Best music of the first half of '09

I usually wait until the end of the year to do any 'best of' lists, so I won't order this...just the best music I've heard so far this year.

In alphabetical order...

Better Than Ezra--Paper Empire
DL--"One More Day"
Surprised that they still are pretty good. Hadn't really heard much of them in...several years, but my dad likes them so he lent this to me. Some catchy numbers here. May see them next week at Alive @ 5, although last year's experience made me wary (basically, it's an excuse for 17 year olds to get drunk. You could put a mannequin with a boombox on the stage and it wouldn't make any difference to 97% of the people there.)

Neko Case--Middle Cyclone
DL--"People Gotta Lot of Nerve"
I've always been a fan of Neko, because nobody else has a voice like hers. And she writes really great songs. Shockingly, people are starting to notice, as the album debuted at #3 on the charts. Five years ago, that would have never, ever happened. A good sign for once in music.

Camera Obscura--My Maudlin Career
DL--"French Navy"
There are far too few female-fronted bands that actually have some pop sensibilities, but CO fits the bill completely. They can go from ballads to mid-tempo to all-out-pop without missing a beat.

Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band--Outer South
DL--"Roosevelt Room"
Far more of a band effort than any Bright Eyes release, Outer South contains two all-out rockers from Oberst, a number of great ballads, and SEVEN tracks sung by the rest of the band, the majority of which are pretty damn good. Couldn't recommend this more.

Eels--Hombre Lobo
DL--"Beginners Luck"
It's a new eels album. So it's good. Much more lo-fi than usual, it has a little bit of everything.

Green Day--21st Century Breakdown
DL--"Last of the American Girls"
Took a little while to grow on me, but there is more than enough here to make a solid record. A few great tracks, a few good ones, some that are a little bland...but overall, it's certainly worth buying anywhere but Wal-Mart. Not quite as good as American Idiot, but that's a very hard standard to hold yourself to.

mewithoutYou--It's All Crazy! It's All False! It's All A Dream! It's Alright
DL--"Every Thought a Thought of You"
Quite possibly the greatest Christian album ever made (I know that isn't saying THAT much, but still...), mwY has reinvented themselves yet again, slowing down the tempo, with Aaron Weiss actually kind of singing, writing catchy, unique, brilliant songs far better than anything they've done in the past. Great lyrics, as always.

Metric--Fantasies
DL--"Gimme Sympathy"
Never was a huge fan of the band before this album, but hearing the way they have evolved has been really impressive.

A.C. Newman--Get Guilty
DL--"The Heartbreak Rides"
The second member of the supergroup New Pornographers on the list (with Neko Case), Newman's second solo record is a 60s pop masterpiece.

Ben Nichols--The Last Pale Light in the West
DL--"The Kid"
Great EP from the Lucero frontman, based on a Cormac McCarthy novel. All-acoustic.

And also:
Dark was the Night: A Red Hot Compilation.
DL--Yeasayer, "Tightrope"
Great 2-CD indie compilation with songs from Sufjan Stevens, The Decemberists (who didn't make this list because I really don't love it, as much as I tried to), My Morning Jacket, Spoon and others.

PS--no Wilco either because I don't have it yet. I don't work in the industry, it takes time!