Mike Portnoy releases his eclectic top albums of 2009

The more I get to know Mike Portnoy the more I love him.  For a while now he's been releasing a "Top albums of the Year" list and this years is a damn good one.  Mike is such a massive music fan that it's hard not to get excited alongside him. Also, I am really surprised Cynic didnt make the list.... He definitely preaches for them. Maybe it's just because of their drummer.

Best Of 2009

1. BIGELF - Cheat The Gallows (AGREED!  Great great band.  Mike had them open up for Dream Theater this last tour and I feel like it brought them a ton of exposure.)
2. MASTODON - Crack The Skye (Not my favorite Mastodon album, but yep- still one of the best of the year)
3. ALICE IN CHAINS - Black Gives Way To Blue 
4. THE FLAMING LIPS - Embryonic
5. BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME - The Great Misdirect
6. THEM CROOKED VULTURES - Them Crooked Vultures (overrated?)
7. MEGADETH - Endgame (Easily this will be in my top 10 of the year)
8. THE DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT - Ki/Addicted (Underrated!)
9. HEART OF CYGNUS - Over Mountain Under Hill
10. ANIMALS AS LEADERS - Animals As Leaders

Honorable Mentions:

LAZARUS A.D. - The Onslaught
MUSE - The Resistance
PORCUPINE TREE - The Incident
BARONESS - Blue Record (It's nice to see this album getting a lot of credit it deserves)
RIVERSIDE - Anno Domini High Definition (This is what you would expect a favorite band of Mike Portnoy to sound like)

And, of course:

DREAM THEATER - Black Clouds & Silver Linings
TRANSATLANTIC - The Whirlwind

Best Of Decade-End Wrap-Up

1. MUSE - Absolution (Yep!)
2. BIGELF - Cheat The Gallows
3. OPETH - Blackwater Park 
4. SPOCK'S BEARD - Snow
5. THE FLAMING LIPS - At War With The Mystics (Never really got into them, but this is a great album)
6. ENDOCHINE - Day Two
7. BEARDFISH - Sleeping In Traffic Pts 1&2 (Mike also brought these guys on tour)
8. METALLICA - Death Magnetic
9. LAMB OF GOD - Ashes Of The Wake (hell yea!)
10. PETER GABRIEL - Up
11. BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME - Colors
12. MACHINE HEAD - The Blackening (Solid metal album, but I wouldnt say its particularly special)
13. WILCO - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
14. SLIPKNOT - Vol 3: The Subliminal Verses
15. PAIN OF SALVATION - Remedy Lane
16. COLDPLAY - A Rush Of Blood To The Head (uuuuuh, I have to disagree here.  Production was good though)
17. KING CRIMSON - The Power To Believe
18. WEEZER - Green Album
19. PORCUPINE TREE - Fear Of A Blank Planet
20. MASTODON - Crack The Skye (Interesting choice, I would go with Leviathan)