Welcome to another edition of my top albums! Being the engineer that I am, I took a more quantitative approach this year. Album scores, listed after the album title, are simple averages of my iTunes ratings for the songs on each album, and are out of 5.0. The songs list is unranked and a bit more subjective. They aren't necessarily singles, but are just great tunes which I enjoyed in the past 366 days. (Here is last year's, if you haven't seen it.) Here we go! Feel free to sound off in the comments.

THE TOP FIVE

5.) Coldplay, Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends (4.18)

As much as I didn't want to like this album, it was actually pretty good. My distaste for Chris Martin's lyrics and narcissism was overshadowed by some excellent shoegaze(!) moments, notably in "Chinese Sleep Chant" and "The Escapist". I can take or leave the iPod-friendly number "Viva La Vida", but "Violet Hill" was a standout first single and got me excited enough to pre-order the album.

4.) Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! (4.36)

Simultaneously sacred and profane, the Caveman took me by storm in '08. This man hasn't slowed down nor has he jumped the proverbial shark. If Abattoir Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus was a ballad-driven album and Grinderman was filthy grunge, this album falls somewhere in between. Lots of five-star tracks for me and an incredible live show (actually the best of my life... wow).

3.) MGMT, Oracular Spectacular (4.40)

Not groundbreaking (LCD Soundsystem did it better last year), but the three singles are so catchy and danceable that it needs to be on this list. While everybody else was singing about bi-curious kissing, "Time to Pretend" was my summer jam. I saw MGMT with some friends in July and had a blast raving with all of the VCU kids, even if the show was understandably on the short side.

2.) Fleet Foxes, Fleet Foxes (4.64)

Just barely taking second place is this breakout band's first long-player. I believe they recorded this album just for me. Harmony (love it), catchy melodies (love 'em), and the Blue Ridge Mountains (ahem). Just great stuff, and I can't wait to hear what they do next.

1.) Bon Iver, For Emma, Forever Ago (4.67)

Justin Vernon's three-month hibernation in Wisconsin yielded a fantastically poignant glimpse into his life, filled with heartache, hope, love, and beautiful harmony. It reminded me a lot of Springsteen's Nebraska, in that it was sincere and as true-blue as a singer-songwriter ever gets. Emo for twenty-somethings.

ON THE BUBBLE

Brendan Canning, Something for All of Us (4.09)

TV on the Radio, Dear Science (4.09)

DISAPPOINTED BY

Ben Folds, Way to Normal

There was hardly one track on here that stood out for me. I think Ben is hitting a mid-career slump, but he'll reinvent himself at some point and be great again. He's a lifetime artist, so if Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, and Elton John were allowed a misstep or two by their fans, so is Ben Folds.

SURPRISED BY

Kanye West, 808s and Heartbreak

I like it because it's not what I expected. He's not the "Michael Jordan of music", but he's pretty good.

UNDERWHELMED BY

The Last Shadow Puppets, The Age of the Understatement

What's so great about this? Huh? It felt like I was listening to the opening credits of a '60s Bond movie, but with no Dame Shirley Bassey. Seriously, tell me what you liked about it.

TOP TWENTY SONGS

• Blitzen Trapper, "Furr"
• Bon Iver, "For Emma"
• Coldplay, "Prospekt's March / Poppyfields"
• Death Cab for Cutie, "I Will Possess Your Heart"
• Destroyer, "Shooting Rockets (From The Desk of Night's Ape)"
• DeVotchKa, "Transliterator"
• Drive-By Truckers, "The Man I Shot"
• Elbow, "The Loneliness of a Tower Crane Driver"
• Fleet Foxes, "Ragged Wood"
• Hans Zimmer & James Newton Howard, "Why So Serious?"
• M83, "Midnight Souls Still Remain"
• The Magnetic Fields, "California Girls"
• MGMT, "Time to Pretend"
• My Morning Jacket, "Touch Me I'm Going to Scream, Pt. 2"
• Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, "We Call Upon the Author"
• Okkervil River, "Lost Coastlines"
• The Raconteurs, "Many Shades of Black"
• The Raveonettes, "My Heartbeat's Dying"
• TV on the Radio, "Golden Age"
• Vampire Weekend, "A-Punk"

Thanks for reading! Back in 2009.