“Music people” are torn when it comes to end of the year “best of” coverage. On the one hand, is it possible to compare this year’s top Swedish polka record to that of a garage trio from Fort Worth, saying that A is “better” than B? On the other, should both be ignored for the sake of not comparing either?

I’m a fan of “best of” lists when done comprehensively and collectively — traits I believe the one you’ll find in these pages (page 42-43, if you’re keeping score) possesses. I asked our in-house and freelance staff to submit, ranked 1-20, their respective “Best of 2009” lists. Those lists were put into a simple reverse grading scale (# 1 record = 20 points, #2 record = 19 points…all the way down to #20 record = 1 point) and combined to make an aggregate top 20, melding dozens of individual voices into one.

The results were interesting — for example, multiple albums that didn’t make my own list found their way into the top 10 because so many others chose to include them. The same was true for nearly every list, as was that point’s opposite — some albums made the back end of many lists, but never gathered enough steam in the point total category to make it in the final list. Neko Case made nearly every list, but didn’t win. Three writers considered Animal Collective’s Merriweather Post Pavilion to be the most overrated record of the year, yet it sits at #6. From all our differences, all our opinions, comes a list that represents no single person but somehow encapsulates us all.

In the interest of space (and the sanity of our readers), we didn’t print each person’s individual list in this issue, but they’re all available, along with survey questions and expanded results, on www.athensblur.com for the next few weeks.

Here’s the obvious question: why is our “artist of the year” not at the top of that list? Here’s the answer: the decisions were made independently, with the artist of the year settled on by immediate staff before the listing began. We weighed a good many options, searching for the artist who best captured the essence of 2009. Dan Deacon was that man — captivating audiences near and far with his live experience, releasing an exceptionally challenging yet universally accessible record and yet, somehow, remaining charmingly uncomfortable when asked to talk about himself.

Of course, the end of a year isn’t just about the best music made. It’s also a good chance to reflect on other trends we’ve watched, memorable moments and those we’ll never forget tragically taken from us far, far too soon.

It’s amazing how much can be forgotten within the span of 12 months. Events or album releases from January don’t seem like they fit with things that happened last week. At the very least, I hope these pages will be a nice refresher course and, as you start 2010, a reminder to you of what an extraordinary year 2009 really was.

Alec Wooden, Executive Editor

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