Gossip has built its reputation around its live performances. The post-punk trio, based in Olympia, Wash., mixes incendiary guitar noise with funk bass lines and adrenaline-infused rhythms, while frontwoman Beth Ditto thrashes onstage, sometimes stripping down to her underwear. Fans can experience this sonic jolt firsthand in this full concert by The Gossip, recorded live from the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C.

Launching with "Friday," the reunited Sunny Day Real Estate played a Diary and LP2-heavy set from Washington, D.C.'s 9:30 Club. The influential emo-rock band sounded renewed as Jeremy Enigk tackled the old songs with the grit and passion for which he's known. A new song, "10," also showed up on the set list. Hear the concert recorded live by NPR Music.

The alternately dreamy and experimental pop group from Hoboken, N.J., celebrates its 25th anniversary with a brand-new album and a full concert, originally webcast live on NPR Music Sept. 17. The performance, featuring music from the new Popular Songs and old favorites, was recorded live from the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C.

Hear singer, songwriter and guitarist M. Ward in a full concert, recorded live at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. Ward is currently on tour in support of his latest album, Hold Time. One of the year's strongest releases, the disc features a mix of country-flavored pop songs, with finger-picked guitars, upright bass and shuffling rhythms, all tied together by Ward's achy voice.

Three years after the breakup of his widely adored space-pop group Grandaddy, singer Jason Lytle has returned with one of the year's best albums, Yours Truly, The Commuter. Lytle showcased the new songs, along with some old Grandaddy favorites, in this full concert, recorded live at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City July 11.

Deacon has built his reputation on live shows: comically unpredictable messes of frenetic dancing, audience participation and theatrics, all powered by the Baltimore resident's wildly addictive electro-freak-pop. Hear Deacon and his band give a full concert, recorded live from Washington, D.C.

After a relentless tour in support of the 2005 album Live It Out, the members of Metric scattered to work on their own projects. Four years later, the Canadian group is back with its fourth studio disc, Fantasies. The album is the centerpiece of a full concert by the band, recorded live at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C.

Sonic Youth's latest album, The Eternal, is among the band's finest, with a fuzzy, tightly orchestrated mix of psych-punk rock and noisy jams. The band showcased the album in a full concert, recorded live from Washington, D.C.'s 9:30 Club.

The 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C., will be ground zero for a blistering assault of explosive riff-rock, courtesy of The Dead Weather, in a full concert webcast live on NPR Music Tuesday. The newly formed band is a supergroup featuring members of The White Stripes and The Kills.

Annie Clark, who writes and records under the name St. Vincent, has never been a fan of convention. Her 2007 debut, Marry Me, was filled with off-kilter rhythms, strangely melodic electronic arrangements, and cryptic narratives. St. Vincent's latest release, a candidate for one of 2009's best albums, is even more surprising and inventive. Hear selections from the album, Actor, as St. Vincent gives a full concert, recorded live from Washington, D.C.

NPR Music boldly attempts what few have done before: Deep soul, indie funk and polyglot jazz share a stage and a bill. In Lee Fields and The Expressions, The Phenomenal Handclap Band and Fight the Big Bull with Steven Bernstein, we're bringing you three very different, very large bands, recorded live from Joe's Pub in New York City.

Despite making one of the year's best albums, The Antlers had trouble finding a label willing to put it out. The band self-released homemade copies of Hospice, but Frenchkiss Records has since stepped in to remaster and formally release it on June 23. See and hear the band's epic, wrenching rock in a full concert, recorded live from the Black Cat in Washington, D.C., on March 11.

Hear one of the year's breakout bands, recorded live in concert from Washington, D.C. Passion Pit performed selections from its new album, Manners. The concert, which originally webcast live on NPR.org June 9, includes an opening performance by the band Harlem Shakes.

It was a bold move: Introduce the world to your ambitious concept record by performing it in its entirety to a national audience, a week before the CD release. But The Decemberists did just that at SXSW this past March, and now you can watch some beautifully shot videos from the album's live premiere.

In a year of great music, the Dark Was the Night compilation ranks near the top. Now comes Dark Was the Night: The Concert, a truly mammoth undertaking. Members of The National curated the May 3 event to benefit AIDS research with performances by David Byrne, The Dirty Projectors, Feist, Bon Iver, Sharon Jones and My Brightest Diamond.

When the enigmatic rock group Animal Collective released Merriweather Post Pavilion in January, it became an early frontrunner for 2009's best record. Hear the band perform a full concert at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C., recorded live on May 11.

Emerging out of the sound of spring peepers, Neko Case stepped onto the 9:30 Club stage set in something out of a nature cartoon. Behind them videos of cyclones and airplanes were projected on a screen. But the attention was clearly on Case, her stunning voice, as well as her solid backing band. Okkervil River's Will Sheff opened.

The music of Mates of State has always been playfully innocent and unabashedly upbeat. But on their latest CD, Re-Arrange Us, Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel show that they've grown a little older and wiser, with their richest and most reflective collection of songs to date. Hear a full concert by the band, webcast live on NPR.org from the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. Also on the bill: Florida-based co-headliner Black Kids.

K'Naan questions the credibility of American hip-hop: After all, even the toughest American neighborhoods aren't as dangerous as his hometown of Mogadishu. His background informs a style that hits hard, with a message that hits even harder. K'Naan's latest album, Troubadour, features the talents of Mos Def, Chali 2na and Metallica's Kirk Hammett.

Thao Nguyen and her backing band, The Get Down Stay Down, make mixing indie-pop and folk sound easy. Nguyen's exuberant voice filled up NPR's offices this past September, and christened its SXSW showcase at The Parish in Austin, Tex., on March 19.

Last year's Furr found its way onto many best-of lists, including NPR's, and with good reason: It refines the rough edges of Wild Mountain Nation without losing Blitzen Trapper's natural forward motion. The band headlined NPR Music's day party from The Parish in Austin, Tex., on March 19.