I don't feel up to making/ranking a top 10 right now, but a couple that definitely jump out right off the bat to me are:
-Beardfish- Destined Solitaire
-The Bombastic Meatbats- Meet the Meatbats (which I highly reccomend fans of instrumental funk/fusion stuff check out...this record is solid through and through)
I'd never listened to Dredg before, but with Ken talking about them a lot here and seeing their new one pop up on a LOT of "best of '09" lists, I decided a few minutes ago to check out some clips from the new album and I'm pleasantly surprised. I don't know why, but I'd assumed they were some sort of black or death metal band based on the tastes of most people I'd heard talk about them. I'll order the album and give it a go. Some other new releases that I still need to dig into are The Whirlwind, Blood, Experiments in Mass Appeal, and Anno Domini High Definition. I've heard bits of The Whirlwind and really liked what I heard. I'm a big fan of their previous releases so I have high hopes. I recently got into The Dear Hunter and I think their new(est) release is really good...not sure how well they'd be received 'round these parts. The new Paisley album is great, I loved 3's Revisions, and I think some of the best stuff I got this year were some live bootlegs from 3/Joey Eppard. I also got a copy of Marillion's "Less is More" for Xmas and haven't been able to listen to it yet...so hopefully that's another winner. In addition to new releases, I found a lot of pre-'09 jems this year too...it really was a great year in music for me.
