Our boy Austin who runs Vinyl Meltdown, an awesome blog that covers Hip-Hop, indie, and dope intersections therein, hit us with his top 10 albums of 2009. Thanks, homey, and keep grindin’ in Twenty Ten!

VINYL MELTDOWN blog: Top 10 of 2009

Let me preface this by saying that I’m primarily hip hop head. But I do enjoy a good assortment of music from across genres. So in the spirit of eclectic musical taste, here is a top 10 list to give a fair and balanced view of all that ‘09 had to offer.

Best albums of 2009:

10) Diamond District – In the Ruff
I put on for my city. 3 of DCs finest hip-hoppers combine forces to take DC on an excellent adventure back to the golden era of boombap hip hop.

9) The RaAh Project – Score
This is less a typical album and more of an experiment in what music can be; shattering genre barriers across jazz, rock, classical, hip hop, and anything else you can think of.

8) Mayer Hawthorne - A Strange Arrangement
Not only is Mayer Hawthorne an incredibly soulful singer and producer, but he started out as simply a comedic alter-ego to DJ Haircut, a member of Ann Arbor’s Athletic Mic League. Good thing he started taking himself seriously.

7) Tanya Morgan – Brooklynati
An incredibly subtle but potent concept album, the guys of Tanya Morgan take us on a voyage to Brooklynati, a fictitious blend of Brooklyn and Cincinnati. Now we’re on our way.

6) The xx – xx
London based band The xx debut fantastically with an intriguing blend of pop-sensibilities and dark electronic overtones.

5) Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest
Just listen to Two Weeks and tell me that it’s not the jam of the year.

4) Major Lazer – Guns Don’t Kill People, Lazers Do
This album is so packed full of dancefloor killers that it’s guaranteed that no matter what time it is, it’s Major Lazer O’Clock somewhere.

3) Shafiq Husayn – Shafiq En A-Free-Ka
1/3 of esteemed production group Sa-Ra takes us on a voyage not just to A-Free-Ka, but all across the Afrikan Diaspora in an incredible hodge podge of sound.

2) Theophilus London – This Charming Mixtape
I know it’s not technically an album, but it helped launch Theophilus practically overnight with his infectious blend of dope rhymes, hypeman skills, and music from all reaches of the genre spectrum.

1) Ramona Falls – Intuit
Menomena’s Brent Knopf takes the helm and sails towards success with the help of 35 man deep roster. Everything about this album is flawless, from the songwriting, to the production, instrumentation and vocals. And if you haven’t seen the video to I Say Fever, get to youtubin’ immediately.