20. Fever Ray
Fever Ray
Rabid/V2
The Knife's Karin Dreijer goes solo. Perhaps the most sombre record of the year. Stunning nonetheless.
19. Monsters Of Folk
Monsters Of Folk
Rough Trade
Troubadouric supergroup blend country, psychedelic pop and, inevitably, folk on an album painted with delightful harmonies.
18. The Boy Who Knew Too Much
Mika
Casablanca
The theatrical popster displayed newly discovered maturity on his second. Now, about that David Brent moment...
17. 21st Century Breakdown
Green Day
Reprise
Billie Joe & co defied logic by following the era-defining American Idiot with an even more conceptual and operatic rock album.
16. Walking On A Dream
Empire Of The Sun
EMI
Australian duo aim for the galaxies with synths, crazy outfits and pomposity. Slightly daft of course, but still brilliant.
15. Tongue N' Cheek
Dizzee Rascal
Dirtee Stank
The Bow rapper's fourth deservedly catapulted him from cult-hero to pop superstar, partly thanks to a summer where everyone went Bonkers.
14. What Will We Be
Devendra Banhart
Warners
Recorded in less than a month, Banhart's seventh was his first on a major label and marked his coming-of-age moment.
13. Veckatimest
Grizzly Bear
Warp
Rich harmonies and intricate layering shaped the third album from the Radiohead-endorsed quartet.
12. Everything Is New
Jack Penate
XL
In one of the most surprising transformations of the year, Penate swapped the the buskerisms of his debut for sophisticated genre-mixture.
11. Kingdom Of Rust
Doves
Heavenly
Twenty years into their career, their fourth album as Doves reflected everything in their past and magnificently so.
Q's Top 50 Albums 2009: Introduction
The countdown...
Q's 50 Best Albums of 2009: 50 - 41
Q's 50 Best Albums of 2009: 40 - 31
Q's 50 Best Albums of 2009: 30 - 21
Q's 50 Best Albums of 2009: 20 - 11
Q's 50 Best Albums of 2009: 10 - 6
Q's 50 Best Albums of 2009: 5 - 1
Also check out Q's Top Albums 2009 - Individual Staff Picks
12:50 PM | 10/12/2009
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