Except for the songs that made my Top 20 Songs of 2009, these are the rest of the best indie and indie-minded rock tracks of 2009 (Volume 1 of 3). To be eligible, a song needed to be included on an album released in the United States between December 1, 2008 and November 30, 2009.

1. Phoenix “1901” Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (Glass Note)

2. Throw Me the Statue “Hi-Fi Goon” Creaturesque (Secretly Canadian)

3. Miike Snow “Song for No One” Miike Snow (Downtown)

4. The Whitest Boy Alive “1517″ Rules (ASound/Bubbles)

5. Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes “40 Day Dream” Up From Below (Vagrant)

6. Grizzly Bear “Two Weeks” Veckatimest (Warp)

7. The Rural Alberta Advantage “The Ballad of RAA” Hometowns (Saddle Creek)

8. M. Ward featuring Jason Lytle (ex-Grandaddy frontman) “To Save Me” Hold Time (Merge)

9. Phoenix “Lisztomania” Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (Glass Note)

10. Julian Casablancas “11th Dimension” Phrazes for the Young (RCA)

11. Empire of the Sun “Walking on a Dream” Walking on a Dream (Astralwerks/Virgin)

12. The Asteroids Galaxy Tour “Around the Bend” Fruit (Small Giants)

13. Miike Snow “Animal” Miike Snow (Downtown)

14. Starlight Mints “Zoomba” Change Remains (Barsuk)

15. The Features “The Drawing Board” Some Kind of Salvation (429)

16. Portugal. The Man “People Say” The Satanic Satanist (Equal Vision/Defiance)

17. Brendan Benson “Garbage Day” My Old, Familiar Friend (ATO)

18. The Whitest Boy Alive “High On the Heels” Rules (ASound/Bubbles)

19. Psapp “Part Like Waves” The Camel’s Back (Domino)

20. Matt & Kim “I’ll Take You Home” Grand (Fader)

21. The Fiery Furnaces “I’m Going Away” I’m Going Away (Thrill Jockey)

22. Immaculate Machine “Sound the Alarms” High On Jackson Hill (Mint)

23. The Decemberists “Won’t Want for Love (Margaret in the Taiga)” The Hazards of Love (Capitol)

24. The Rural Alberta Advantage “Don’t Haunt This Place” Hometowns (Saddle Creek)

25. M. Ward featuring Zooey Deschanel “Never Had Nobody Like You” Hold Time (Merge)

26. The Pink Mountaintops “Holiday” Outside Love (Jagjaguwar)

Except for the songs that made my Top 20 Songs of 2009, these are the rest of the best indie and indie-minded rock tracks of 2009 (Volume 2 of 3). To be eligible, a song needed to be included on an album released in the United States between December 1, 2008 and November 30, 2009.

1. Neko Case “People Got A Lotta Nerve” Middle Cyclone (Anti-)

2. Death Cab for Cutie “I Was Once A Loyal Lover” The Open Door EP (Atlantic)

3. The Features “Lions” Some Kind of Salvation (429)

4. The Noisettes “Wild Young Hearts” Wild Young Hearts (Mercury)

5. Gossip “2012” Music for Men (Columbia)

6. Metric “Sick Muse” Fantasies (Metric Music International)

7. Matt & Kim “Daylight” Grand (Fader)

8. Matt & Kim “I Wanna” Grand (Fader)

9. Peter Bjorn & John “Nothing to Worry About” Living Thing (Almost Gold)

10. Peter Bjorn & John “Living Thing” Living Thing (Almost Gold)

11. Psapp “Mister Ant” The Camel’s Back (Domino)

12. Psapp “Parker” The Camel’s Back (Domino)

13. Zero 7 “Everything Up (Zizou)” Yeah Ghost (Atlantic)

14. Gomez “Airstream Driver” A New Tide (ATO)

15. The Black Ghosts “Full Moon” The Black Ghosts (Republic)

16. Portugal. The Man “Work All Day” The Satanic Satanist (Equal Vision/Defiance)

17. Handsome Furs “I’m Confused” Face Control (Sub Pop)

18. Built To Spill “Aisle 13” There Is No Enemy (Warner Brothers)

19. A.C. Newman “The Changeling (Get Guilty)” Get Guilty (Matador)

20. A.C. Newman “Like A Hitman, Like A Dancer” Get Guilty (Matador)

21. The Avett Brothers “Kick Drum Heart” I and Love and You (Sony)

22. Monsters of Folk “Say Please” Monsters of Folk (Shangri-La)

23. The Features “Foundation’s Cracked” Some Kind of Salvation (429)

24. The Rural Alberta Advantage “The Deadroads” Hometowns (Saddle Creek)

25. Throw Me the Statue “Dizzy From the Fall” Creaturesque (Secretly Canadian)

26. Bishop Allen “The Lion & The Teacup” Grrr… (Dead Oceans)

27. Bishop Allen “South China Moon” Grrr… (Dead Oceans)

28. Empire of the Sun “Standing on the Shore” Walking on a Dream (Astralwerks/Virgin)

29. Passion Pit “The Reeling” Manners (Frenchkiss)

Except for the songs that made my Top 20 Songs of 2009, these are the rest of the best indie and indie-minded rock tracks of 2009 (Volume 3 of 3). To be eligible, a song needed to be included on an album released in the United States between December 1, 2008 and November 30, 2009.

1. Psapp “I Want That” The Camel’s Back (Domino)

2. Dirty Projectors “Stillness is the Move” Bitte Orca (Domino)

3. Sunset Rubdown “Silver Moons” Dragonslayer (Jagjaguwar)

4. Manchester Orchestra “I’ve Got Friends” Mean Everything to Nothing (Favorite Gentleman/Canvasback)

5. Florence + The Machine “My Boy Builds Coffins” Lungs (Island)

6. Heartless Bastards “Wide Awake” The Mountain (Fat Possum)

7. Lights “Fire Night” Rites (Drag City)

8. UUVVWWZ “Jap Dad” UUVVWWZ (Saddle Creek)

9. Karen O and the Kids “Capsize” Where the Wild Things Are Soundtrack (Interscope)

10. PJ Harvey & John Parish “Black Hearted Love” A Woman A Man Walked By (Island)

11. Skye “Exhale” Keeping Secrets (Skyewards)

12. Bat for Lashes “Daniel” Two Suns (Astralwerks)

13. St. Vincent “Laughing With a Mouth of Blood” The Strangers (4AD)

14. Electric Owls “Kamiakin” Ain’t Too Bright (Vagrant)

15. The Flaming Lips “Silver Trembling Hands” Embryonic (Warner Brothers)

16. Mew “Beach” No More Stories Are Told Today… (Columbia)

17. M. Ward “Stars of Leo” Hold Time (Merge)

18. Animal Collective “Summertime Clothes” Merriweather Post Pavillion (Domino)

19. The Fiery Furnaces “Staring at the Steeple” I’m Going Away (Thrill Jockey)

20. UUVVWWZ “Shark Suit” UUVVWWZ (Saddle Creek)

21. The Dead Weather “I Cut Like a Buffalo” Horehound (Third Man/Warner Brothers)

22. Sunset Rubdown “You Go On Ahead (Trumpet Trumpet II)” Dragonslayer (Jagjaguwar)

23. Julian Casablancas “River of Brakelights” Phrazes for the Young (RCA)

24. The Flaming Lips “Watching the Planets” Embryonic (Warner Brothers)

25. Ramona Falls “I Say Fever” Intuit (Barsuk)

26. Skye “Almost Killed Me” Keeping Secrets (Skyewards)

27. St. Vincent “Save Me From What I Want” The Strangers (4AD)

28. UUVVWWZ “Green Starred Sleeve” UUVVWWZ (Saddle Creek)

29. Sunset Rubdown “Nightingale/December Song” Dragonslayer (Jagjaguwar)

Except for the songs that made my Top 20 Songs of 2009, these are the rest of the best lighter/mellow rock tracks of 2009 (Volume 1 of 3). To be eligible, a song needed to be included on an album released in the United States between December 1, 2008 and November 30, 2009.

1. A.A. Bondy “I Can See the Pines Are Dancing” When the Devil’s Loose (Fat Possum)

2. Monsters of Folk “Magic Marker” Monsters of Folk (Shangri-La)

3. Neko Case “Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth” Middle Cyclone (Anti-)

4. Alela Diane “The Alder Trees” To Be Still (Rough Trade)

5. Norah Jones “It’s Gonna Be” The Fall (Blue Note)

6. The Mountain Goats “Genesis 3:23” The Life of the World to Come (4AD)

7. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit “Streetlights” Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit (Lightning Rod)

8. M. Ward “Blake’s View” Hold Time (Merge)

9. The Decemberists “The Hazards of Love 4 (The Drowned)” The Hazards of Love (Capitol)

10. The Black Crowes “Appaloosa” Before the Frost…Until the Freeze (Silver Arrow/Megaforce)

11. My Morning Jacket “El Caporal” Dark Was the Night (4AD)

12. Norah Jones “Chasing Pirates” The Fall (Blue Note)

13. Maria Taylor featuring Michael Stipe “Cartoons and Forever Plans” Ladyluck (Nettwerk)

14. Regina Spektor “The Calculation” Far (Sire)

15. A Fine Frenzy “New Heights” Bomb In a Birdcage (Virgin)

16. The Mountain Goats “Romans 10:9” The Life of the World to Come (4AD)

17. M. Ward “Fisher of Men” Hold Time (Merge)

18. Fruit Bats “Being On Our Own” The Ruminant Band (Sub Pop)

19. Lou Barlow “Too Much Freedom” Goodnight Unknown (Merge)

20. Andrew Bird “Oh No” Noble Beast (Fat Possum)

21. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit “Sunstroke” Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit (Lightning Rod)

22. Norah Jones “Tell Yer Mama” The Fall (Blue Note)

23. Indigo Girls “Sugar Tongue” Poseidon and the Bitter Bug (Vanguard)

24. A Camp “Golden Teeth and Silver Medals” Colonia (Nettwerk)

25. Orenda Fink “High Ground” Ask the Night (Saddle Creek)

26. Karen O and the Kids “Worried Shoes” Where the Wild Things Are Soundtrack (Interscope)

27. Karen O and the Kids “Hideaway” Where the Wild Things Are Soundtrack (Interscope)

Except for the songs that made my Top 20 Songs of 2009, these are the rest of the best lighter/mellow rock tracks of 2009 (Volume 2 of 3). To be eligible, a song needed to be included on an album released in the United States between December 1, 2008 and November 30, 2009.

1. Monsters of Folk “Dear God (Sincerely M.O.F.)” Monsters of Folk (Shangri-La)

2. Dirty Projectors “No Intention” Bitte Orca (Domino)

3. Zero 7 “Pop Art Blue” Yeah Ghost (Atlantic)

4. Joker’s Daughter “The Bull Bites Back” The Last Laugh (Team Love)

5. Mirah “Country of the Future” (a)spera (K)

6. Grizzly Bear “Fine For Now” Veckatimest (Warp)

7. Grizzly Bear “All We Ask” Veckatimest (Warp)

8. The Cotton Jones Basket Ride “Up A Tree (Went This Heart I Have)” Paranoid Cocoon (Suicide Squeeze)

9. The Cotton Jones Basket Ride “Gotta Cheer Up” Paranoid Cocoon (Suicide Squeeze)

10. Swan Lake “Paper Lace” Enemy Mine (Jagjaguwar)

11. Julian Casablancas “Ludlow St.” Phrazes for the Young (RCA)

12. Peter Bjorn & John “Stay This Way” Living Thing (Almost Gold)

13. Air “So Light Is Her Footfall” Love 2 (Astralwerks)

14. The Bird and the Bee “Ray Gun” Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future (Blue Note)

15. Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions “Trouble” Through the Devil Softly (Nettwerk)

16. Dan Auerbach “Whispered Words (Pretty Lies)” Keep It Hid (Nonesuch)

17. Andrew Bird “Effigy” Noble Beast (Fat Possum)

Except for the songs that made my Top 20 Songs of 2009, these are the rest of the best lighter/mellow rock tracks of 2009 (Volume 3 of 3). To be eligible, a song needed to be included on an album released in the United States between December 1, 2008 and November 30, 2009.

1. Thrice “The Great Exchange” Beggars (Vagrant)

2. The Noisettes “Atticus” Wild Young Hearts (Mercury)

3. Yeah Yeah Yeahs “Hysteric” It’s Blitz! (Interscope)

4. Green Day “Last Night On Earth” 21st Century Breakdown (Reprise)

5. Arctic Monkeys “Cornerstone” Humbug (Domino)

6. The Veils “Sit Down by the Fire” Sun Gangs (Rough Trade)

7. U2 “White As Snow” No Line On the Horizon (Interscope)

8. The Mars Volta “Since We’ve Been Wrong” Octahedron (Warner Brothers)

9. Jeremy Enigk “April Storm” OK Bear (Lewis Hollow)

10. The Avett Brothers “I and Love and You” I and Love and You (Sony)

11. Bruce Springsteen “The Wrestler” Working On A Dream/The Wrestler Soundtrack (Columbia)

12. The Features “Concrete” Some Kind of Salvation (429)

13. Tori Amos “Abnormally Attracted to Sin” Abnormally Attracted to Sin (Republic)

14. Nico Vega “Iron Man” Nico Vega (MySpace)

15. Regina Spektor “Human of the Year” Far (Sire)

16. U2 “Cedars of Lebanon” No Line On the Horizon (Interscope)

Except for the songs that made my Top 20 Songs of 2009, these are the rest of the best Brit and Brit-sounding pop/rock/punk tracks of 2009. To be eligible, a song needed to be included on an album released in the United States between December 1, 2008 and November 30, 2009.

1. Franz Ferdinand “Lucid Dreams” (Single Version) Tonight: Franz Ferdinand (Domino)

2. Franz Ferdinand “No You Girls” Tonight: Franz Ferdinand (Domino)

3. Franz Ferdinand “What She Came For” Tonight: Franz Ferdinand (Domino)

4. Jack Peñate “Pull My Heart Away” Everything Is New (XL)

5. Jack Peñate “Be The One” Everything Is New (XL)

6. Jack Peñate “So Near” Everything Is New (XL)

7. Peter Bjorn & John “It Don’t Move Me” Living Thing (Almost Gold)

8. Peter Bjorn & John “Just the Past” Living Thing (Almost Gold)

9. Wild Beasts “We Still Got the Taste Dancin’ On Our Tongues” Two Dancers (Domino)

10. Wild Beasts “All the King’s Men” Two Dancers (Domino)

11. Liam Finn “Long Way To Go” Champagne in Seashells EP (Yep Roc)

12. The Black Ghosts “Repetition Kills You” The Black Ghosts (Republic)

13. Broken Records “If the News Makes You Sad, Don’t Watch It” Until the Earth Begins to Part (4AD)

14. Arctic Monkeys “My Propeller” Humbug (Domino)

15. Art Brut “Mysterious Bruises” Art Brut vs. Satan (Downtown)

16. Art Brut “Alcoholics Unanimous” Art Brut vs. Satan (Downtown)

17. Late of the Pier “Broken” Fantasy Black Channel (Astralwerks)

18. Morrissey “Something Is Squeezing My Skull” Years of Refusal (Attack/Lost Highway)

19. Morrissey “Mama Lay Softly On the Riverbed” Years of Refusal (Attack/Lost Highway)

20. Morrissey “One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell” Years of Refusal (Attack/Lost Highway)

21. Franz Ferdinand “Dream Again” Tonight: Franz Ferdinand (Domino)

22. Peter Doherty “Last of the English Roses” Grace/Wastelands (Astralwerks)

Except for the songs that made my Top 20 Songs of 2009, these are the rest of the best alt country, roots rock and blues rock tracks of 2009. To be eligible, a song needed to be included on an album released in the United States between December 1, 2008 and November 30, 2009.

1. Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band “Slowly (Oh So Slowly)” Outer South (Merge)

2. Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band “Nikorette” Outer South (Merge)

3. Wilco “I’ll Fight” Wilco (the album) (Nonesuch)

4. Wilco “Sonny Feeling” Wilco (the album) (Nonesuch)

5. The Black Crowes “And the Band Played On” Before the Frost…Until the Freeze (Silver Arrow/Megaforce)

6. The Black Crowes “Shine Along” Before the Frost…Until the Freeze (Silver Arrow/Megaforce)

7. Blitzen Trapper “Big Black Bird” Black River Killer EP (Sub Pop)

8. Monsters of Folk “The Right Place” Monsters of Folk (Shangri-La)

9. Grant-Lee Phillips “It Ain’t the Same Old Cold War Harry” Little Moon (Yep Roc)

10. Ben Kweller “Fight” Changing Horses (ATO)

11. Mark Olson & Gary Louris “Chamberlain, SD” Ready for the Flood (New West)

12. The Avett Brothers “January Wedding” I and Love and You (Sony)

13. The Black Crowes “Garden Gate” Before the Frost…Until the Freeze (Silver Arrow/Megaforce)

14. The Black Crowes “Houston Don’t Dream About Me” Before the Frost…Until the Freeze (Silver Arrow/Megaforce)

15. The Black Crowes “Good Morning Captain” Before the Frost…Until the Freeze (Silver Arrow/Megaforce)

16. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit “Soldiers Get Strange” Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit (Lightning Rod)

17. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit “However Long” Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit (Lightning Rod)

18. Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band “Roosevelt Room” Outer South (Merge)

19. Dan Auerbach “Heatbroken in Disrepair” Keep It Hid (Nonesuch)

20. The Felice Brothers “Penn Station” Yonder Is the Clock (Team Love)