all time low halestorm paramore cobra starship 2009 albums
[Photos via All Time Low/YouTube, Halestorm/YouTube, Paramore/YouTube, Cobra Starship/YouTube]

30 albums turning 10 in 2019

Ah, 2009. Ten years ago. A stellar year for the scene—one where rock, punk and metalcore continued to construct exciting new avenues, while flagging trends such as neon pop punk showed their fatigue. Major releases from All Time Low, Every Time I Die and Paramore kept the pace for an alternative music world seemingly bursting at the seams with fresh ideas.

It was quite the thrilling juncture of art and culture, too. It might be hard to fathom, but not everyone had a smartphone in their pocket yet. (Literally, the iPhone was less than two years old at this point.) And if it gives you any indication of the times, a large majority of the songs mentioned below were premiered on MySpace. Talk about a blast from the past.

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Anyway, here are 30 albums we just couldn’t stop spinning a decade ago. Sound off in the comments section with your own picks!

AFI – Crash Love


RELEASE DATE: Sept. 29, 2009
Shattering any leftover notions of horror-goth posturing and reasserting the band as a formidable force in rock, Davey Havok’s longtime alt-punk outfit embraced a colorful spirit of adventure on their eighth album, Crash Love. The glam-tinged effort pushed AFI’s mainline ambitions to the fore while further positioning their art in a spectral sonic territory all its own.

All Time Low – Nothing Personal


RELEASE DATE: July 7, 2009
The third long-player from All Time Low found frontman Alex Gaskarth’s suburban rockers securing an all-star team of co-writers to propel Nothing Personal into the emo-pop stratosphere. The gambit payed off, delivering the goods with crowd favorites such as “Weightless” and beefing up the band’s blueprint in making a bid for the big leagues.

The Almost – Monster Monster


RELEASE DATE: Nov. 3, 2009
Monster Monster marked the second outing for Underoath innovator Aaron Gillespie’s solo act the Almost, but it was the first time he handed over drumming duties to Advent’s Joe Musten. Armed with a full backing band, the more traditional lineup lends a collaborative atmosphere to the album released at a time when Gillespie’s initial tenure in Underoath was drawing to a close.

Anti-Flag – The People Or The Gun


RELEASE DATE: June 9, 2009
The People Or The Gun captured Anti-Flag coming off a hot streak, the unflinching punk act’s two preceding efforts casting their politically charged roar far and wide. What do you do when you have the world’s ear? Fire off an eat-the-rich anthem such as “When All The Lights Go Out” or equate the nation’s capital with Sodom and Gomorrah, of course.

Architects – Hollow Crown


RELEASE DATE: Feb. 10, 2009
Hollow Crown found Architects expanding their iron-forged provenance, the British metalcore dynamos resting on their mathcore laurels while developing a proggy penchant for ornamental tonal turns. The third studio album from the act, it stands as a testament to their crushing songcraft and a document of the technical prowess of late guitarist Tom Searle.

August Burns Red – Constellations


RELEASE DATE: July 4, 2009
Constellations might as well have come in the mail with samples of Tide considering its effect on melodic metalcore’s late-aughts swell. And it was a creative and commercial triumph for Grammy-nominated August Burns Red, who can still make a Christmas song sound like the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are out caroling.

Boys Like Girls – Love Drunk


RELEASE DATE: Sept. 7, 2009
Before music-man Martin Johnson hit out with his latest project, the Night Game, the songster was making art and breaking hearts with Boston power crew Boys Like Girls. The band’s second album, Love Drunk, shows a formidable pop group at peak scene power, while the video for the bubbly title track brings to mind a colorful High School Musical montage.

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Cartel – Cycles


RELEASE DATE: Oct. 20, 2009
A stint spent literally living and recording in a bubble on MTV’s Band In A Bubble resulted in Cartel’s self-titled 2007 album. But the Peach State pop-punkers went back to basics for their third entry, Cycles, cooking up tunes in a real recording studio while layering their signature power-pop jams with enough happy hooks to satisfy any listener’s sweet tooth.

Cobra Starship – Hot Mess


RELEASE DATE: Aug. 11, 2009
While cheekily stating right on the tracklist that Pete Wentz was the only reason they were famous, Cobra Starship took their Snakes On A Plane notoriety and turned it into one of neon pop punk’s most self-aware offerings with their penultimate dance-off, Hot Mess. It doesn’t get any more on the nose than a song called “The Scene Is Dead; Long Live The Scene.”

The Devil Wears Prada – With Roots Above And Branches Below


RELEASE DATE: May 5, 2009
Documenting a crucial time in the band’s artistic development, the Devil Wears Prada conjured a dark and heavy storm on With Roots Above And Branches Below, the third full-length from the Midwestern metalcore mainstays. The group celebrated the effort’s 10-year anniversary with a throwback tour last year, performing the entire album in full.

Every Avenue – Picture Perfect


RELEASE DATE: Nov. 3, 2009
Every Avenue’s route to neon-scene stardom started with their sugary 2008 debut Shh. Just Go With It. But its follow-up, Picture Perfect, saw the Michigan-raised pop-punkers clearing a wholly new path of wholesome rock revelry. Like the memory of a high school romance revisited, sitting down with the album now feels like watching a highlight reel of the time’s musical triumphs.

Every Time I Die – New Junk Aesthetic


RELEASE DATE: Sept. 15, 2009
New Junk Aesthetic saw Every Time I Die tag the hallowed punk-rock halls of Epitaph Records for the first time, the band’s new label home providing the New York hardcore stalwarts with the boost they needed to take their messy metal vibe over the top. Now, spinning the album in polite company will instantly out any ’TID devotee as the bona fide life of the funeral.

Green Day – 21st Century Breakdown


RELEASE DATE: May 15, 2009
After American Idiot, Green Day hooked up with famed Nirvana producer Butch Vig to put the gloss on their follow-up rock opera, 21st Century Breakdown. A catchy narrative of alienation in a time of political strife, the three-act blitzkrieg had Billie Joe and company at the arguable zenith of their impressive stretch as rock ’n’ roll’s modern Working Class Heroes.

Halestorm – Halestorm


RELEASE DATE: April 28, 2009
Halestorm hit hard right out of the gate with their 2009 self-titled debut, a refreshing arsenal of fiery rock armed with loaded cuts such as the desire-soaked “I Get Off.” The world’s first proper dose of the uncompromising talent in vocalist/guitarist Lzzy Hale, the early victory for the fierce quartet evoked great moments from rock’s past while shining a light on its future.

Lights – The Listening


RELEASE DATE: Sept. 22, 2009
The soft explosion of The Listening introduced the magnetic draw of Lights to the greater music-listening public. Crystallizing her fizzy knack for turning a melody into a moment, the first LP from the multifaceted Canadian creative gave us a clear view of the emotional peak she was cresting. Now, it’s hard to imagine another road our souls may have taken.

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Marilyn Manson – The High End Of Low


RELEASE DATE: May 26, 2009
Marilyn Manson’s uppermost rock bottom made for the veteran shock-rocker’s seventh studio album and the follow-up to Eat Me, Drink Me. Exploring near-experimental levels of the musician’s characteristic death rock, the glam-dirge shuffle of the cumbersomely-titled first single reminded everyone that Manson always means business. Dirty, dirty business.

Mayday Parade – Anywhere But Here


RELEASE DATE: Oct. 6, 2009
Mayday Parade’s sophomore jaunt provided enough emo-pop longing to keep your typical teen diary full of crestfallen ruminations on youth and young love. Now, it’s impossible to spin the Florida alt-rock quintet’s first album on Atlantic Records without getting at least a slight hint of sweet-smelling nostalgia, even though the world we loved will never be the way it was.

New Found Glory – Not Without A Fight


RELEASE DATE: March 10, 2009
Produced by blink-182’s Mark Hoppus, New Found Glory’s sixth album Not With A Fight saw the Sunshine State pop-punkers wrestling with hindsight on “Listen To Your Friends” and offering a heartbreaking wake-up call on “Don’t Let Her Pull You Down.” Paramore’s Hayley Williams pops up on “Tangled Up,” giving a veritable scene snapshot of a very particular time.

Paramore – brand new eyes


RELEASE DATE: Sept. 29, 2009
The plausible pièce de résistance of 2009 albums, Paramore’s brand new eyes cemented the Hayley Williams-fronted outfit’s status as one of emo’s true heirs to the throne. Not that anyone was questioning it before, but the stunning mid-career effort from the Tennessee rock pioneers made every other emo-pop act get out their shovels and keep digging.

Rancid – Let The Dominoes Fall


RELEASE DATE: June 2, 2009
Seven years prior to Tim Armstrong’s TV turn in The X-Files’ 2016 revival, the heavily tattooed frontman and his highly decorated punk unit Rancid dropped their seventh album, Let The Dominoes Fall. A potent mix of street-inspired ska-punk, it bottled the infectious Bay Area grooves of the band’s best work and came off like a master class of punkers operating at the top of their game.

Saosin – In Search Of Solid Ground


RELEASE DATE: Sept. 8, 2009
Saosin continued spilling their post-hardcore hearts out on In Search Of Solid Ground, the SoCal emo-rockers’ second LP and last with lead vocalist Cove Reber. And while the band assumed a length hiatus shortly thereafter—later seeing the return of founding singer Anthony Green—this sophomore quest still stands a high point for guitar-based alternative music.

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Say Anything – Say Anything


RELEASE DATE: Nov. 3, 2009
It sounds like there might be an accordion in “Hate Everyone,” but that didn’t stop Say Anything’s eponymous fourth entry from satisfying the eager ears of existential pop-punk fans everywhere. Gifted songsmith Max Bemis, just as earnest and overwrought as ever, energetically led the Los Angeles-based rock ensemble in defending the genre once more.

Set Your Goals – This Will Be The Death Of Us


RELEASE DATE: July 21, 2009
San Francisco punk practitioners Set Your Goals lit up the summer of 2009 with a swift but melodic set of old-meets-new-school pit jams on their spirited second effort, This Will Be The Death Of Us. A token of its era, the foot-tapping collection sports some killer guest spots from New Found Glory’s Chad Gilbert and the Movielife vocalist Vinnie Caruana.

Silverstein – A Shipwreck In The Sand


RELEASE DATE: March 31, 2009
Silverstein shot for the stars with A Shipwreck In The Sand, the Canadian post-hardcore outfit’s fourth studio album. Perhaps their heaviest effort to date, bangers such as “Vices” proved the band still had the fire inside of them. But the offering’s more conceptual framework afforded the tunes a thematic energy unlike any of the act’s previous releases.

Suicide Silence – No Time To Bleed


RELEASE DATE: June 30, 2009
Suicide Silence held it down for deathcore in 2009, the late Mitch Lucker turning in a throaty performance on No Time To Bleed that’s just as terrifyingly transcendent today as it was 10 years ago. The brutal instrumental backing matches the vicious vocal delivery, and the second slab of wax from the SoCal death crew is a perfect encapsulation of their act back in the day.

Taking Back Sunday – New Again


RELEASE DATE: June 2, 2009
Enlisting the superstar production team of David Kahne (Paul McCartney, the Strokes) and Matt Squire (Good Charlotte, Sum 41), New York rockers Taking Back Sunday took to reinventing themselves on their fourth full-length, New Again. Coming after the departure of guitarist Fred Mascherino, the album reframes the classic TBS sound with a subliminal shock of ominosity.

Thirty Seconds To Mars – This Is War


RELEASE DATE: Dec. 8, 2009
The moment of truth for Thirty Seconds To Mars came with their third studio effort, This Is War, and the pointed lyrical directives of band figurehead Jared Leto. At the time, it was the group’s first album in four years, and valiant singles such as “Kings And Queens” and the militant title track drew a line in the sand for detractors of the actor and musician’s alt-rock output.

twenty one pilots – Twenty | One | Pilots


RELEASE DATE: Dec. 29, 2009
Before they even considered themselves “Fairly Local,” a Josh Dun-less twenty one pilots were still finding their sound on this sparse, self-titled debut. The physical edition of the 2009 release is now so rare that TØP vocalist Tyler Joseph joked in a Reddit AMA about stowing away a CD copy that he’s “looking to sell to make a bunch of money some day.”

The Used – Artwork


RELEASE DATE: Aug. 31, 2009
It’s interesting to learn that the Used originally wanted Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo to produce Artwork, the fourth full-length from singer Bert McCracken’s Utah-bred rock clan. And though Cuomo’s participation never came to fruition, the group continued to refine their sound on the stunning set that kicks off with the guilt-fed bounce of “Blood On My Hands.”

We The Kings – Smile Kid


RELEASE DATE: Dec. 8, 2009
It doesn’t get more 2009 than We The Kings’ “We’ll Be A Dream,” the comfy blanket of a hit single from the Florida pop-rockers’ second album. Featuring none other than Demi Lovato on a second-verse vocal slot opposite lead singer Travis Clark, the tune sprinkled Smile Kid’s heartwarming pop power all over the airwaves for one brief, magical moment.

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