Note: This is a bit of a repost but with more content thrown in, thanks for putting up with it

I know this is a little early, but I know there is a best of the 2000's list to work on as well, and history has shown me that good albums do not come out in Novembers and Decembers. This year was a pretty fantastic for music, so the choices were much tougher than last year. So here is the quick and dirty list for 2009.

1. Merriweather Post Pavillian - Animal Collective
   A fantastic album through and through, they make repetition creative and My Girls is amazing
2. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix - Phoenix
   I beg you to find a more fun, creative and solid album
3. JJ N° 2 - JJ
   This one came out of left field but I cannot stop listening to the smooth vocals and island beats
4. Manners - Passion Pit
   Just one step behind Phoenix in fun, creative and solidness
5. Veckatimest - Grizzly Bear
   Two Weeks is a great song and the rest is weird enough to keep you interested but not too weird to turn away
6. xx - The XX
   You want moody music, this is moody music. It also happens to be great and touching at the same time
7. Immolate Yourself - Telefon Tel Aviv
   Really good electronic work here, this year's Cut Copy
8. Reservoir - Fanfarlo
   A really good indie album out of England that I can listen to the whole way through with no problem
9. Song of Songs - Stile Antico
   Early classical pick from Amazon has me amazed every time I listen to it
10. Farm - Dinosaur Jr.
    Fantastic grunge album 15 years after it's time.

Honorable Mention (in Alphabetical Order)

• There is No Enemy- Built to Spill
• My Maudlin Career - Camera Obscura
• This is for the White... - Choir of Young Believers
• LP - Discovery
• Here We Go Magic - Here We Go Magic
• Fantasies - Metric
• 5: Five Years of Hyperdub - Various Artists

I am still here, just working some thoughts about this site out. Albums of the Week are on a hiatus for awhile while I figure out the best way to do stuff here. But this should be me out of the oldest post on your RSS reader!

With the release of the remastered Beatles albums, how could I not go with this? Probably one of the best albums, ever. I am sure you have heard it before, but the remastering really is quite amazing. If you haven't given it a listen in awhile, you owe it to yourself to check out the remaster and fall in love with the album all over again.

Last week I mentioned that Amazon posted their top 100 world music albums and that they also have about 27 world music samplers. I have given a number a listen, so I thought this week I would recommend a few, so here goes:

Six Degrees Free - As collection of Indian music, it would be easy to say that this is just riding the momentum of Slumdog Millionaire, but the songs on the sampler show a greater range of Indian music. Journey by Bombay Dub Orchestra would be my recommendation if you only want to listen to one song.

Luaka Bop - World artists from all over here, so there is a decent chance you will find something you like. As a bonus, there is a remix of Wherever You Are by Geggy Tah. My one song on this one is Valentin by Susana Baca.

Rotana - With music from the Middle East, I realize this might be a stretch for some, but I really enjoyed it. My pick on this one is Kalamak Ya Habibi by George Wassouf

Let me know if you checked out any others and if you have anything you would recommend as well.

PS: It is things like this that make the Amazon MP3 store better than iTunes at this point.

Watina was an album pick over a year ago when I tried doing it along with the pick of the week, and didn't quite keep up. After Amazon released their 100 Greatest World Albums yesterday, I thought it appropriate to bring this album back to the front. This really is an amazing album. The music transcends language, allowing you to really feel these songs. If you havn't checked out an album from a world artist, you could do a lot worse for a first listen.