remember when i said, in my “best albums of 2009” blog, that i knew i would like john mayer’s battle studies eventually, but at the moment it just wasn’t the right time?

well i watched his episode of “storytellers” this past weekend (or maybe it was friday) and that was what it took. i’ve always preferred john mayer live to john mayer on the album. probably because on the album he plays it safe, does what “they” want and live he takes those safe songs and plays them like they were meant to be played. with a little soul or heart or something. i don’t know.

anyway, i found myself singing along to almost every song, even the new battle studies ones that i didn’t really like. so i ended up listening to the album for the rest of the weekend and i’m really liking it. especially “assasin,” “half of my heart,” and “who says.” i like the lyrics to “perfectly lonely,” but i’m not partial to the arrangement on the album. it was a little better on “storytellers” but the music doesn’t really do the song justice.

anyway, i’m warming up to this album and can’t wait to see him again next month.

abrupt. end.

these are my favorite albums of the year. they may not be the best (muse’s resistance is a great record…but not on my list), but they are the albums that i’ve listened to over and over and over this year.

i have to say though, i was kind of disappointed with music this year. granted i’ve been broke and haven’t spent nearly as much time rifling through magazines and the internet in search of new tunes, but there wasn’t much that stuck with me this year. i mean, kings of leon’s only by the night is still in my 6-disc changer in my car (yes, i listen to actual CDs whenever possible. whole other blog.). it wasn’t just that very little new music struck a chord with me, bands i’m used to counting on let me down too. for instance, blue october’s new album, approaching normal went through two spins in my car, was uploaded to my itunes and i haven’t listened to it since. they’re my FAVORITE BAND. this record was just…lacking in substance.

anyway. in no particular order…

i love love love this record. yes, i originally bought this because the lead singer/guitarist/songwriter is george harrison’s son, dhani, and i pretty much love anything that has to do with the late, great george. i couldn’t find it anywhere in tulsa and was planning on buying it online, then i found myself in dallas visiting friends one weekend so i stopped by good records in lower greenville and, lo-and-behold, they had it. it played on repeat for the duration of the four-hour drive back home.

dhani sounds eerily like george. this record is the perfect balance of chilled out and rock. it kills me that i couldn’t make it down to see them play with wolfmother and heartless bastards this past fall.

listen to: “yomp,” “bluesy,” and “another john doe”

totally blows last year’s rest remixed out of the water. growth and a step in the right direction in the biggest way possible. there’s an overture that, at times, sounds like it belongs in “fantasia.” then they blow your mind for a few songs. then they take it way down. then they melt your face again. then they bring it back. the dynamics on this record are incredible. the lyrics are supurb. “take a picture of / everything you love / all the joy you have / in a photograph.”

listen to: “photograph,” “straight out the gate,” “just tonight,” and “back is broken”

love everything about this album. it’s so cohesive. and almost theatrical in some places. and the melody in the verses of “arrhythmia” are brilliant. it makes me think of spring. driving with the windows down. playing piano and cowbell on my steering wheel. singing along until i’m out of breath. these lyrics changed the course of my year:

and i’m finding my own way out of here and i’m only taking one on my way / you can mentally sit on the fence all day but i’ll have the time of my life and no one will take that away from me anymore / i’m right, i’m right, i’m right, i know i’m right / so get me out ‘cause this is my turn to speak or scream / i’m gonna says this from the top of my lungs as clear as i can but as clear as i could would never produce the effect that i want so stop and listen good / i won’t write one more song about what happened or what went wrong i’m moving on ‘cause it’s time for a change / a change in my life / i’m ready to just let this go / and leave you by yourself for awhile until you finally know how hard it is to be alone.

listen to: “one more song,” “arrhythmia,” and “instead”

this is a recent purchase (read: a week ago) but i’ve been meaning to get it for a while. and since i bought it, i haven’t listened to much else. i heard about this band from a guy named beau who may or may not be in the band jonathan tyler and the northern lights. he was at the time. don’t know if he still is or what. anyway. my friend gary and i took beau and jonathan out to see a killer guitar player (dustin pittsley) and pedal steel player (jesse aycock) after a JTNL show one night and, since i’m convinced that i’m partially autistic based on my complete lack of conversational ability i broke the silence in my car with the only weapon in my auditory arsenal: “so what are you listening to right now?” and beau said “cage the elephant.” and the next day i checked them out. and i liked them. and i finally bought the record. the end.

listen to: “james brown,” “in one ear,” and “ain’t no rest for the wicked”

i’m kind of cheating on this one. i haven’t bought it. yet. BUT i’ve listened to it over and over and over and over on grooveshark at work. and i love it. it’s just as amazing and melodic as their previous albums. i can’t explain how much i love this band. whereas blue october let me down with their record, starsailor exceeded my expectations.

listen to: “tell me it’s not over,” “all the plans,” “change my mind,” and “hurts too much”

for whatever reason i feel like paramore is a guilty pleasure band. i don’t really know why. but i liked riot. didn’t really proclaim my love publicly, but i liked it. and i REALLY like brand new eyes. i don’t like girl singers either, but hayley williams is ok. she’s like, what avril lavigne wanted to be but didn’t have the pipes or songwriting ability to pull off. i know bringing avril into this doesn’t help my case much, but the other day my mom said, “hm, sounds kind of like avril lavigne,” and i made the above remark and i was rather amused by myself and thought it was blog-worthy.

listen to: “looking up,” “all i wanted,” “ignorance,” and “the only exception”

cheating again. don’t own it. yet. (i told you i was broke!) i’d never heard this band until i found out they were playing with thenewno2 in dallas. back when i thought i was going to go to the show i checked them out and started listening to this album non-stop on grooveshark. i was so pumped for the show. and then i couldn’t get away from work. damn the man.

listen to: “california queen,” “10,000 feet,” and “phoenix”

was really excited for this one. i liked it. i think i’ll like it more if i take another listen. timing you know.

listen to: “you and i,” “wilco (the song),” and “one wing”

this is at the bottom for a reason. john mayer, you disappointed me. almost as much as blue october, but obviously…you’re on the list. they’re not, so you did something right. i LOVED continuum. i LOVE the trio stuff. frankly, i think he should just stick with the blues full time. BUT, i like that he’s exploring. there was the acoustic pop record, the blues record, and now this ’70s-esque mellow record. i don’t like it right now, but i’ve been listening to cage the elephant and wolfmother. don’t really mesh well with this album. the reason this made my list and blue october didn’t is that battle studies is a GREAT record. and i WILL like it. (except for that god-awful reworked cover of “crossroads.” ew. ew ew ew.) i go in cycles, and when i start to chill out again, i’ll pop this album in and i’m 99% sure i’ll love it. (i have, however, loved the taylor swift duet “half of my heart” since i first heard it.)

this is also the first album i’ve ever bought digitally. well, where i had a choice. i’ve bought a couple digital albums and tracks because they weren’t available tangibly. i bought this digitally because, if i haven’t mentioned this before, i’ve been really broke. and i had to swallow my stubborn, CD-loving, pride and save almost $10 by choosing the digital copy.

listen to: “half of my heart,” “perfectly lonely,” “friends, lovers or nothing,” and “assassin”

note: you were going to get a pretty little audio snippet of a song from each of these albums, but i can only upload one song per day via tumblr and no audio/playlist sites seem to want to play nice with blogs anymore. some backward-ass music exec’s doing i assume. or i could just be an idiot. either way, click the album art and it’ll take you to the amazon page which should have samples of all the songs.