Best of 2009 30-21

30. Julian Casablancas: Phrazes for the Young
Strokes man’s debut shows flashes of his band’s breezy melodic charm and- clocking in at a massive eight tracks- their prodigious work rate

29. Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu: Gurrumul
Blind Aborigine folk singer mixes traditional styles with more contemporary western guitar music to create a deeply satisfying experience for anyone who chose to actually listen to it rather than just display it on their coffee table.

28. Jarvis Cocker: Further Complications
Steve Albini produced second effort with enough great songs to just about avoid mid-life crisis classification

27. Blakroc: Blakroc
Blues revivalists The Black Keys team up with the cream of creditable US hip-hop to create a record that somehow entirely avoids being in any way cringe-worthy. Would be a lot higher if it wasn’t released just a week ago.

26. Various Artists: Cathedral Classics volume 1
Fantastic first retrospective from London label Sonic Cathedral, just don’t call it shoe-gazing Ok?

25. Mastodon: Crack the Skye
Mind-blowingly accomplished and unashamedly ludicrous- the best metal album of the year by about six furlongs

24. Jay-Z: The Blueprint 3
Another perfectly great modern hip-hop album, but you get the feeling it’s the kind of solid effort Jay-Z could fart off under his bedclothes without even bothering to roll over. More off-the-wall efforts like the ingenious ‘D.O.A’ next time please.

23. Doves: Kingdom of Rust
Déjà vu once again with the Doves- spectacular first single (in this case the gorgeous title track) followed by undeniably accomplished but oddly underwhelming album. However, when their fourth album is good, it’s career best good.

22. MF Doom: Born Like This
Frequently fantastic, the best hip-hop album of the year is still let down by the inevitable wearisome skits and occasional homophobia that’s so unpleasant it’s almost impressive

21. Soulsavers: Broke
No, there isn’t a song as good as ‘Revival’, but while the Soulsaver’s second album with Mark Lanegan doesn’t quite scale the same peaks as the first, it’s a much more complete and satisfying body of work overall.