2009 is a tough year to judge. I’ve checked out more albums this year than any year in the past. Well over 1,000. And there have been quite a few great ones as well. When this list began, it had 110 albums. I abandoned my top 33 and 1/3 for 45, and then said “screw it” and upped the number to an even 50. These are the top notch albums of the year, all worthy of praise.

When I compiled my original Best Of 2008 list last December, it was a snow day. The sky dropped about a foot, maybe a foot and a half of fluffy white stuff and we lowly sub-compact drivers could go nowhere. Between ranking albums and locating album art, I took a stroll around town with my camera. The above image comes from that trek. Overall, I was pretty happy with last year’s list but, in revisiting all the albums from 2008, I now see quite a few …

In their somewhat self-titled debut, She’s The Dutchess, He’s The Duke, The Dutchess And The Duke popularized their lo-fi psychedelic folk with epic tracks like “Reservoir Park” and “I Am Just A Ghost”. With romantically-tinged dual male/female vocals, the duo of Jesse Lortz and Kimberly Morrison reverted to a sound that hinted at another time, one strife with protest and objection to the powers that were, at the time, seen as opposed to the greater good. In that, The Dutchess And The Duke were debuting at a very similar …

Gritty in their psychedelic-tinted folk-pop, The Dutchess And The Duke maintain much of their lo-fi folk sensibilities on “Hands” while simultaneously progressing in their mastery of song and style. Always a group backed by the sounds of old, they are undoubtedly modern; entirely hip, in “Hands” The Dutchess And The Duke once again fill their vocals with a modern soul. That being said, this song isn’t nearly as rough or choppy as those off their debut, She’s The Dutchess And He’s The Duke, even when production forces it.

The Dutchess is Kimberly Morrison and the Duke is Jesse Lortz. The two have been playing together for years, but it wasn’t until they struck out on their own in The Dutchess And The Duke that their creative music abilities came full circle. She’s The Dutchess And He’s The Duke is an album mixing lo-fi folk elements (but not too much so) with 70s folk melodies.