Sorry for the delay,

I meant to have this posted by Christmas.

Here it is, in no particular order, The Vinyl Princess's Top Ten Albums of 2009:

(Not all of these are available on Vinyl)
1. The Duke and the King-Nothing Gold Can Stay
2. The Avett Brothers- I and Love and You
3. Stillhouse Hollow- Dakota
4. Hoots and Hellmouth- The Holy Open Secret
5. John Doe and the Sadies-Country Club
6. Old Californio- Westering Again
7. Monsters of Folk- Monsters of Folk
8. Rickie Lee Jones- Balm in Gilead
9. Dark Was The Night- Various Artists
10. Felice Brothers- Yonder Is The Clock

The Avett Brothers are my current favorite brothers (The Jonas Brothers, btw, are not) Scott and Seth Avett, the brothers, along with Bob Crawford on bass, are North Carolina choir boys who appear to be channeling Townes Van Zandt. They're the kind of band that other bands try to emulate and can't. I and Love and You is their first major label album and their first experience working with producer Rick Rubin (Johnny Cash, Tom Petty), who found these boys and signed them to his American Recordings label.

The title track is the kind of song that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up, It's exquisitely arranged with perfectly phrased vocals and raw earnest emotion. This was the song that drew me in but I also love "January Wedding" so much and "Kick Drum Heart" reminds me a bit of Vampire Weekend in it's catchy percussion and vocals. There's nothing on this record I don't like though. It's a rare thing when a band can combine musicianship with staggeringly good vocals and lyrics that you're compelled to commit to memory for your next love letter or your next Dear John Letter. I  really hope these boys keep doing what they do. I hope they know how beautiful is.

Julie London IS yummy and a go-to for the Princess when I want to hear songs like "Black Coffee" or "Cry Me A River" or "Sway" but this album, recorded in 1969 has an unintentional kitsch element that you have to appreciate without mourning the loss of the old Julie London Glamour.Yummy, Yummy, Yummy, categorically one of the worst pop songs ever written is given new life when Julie does it and  ditto for Louie, Louie. "And I Love Him, Julie's version of the Beatles "And I Love Her" is not to be missed.

Turn up your noses if you like but Julie brings the same magic to these songs as she did to her old stuff. It's cool, it's fun, and way worth owning. Play it at your next cocktail party. It will be a hit.

The Velvet Underground's first album with Nico was produced by Andy Warhol, which is to say, he enabled it financially and proclaimed it "Fabulous" from the control room for the four days it took to record it. Other than that, he was hands off. Later, when things fell apart between the band and Warhol, Lou Reed was still quick to say that the album could not have come into being without Warhol's golden boy touch. For, at the time, if Warhol proclaimed something cool...it was. Lou Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison and Maureen "Moe" Tucker made up the band and Nico sang lead on three songs and back up on "Sunday Morning", all at the insistence of Warhol. Nico couldn't really sing but she was pretty and part of the regular scene at the Factory. In the end it works the way Astrud Gilberto works. It just does.

I have always been a fan of Warhol's and I would love to view the world from behind his sunglasses for a bit because it all seemed so so shiny under his gaze. The same, I think, is true for this record. "Sunday Morning" remains one of my favorite songs ever, and, if I'm in a certain mood, I adore "Heroin". I do tend to throw the whole thing on though, instead of choosing tracks. I think this is true for most music that's deemed experimental. You should look at it as a you would a novel instead of short stories.

When Verve put the LP out, it wasn't given much in the way of promotion and it was somewhat overlooked by the world until much later and now it sits at #13 of Rolling Stones top 500 albums ever. I don't really know anyone who doesn't own this record. Even if you don't like it you have to have a copy. That's how it is with Warhol.