Best of 2009 (Americana/Folk)

1. 

   1. Neko Case: Middle Cyclone

   Artists who’ve been around as long as Neko Case, and who’ve been roundly celebrated by critics and cash registers alike, tend to get taken for granted after a certain point. Yet Middle ...read more

2. 

   2. Bill Callahan: Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle

   Like his labelmate Will Oldham, Bill Callahan has spent his long career honing, altering, adding to and subtracting from an identity that has acted as a conduit for a now staggering amount of excep...read more

3. 

   3. Volcano Choir: Unmap

   Last year brought us Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago and Collections of Colonies of Bees’ Birds — both among the year’s best, but not artists who’d seem like likely collaborators. And yet t...read more

4. 

   4. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy: Beware

   The longer he runs with his Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy quasi-persona, the more natural and free Will Oldham sounds. Because his songs (not just as Billie) have so powerfully mixed humor, sex...read more

5. 

   5. Andrew Bird: Noble Beast

   Read enough about music and certain words begin to seem meaningless—such as “timeless.” But Andrew Bird’s music is just that, in the best possible sense. Eclectic yet unforc...read more

6. 

   6. The Handsome Family: Honey Moon

   This is, surprisingly from this dark duo, an album of love songs. I was going to crack that finally they’ve given us an album where nobody gets murdered, but then I noticed that one of the love son...read more

Tags: alt-country , country , folk , indie , pop , singer-songwriter