2009 in Music

Notable albums:
Is It O.K.
Unlikely Emergency

Seen live on: Aug 15 at Mountain Music Fest 2009

Discovered her song "Little Bit of Red" on the radio and was instantly hooked.

Notable albums:
Draw The Line

Seen live on:
Aug 15 at Mountain Music Fest 2009
Nov 5 at The Paramount

An old favourite who released in his best album in a decade this year. I was lucky enough to see him in concert *twice*.

Notable albums:
Eyes Open
A Hundred Million Suns

Seen live on: Oct 14 at The Paramount

Another radio discovery, albeit through a song that I now loathe ("Chasing Cars").

Notable albums:
Heart Shaped World
Forever Blue

Seen live on: Sep 4 at Chateau Ste Michelle

His best work is more than a decade old but he's still a brilliant live performer and damn funny as well.

Notable albums:
Stop All The World Now
Australia

Disappointing album:
Sound The Alarm

Seen live on: Aug 15 at Mountain Music Fest 2009

An electrifying live performer, which I discovered much to my surprise at the Mountain Music Fest. His new album was pathetic, processed to death in the studio, capturing none of the vitality of his live performances.

Notable albums: No Line On The Horizon

What can I add about U2? Another good, if not great, album. Will see them live later this year in June. Should be a fantastic show from all accounts.

Notable albums: Lungs

Discovered her on 'Later with Jools Holland' where she performed a fantastic live set. I wish she would tour in the US.

Notable albums: With Blasphemy, So Heartfelt

Seen live on: July 11 at No Depression Music Festival

I was blown away listening to her live. She pours every dark feeling she's ever had into her songwriting (even though her real personality is quite perky) and combines it with post-grunge guitar dominated music. I bet she loves Kurt Cobain.

Notable albums: Hideaway

Husband and wife duo combine indie pop, emotional (yet eclectic) songwriting and their contrasting voices to create the kind of pop album rarely seen on today's music charts dominated by junk.

Notable albums:
Ten Redux
Backspacer

Seen live on: Sep 22 at Key Arena

Funny how a re-release of a 18 year old album can be one of the best records of the year, but so it was with 'Ten'. The band also released a fantastic new album, and their live show was just brilliant.