Top 500 Songs Of 2009 - #50-#41

#50 Alice In Chains - "Lesson Learned" from "Black Gives Way To Blue"

#49 The Avett Brothers - "Head Full Of Doubt / Road Full Of Promise" from "I And Love And You"

#48 The Manchester Orchestra - "I've Got Friends" from "Mean Everything To Nothing"

#47 The Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Heads Will Roll" from "It's Blitz!"

#46 Jay-Z - "Run This Town" from "The Blueprint 3" - Jay-Z and Kanye West trade lyrics while Rihanna sings the chorus. It doesn't get much better than this.

#45 Death Cab For Cutie - "Little Bribes" from "The Open Door"

#44 Alice In Chains - "Your Decision" from "Black Gives Way To Blue"

#43 Tegan And Sara - "Hell" from "Sainthood" - A big step forward creatively for Tegan and Sara, whose music was always good, but now seems more mature and less twee.

#42 Metric - "Help I'm Alive" from "Fantasies" - One of the best "new" bands of 2009, Metric released a sensational album and it was propelled to the forefront by this hit single with a tremendous hook.

#41 And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - "Halcyon Days" from "The Century Of Self"

Top 500 Songs Of 2009 - #60-#51

#60 Jay-Z - "D.O.A. (Death Of Auto-Tune)" from "The Blueprint 3" - Couple amazing lyrics with a brilliant backbeat and you have one of the best rap songs of 2009.

#59 My Chemical Romance - "Desolation Row" from "Watchmen Soundtrack" - A weird choice for a MCR cover, but they absolutely nailed it.

#58 Cage The Elephant - "Back Against The Wall" from "Cage The Elephant"

#57 Rain Machine - "Give Blood" from "Rain Machine" - Rain Machine is a T.V. On The Radio side project and this song would have fit in nicely on one of their brilliant albums from recent years.

#56 Pearl Jam - "Gonna See My Friend" from "Backspacer"

#55 Joshua James - "Coal War" from Paste Magazine Sampler - The best song from the Paste Magazine Sampler discs, "Coal War" sounds like it could have been released during the mid 19th century.

#54 Alice In Chains - "A Looking In View" from "Black Gives Way To Blue"

#53 Jeff Bridges - "Fallin' And Flyin'" from "Crazy Heart Soundtrack"

#52 Royce Da 5'9 - "Dinner Time" from "Street Hop" - Royce tears up this track with help from Busta Rhymes as they both race towards the words per minute land-speed record.

#51 Sonic Youth - "Sacred Trickster" from "The Eternal"

Top 500 Songs Of 2009 - #70-#61

#70 Regina Spektor - "Eet" from "Far"

#69 Band Of Skulls - "Death By Diamonds And Pearls" from "Baby Darling Doll Face Honey"

#68 Drake - "Forever" from "So Far Gone"

#67 The Editors - "Eat Raw Meat = Blood Drool" from "In This Light And On This Evening" - Probably the darkest title for a great song that I can think of. The Editors' 2009 album was difficult to find and it wasn't that great, but this song is absolutely brilliant.

#66 Lily Allen - "Fuck You" from "It's Not Me, It's You" - This song was in my Top 100 last year under the title "Guess Who, Batman" for some reason.

#65 The National - "So Far Around The Bend" from "Dark Was The Night (Red Hot Compilation)" - The best song on the "Dark Was The Night" compilation and a great preview for The National's sensational 2010 album.

#64 The Bravery - "Hatefuck" from "Stir The Blood"

#63 K'naan - "ABC's" from "Troubador"

#62 Drake - "Successful" from "So Far Gone"

#61 A.F.I. - "It Was Mine" from "Crash Love"

Top 500 Songs Of 2009 - #80-#71

#80 Them Crooked Vultures - "Dead End Friends" from "Them Crooked Vultures"

#79 Band Of Skulls - "Light Of The Morning" from "Baby Darling Doll Face Honey" - Yes, it's the song from the car commercials and no, it's not a cover as far as I know.

#78 Cage The Elephant - "In One Ear" from "Cage The Elephant" - I saw these guys open for Stone Temple Pilots and they put on one hell of a show. This song hit #1 on the Modern Rock charts in 2010 and they're definitely a band on the rise.

#77 The Avett Brothers - "I And Love And You" from "I And Love And You"

#76 Mos Def - "Quiet Dog Bite Hard" from "The Ecstatic" - The best rap vocal of 2009, "Quiet Dog Bite Hard" is one of the best hip hop songs in recent history.

#75 Kid Cudi - "Pursuit Of Happiness" from "Man On The Moon" - Kid Cudi gets some help from MGMT on his best song.

#74 The Thermals - "I Called Out Your Name" from "Now We Can See"

#73 Muse - "Uprising" from "The Resistance" - One of the most popular songs of 2009 (who would think we could say that about Muse?), this song has been everywhere for the past 18 months, from soundtracks to television commercials.

#72 The Thermals - "When We Were Alive" from "Now We Can See"

#71 The Handsome Furs - "Talking Hotel Arbat Blues" from "Face Control" - It seems like every couple years there's an awesome song that sort of bites that John Cafferty song "Darkside". This year it's "Arbat", which is obscure, but still brilliant.

Top 500 Songs Of 2009 - #90-#81

#90 Wolfmother - "Far Away" from "Cosmic Egg"

#89 Pearl Jam - "Amongst The Waves" from "Backspacer"

#88 The Big Pink - "Dominos" from "A Brief History Of Love"

#87 Green Day - "See The Light" from "21st Century Breakdown" -

#86 Metric - "Gold Guns Girls" from "Fantasies"

#85 Ryan Bingham And The Dead Horses - "Hey Hey Hurray" from "Roadhouse Sun" - Bingham is technically considered a country or alt country performer, but "Hey Hey Hurray" is a stomper of a song that reminds me of some early Bob Dylan protest songs.

#84 Brandi Carlile - "Dreams" from "Give Up The Ghost"

#83 Stellastarr - "Graffiti Eyes" from "Civilized" - The song has a slow build to the chorus, but once it gets there it really packs a wallop.

#82 Jamie T. - "Sticks N Stones" from Blalock's Indie Rock Playlist

#81 Death Cab For Cutie - "A Diamond And A Tether" from "The Open Door"

Top 500 Songs Of 2009 - #100-#91

Instead of twenty-five songs a day, I'll be switching to ten per day in honor of the Top 100 songs on the countdown.

#100 Miike Snow - "Animal" from "Miike Snow" - Love the song, hate the video. It's a good thing MTV doesn't play videos any more. "Animal" is a quirky electronic pop song with a really good chorus.

#99 Sonic Youth - "Anti-Orgasm" from "The Eternal" - "Anti-Orgasm" is a departure from Sonic Youth's recent style of longer, denser songs, calling back to some of their more mainstream albums from the late 80's.

#98 The Very Best - "Warm Heart Of Africa" from "Warm Heart Of Africa" - Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend provides vocal support on the very best song by The Very Best.

#97 The Soft Pack - "Answer To Yourself" from Paste Magazine Sampler - An obscure song from a Paste Sampler CD, but what an amazing song with a great beat and an outstanding chorus.

#96 The Thermals - "When I Was Afraid" from "Now We Can See" - Another great song from the Thermals, who put five songs on this year's countdown.

#95 Franz Ferdinand - "Ulysses" from "Tonight" - "Tonight" wasn't Franz Ferdinand's strongest album, but "Ulysses" is a great indie pop song that calls back to their landmark debut album.

#94 Muse - "United States Of Eurasia" from "The Resistance" - At some point in the middle of this song it becomes very obvious that Muse is trying to be Queen on their latest album, not that there's anything wrong with that because they pulled it off.

#93 U2 - "Breathe" from "No Line On The Horizon" - The best song off of "No Line On The Horizon", despite what every music magazine and web site wants you to think.

#92 Weezer - "(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To" from "Raditude" - A cool poppy indie rock song with a great hook in the chorus. This is commonly referred to as a "Weezer song".

#91 Modest Mouse - "Satellite Skin" from "No One's First And You're Next" - Many of the best Modest Mouse songs have intense choruses complimenting mellow verses and "Satellite Skin" is a fine example of this type of song.

Top 500 Songs Of 2009 - #125-#101

#125 Choir Of Young Believers - "Action - Reaction" from "This Is For The White In Your Eyes"

#124 Alice In Chains - "Take Her Out" from "Black Gives Way To Blue"

#123 The Avett Brothers - "Kick Drum Heart" from "I And Love And You" - An uncharacteristic Avett Brothers song as this one is much more up-tempo than the rest of their brilliant album.

#122 Mika - "We Are Golden" from "The Boy Who Knew Too Much" - You're never going to find a better Queen-style song that wasn't actually written by Queen.

#121 The Very Best - "Kamphopo" from "Warm Heart Of Africa" - Another repeat appearance on my countdown, I actually preferred the version of this song that appeared on last year's mixtape, but this version is also excellent.

#120 Sleigh Bells - "Ring Ring" from Blalock's Indie Rock Playlist - Sleigh Bells actually released a solid album with this song on it in 2010, so there's a good chance this song will appear on next year's list.

#119 Rusted Root - "Garbage Man" from "Stereo Rodeo"

#118 Muse - "Resistance" from "The Resistance"

#117 Phantogram - "When I'm Small" from Blalock's Indie Rock Playlist

#116 St. Vincent - "The Strangers" from "Actor"

#115 Andrew Bird - "Oh No" from "Noble Beast"

#114 Dinosaur Jr. - "Over It" from "Farm"

#113 Heartless Bastards - "Out At Sea" from "The Mountain"

#112 Jay-Z - "On To The Next One" from "The Blueprint 3"

#111 Mos Def - "Life In Marvelous Times" from "The Ecstatic" - Mos Def is a lyrical genius and his latest album produced two of the best hip hop songs I've heard all year.

#110 Wolfmother - "Phoenix" from "Cosmic Egg"

#109 Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson - "The Sound" from "Summer Of Fear"

#108 The Generationals - "Bobby Beale" from "Con Law"

#107 White Lies - "To Lose My Life" from "To Lose My Life"

#106 Elvis Costello - "Complicated Shadows" from "Secret, Profane And Sugarcane"

#105 The Flaming Lips - "The Sparrow Looks Up At The Machine" from "Embryonic"

#104 Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zeros - "40 Day Dream" from "Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zeros" - This song seems like it was written during the 50's or 60's, but it's an original recording.

#103 Brother Ali - "Breakin' Dawn" from "Us"

#102 Atlas Sound - "Walkabout" from "Logos"

#101 Girls - "Hellhole Ratrace" from "Album" - Another repeat offender from 2009, the gloomy "Hellhole Ratrace" got much more appreciation this year than last.

Top 500 Songs Of 2009 - #150-#126

#150 William Elliott Whitmore - "There's Hope For You" from Paste Magazine Sampler

#149 Ryan Bingham - "The Weary Kind" from "Crazy Heart Soundtrack" - The Oscar winner for Best Song, but not quite the best song on the "Crazy Heart Soundtrack".

#148 Radiohead - "These Are My Twisted Words" from Blalock's Indie Rock Playlist - It's weird that I need to listen to an Internet playlist in order to hear the new Radiohead song, but whatever.

#147 The Decemberists - "The Wanting Comes In Waves / Repaid" from "Hazards Of Love" - "Hazards Of Love" is an awesome concept album and this is one of the best songs on it.

#146 Discovery - "Can You Discover?" from "LP"

#145 Pearl Jam - "The Fixer" from "Backspacer" - The biggest hit off of "Backspacer", but not quite the best song.

#144 Yo La Tengo - "Here To Fall" from "Popular Songs"

#143 Kid Cudi - "Day N Nite" from "Man On The Moon"

#142 The BPA - "He's Frank (Slight Return)" from "I Think We're Gonna Need A Bigger Boat" - Iggy Pop sings on The BPA's cover of the obscure 70's proto-punk hit.

#141 Matt And Kim - "Daylight" from "Grand"

#140 U2 - "Moment Of Surrender" from "No Line On The Horizon" - Rolling Stone's Best Song of 2009 and it's a great song, but it just missed out on my Top 100.

#139 The Avett Brothers - "The Perfect Space" from "I And Love And You"

#138 Them Crooked Vultures - "Mind Eraser, No Chaser" from "Them Crooked Vultures"

#137 Bruce Springsteen - "My Lucky Day" from "Working On A Dream"

#136 Why - "This Blackest Purse" from "Eskimo Snow"

#135 Death On Two Wheels - "Calling Us Back Home" from Paste Magazine Sampler

#134 Foreign Born - "Vacationing People" from "Person To Person"

#133 Dinosaur Jr. - "Pieces" from "Farm"

#132 The Limousines - "Very Busy People" from "Very Busy People" - This is a song that I probably never would have heard if it wasn't a part of the Alt Nation Alt 18 Best Of 2009 Countdown.

#131 Hockey - "Too Fake" from "Mind Chaos"

#130 A.F.I. - "Beautiful Thieves" from "Crash Love"

#129 And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - "Fields Of Coal" from "The Century Of Self"

#128 Vienna Teng - "Grandmother Song" from "Inland Territory"

#127 St. Vincent - "Actor Out Of Work" from "Actor"

#126 Bluejuice - "Head Of The Hawk" from Blalock's Indie Rock Playlist

Top 500 Songs Of 2009 - #175-#151

#175 Wolfmother - "California Queen" from "Cosmic Egg"

#174 Spoon - "Well-Alright" from "Dark Was The Night (Red Hot Compilation)"

#173 The Decemberists - "The Rake's Song" from "Hazards Of Love"

#172 Floating Action - "50 Lashes" from "Floating Action"

#171 Harlem Shakes - "Sunlight" from "Technicolor Health" - Would you believe that they finally hit the big time and then broke up almost immediately afterwards?

#170 Sea Of Bees - "Willis" from Blalock's Indie Rock Playlist

#169 Shirock - "I Have Been Redeemed" from "Everything Burns" - U2 wishes that they wrote this song. Either that or Shirock has a time machine and stole it from future Bono.

#168 Dinosaur Jr. - "I Don't Wanna Go There" from "Farm"

#167 The Flaming Lips - "Silver Trembling Hands" from "Embryonic"

#166 The Arctic Monkeys - "Cornerstone" from "Humbug"

#165 Franz Ferdinand - "No You Girls" from "Tonight"

#164 U2 - "No Line On The Horizon" from "No Line On The Horizon"

#163 DJ Quik And Kurupt - "9x's Outta 10" from "BlaQKout" - This rap song is the rare example of a beat dominating the course of the song's lyrics. It's an amazing base pulse that drives this song to greatness.

#162 The Boy Least Likely To - "Every Goliath Has Its David" from "The Law Of The Playground" - A goofy little song with a great hook, but seriously, it's hard to defend a lyric that includes the phrase "I've got puppy powers". We don't invoke the Dark One, Boy Least. We don't.

#161 Brother Ali - "The Preacher" from "Us"

#160 Jeff Bridges - "I Don't Know" from "Crazy Heart Soundtrack"

#159 Serena Ryder And The Beauties - "The Funeral" from Blalock's Indie Rock Playlist - I don't include very many cover songs in my top 500, but the ones that I do include are usually on the list because they add something original to the song. In this case, Serena Ryder's take on the Band Of Horses classic is downright haunting in it's sorrow and intensity.

#158 Grizzly Bear - "Two Weeks" from "Veckatimest"

#157 Lily Allen - "The Fear" from "It's Not Me, It's You" - Lily Allen is one of the most gifted songwriters of her generation and this song about materialism and pop culture is a fine example of her skills.

#156 Metric - "Sick Muse" from "Fantasies"

#155 Tech N9ne - "Show Me A God" from "K.O.D."

#154 The XX - "Crystalised" from "XX"

#153 Grant Lee Phillips - "One Morning" from "Little Moon"

#152 Frank Turner - "Try This At Home" from "Poetry Of The Dead" - The most DIY song on the countdown, this song reminds me of all those underground punk concerts I used to attend back when Pierre had a punk scene.

#151 Wild Light - "California On My Mind" from "Adult Nights" - I heard this song before it was on the XM Alt Nation Year End Countdown, but hearing it repeatedly was what really made this sarcastic shot across the bow sink in.

Top 500 Songs Of 2009 - #200-#176

#200 White Lies - "E.S.T." from "To Lose My Life" - White Lies is the darkest of the Joy Division influenced indie rock bands that have claimed a huge chunk of the market. "To Lose My Life" is the first I've heard from them, but they seem to have a promising future.

#199 Rain Machine - "Smiling Black Faces" from "Rain Machine" - This isn't the highest charting Rain Machine song, but I thought this would be a good time to point out that Rain Machine is a TV on the Radio side project. The band itself had a cover of Bowie's "Heroes" on the "Dark Was The Night" compilation, but that song didn't make my countdown.

#198 Green Day - "East Jesus Nowhere" from "21st Century Breakdown"

#197 Lou Barlow - "Gravitate" from Blalock's Indie Rock Playlist

#196 Robyn Hitchcock - "Up To Our Necks" from "Goodnight Oslo" - Robyn's only song on this year's countdown, "Up" seems like it must be some sort of lost relic from the British Invasion.

#195 Grizzly Bear - "Slow Life" from "Twilight: New Moon Soundtrack" - Seriously, "New Moon" might be the worst blockbuster since Bad Boys 2, but I struggle to think of anything that's promoted indie rock to the masses more in recent years than the "Twilight" series.

#194 K'naan - "15 Minutes Away" from "Troubador"

#193 Bob Mould - "Argos" from "Life And Times"

#192 Dinosaur Jr. - "Friends" from "Farm"

#191 Green Day - "Know Your Enemy" from "21st Century Breakdown"

#190 Brand New - "At The Bottom" from "Daisy"

#189 Street Sweeper Social Club - "Clap For The Killers" from "Street Sweeper Social Club" - Rage-ish lyrics combine with a fantastic Morello hook for the best non-Rage song of Tom's career.

#188 Camera Obscura - "French Navy" from "My Maudlin Career" - The best female vocal in a pop song not released by Neko Case this year.

#187 Frank Turner - "Sons Of Liberty" from "Poetry Of The Dead"

#186 The Temper Trap - "Down River" from "Conditions"

#185 Dolores O'Riordan - "Be Careful" from "No Baggage"

#184 The Swell Season - "In These Arms" from "Strict Joy" - Do you remember that Irish duo that won an Oscar for their song from the movie "Once"? This is the best song off of their new album. It's not quite as good as the song from "Once", but it's still excellent.

#183 Fleet Foxes - "False Knight On The Road" from "Mykonos"

#182 Them Crooked Vultures - "Elephants" from "Them Crooked Vultures" - This song essentially has every Zeppelin hook condensed into one long song.

#181 The Derek Trucks Band - "I Know" from "Already Free"

#180 The Avett Brothers - "Slight Figure Of Speech" from "I And Love And You"

#179 Jay-Z - "Empire State Of Mind" from "The Blueprint 3" - Alicia Keys' version of this song is also on my countdown, but I prefer the rap focus on this song to the R&B focus on Keys'.

#178 Jeff Bridges - "Somebody Else" from "Crazy Heart Soundtrack"

#177 The Dirty Projectors - "Cannibal Resource" from "Bitte Orca"

#176 Miranda Lambert - "Heart Like Mine" from "Revolution" - The best country song of 2009.

Top 500 Songs Of 2009 - #225-#201

#225 Green Day - "Peacemaker" from "21st Century Breakdown"

#224 Gov't Mule - "Broke Down On The Brazos" from "By A Thread"

#223 The Bravery - "Song For Jacob" from "Stir The Blood"

#222 Kid Cudi - "Cudi Zone" from "Man On The Moon"

#221 Pearl Jam - "Johnny Guitar" from "Backspacer" - Eddie Vedder sounds like the Tasmanian Devil at times on this song, but he makes it work.

#220 The Derek Trucks Band - "Get What You Deserve" from "Already Free"

#219 Neko Case - "This Tornado Loves You" from "Middle Cyclone" - Neko Case (also of the New Pornographers) has a beautiful voice and has enjoyed a long and successful career as a solo artist. This is the best song off of her new album.

#218 Bob Mould - "I'm Sorry, Baby, But You Can't Stand In My Light Any More" from "Life And Times" - It's saying a lot, but this might be the most catchy song hook of Bob Mould's career.

#217 The Avett Brothers - "Ill With Want" from "I And Love And You"

#216 Them Crooked Vultures - "Gunman" from "Them Crooked Vultures"

#215 The Fiery Furnaces - "The End Is Near" from "The End Is Near"

#214 Sonic Youth - "Thunderclap For Bobby Pyn" from "The Eternal"

#213 The Sounds - "Midnight Sun" from "Crossing The Rubicon"

#212 Them Crooked Vultures - "Warsaw Or The First Breath You Take After You Give Up" from "Them Crooked Vultures"

#211 The Northwestern - "Telephones" from Blalock's Indie Rock Playlist

#210 The Flaming Lips - "Watching The Planets" from "Embryonic" - The Flaming Lips' "Embryonic" represents a career high point for the band and if not for Muse, it would have been the year's best prog rock album.

#209 The Soulsavers - "Unbalanced Pieces" from "Broken" - Again, take a moment and appreciate Mark Lanegan's amazing vocal abilities.

#208 The Bravery - "Slow Poison" from "Stir The Blood"

#207 Call The Doctor - "For Your Leisure" from Blalock's Indie Rock Playlist - It's surprising I can't find any more of their music considering how great this first song is.

#206 The Temper Trap - "Fools" from "Conditions"

#205 A.C. Newman - "The Changeling (Get Guilty)" from "Get Guilty"

#204 Placebo - "For What It's Worth" from "Battle For The Sun"

#203 A.C. Newman - "The Collected Works" from "Get Guilty" - Another New Pornographers side project, Newman's album put a few songs on my countdown.

#202 Muse - "Undisclosed Desires" from "The Resistance"

#201 Heartless Bastards - "Early In The Morning" from "The Mountain" - "Early In The Morning" is one monster head-banger of a song.

Top 500 Songs Of 2009 - #250-#226

#250 The Temper Trap - "Fader" from "Conditions" - The Temper Trap is best known for their hit song on the "(500) Days Of Summer" Soundtrack, but their entire album is excellent.

#249 Japandroids - "Young Hearts Spark Fire" from "Post-Nothing"

#248 The Avett Brothers - "Incomplete And Insecure" from "I And Love And You" - Take a talented band and let Rick Rubin produce their album and what do you get? One of the best albums of the year and easily the highlight of the Avett Brothers' career.

#247 Rainbow Arabia - "Six Different Ways" from Blalock's Indie Rock Playlist

#246 Pomplamoose - "Beat The House" from "Blalock's Indie Rock Playlist

#245 The Decemberists - "The Queen's Rebuke / The Crossing" from "Hazards Of Love"

#244 Dan Black - "U And Me" from "Un"

#243 Green Day - "The Static Age" from "21st Century Breakdown"

#242 Shirock - "Drag You Down" from "Everything Burns" - Listen to Shirock's latest album and tell me it doesn't sound like a lost U2 album.

#241 Clinical Trials - "Polly Got Away" from Blalock's Indie Rock Playlist - A response song to Nirvana's "Polly", though the style of music is much closer to The Breeders or Hole.

#240 The Mars Volta - "Since We've Been Wrong" from "Octahedron" - The Mars Volta releases their most radio-friendly CD yet, though this was the only hit.

#239 Kid Cudi - "Up Up And Away" from "Man On The Moon"

#238 White Lies - "A Place To Hide" from "To Lose My Life"

#237 Tegan And Sara - "The Cure" from "Sainthood"

#236 Maximo Park - "I Haven't Seen Her In Ages" from "Quicken The Heart"

#235 Lykke Li - "Possibility" from "Twilight: New Moon Soundtrack"

#234 Modest Mouse - "Guilty Cocker Spaniels" from "No One's First And You're Next"

#233 The Cribs - "We Share The Same Skies" from "Ignore The Ignorant"

#232 Built To Spill - "Things Fall Apart" from "There Is No Enemy"

#231 The Drums - "Saddest Summer" from "Summertime!"

#230 The Mars Volta - "Cotopaxi" from "Octahedron"

#229 Echo And The Bunnymen - "Life Of 1000 Crimes" from "The Fountain" - They've still got it after all these years.

#228 Conor Oberst And The Mystic Valley Band - "Nikorette" from "Outer South"

#227 Ryan Bingham And The Dead Horses - "Country Roads" from "Roadhouse Sun" - 2009 was a big year for Bingham as "Roadhouse Sun" represents his breakthrough album in the same year that "Crazy Heart" made him the biggest name in alt-country.

#226 Regina Spektor - "The Calculation" from "Far"

Top 500 Songs Of 2009 - #275-#251

#275 Southeast Engine - "Black Gold" from Paste Magazine Sampler

#274 Rhett Miller - "If It's Not Love" from "Rhett Miller"

#273 Pintandwefall - "Bird Of The Birds" from "Hong Kong, Baby" - A very weird track, but a lot of fun and featuring a great hook.

#272 Jay Reatard - "Before I Was Caught" from "Watch Me Fall"

#271 The Antlers - "Epilogue" from "Hospice"

#270 A Place To Bury Strangers - "Deadbeat" from "Exploding Head"

#269 Jeff Bridges - "Brand New Angel" from "Crazy Heart Soundtrack"

#268 Morrissey - "Something Is Squeezing My Skull" from "Years Of Refusal"

#267 The Dirty Projectors And David Byrne - "Knotty Pine" from "Dark Was The Night (Red Hot Compilation)" - The Dirty Projectors had a great year with the success of their breakthrough album, but they also hit a home run with this collaboration with David Byrne from the brilliant "Dark Was The Night" compilation.

#266 Bruce Springsteen - "Outlaw Pete" from "Working On A Dream"

#265 Pearl Jam - "Supersonic" from "Backspacer"

#264 Nine Inch Nails - "Non-Entity" from "NINJA 2009 Tour Sampler" - This song may never appear on a Nine Inch Nails album, so it was very fortunate that they released it as a free download on their website.

#263 Jamie T. - "The Man's Machine" from Blalock's Indie Rock Playlist - I was unable to find Jamie T's 2009 album, but he managed to get two songs onto my list thank's to Blalock's playlists.

#262 Spinnerette - "A Prescripton For Mankind" from "Spinnerette"

#261 Throw Me The Statue - "Waving At The Shore" from "Creaturesque"

#260 Tegan And Sara - "Northshore" from "Sainthood" - "Sainthood" was a big change of style for Tegan and Sara and I think their new sound is a big step forward.

#259 Jemina Pearl - "Undesirable" from "Break It Up"

#258 The Bravery - "Jack-O-Lantern Man" from "Stir The Blood"

#257 Iggy Pop - "Nice To Be Dead" from "Preliminaries" - "Preliminaries" was a weird album for Iggy Pop. While the album was almost entirely jazz music, the best song is the type of song we expect from Iggy, if still slowed down a bit.

#256 Datarock - "True Stories" from "RED"

#255 Green Day - "American Eulogy: A. Mass Hysteria / B. Modern World" from "21st Century Breakdown"

#254 Rhett Miller - "Happy Birthday Don't Die" from "Rhett Miller"

#253 God Help The Girl - "Musician, Please Take Heed" from "God Help The Girl" - Belle And Sebastian's side project produced a lot of great songs that were really remake of old B&S hits, but "Musician, Please Take Heed" is the best of the originals.

#252 Bill Callahan - "Faith / Void" from "Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle" - A deep, dark and depressing ballad, but also one of the most introspective songs I've ever heard.

#251 The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - "Young Adult Friction" from "The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart"

Top 500 Songs Of 2009 - #300-#276

#300 Muse - "Guiding Light" from "The Resistance"

#299 The Silversun Pickups - "Substitution" from "Swoon"

#298 Franz Ferdinand - "Bite Hard" from "Tonight"

#297 Fool's Gold - "Surprise Hotel" from "Fool's Gold"

#296 Heartless Bastards - "The Mountain" from "The Mountain"

#295 Passion Pit - "The Reeling" from "Manners"

#294 Ugly Casanova - "Cat Faces" from Blalock's Indie Rock Playlist - The reason this song sounds so much like Modest Mouse... is because it is Modest Mouse, performing under another name.

#293 BrakesBrakesBrakes - "Crush On You" from "Touchdown"

#292 The Dave Matthews Band - "Squirm" from "Big Whiskey And The GrooGrux King" - A great song from DMB's best album in a long time.

#291 K'naan - "If Rap Gets Jealous" from "Troubador" - A particularly heavy song from one of rap's rookies of the year, bordering on rap metal.

#290 Japandroids - "Sovereignty" from "Post-Nothing"

#289 Metric - "Stadium Love" from "Fantasies"

#288 Jarvis Cocker - "Further Complications" from "Further Complications" - The former lead singer of Pulp continues to crank out angry and sarcastic singer-songwriter albums.

#287 Music Go Music - "Light Of Love" from "Expressions"

#286 Jay Farrar And Benjamin Gibbard - "One Fast Move Or I'm Gone" from "One Fast Move Or I'm Gone"

#285 Wheels On Fire - "I'm Turning Into You" from "Get Famous!"

#284 Art Brut - "Demons Out!" from "Art Brut Vs. Satan" - Art Brut's angry rant about how stupid the public's taste in music is.

#283 Neko Case - "People Got A Lotta Nerve" from "Middle Cyclone"

#282 Owl City - "Fireflies" from "Ocean Eyes" - Cheesy, but a good hook and a few clever lyrics.

#281 The Eels - "Lilac Breeze" from "Hombre Lobo"

#280 Wilco - "You And I" from "Wilco (The Album)"

#279 U2 - "Magnificent" from "No Line On The Horizon" - Bono once again dips into the well of sarcastic jabs at his public profile.

#278 The Like - "You Belong To Me" from "War Child - Heroes Vol. 1" - The best cover song on the "War Child" album. Supposedly, it's an old Elvis Costello song, but I'm pretty sure it dates back further than that.

#277 Rhett Miller - "I Need To Know Where I Stand" from "Rhett Miller" - It will always remain a mystery why Rhett Miller and the Old 97's never enjoyed crossover success. It would be one thing if they wrote radio-unfriendly songs, but Miller's always been extremely skilled at hooks and choruses.

#276 The Raveonettes - "Boys Who Rape (Should All Be Destroyed)" from "In And Out Of Control"

Top 500 Songs Of 2009 - #325-#301

#325 Neko Case - "Don't Forget Me" from "Middle Cyclone"

#324 Young Money - "She Is Gone" from "We Are Young Money"

#323 Green Day - "Murder City" from "21st Century Breakdown"

#322 Spinnerette - "Baptized By Fire" from "Spinnerette"

#321 The Boy Least Likely To - "When Life Gives Me Lemons I Make Lemonade" from "The Law Of The Playground" - The goofiest artist on the countdown, but good lyrics are good lyrics.

#320 Marie Digby - "Overboard" from "Breathing Underwater" - Marie Digby released possibly the best pop album of 2009 and "Overboard" is one of the best songs on it.

#319 Monsters Of Folk - "Losin' Yo Head" from "Monsters Of Folk"

#318 Jemina Pearl - "After Hours" from "Break It Up"

#317 Passion Pit - "Little Secrets" from "Manners" - This one probably should have been higher, but that's how it works out sometimes.

#316 The Sounds - "Lost In Love" from "Crossing The Rubicon"

#315 Wilco - "I'll Fight" from "Wilco (The Album)"

#314 The Bravery - "Adored" from "Stir The Blood" - If you told me five years ago that The Bravery would become one of the best indie rock bands I would have told you that you were crazy, but it's true.

#313 Portugal The Man - "People Say" from "The Satanic Satanist"

#312 Odawas - "Secrets Of The Fall" from "The Blue Depths" - The closest to Pink Floyd I've heard any contemporary act get in recent years. Eat your heart out, Porcupine Tree.

#311 The Derek Trucks Band - "Down In The Flood" from "Already Free"

#310 Ryan Bingham And The Dead Horses - "Day Is Done" from "Roadhouse Sun"

#309 The Manchester Orchestra - "Shake It Out" from "Mean Everything To Nothing"

#308 James Yuill - "No Surprise" from Blalock's Indie Rock Playlist

#307 The Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Shame And Fortune" from "It's Blitz!"

#306 The Rifles - "Sometimes" from "The Great Escape"

#305 Samantha Crain And The Midnight Shivers - "Rising Sun" from "Songs In The Night"

#304 N.A.S.A. - "Gifted" from "The Spirit Of Apollo" - The song that finally brings together the duo that everyone's been waiting for: Kanye West and Lykke Li!

#303 The Gossip - "Heavy Cross" from "Music For Men"

#302 Monsters Of Folk - "Man Named Truth" from "Monsters Of Folk"

#301 John Rich - "Shuttin' Down Detroit" from "Son Of A Preacher Man" - I'm not a big fan of Big And Rich, but this is one hell of a brilliant song, and also the perfect song for the current economic situation.

Top 500 Songs Of 2009 - #350-#326

#350 30 Seconds To Mars - "This Is War" from "This Is War"

#349 Jeff Bridges - "Hold On You" from "Crazy Heart Soundtrack" - The "Crazy Heart" Soundtrack is the best soundtrack from a fake artist since "Walk Hard" and Jeff Bridges is a great outlaw country singer.

#348 Phish - "Joy" from "Joy" - I hate obsessive Phish fans, but a great song is a great song.

#347 The Drums - "Don't Be A Jerk, Jonny" from "Summertime!" - Cross The Smiths with The Ramones and you get the Drums. You'll probably be hearing more from them in the future.

#346 The Flaming Lips - "Powerless" from "Embryonic"

#345 Matisyahu - "One Day" from "Light"

#344 Brendan Benson - "A Whole Lot Better" from "My Old, Familiar Friend"

#343 Death Cab For Cutie - "I Was Once A Loyal Lover" from "The Open Door"

#342 Brand New - "In A Jar" from "Daisy" - I've never heard emo sound so Nirvana-ish as the most recent Brand New album.

#341 The Arctic Monkeys - "Pretty Visitors" from "Humbug"

#340 Conor Oberst And The Mystic Valley Band - "To All The Lights In The Windows" from "Outer South"

#339 Wolfmother - "Caroline" from "Cosmic Egg"

#338 The Raveonettes - "Bang!" from "In And Out Of Control"

#337 The Generationals - "When They Fight, They Fight" from "Con Law"

#336 Street Sweeper Social Club - "The Squeeze" from "Street Sweeper Social Club" - Guitar legend Tom Morello teams up with his latest Zach substitute, Boots Riley (of the Coup) to form Street Sweeper Social Club. It's doubtful that they'll last long as each artist has their own bands to focus on, but so far, so good.

#335 Them Crooked Vultures - "Bandoliers" from "Them Crooked Vultures"

#334 Beck - "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat" from "War Child - Heroes Vol. 1" - Beck's funky cover of the Bob Dylan classic is one of the best covers of the year and a highlight of "War Child".

#333 Jemina Pearl - "Selfish Heart" from "Break It Up"

#332 BrakesBrakesBrakes - "Don't Take Me To Space (Man)" from "Touchdown"

#331 Wheat - "El Sincero" from Blalock's Indie Rock Playlist

#330 The New York Dolls - "Lonely So Long" from "Cause I Sez So"

#329 The Drums - "Let's Go Surfing" from "Summertime!"

#328 K'naan - "I Come Prepared" from "Troubador"

#327 Team William - "You Look Familiar" from Blalock's Indie Rock Playlist

#326 The High Strung - "Standing At The Door Of Self-Discovery" from "Ode To The Inverse Of The Dude"

Top 500 Songs Of 2009 - #375-#351

#375 Mary J. Blige - "The One" from "Stronger With Each Tear"

#374 Clipse - "Kinda Like A Big Deal" from "Till The Casket Drops"

#373 Grand Duchy - "Come On Over To My House" from "Petits Fours" - Frank Black's annual contribution to my list.

#372 Juliette Lewis - "All Is For God" from "Terra Incognito"

#371 Slayer - "Playing With Dolls" from "World Painted Blood"

#370 Conor Oberst - "NYC - Gone, Gone" from Blalock's Indie Rock Playlist

#369 Jarvis Cocker - "Caucasian Blues" from "Further Complications"

#368 Slaughterhouse - "The One" from "Slaughterhouse" - Slaughterhouse is a rap supergroup that flew under the radar in 2009.

#367 Metric - "Gimme Sympathy" from "Fantasies"

#366 Sonic Youth - "Poison Arrow" from "The Eternal"

#365 Megadeth - "Dialectic Chaos" from "Endgame" - The second of two instrumental songs on the countdown.

#364 Allison Iraheta - "Trouble Is" from "Just Like You" - The highest ranking song on the countdown from an American Idol veteran.

#363 The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - "A Teenager In Love" from "The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart"

#362 Fastball - "The Malcontent (The Modern World)" from "Little White Lies"

#361 The New Pornographers - "Hey, Snow White" from "Dark Was The Night (Red Hot Compilation)"

#360 Thom Yorke - "All For The Best" from Blalock's Indie Rock Playlist - If it wasn't for Blalock's playlist, I might never have found this song because it hasn't been on any album to my knowledge.

#359 The Doves - "The Outsiders" from "Kingdom Of Rust"

#358 Sonic Youth - "Leaky Lifeboat (For Gregory Corso)" from "The Eternal"

#357 Rhett Miller - "Like Love" from "Rhett Miller"

#356 Spinnerette - "All Babes Are Wolves" from "Spinnerette"

#355 La Roux - "Quicksand" from "La Roux"

#354 Modest Mouse - "History Sticks To Your Feet" from "No One's First And You're Next"

#353 Orianthi - "Highly Strung" from "Believe" - The highest ranking of the two instrumental songs on the countdown.

#352 Spinnerette - "A Spectral Suspension" from "Spinnerette"

#351 The Von Bondies - "Earthquake" from "Love Hate And Then There's You"