The 100 Best Songs of 2009

It is probably not a good sign for the music business that the biggest song of the year was released back in 1969. But for some reason, three artists all used Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye by Steam in their songs. Wale started out ’09 sampling it for Chillin’. Then Kristinia DeBarge used it as the chorus for her debut song, the aptly titled Goodbye. Then Jay-Z tried to kill off Auto-Tune with the help of the famous cadence. Despite the overuse of cheesy sports anthems, 2009 was actually a great year for good music (on the flip side, it wasn’t much of a good year for great music) as this was the largest pool of songs, 250 (shoot me an e-mail if you want the full list, I'll send you my speadsheet), which I had to cut down for my Top 100. And here they are and I hope to see everyone back in 2010 (check the bottom of the post for samples of the songs on the Amazon MP3 widget):

1. Use Somebody - Kings of Leon

2. Make Her Say - Kid Cudi, Kanye West, and Common

3. I and Love and You - The Avett Brothers

4. Run This Town - Jay-Z featuring Rihanna & Kanye West

5. You And Me - Dave Matthews Band

6. Sugarfoot - Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears

7. Grapevine Fires - Death Cab for Cutie

8. Funny The Way It Is - Dave Matthews Band

9. Cowboy Casanova - Carrie Underwood

10. Magick - Ryan Adams & the Cardinals

11. Nothing but a Miracle - Diane Birch

12. Pony (It's OK) - Erin McCarley

13. Too Many Rappers - Beastie Boys featuring Nas

14. Who Says - John Mayer

15. You Belong With Me - Taylor Swift

16. Staying in Love - Raphael Saadiq

17. Geraldine - Glasvegas

18. A Dustland Fairytale - The Killers

19. Mykonos - Fleet Foxes

20. Even If It Breaks Your Heart - Will Hoge

21. People C'mon - Delta Spirit

22. Notion - Kings of Leon

23. Chillin' - Wale featuring Lady Gaga

24. Melody - Kate Earl

25. I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight - U2

26. Fugitive - David Gray

27. Percussion Gun - White Rabbits

28. Chasing Pirates - Norah Jones

29. Under My Bed - Meiko

30. Red Light - David Nail

31. (If You're Wondering if I Want You To) I Want You To - Weezer

32. The Fixer - Pearl Jam

33. Fitz and the Dizzyspells - Andrew Bird

34. Wild at Heart - Gloriana

35. 100 Yard Dash - Raphael Saadiq

36. Heartless - The Fray

37. I Could Break Your Heart Any Day of the Week - Mandy Moore

38. Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart - Alicia Keys

39. Just Breathe - Pearl Jam

40. Doesn't Mean Anything - Alicia Keys

41. Gravity - Sara Bareilles

42. Love, Save the Empty - Erin McCarley

43. I Love College - Asher Roth

44. Fire Escape - Diane Birch

45. People Got a Lotta Nerve - Neko Case

46. I Like You so Much Better When You're Naked - Ida Maria

47. Empire State of Mind - Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys

48. The One - Slaughterhouse

49. Furr - Blitzen Trapper

50. The Fear - Lily Allen

51. A Whole Lot Better - Brendan Benson

52. Everybody Knows - John Legend

53. Laughing With - Regina Spektor

54. Beyond Here Lies Nothin' - Bob Dylan

55. Just Ain't Gonna Work Out - Mayer Hawthorne

56. Little Bribes - Death Cab for Cutie

57. Sometime Around Midnight - The Airborne Toxic Event

58. New in Town - Little Boots

59. Goodnight, Travel Well - The Killers

60. Brick by Boring Brick - Paramore

61. Sky - Joshua Radin featuring Meiko

62. I Wanna Rock - Snoop Dogg

63. Hometown Glory - Adele

64. Shining Down - Lupe Fiasco featuring Matthews Santos

65. Bang Bang - K'naan featuring Adam Levine

66. 1901 - Phoenix

67. Chocolate Box - Prince featuring Q-Tip

68. If Rap Gets Jealous - K'naan featuring Kirk Hammett

69. Kinda Like a Big Deal - Clipse featuring Kanye West

70. White Horse - Taylor Swift

71. Radio Radio - Brooke White

72. The Man Who Can't Be Moved - The Script

73. Oscar Wilde - Company of Thieves

74. Swim - Jack's Mannequin

75. Nothing to Worry About - Peter Bjorn and John

76. Show Me What I'm Looking For - Carolina Liar

77. Who'd Have Known - Lily Allen

78. A-Yo - Method Man & Redman featuring Saukrates

79. Wavin' Flag - K'naan

80. Life Is Better - Q-Tip featuring Norah Jones

81. Barely in Love - Q-Tip

82. Fly One Time - Ben Harper and Relentless7

83. Why I Am - Dave Matthews Band

84. Daddy's Gone - Glasvegas

85. Crawl - Kings of Leon

86. Uprising - Muse

87. Don't Forget - Demi Lovato

88. Bulletproof - La Roux

89. On Vacation - Aimee Allen

90. Fireflies - Owl City

91. Just Say Yes - Snow Patrol

92. East Jesus Nowhere - Green Day

93. How I Got Over - The Roots

94. I'm Broke - Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears

95. Wonderful - Gary Go

96. D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune) - Jay-Z

97. That's Not My Name - The Ting Tings

98. Love Letter to Japan - The Bird and the Bee

99. Get On Your Boots - U2

100. Let's Take a Walk - Raphael Saadiq

The 9th Green’s Readers Favorite Songs of 2009

Today is the one day of the year I turn the 9th Green over to you the readers. I have collected your top ten lists, powered up Microsoft Excel, plugged them in, and here is the list that it spit back out to me. If you don’t agree with this list, you should have sent in you on list and I hope you do so next year. For the list of my 100 favorite songs of 2009, check back tomorrow (a little warning, it may be late as I just started working on it last night and I get a little obsessive compulsive with these lists). So thanks to everyone who did submit their list and hope to see you back here in 2010, here is your list of the best songs of 2009:

1. 1901 - Phoenix

2. Just Breathe - Pearl Jam

3. Bulletproof - La Roux

4. Run This Town - Jay-Z featuring Rihanna and Kanye West

5. Daniel - Bat for Lashes

6. Heads Will Roll - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

7. No Sound but the Wind (New Moon Version) - Editors

8. Empire State of Mind - Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys

9. World So Cold - Three Day Grace

10. Fireflies - Owl City

11. Half of My Heart - John Mayer with Taylor Swift

12. Swim - Jack's Mannequin

13. Houses - Great Northern

14. Impossible - Daniel Merriweather

15. New Divide - Linkin Park

16. Heartless - The Fray

17. Supernova - Mr. Hudson featuring Kanye West

18. Use Somebody - Kings of Leon

19. I and Love and You - The Avett Brothers

20. Help I'm Alive - Metric

21. The Debtor - Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson

22. You Belong with Me - Taylor Swift

23. Poker Face - Lady Gaga

24. House of Flying Daggers - Raekwon featuring Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, and Method Man

25. Day n Night - Kid Cudi

The 25 Best Mash Up's of 2009

Where I could find them, I linked the mash-up's to YouTube (or embedded them). To download the orginal source, click the song names to be taken to iTunes.

1. Party in the B.I.G. - Hatbanger
Notorious B.I.G. (Party and (Expletive Deleted) vs Miley Cyrus (Party in the U.S.A. )



2. Use the Same Old Song - Mighty Mike
The Four Tops (It's the Same Old Song) vs. Kings of Leon (Use Somebody)



3. Good ol' Fashion Rump Shaker - DJ STV SLV
Beastie Boys (Shake Your Rump) vs. Matt & Kim (Good Ol' Fashion Nightmare)



4. The Trooper Believer - DJ Schmolli
The Monkees (I'm a Believer) vs. Iron Maiden (The Trooper)



5. House of Klezmer - DJ Farfoff
House of Pain (Jump Around) vs. Amsterdam Klezmer Band vs. Pa Brapad



6. Machine Gun Shelter - Party Ben
Commodores (Machine Gun) vs. Rolling Stones (Gimme Shelter)

7. Brooklyn Rocks - DJ Lobsterdust
Beastie Boys (No Sleep 'till Brooklyn) vs. Joan Jett (I Love Rock and Roll)

8. ABC in Central Park - Zamali
Jackson 5 (ABC) vs. Krafty Kuts (Party in Central Park)

9. Give This Way - DJ Moule
Aerosmith-Run DMC (Walk This Way) vs. Red Hot Chili Peppers (Give it Away) vs. Chemical Brothers (Block Rockin' Beats)

10. Everybody's Everyday Girl - DJ BC
Fleetwood Mac (Everywhere) vs. Snoop Dogg (That Girl) vs. Kanye West (This Way) vs Q-Tip (Come Close)

11. Acoustic Alchemy - Norwegian Recycling
Jack Johnson (Bubble Toes) vs. Green Day (Good Riddence (Time of Your Life))

12. Religion in the Wind - Lasso the Moon
Kansas (Dust in the Wind) vs. R.E.M. (Losing My Religion)

13. Paperlong - Mighty Mike
Foo Fighters (Everlong) vs. M.I.A. (Paper Planes)

14. Westside Godzilla Connection - Frogthedog
Westside Connection (Bow Down) vs. Blue Öyster Cult (Godzilla)

15. It's Bigger Than a Prayer - Yold
Dead Prez (Hip Hop) vs. Bloc Party (The Prayer)

16. Radioghost - Norwegian Recycling
Radiohead (High and Dry) vs. Howie Day (Ghost)

17. Crushed Pony - DJ Fac
Ginuwine (Pony) vs. Paramore (Crushchrushcrush)

18. RiverBad - DJ Lobsterdust
Meatloaf (Two Out of Three Ain't Bad) vs. Morcheeba (Riverbed)

19. 2 Many Beastles - dj BC
Beastie Boys and Nas (Too Many Rappers) vs. the Beatles (Taxman)

20. Don't Stop Til You Get Enough Q-Tip - 33jones
Q-Tip (Breathe and Stop) vs. Michael Jackson (Don't Stop til You Get Enough)

21. Complicated Sex on Fire - DJ Schmolli
Avril Lavigne (Complicated) vs. Kings of Leon (Sex on Fire)

22. Gorilla Idol - locK3Down
Gorillaz (Tomorrow Comes Today/Clint Eastwood) vs. Billy Idol (Eyes Without a Face)

23. Fall Out Gloria - Mighty Mike
Fall Out Boy (This Ain't a Scene it's an Arms Race) vs. Gloria Gaynor (I Will Survive)

24. Hives For Your Right - DJ Y alias JY
The Hives (Tick Tick Boom) vs. Beastie Boys (Fight for Your Right)

25. Mercy For Roxanne - Mighty Mike
The Police (Roxanne) vs. Duffy (Mercy)

The 25 Best Live Performances of 2009

When it was announced that Jimmy Fallon would take over Late Night I thought it was the bad idea to end all bad ideas. When he finally took over the desk that was basically was the case. One bright spot was the Fallon brought on The Roots as his house band leading to many once in a lifetime collaborations, five of which landed on the list this year. Unfortunately copyright restrictions keep some of these performances hard to find, but I have linked the ones I could find.


1. Let’s Go Crazy – Incubus and The Roots (Late Night with Jimmy Fallon)



2. Cowboy Casanova – Carrie Underwood (American Country Awards)



3. Lost/Viva la Vida - Coldplay and Jay-Z (Grammy Awards)

4. Ride Like the Wind – Christopher Cross, Michael McDonald and The Roots (Jimmy Fallon)

5. Da Rockwilder / I’ll Be There for You / You’re All I Need to Get By – Redman, Method Man and Mary J. Blige (Hip Hop Honor)

6. 15 Steps - Radiohead and the USC Marching Band (Grammy Awards)

7. You Belong with Me – Taylor Swift (MTV Video Music Awards)

8. So What’cha Want – Beastie Boys and the Roots (Late Night with Jimmy Fallon)

9. Medley - Bruce Springsteen (2009 Super Bowl)

10. East Jesus Nowhere – Green Day (MTV Video Music Awards)

11. Train Kept a Rollin – Metallica, Jeff Beck, Flea, Jimmy Paige, Joe Perry (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction)

12. No Sleep till Brooklyn – Wale, KRS-One, and Gym Class Heroes (Hip Hop Honor)

13. Use Somebody – Kings of Leon (MTV Movie Awards)

14. Margaritaville – Jimmy Buffet and The Roots (Late Night with Jimmy Fallon)

15. Empire State of Mind – Jay-Z and Alicia Keys (MTV Video Music Awards)

16. Bo Diddly - B.B. King, Buddy Guy, John Mayer, and Keith Urban (Grammy Awards)

17. Lady of My Life – Maxwell (Grammy Nomination Special)

18. Party Up (Up in Here) – DMX and Gym Class Heroes (Hip Hop Honor)

19. Chasing Pavements - Adele and Sugarland (Grammy Awards)

20. Enter Sandman/Master of Puppets – Metallica (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame)

21. Regulate – Warren G and Trey Songz (Hip Hop Honor)

22. Amen/All Summer Long/Rock & Roll Jesus - Kid Rock (Grammy Awards)

23. Barely in Love – Q-Tip and the Roots (Late Night with Jimmy Fallon)

24. Four Tops Medley - Duke Farik, Smokey Robinson, Jamie Foxx, and Ne-Yo (Grammy Awards)

25. Rebel Without a Pause – Public Enemy, The Roots and the Street Sweeper Social Club (Hip Hop Honor)

The 50 Best Music Videos of 2009

I have embedded the first couple videos, the rest you can click the link to follow to YouTube and if you are interested in buying the videos, click the iTunes badge.

1. Nothing to Worry About - Peter Bjorn and John



2. True Player for Real - MC Lars featuring "Weird Al" Yankovic



3. (If You're Wondering if I Want You To) I Want You To - Weezer



4. Low Rising - The Swell Season



5. Daniel - Bat for Lashes



6. Run This Town - Jay-Z, Rihanna, and Kanye West

7. CNR - "Weird Al" Yankovic

8. Chasing Pirates - Norah Jones

9. I Could Break Your Heart Any Day of the Week - Mandy Moore

10. People C'mon - Delta Spirit

11. WTF - OK Go

12. Wrong - Depeche Mode

13. Cousins - Vampire Weekend

14. Falling Down - Oasis

15. Uprising - Muse

16. Heartless - The Fray

17. Goodnight, Travel Well - The Killers

18. Lessons Learned - Matt and Kim

19. Who'd Have Known - Lily Allen

20. Grapevine Fires - Death Cab for Cutie

21. Stay Up! (Viagra) - 88-Keys featuring Kanye West

22. Treat Me Like Your Mother - The Dead Weather

23. Cowboy Casanova - Carrie Underwood

24. Sleep Alone - Bat for Lashes

25. Nothing but a Miracle - Diane Birch

26. Death to All But Metal - Steel Panther

27. Sweet About Me - Gabriella Cilmi

28. 21 Guns - Green Day

29. A Dustland Fairytale - The Killers

30. You Belong With Me - Taylor Swift

31. I Love College - Asher Roth

32. He's Frank - The B.P.A. featuring Iggy Pop

33. (Expletive Deleted) You - Lily Allen

34. We Made You - Eminem

35. Carol Brown - Flight of the Concords

36. Brick by Boring Brick - Paramore

37. Money - N.A.S.A., David Byrne, Chuck D, Ras Congo, Seu Jorge and Z-Trip

38. Life In Technicolor ii - Coldplay

39. Life Is Better - Q-Tip and Norah Jones

40. Mykonos - Fleet Foxes

41. You And Me - Dave Matthews Band

42. Don't Forget - Demi Lovato

43. Give Me the Meltdown - Rob Thomas

44. Best I Ever Had - Drake

45. She's a Genius - Jet

46. The Fear - Lily Allen

47. Melody - Kate Earl

48. Magnificant - U2

49. New in Town - Little Boots

50. Make Her Say - Kid Cudi, Kanye West, and Common