Good Music on the Billboard 200 Album Charts in October of 2009

I have a sick obsession with the Billboard album charts. I find it fascinating the awful music that people like. The Billboard 200 as of this writing is filled with absolute junk like Michael Buble, Miley Cyrus, Black Eyed Peas, Taylor Swift, and Mariah Carey.

But there is still good music being made and it does sell (although not in the same quantities as the American Idol nonsense or the Oprah approved Michael Buble type "put you to sleep" stuff.)

What follows are five albums that are among the top 200 albums in the US this week that are actually worth taking a listen to.

Twilight: New Moon Soundtrack (#2)

This may seem like a strange pick considering the rant I just went on, but this soundtrack is actually filled with quality artists/bands and unlike most soundtracks like this, all of the songs are unique to the soundtrack. Among those included are Radiohead's Thom Yorke, Death Cab for Cutie, Muse, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Grizzly Bear, and Editors.

The Flaming Lips - Embryonic (#8)

This is an excellent experimental rock album and it's wonderful thing that an album this weird, this "difficult" can make it into the top 10. If you were put off by At War with the Mystics (and I was) don't let that dissuade you from checking this new album out because it's an entirely new direction. This is the most "out there" thing the band has done since Zaireeka.

The Avett Brothers - I and Love and You (#54)

This is the major label debut for this really great band. It's nice to see that real music like this can still gain an audience in this sea of crappy music. It has peaked at #16 thus far. I recommend checking out their past albums too, they are excellent. I'm a particularly big fan of Emotionalism (2007.)

The Beatles Stereo Box Set (#92)

OK, this isn't exactly an "album" it's a box set including every album The Beatles released from 1962 through 1970 (and the Past Masters compilation which includes the non album tracks.) It's 16 CDs in all. It has peaked at #15 thus far which is really incredible when you consider how expensive it is and and that it's essentially The Beatles entire catalog (although there's still Live at the BBC and The Anthologies and a few other odds & ends.)

The Mountain Goats - Life of the World to Come (#189)

It debuted at #110 last week. Obviously this isn't high enough to be on the radar in the mainstream world, but The Mountain Goats have a small but dedicated following and I bet more people will be listening to The Mountain Goats in 2050 than they are listening to Taylor Swift (or whoever.) Not that I'm guaranteeing they'll have a big following that far into the future, just to compare it to how disposable the pop music of today is.

The Beatles Mono Box Set is back in stock.

The Billboard 200 Album Charts

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