Good morning and welcome to the The Best Music of 2009 edition of "480 Minutes." Click here to see results from previous years.

At 10 a.m. Pacific Time we will start a countdown with the #50 song of 2009, and I expect we'll get to #1 near 1:30 p.m. After that will be an out-of-order playlist of songs #51 to 100, arranged for maximum aural pleasure. Also included in that post-Top 50 set will be a countdown of the top 30 albums of 2009, plus the top 15 local San Francisco Bay Area releases of the year.

There was science involved in divining the rankings, including scouring all of our 2009 playlists to determine spin counts, how many songs from albums got played, etc. Truth be told, the parts not covered by science (including the hacking away with a machete before surgically paring the lists down their final form, plus final touches and tweaks), were all made with an almost complete disregard for objectivity.

2009 was another banner year for music as the Dubyah Hangover and Great Recession continue on. If you don't believe me, that's all the more reason to tune in today.

It is recommend that you take notes while listening so you can go buy some of these amazing records over the weekend. This will not only make you cooler, it will make you a better person for having supported mainly independent artists and independent labels who need your money to keep doing what they do -- make great music. It could also make your friends cooler if you decide to buy some of this music for them -- music makes an excellent holiday gift.


If you miss any portion of the show during it's original air-time, don't fret. It will be re-broadcast again tonight (Friday December 11th, 2009) beginning at 5p.m. Pacific, and then again twice tomorrow (Saturday December 12th, 2009) at 9 a.m. and 5p.m. Pacific.

Due to Digital Millennium Copyright restrictions, I cannot publish the list of the Top 100 Songs of 2009 until after this program and re-runs have aired, so expect to see a blog post published to this space on Sunday containing a complete run-down of the Top 100 Songs, Top 30 Albums, and Top Bay Area releases of 2009.

Please tune in every Friday to "480 Minutes," which airs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific Time. Due to the "Best of..." nature of this edition, requests are completely pointless today, but if you have comments, corrections, criticisms, please do get in touch via e-mail (feedback@bagelradio.com).

Also, feel free to post your Best Music of the Year selections in the comments section below.

Thanks, and enjoy the show!