Best of 2009 Albums

The end of the year was amazingly busy. I know you are all probably sick of lists already but I'm gonna hit you with one more. I'm gonna skip any description and give it to you like it is.  Peace and love in 2010.

1. Miike Snow - Miike Snow

2. Regina Spektor - Far

3. La Roux - La Roux

4. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

5. Major Lazer - Guns Don't Kill People, Lazers Do

6. Matt & Kim - Grand

7. Ida Maria - Fortress Around My Heart

8. Passion Pit - Manners

9. Kid Cudi - Man on the Moon

10. Jay Z - Blueprint 3

Diary of an ATL Brave

Donnis - Diary of an ATL Brave (download)

Got my hands on this free mixtape a few weeks ago.  It is nothing groundbreaking, but music is a game of copycats. Donnis blends a Kanye and Kid Cudi together here cohesively. The first time I've heard somebody sound like Kanye successfully.  Donnis got it sponsored by 10. Deep who previously put out Kid Cudi - Man on the Moon and Wale - A Mixtape About Nothing (so the Donnis album makes some sense)  Both very good albums and got those guys record deals on major labels.  Recently, I found out that A-trak signed Donnis to Fool's Gold after Donnis spoke with Kid Cudi about their ability to push a single. This is a kid that is definitely going somewhere, even if he doesn't make it to the mainstream, flow and beats are sexy smooth.

Man on the Moon

I can already hear what you're saying, another over-hyped hipster rapper.  Well, you are pretty much right, Kid Cudi's new album "Man on the Moon : The End of Day" is pretty much a recycling of everything he did really well on his mixtape "A Kid Named Cudi."   This is not to say that I don't like this album, his slow yet forceful rapping style is different than what you hear everyday.  Common narrates through the different "acts" of the album, each with a different theme.  Where Cudi really takes off is the end of the album, acts 4 & 5.  He keeps it interesting in these last acts with collaborations with Ratatat and MGMT providing big beats and hooks for singles.  His label GOOD, run by Kanye, even insisted on putting the over two year old hit single Day N Night.  With that being said my two favorite tracks are "Up, Up and Away," his second stoner anthem, and "Alive"