List for life.

It's the most wonderful time of the year. A time when all the music magazines are full of lovely Top 10 / 100 / 394,860 albums of the year, largely meaningless cultural analysis of the past year, and woefully inaccurate predictions about the coming one.

So I thought I'd have a go myself.

Here, then, are my Top Ten albums (in order, naturally) of 2009. Hup!

10. Trembling Bells - Carbeth

An unashamed throwback to late 60's folk-rock, 'Carbeth' was nevertheless a thoroughly enjoyable exercise in nostalgia. Fairport are the clear influence here, but what marks this album out as more than a straight tribute is the vein of strange experimentation that runs throughout; the band are unafraid to wander in new sonic directions, a technique that works to occasionally stunning effect.

Standout - 'Willows of Carbeth'

9. Cass McCombs - Catacombs

...In which our young hero stumbles into the middle of the road. Well, not entirely of course. 'Catacombs' sees McCombs paring back his sound to create a largely acoustic album of easygoing - if not always engaging - songs about love and lion-killing. It is a marked departure from his previous work, and the gamble does not always pay off; but when it does, the result is gorgeous.

Standout - 'You Saved My Life'

8. Yo La Tengo - Popular Songs

Now firmly established as an indie institution, Yo La Tengo surely have no need to further cement their reputation. Yet cement it they have, with an album that continues in predecessor 'I Know You And I Will Beat Your Ass's eclectic, playful approach. This time they add swooning soul strings to 'Here To Fall', and languid funk on 'Periodically Double Or Triple'. There is a sense that, even after 20 years, this band is capable of anything.
Standout - 'Avalon Or Someone Very Similar'

7. Mos Def - The Ecstatic

It's become something of a journalistic cliche to say 'it's been a barren year for hip-hop', but - again - it has. Surprising, then, that the best hip-hop album by a country mile (with honourable mentions to Q-Tip and Raekwon) should come from a man who has spent more of this decade on film sets than in recording studios. 'The Ecstatic' fully lives up to its title - it is a wonder to behold; no two tracks sound even remotely the same. More hip-hop like this 2010, please.

Standout - 'Auditorium'

6. Pastels / Tenniscoats - Two Sunsets

Simply put, this is a beautiful, beautiful album. Yet it seems to have had a rather complex genesis: a collaboration between jangle-rock stalwarts and Japanese folkies, 'Two Sunsets' is the result of a year's pinging back and forth between Glasgow and Tokyo. As you'd expect from the contributing factors, the pace is sleepy and the vocals are, um, charming. But the real strength lies in the songwriting - melodic and honest, this is an album that will steal your heart.

Standout - 'Song For A Friend'

5. A.A. Bondy - When The Devil's Loose

Sometimes, though it pains me to say it, the best albums aren't steeped in originality or wild invention; they are founded on familiarity. Such is the case with 'When The Devil's Loose' which treads carefully in the well-worn footsteps of Dylan, Nick Cave and Conor Oberst. Both joyful ('I Can See The Pines Are Dancing') and desolate ('A Slow Parade'), Bondy gives us what we want - and though it may not be original, it is deeply satisfying.

Standout - 'I Can See The Pines Are Dancing'

4. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion

The critic's album the year, hands down, 'Merriweather...' is a strange, mythical beast indeed. Representing a natural progression from, and consolidation of, the band's earlier incarnations, it is both gloopy and transcendent; propulsive and spacey; intense and playful. 'Also Frightened' and 'No More Runnin'' provide the enormous emotional peaks, and 'My Girls' is simply an astounding pop classic. Who'd have thought?

Standout - 'My Girls'

3. The xx - xx

A remarkable debut, which prompted up-and-coming bands across the country to ask 'Why didn't WE think of that?' Because what makes 'xx' so instantly accessible is its simplicity - bass, guitar, drums, boy, girl, little else. The production, arguably the band's main instrument, is impeccable. Influenced in equal measure by the Jesus and Mary Chain and the Sugababes, The xx perfectly depict a relationship at odds with itself - nervy but heartfelt, strident yet sedate. Stunning.

Standout - 'Shelter'

2. The Low Anthem - Oh My God, Charlie Darwin

Faintly ridiculous title aside, this record is a serious statement of intent from a band who seem to be hitting their stride - and how. 'Oh My God...' riffs on the themes of evolution, apocalypse, lost loves and seafaring, but never feels overplayed. The songs themselves veer between intimate, hushed hymnals and all-out Springsteen-esque rockers, such as the frankly jaw-dropping 'Champion Angel'. This record marks the beginning of a new, scared, Americana.

Standout - 'To Ohio'

1. Wild Beasts - Two Dancers

Last year's 'Limbo, Panto' had plenty of the latter, to put it politely. But no-one could have predicted that, less than a year later, this band would come up with something so - astonishing. 'Two Dancers' is immaculately played, lyrically intriguing and very, very listenable. The band describe their sound on this album as 'downbeat erotic music', and I guess that's fair, but there is so much more here. The two-part title track sums up the bands duality: falsetto and growl, fever and comedown, all played out in a kind of languid suburban wet dream. There is a mesmerising fluidity to this album; one can only wonder what they will come up with next. On the basis of 'Two Dancers' though, it could be that Wild Beasts become the best English band since The Smiths. They certainly have the means.

Standout - 'We Still Got The Taste Dancin' On Our Tongues'