I kick off my year-end coverage with the Top 10 Songs of 2009. Unlike previous years, I assigned a specific order to the songs on the list. Click any of the cells below to download individual tracks, or grab all ten here. You can also stream the entire mix using the flash player at the end of the post.

THE BIG PINK :: VELVET A late addition to the list, “Velvet” is big, dramatic, and grabs your attention on first listen. Too bad the rest of The Big Pink’s debut can’t quite measure up to this fantastic song.

FANFARLO :: I’M A PILOT This song pretty much has it all: great lyrics, gorgeous strings, beautiful piano melodies, thunderous drums, and (of course) an epic climax.

DEER TICK :: SMITH HILL What’s the best way to lament losing your true love? There are many options, but on “Smith Hill” Deer Tick choose to sing an incredible, soaring chorus. I think it’s pretty effective.

CAMERA OBSCURA :: FORESTS AND SANDS I’m not the biggest Camera Obscura fan, but something about “Forests and Sands” really gets me. I love how the instrumentation perfectly matches the sorrowful lyrics.

HURRAY FOR THE RIFF RAFF :: DANIELLA I’ve said this before but it needs repeating: the intro to “Daniella” is one of the most beautiful and relaxing pieces of music I’ve ever heard. The rest of the song is icing on the cake.

BUILT TO SPILL :: THINGS FALL APART The song title pretty much says it all. On “Things Fall Apart” Built to Spill temporarily abandon their signature detachment for a more personal (and vulnerable) sound.

LONEY, DEAR :: DISTANT LIGHTS I had a very difficult time picking just one song from Dear John. On an album full of amazing tracks, “Distant Lights” shines slightly brighter than the rest.

ARCTIC MONKEYS :: DANCE LITTLE LIAR Every time I listen to this song I fall in love with a different part. First it was the hair-raising guitar solo. Then the monstrous drum beat. Now the cryptic lyrics. I can’t wait to see what’ll be next!

BRAND NEW :: BOUGHT A BRIDE On “Bought a Bride” Brand New sound almost unhinged. I thought their old material was as intense as it gets. I was wrong. This song is on another level.

THE ANTLERS :: TWO This shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. I’ve been obsessed with this song since first hearing it back in June. Heartbreaking and epic, “Two” is damn near perfect.

Do you think I left out a song or two? You’re probably right. Let me know what I’m missing by leaving a comment!

Every time I make a new Mike Mix I’m amazed by how much good music falls through the cracks over time. After all, only a small number of songs on each mix have been featured previously on my site. There simply isn’t enough time to write about them all.

Which is why I love making these mixes so much: songs that otherwise would’ve remained permanently buried finally see the light of day. The 14 tracks of Mike Mix 09 are no exception. Many of them are appearing on my site for the first time; most of them should’ve been posted months ago.

With all that said, it’s time to introduce Mike Mix 09.

Despite its quiet start, Mike Mix 09 packs quite a punch. “Lookout Mountain” by Drive-By Truckers rocks incredibly hard; “Else” by Built to Spill bounces around nervously; and “Only In Dreams” by Weezer builds to an epic climax. At the opposite end of the spectrum, “My Lady’s House” by Iron & Wine plods along gently while “The Blackest Crow” by Justin Rutledge quietly refuses to end (in a good way).

As always, I highly recommend listening to Mike Mix 09 in the order presented below. Download the entire mix here or stream it using the player below! Enjoy!

What a difference a month makes.

In the past 4 weeks, I’ve completely settled into my new apartment, taken my first midterm as a grad student, and partied about as much as I did during a typical year as an undergrad. Needless to say, this podcast is the exact opposite of last month’s.

I’ve been meaning to make a good driving mix for quite some time now. And the songs on this podcast need to be played loud. They could be the soundtrack to you and your friends’ drive into the city on the weekend, or the motivation you need to get some (home)work done.

Here’s the track listing:

1. Built to Spill :: Goin’ Against Your Mind
2. Interpol :: Evil
3. The Tragically Hip :: Escape Is At Hand For the Travellin’ Man
4. Weezer :: Say It Ain’t So
5. My Morning Jacket :: O Is the One That Is Real
6. Ryan Adams & the Cardinals :: Let It Ride
7. Belle and Sebastian :: Another Sunny Day
8. The Twilight Singers :: Teenage Wristband
9. Wolf Parade :: I’ll Believe In Anything
10. Silversun Pickups :: Lazy Eye
11. Tapes ‘n Tapes :: Jakov’s Suite

I know that a few of these songs are repeats from previous posts/podcasts, but they were just too perfect to leave out. You may also notice that this mix tape is an enhanced podcast, so feel free to skip from track to track, though I recommend listening to it in its entirety (as always).

Directly download my podcast here. Visit the archives here

Before uploading a podcast (which is coming very soon), I think you all should know the type of music I enjoy. But seeing as how I could go on forever, I have decided to reduce my entire music collection to my 5 favorite artists. It wasn’t very easy – and it’s even harder to rank them. So I won’t. Please enjoy the fruit of my labors…

MY MORNING JACKET: Soaring vocals drenched in reverb.

You know you’ve discovered one of your favorite bands when you stop listening to the rest of your music collection. That’s what the first note of Jim James’ amazing voice made me do. My Morning Jacket is the inspiration for the name of my blog, so I will share with you the song whose title I ripped off.

[mp3] My Morning Jacket :: Phone Went West

BUILT TO SPILL: Epic guitar band with melodies to match.

Initially unimpressed with some mp3’s I downloaded, I let Built to Spill collect dust on my harddrive for several months. Then one fateful day I decided to buy Perfect From Now On after finding nothing else appealing at Rasputin. Next thing I knew, I was buying everything they released and thought that all other music sucked. No joking, they are that good. I saw them live at Slim’s on June 22 and they blew me away. They played ridiculously epic versions of “Untrustable” and “Broken Chairs.” I leave you with the studio recording of the former. Enjoy.

[mp3] Built to Spill :: Untrustable / Pt. 2 (About Somebody Else)

OKKERVIL RIVER: Lyrics as beautiful as the instrumentation.

One of my more recent finds, Okkervil River has quickly moved up the ranks of my favorite bands. The focal point of the music is the lyrics, which, though they range from heartbreaking to murderous, are always excellent. If this seems contradictory, just listen to these two songs.

[mp3] Okkervil River :: A Favor
[mp3] Okkervil River :: Westfall

RADIOHEAD: The original innovators.

Radiohead is the band that started my love affair with music. Senior year of high school my friend introduced me to them. I remember the first time I heard “Fake Plastic Trees.” It was incredible. I’m sure that you all know and love Radiohead, but on the off chance that this is your first exposure, I’ll start you off where I began.

[mp3] Radiohead :: Fake Plastic Trees

SUN KIL MOON: Heartbreaking, yet uplifting nostalgia.

Despite having only one proper album to their name, Sun Kil Moon still makes my top 5 because Ghosts of the Great Highway is one of my favorite records of all time. I bought it with a gift certificate my ex-roommate Joel gave me for my birthday (I hope he enjoys the shout out). Beautiful, uplifting music that at the same time breaks your heart. So few bands can pull it off successfully. I hope you like it as much as I do.

[mp3] Sun Kil Moon :: Carry Me Ohio

BARELY MISSED THE CUT: Make sure to check out these other excellent bands, though I will most likely post on them in the future: The National, Songs: Ohia, Iron & Wine, and Ryan Adams.