Making Our Lists, Checking Them Twice

If you got the good-old trusty Decatur CD Newsletter late last night (indeed, we've been burning the midnight oil as of late), you saw our kinda-sorta-random compilation of 2009 year-end lists. Just in case you missed it, though, have a look:

Our Favorite New Food-Based Things of 2009:
Warren: Community Q BBQ
Austin: Miller Union
Eliot: Chick-Fil-A sauce

Our Favorite New Musical Things of 2009:
529
Dust-to-Digital's vinyl imprint, Parlortone
Reactionary Records
Amiri Baraka's Digging: The Afro-American Soul of American Classical Music (a fantastic read in stock now!)

Our Three(-ish) Favorite Records of 2009:
Warren: Avett Brothers' I and Love and You, The Feelies reissues, Allen Toussaint's The Bright Mississippi
Austin: Phosphorescent's To Willie, Thomas Function's In the Valley of Sickness, Drake's So Far Gone mixtape/Mika Miko's We Be Xuxa
Eliot: Cave Weddings' CD-R EP, de Cylinders' reissue singles, Predator EP

A Smattering of Local Businesses Not Mentioned Above That You Should Also Frequent Because They're Awesoms:
Sawicki's Meat, Seafood and More (Austin)
Skip's (Eliot)
Taste/Mingei (Warren)
Leon's (Austin)
Heliotrope (Decatur CD)
Falafel King (Eliot)
Little Shop of Stories/Blue Elephant (Warren)
Dancing Goats/Javamonkey (Austin)
Oxford Comics (Eliot)
Cakes & Ale (Warren)
Stickfigure Distribution (Decatur CD)

But, as you might imagine, we are far from the only ones getting our list on this time of year. Here, then, is a list of music-themed lists. How meta, right?

KEXP picks the Best Music Books of 2009, mixtape style.

Last.fm published that Lady Gaga took the honors in its 40 Most Popular Albums list.

The No Depression Community called Buddy & Julie Miller's album the best of its 50.

Paste says The Avett Brothers made the album of the year, naming 25 total.

Pitchfork says Animal Collective made the album of the year, listing 50 total, plus honorable mentions.

Pop Matters picked 60 albums, Animal Collective again taking the #1 spot.

Rolling Stone put U2 on top of its list of 25 albums.

Spin also thinks Animal Collective made the album of the year, putting it atop the publications list of 40 records.

Stereogum picked the 30 Best Metal albums of the year. \m/