2009 in American music

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The following is a list of notable music events and releases that occurred in 2009 in the United States.

• January 8 – Lady Gaga's debut single "Just Dance" hits number one on the Billboard Hot 100 after 22 weeks – the second longest climb to number one, since the Creed single, "With Arms Wide Open", in November 2000 (27 weeks).^[1]
• January 18 – President Barack Obama's inaugural concert, entitled "We Are One", is held at the Lincoln Memorial. Performers include Mary J. Blige, Garth Brooks, Renée Fleming, Caleb Green, Josh Groban, Herbie Hancock, Heather Headley, Beyoncé, Bettye LaVette, Pete Seeger, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor and Stevie Wonder.^[2] Several of the songs performed had been used by Obama's presidential campaign.^[3]
• January 20 – Artists including Mariah Carey, Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, Faith Hill, Mary J. Blige, Maroon 5, Stevie Wonder and Will.i.am perform at the Inaugural Ball for President Barack Obama^[4]
• January 28 – Kelly Clarkson breaks the record for a song's biggest jump to number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 when her single "My Life Would Suck Without You" soars from number 97 to number one fueled by 280,000 digital downloads in the first week of release. Clarkson first broke the record in 2002 with "A Moment Like This".^[5]
  • Billy Powell of Lynyrd Skynyrd passed away at the age of 56 at his home in Orange Park, Florida.^[6]
• January 29 – Madonna announces that she will extend her record-breaking Sticky & Sweet Tour during summer 2009, to visit cities that were excluded during the first run. The tour kicked off at The O₂ in London on July 4. The extension took the Sticky & Sweet Tour to a total of over 80 shows, putting it among the top five tours of all time.^[7]

• February 1 – At Super Bowl XLIII at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, Faith Hill^[8] and Jennifer Hudson^[9] perform at the pregame show (with Hudson singing the National Anthem) and Bruce Springsteen at the halftime show.^[10]
• February 3 – The Fray released their first studio album in four years, The Fray.^[11]
  • The Von Bondies released their first studio album in five years, Love, Hate and Then There's You.
• February 8 – The 51st Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Alison Krauss and Robert Plant took home the most awards with five each, including Album of the Year with their collaborative album, Raising Sand.
  • At the Grammys, Blink-182 announced their reunion and reunion tour after a five-year hiatus.^[12]
  • R&B singer Chris Brown is arrested after he physically assaulted his then girlfriend, Rihanna. He is charged with assault and making criminal threats, and received five years of probation.
• February 10 – Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys released his first solo studio album, Keep It Hid.
• February 12 — "Crack a Bottle", performed by Eminem, Dr. Dre and 50 Cent, sets a new record for opening week download sales in the United States, at 418,000 copies. The previous record (335,000) was set by "Live Your Life".^[13]
  • Billboard announces that Madonna is the highest-earning entertainer of 2008, with US$242,176,466, mostly from her sold-out Sticky & Sweet Tour.^[14]
• February 13 – Drake releases his third official mixtape So Far Gone, which goes on to become recognized as one of the best modern mixtapes and Drake's launch into mainstream success.^{[citation needed]}
• February 18 – Flo Rida breaks his own record when his single "Right Round" is downloaded 636,000 units in the opening week. His 2008 chart-topper "Low" set the previous record for most downloaded song with 467,000 units sold in the first week of release.^[15]
• February 17 – J-Kwon released his first studio album in five years, Hood Hop 2.
  • Living Things released their first studio album in four years, Habeas Corpus.
• February 24 – Chris Isaak released his first studio album in five years, Mr. Lucky.
  • Lamb of God album Wrath debuts at number 2 on the Billboard 200, making it the highest charting extreme metal album in the last fifteen years.

• March 3 – Britney Spears launches her world tour at New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana. The 97-show tour was her first world tour in five years, and her first tour since her public breakdown.^[16]
• March 5 – Michael Jackson announces his last concert series, This Is It to be held at The O₂ in London. The concerts are never held due to Jackson's death three months later.
• March 6–8 – Phish's reunion shows at Hampton Coliseum in Virginia.
• March 10 – Infernus win the Gorgoroth name dispute.
• March 11 – Tickets go on sale for Michael Jackson's This Is It series, 10 shows extended to 50 shows and impressively all 50 dated sold out in under four hours making them the fastest selling concerts ever in history.
• March 12 – Electroclash singer Miss Kittin reunites with The Hacker to release the duet album Two.
• March 17 – Capone-N-Noreaga released their first studio album in nine years, Channel 10.

• April 1 – Lady Gaga becomes the first artist since Christina Aguilera in 1999/2000 to reach the top of the Billboard Hot 100 with their first two chart entries ("Just Dance" and "Poker Face").
• April 4 – The 2009 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony takes place, welcoming new inductees Little Anthony & The Imperials, Bobby Womack, Run-D.M.C., and Metallica. Metallica, citing the drama surrounding Blondie, Black Sabbath, and Van Halen's inductions, includes Cliff Burton and Jason Newsted both former bassists for the band in the induction.^[17] Newsted also performs with band in its first rendition as a 5-piece band featuring two bass guitarists.^[18]
• April 5 – The 44th Academy of Country Music Awards took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Carrie Underwood wins the ACM Entertainer of the Year award, becoming only the seventh female to do so in the history of the ceremony's 44 years.
• April 7 – Jadakiss released his first studio in five years, The Last Kiss.
• April 12 – Carrie Underwood's "I Told You So", from her album Carnival Ride, becomes her tenth straight number one in the country songs chart, making her the only country artist in history to have their first 10 singles reach number one.
• April 14 – Fastball released their first studio album in five years, Little White Lies.
  • Jill Sobule released her first studio album in five years, California Years.
• April 17–19 – Coachella 2009
  • Hardline released their first album in seven years, Leaving the End Open.
• April 27 – Creed announced their reunion, new album and tour after a five-year break. They break up for a second time in 2013, only to reunite again in July 2023.

• May 3 – A concert at Madison Square Garden to celebrate the 90th birthday of Pete Seeger features Bruce Springsteen, Joan Baez, Roger McGuinn, Dave Matthews and Eddie Vedder among others.
• May 12 – Lin-Manuel Miranda and Alex Lacamoire perform a rap about Alexander Hamilton at a White House Evening of Poetry, Music and the Spoken Word in Washington, D.C.; this is the origin of the musical Hamilton.
• May 15 – Eminem released his first studio album in five years, Relapse.
  • Green Day released their first studio album in five years, 21st Century Breakdown.
• May 18 – Rapper Dolla is shot and killed in Beverly Hills, California at the Beverly Center.
• May 19 — Method Man & Redman released their first studio album in ten years, Blackout! 2.^[19]
• May 20 – Kris Allen defeats Adam Lambert to win the eighth season of American Idol. This would turn out to be original judge Paula Abdul's last season on the show as she stepped down on August 4, 2009.

• June 1 – The Puerto Rican pop singer Ricky Martin announces he is working on a new studio album and first book.
  • Pearl Jam are first musical guests on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, performing new songs.
• June 2 – Dave Matthews Band released their first studio album in four years, Big Whiskey & the GrooGrux King. It is their first release since the death of saxophonist LeRoi Moore, who died a year earlier.
  • Rancid released their first studio album in six years, Let the Dominoes Fall.^[20] It is also their first album with Branden Steineckert, formerly of The Used, who replaced Brett Reed on drums following Reed's departure in 2006.
  • 311 released their first studio album in four years, Uplifter.
• June 3 – The Black Eyed Peas released their first studio album in four years, The E.N.D..^[21]
• June 25 - Summerfest begins; the event lasts until July 5.
  • Roughly two weeks before his This Is It series of concerts is scheduled to begin, Michael Jackson dies in his Los Angeles home of an accidental overdose of propofol, later discovered to be the result of medical malpractice by his personal physician, Conrad Murray. The American music icon's passing triggers a surge in posthumous sales making him the best selling artist of the year, with 35 million albums sold worldwide in the months following his death.^[22][23]

• July 7 – A public memorial event for Michael Jackson is held at the Staples Center. Artists such as Stevie Wonder, Usher, Mariah Carey, Jennifer Hudson, John Mayer, Lionel Richie, and Michael's brother, Jermaine Jackson, perform.
  • Maxwell released his first studio album in eight years, BLACKsummers'night.
• July 10 – August 15 – Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival, headlined by Marilyn Manson and Slayer
• July 13 – Lady Gaga becomes the first artist to have three songs from a debut album to reach number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 since Fergie's The Dutchess.
• July 17-21 – Paul McCartney performs three sold-out concerts at Citi Field to open the stadium with opening act, The Script. This is because on August 15, 1965, The Beatles performed the first concert at Shea Stadium and McCartney joined Billy Joel on stage a year ago for the last concert there. Joel joined McCartney again on the first night.
• July 24 – Blink-182 start their reunion tour, Blink-182 in Concert, with Fall Out Boy and Weezer.

• August 8 – Meghan Lindsay and Josh Jones of Steel Magnolia won the second season of CMT's Can You Duet. Brandon Green and Jonathan Cox of JB Rocket were named runner-up.
• August 18 – Third Eye Blind released their first studio album in six years, Ursa Major.
• August 21 – Vocalist Jim Lindberg announces his departure from Pennywise.^[24]

• September 3 – Michael Jackson is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, in a private family ceremony.
• September 8 – Phish released their first studio album in five years, Joy.
• September 13 – The MTV Video Music Awards took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. During Taylor Swift's acceptance speech for Best Female Video, Kanye West interrupts on her stage her saying, that Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time. He was referring to Beyoncé's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)". West was removed from the show.^[25]
• September 15 – Living Colour released their first studio album in six years, The Chair in the Doorway.
• 17 – VH1 Divas returned after a five-year hiatus. It took place the Brooklyn Academy of Music in Brooklyn.
• 29 - Alice in Chains released their first studio album in 14 years, Black Gives Way to Blue.^[26] It is also the band's first album to feature co-lead vocalist William DuVall, who joined the band in 2006 as the replacement for the band's original lead vocalist, Layne Staley, following Staley's death in 2002.
• September 30 – Australian star Kylie Minogue kicks off her first-ever U.S. tour in Oakland, California.

• October 2 – Beyoncé is named Woman of 2009 by Billboard.
• October 2–4 – Austin City Limits 2009^[27]
• October 6 — KISS released their first studio album in 11 years, Sonic Boom.^[28]
• October 15 – Britney Spears's "3" enters the Billboard Hot 100 at number one, her third number one on Billboard Hot 100 and the first non-American Idol related single to enter the chart at number one since 1999.^[29]
• October 27 – Creed released their first studio album in eight years, Full Circle.
• October 28 – Michael Jackson's This Is It, featuring behind the scenes footage in the days before his death, is released. It enters the chart at No. 1, and becomes the best selling documentary of all time, raising over $250 million.

• November 11 – The Country Music Association Awards took place at the Sommet Center in Nashville, Tennessee. Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood's second year hosting.
• November 12 – Steven Tyler denies he is quitting Aerosmith, despite rumors that the band would be in need of a new lead singer.^[30]
• November 22 – The American Music Awards took place at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.

• December 8 – Thirty Seconds to Mars released their first studio album in four years, This Is War.
• December 11 – Garth Brooks comes out of retirement for a solo acoustic show at the Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas.^[31]
• December 16 – John Frusciante announces his second departure from the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

• Alabama Shakes
• Awolnation
• Beach Fossils
• Big Something
• Chris & Jenna
• The Civil Wars
• Cloud Nothings
• Creep
• Echosmith
• Foster the People
• Highly Suspect
• Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
• Nick Jonas & the Administration
• Of Mice & Men
• OMG
• Pigeons Playing Ping Pong
• The Pretty Reckless
• Reptar
• Sleeper Agent
• Steel Magnolia
• Sublime with Rome
• The Texas Tenors
• Twenty One Pilots

• Blink-182
• Cave In
• Cold
• Creed
• Faith No More
• Limp Bizkit
• Matchbook Romance

• Fall Out Boy
• The Pussycat Dolls
• Stellastarr

• Armor for Sleep
• The Dead
• Jonezetta
• Louis XIV

Date	Album	Artist	Genre(s)
6	Merriweather Post Pavilion	Animal Collective	Psychedelic pop electronic pop synth-pop indie avant-pop
12	Audacity	Ugly Duckling	Hip-hop
13	003[32]	Oh No Not Stereo	Power pop
19	The Crying Light[33]	Antony and the Johnsons	Baroque pop
20	Blood Bank (EP)	Bon Iver	Indie folk
	Noble Beast	Andrew Bird	Baroque pop
	The Harvest Floor	Cattle Decapitation	Technical death metal deathgrind
	Davy[34]	Coconut Records	Indie pop indie rock
	Why There Are Mountains	Cymbals Eat Guitars	Indie rock
	Fiction Family	Fiction Family	Acoustic folk-pop roots rock
	The Empyrean	John Frusciante	Experimental rock psychedelic rock post-rock
	Slow & Steady Seduction: Phase II	Anya Marina	Indie rock pop rock indie pop
	Grand	Matt and Kim	Dance-punk indie rock indie pop lo-fi
	The Crawling Distance	Robert Pollard	Rock indie rock
	Mirror Eye	Psychic Ills	Rock
	Fame, Fortune and Fornication	Reel Big Fish	Ska punk
	Mantis	Umphrey's McGee	Progressive rock
27	Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future	The Bird and the Bee	Indie pop electronic
	Crooked X	Crooked X	Hard rock heavy metal
	Simon (EP)	Dirty Little Rabbits	Indie rock
	For(N)ever	Hoobastank	Alternative rock post-grunge
	Eye Legacy	Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes	Pop-rap hip hop R&B
	The Time of the Assassins	Nickel Eye	Indie rock
	Whisper House	Duncan Sheik	Pop
	Working on a Dream	Bruce Springsteen	Rock

Date	Album	Artist	Genre(s)
2	Changing Horses	Ben Kweller	Country rock alt-country folk rock
3	Feel That Fire	Dierks Bentley	Country
	Evisceration Plague	Cannibal Corpse	Death metal
	Homesick	A Day to Remember	Metalcore alternative rock post-hardcore
	The Fray[11]	The Fray	Alternative rock pop rock
	Sing: Chapter 1	Wynonna Judd	Country
	Distractions (EP)	The Loved Ones	Punk rock Americana pop-punk
	The Pains of Being Pure at Heart	The Pains of Being Pure at Heart	Indie pop dream pop noise pop
	Lonely Road	The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus	Alternative rock emo pop-punk
	Two Tongues	Two Tongues	Pop punk indie rock emo
	Love, Hate and Then There's You	The Von Bondies	Alternative rock garage rock indie rock post-punk revival punk blues
10	Keep It Hid	Dan Auerbach	Blues rock garage rock indie folk neo-psychedelia
	The Rebirth	Bobby V	Contemporary R&B
	Testimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics	India.Arie	R&B
	Ryan Leslie	Ryan Leslie	R&B hip hop
	Incredibad	The Lonely Island	Comedy hip-hop
	Innocence & Instinct	Red	Alternative metal post-grunge
15	Scrambles	Bomb the Music Industry!	Punk rock indie rock
17	The Century of Self	...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead	Art rock
	Sagarmatha	The Appleseed Cast	Indie rock post-rock
	Hush	Asobi Seksu	Dream pop
	March of the Zapotec/Holland EP	Beirut	Indie pop Balkan folk electronica
	Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit	Jason Isbell	Americana folk
	Hood Hop 2	J-Kwon	Hip hop
	Habeas Corpus	Living Things	Indie rock
	Hold Time	M. Ward	Alternative rock folk
	Pins & Panzers	Plushgun	New wave indie rock synth-pop
	Carving Desert Canyons	Scale the Summit	Progressive metal djent instrumental rock
	Common Existence	Thursday	Post-hardcore
	Self-Taught Learner	Lissy Trullie	Indie
	Animals in the Dark	William Elliott Whitmore	Blues Country
23	Wrath	Lamb of God	Groove metal thrash metal metalcore
24	Smoke n Mirrors	B-Real	West Coast hip hop Latin hip hop
	200 Million Thousand	Black Lips	Garage punk psychedelic rock
	Padded Room	Joe Budden	Hip hop
	Hungry Bird	Clem Snide	Alternative country
	Earthsblood	God Forbid	Metalcore thrash metal
	Mr. Lucky	Chris Isaak	Rock and roll
	This Gigantic Robot Kills	MC Lars	Nerdcore ska punk West coast hip hop
	Easy Does It	Jake Owen	Country
	Real Recognize Real	Project Pat	Southern hip hop gangsta rap

Date	Album	Artist	Genre(s)
1	Mama, I'm Swollen	Cursive	Emo indie rock
3	The Now and Not Yet	Jeremy Riddle	Christian
	Little Hells	Marissa Nadler	Folk
	Middle Cyclone	Neko Case	Alternative country indie folk
10	All I Ever Wanted	Kelly Clarkson	Pop pop rock
	Scream	Chris Cornell	Pop rock dance pop
	No Regrets	Dope	Industrial metal nu metal alternative metal
	Love vs. Money	The-Dream	R&B
	The Distance	Taylor Hicks	Blue-eyed soul pop
	Round 2	J. Holiday	R&B hip hop
	Death to Analog	Julien-K	Electronic rock dance rock alternative rock
	Not Without a Fight	New Found Glory	Pop-punk
	Worse Than Alone	The Number Twelve Looks Like You	Mathcore
	More Grey Hairs	Reks	Hip hop
	Underneath the Owl	The Riverboat Gamblers	Alternative rock indie rock
	Take Everything	Seventh Day Slumber	Christian rock
	It's Blitz!	Yeah Yeah Yeahs	Synth-punk alternative pop synth-pop pop rock
17	When I Hit the Ground	Ace Enders and a Million Different People	Alternative rock indie rock acoustic
	Beware	Bonnie "Prince" Billy	Americana alternative country indie folk
	Channel 10	Capone-N-Noreaga	East Coast hip hop hardcore hip hop gangsta rap
	Don't Feed da Animals	Gorilla Zoe	Hip hop
	Naked Willie	Willie Nelson	Country
	Cult of Static	Static-X	Industrial metal nu metal
	Industry Giants	Superdrag	Punk rock power pop shoegaze indie rock
20	NINJA 2009 Tour Sampler (EP)	Nine Inch Nails, Jane's Addiction and Street Sweeper Social Club	Alternative rock
24	Approaching Normal	Blue October	Alternative rock
	Carolina	Eric Church	Country
	Hannah Montana: The Movie	Miley Cyrus	Pop country
	Bromst	Dan Deacon	Indietronica noise pop
	The Hazards of Love	The Decemberists	Folk rock progressive rock art rock folk metal
	Fangs	Falling Up	Art rock experimental rock
	In a Perfect World	Keri Hilson	R&B
	Let's Do It Again	Leela James	R&B soul
	Pray IV Reign	Jim Jones	Hip hop
	Freedom	Mandisa	Gospel CCM R&B
	Shine	Martina McBride	Country
	Crack the Sky	Mastodon	Heavy metal progressive metal alternative metal
	Born Like This	MF Doom	Hip hop
	On the Cover II	MxPx	Punk rock
	Metamorphosis	Papa Roach	Glam metal hard rock
	Son of a Preacher Man	John Rich	Country
	Boss of All Bosses	Slim Thug	Hip hop
	Running With the Wasters	The Takeover UK	Alternative rock
	A New Hope	Vanna	R&B

Date	Album	Artist	Genre(s)
7	Wide Open	Jason Aldean	Country
	When Sweet Sleep Returned	Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound	Ambient noise electronic
	Back to Tennessee	Billy Ray Cyrus	Country
	Repo	Black Dice	Psychedelic rock
	The Last Kiss	Jadakiss	East coast hip hop hardcore hip hop
	Guilt	Mims	East coast hip hop hip hop rap rock
	Life and Times	Bob Mould	Alternative rock rock
	Unstoppable	Rascal Flatts	Country
	Now We Can See	The Thermals	Indie rock punk rock
14	Mind the Drift	Big Business	Heavy metal
	Forever in a Day	Day26	R&B
	Little White Lies	Fastball	Rock
	Whatever Gets You Off	The Last Vegas	Hard rock glam metal heavy metal glam rock
	House of a Thousand Guitars	Willie Nile	Rock
	Everything She Touched Turned Ampexian	Prefuse 73	Electronic
	Swoon[35]	Silversun Pickups	Alternative rock indie rock post-punk revival
	California Years	Jill Sobule	Folk-pop
17	Leaving the End Open	Hardline	Hard rock
18	The Intervention (EP)	The Color Fred	Acoustic indie rock
20	The Infection	Chimaira	Groove metal metalcore
	To the Death	Earth Crisis	Metalcore
	Asleep in the Bread Aisle	Asher Roth	Hip hop
21	Hell or High Water	As Cities Burn	Indie rock
	Doors and Window	Bearfoot	Bluegrass Americana
	Love the Future	Chester French	Indie pop futurepop synth-pop electronic
	Wavering Radiant	Isis	Post-metal sludge metal progressive metal
	The Long Fall Back to Earth	Jars of Clay	Christian rock electronic pop pop rock synth-pop
	The Future Will Come	The Juan MacLean	House nu-disco
	Mean Everything to Nothing	Manchester Orchestra	Indie rock alternative rock
	Here, Here, and Here	Meg & Dia	Alternative rock indie rock indie pop
	Deeper Than Rap	Rick Ross	Hip hop
	Tinted Windows	Tinted Windows	Alternative rock power pop post-punk revival
27	Blood	OSI	Progressive metal
28	Self-Titled Album	The Audition	Pop-punk
	Growing Up Is Getting Old	Jason Michael Carroll	Country
	Brother's Blood	Kevin Devine	Indie rock alternative rock
	Together Through Life	Bob Dylan	Folk rock blues rock
	Ben Folds Presents: University A Cappella!	Ben Folds	A capella
	Halestorm	Halestorm	Hard rock post-grunge
	The Devil You Know	Heaven & Hell	Heavy metal
	The Voice	Mike Jones	Hip hop
	Coaster	NOFX	Punk rock pop punk skate punk jazz punk
	Help	Osees	Alternative rock garage rock noise rock psychedelic rock
	Sickology 101	Tech N9ne	Hip hop
	Wooden Arms	Patrick Watson	Dream pop psychedelic folk

Date	Album	Artist	Genre(s)
1	Attics to Eden	Madina Lake	Alternative rock post-hardcore
5	Reach for the Sun	The Dangerous Summer	Alternative rock emo
	Fight for Love	Elliott Yamin	Pop R&B
12	Sewn Together	Meat Puppets	Psychedelic rock alternative rock
15	Relapse	Eminem	Horrorcore hip hop
	21st Century Breakdown	Green Day	Punk rock pop-punk arena rock power pop alternative rock
	Manners	Passion Pit	Electropop synth-pop alternative rock
19	Back on My B.S.	Busta Rhymes	Hip hop
	So Glad I'm Me	LaKisha Jones	R&B soul inspirational
	City of Black & White	Mat Kearney	Rock Pop acoustic
	Blackout! 2	Method Man & Redman	Hip hop
	Love Is	Ruben Studdard	R&B
	It's Frightening	White Rabbits	Indie rock alternative rock post-punk
20	About Time (EP)	Straylight Run	Indie rock
26	Crash Kings	Crash Kings	Alternative rock rock hard rock
	Veckatimest	Grizzly Bear	Indie pop indie rock
	Amanda Leigh	Mandy Moore	Country folk pop

Date	Album	Artist	Genre(s)
2	Uplifter	311	Alternative rock reggae rock
	Big Whiskey & the GrooGrux King	Dave Matthews Band	Alternative rock
	Hombre Lobo	Eels	Rock indie rock
	Let the Dominoes Fall[20]	Rancid	Punk rock ska punk
	New Again	Taking Back Sunday	Alternative rock emo pop-punk post-hardcore
3	The E.N.D.[21]	Black Eyed Peas	EDM pop hip hop
9	The People or the Gun	Anti-Flag	Punk rock hard rock
	Restless Days	The Clarks	Rock alternative rock
	The Pariah, the Parrot, the Delusion	Dredg	Alternative rock progressive rock
	A Little Faster	There for Tomorrow	Alternative rock emo pop-punk
15	Spinnerette	Spinnerette	Alternative rock rock indie rock
16	Monuments and Melodies	Incubus	Alternative rock
	127 Rose Avenue	Hank Williams Jr.	Southern rock
22	Fits	White Denim	Psychedelic rock garage rock indie rock
23	Varshons	The Lemonheads	Alternative rock
	Octaheadron	The Mars Volta	Progressive rock experimental rock
	Far	Regina Spektor	Indie pop indie rock
30	American Saturday Night	Brad Paisley	Country
	Cradlesong	Rob Thomas	Pop rock rock

Date	Album	Artist	Genre(s)
7	Nothing Personal	All Time Low	Pop-punk pop rock alternative rock
	Up from Below	Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros	Indie folk indie pop neo-psychedelia indie rock
	BLACKsummers'night	Maxwell	Soul R&B neo soul funk
	Civilized	Stellastarr	Indie rock post-punk
14	Strange Cousins from the West	Clutch	Rock hard rock
	The Dandy Warhols Are Sound	The Dandy Warhols	Indie pop new wave
	Leave This Town	Daughtry	Post-grunge
	Horehound	The Dead Weather	Blues rock garage rock alternative rock
21	Explains It All	Four Year Strong	Pop-punk melodic hardcore
	Sleepwalking	Memphis May Fire	Metalcore Southern rock
	The Satanic Satanist	Portugal. The Man	Psychedelic rock
	Battlefield	Jordin Sparks	Pop R&B

Date	Album	Artist	Genre(s)
4	Gloriana	Gloriana	Country
	Watch Me Fall	Jay Reatard	Garage rock punk rock
	No One's First, and You're Next (EP)	Modest Mouse	Indie rock indie folk
	...To the Beat of a Dead Horse	Touché Amoré	Melodic hardcore post-hardcore
5	Armistice	Mutemath	Alternative rock post-rock
9	Beggars	Thrice	Alternative rock post-hardcore
11	Hot Mess	Cobra Starship	Dance-pop pop rock
	Justin Moore	Justin Moore	Country
	Twang	George Strait	Country
18	You Can't Take It with You	As Tall as Lions	Indie rock alternative rock
	Hello Fascination	Breathe Carolina	Electropop alternative rock post-hardcore
	Keep on Loving You	Reba McEntire	Country
	Ursa Major	Third Eye Blind	Rock alternative rock
19	Breakthrough	Colbie Caillat	Pop pop rock
25	Collective Soul (Rabbit)	Collective Soul	Alternative rock rock
	World Wide Open	Love and Theft	Country
	Light	Matisyahu	Reggae rock alternative rock
	The Outsiders	Needtobreathe	Alternative rock Christian rock Southern rock
	Awake	Skillet	Alternative metal Christian rock hard rock
	Into the Light	Phil Stacey	CCM gospel
28	Bomb in a Birdcage	A Fine Frenzy	Indie pop
31	Sci-Fi Crimes	Chevelle	Alternative metal rock hard rock
	Artwork	The Used	Alternative rock emo post-hardcore

Date	Album	Artist	Genre(s)
1	The Man I Want to Be	Chris Young	Country
8	Love Drunk	Boys Like Girls	Pop rock pop-punk
	The Blueprint 3	Jay-Z	Hip hop
	The Visitor	Jim O'Rourke	Folk orchestral pop progressive rock
	In Search of Solid Ground	Saosin	Post-hardcore emo alternative rock
15	The Chair in the Doorway	Living Colour	Funk metal experimental rock alternative metal pop metal
	Let's Be Friends	The Lovemakers	Electropop alternative rock
20	Backspacer	Pearl Jam	Alternative rock rock hard rock
22	Daisy	Brand New	Alternative rock post-hardcore emo
	Album	Girls	Indie rock indie pop surf rock
	Break Through the Silence	Monty Are I	Alternative rock
	White Water, White Bloom	Sea Wolf	Indie rock indie folk alternative rock
	Up and Down (EP)	She Wants Revenge	Dark wave
28	Year in the Kingdom	J. Tillman	Folk folk rock
29	Crash Love	AFI	Alternative rock punk rock rock
	Black Gives Way to Blue[26]	Alice in Chains	Heavy metal sludge metal grunge
	Dear Agony	Breaking Benjamin	Rock hard rock alternative metal
	Skaboy JFK	Cherry Poppin' Daddies	Ska ska punk
	Revolution	Miranda Lambert	Country
	Brand New Eyes	Paramore	Alternative rock pop-punk emo pop emo
	The G Files	Warren G	West Coast hip hop

Date	Album	Artist	Genre(s)
6	Witness	Blessthefall	Metalcore post-hardcore alternative rock
	Doin' My Thing	Luke Bryan	Country
	American Ride	Toby Keith	Country
	Sonic Boom[28]	Kiss	Hard rock heavy metal
	Heartbreak on Vinyl	Blake Lewis	Electropop dance-pop
	Anywhere but Here	Mayday Parade	Alternative rock emo pop-punk
	Forget and Not Slow Down	Relient K	Alternative rock pop-punk
13	Christmas from the Heart	David Archuleta	Christmas pop
	Beast Rest Forth Mouth	Bear in Heaven	Indie rock indie pop experimental rock
	Sorry for Partyin'	Bowling for Soup	Pop-punk punk rock
	Out of Ashes	Dead by Sunrise	Alternative rock alternative metal
	Christmas in the Heart	Bob Dylan	Christmas
	Embryonic	The Flaming Lips	Experimental rock
	On Your Side	A Rocket to the Moon	Pop rock pop-punk
	Gold and Green	Sugarland	Christmas country
	Love Like This	The Summer Set	Pop-punk emo pop rock
20	Cycles	Cartel	Alternative rock pop rock pop-punk
	Southern Voice	Tim McGraw	Country
23	Lovesick Electric	Hot Chelle Rae	Pop rock dance-rock pop-punk
27	Congregation of the Damned	Atreyu	Metalcore hard rock post-hardcore
	Full Circle	Creed	Post-grunge alternative metal hard rock
	Diamonds & Studs	Morningwood	Alternative rock dance-rock pop rock
30	Raditude	Weezer	Alternative rock pop rock power pop

Date	Album	Artist	Genre(s)
2	Phrazes for the Young	Julian Casablancas	Alternative rock new wave alternative dance
3	Monster Monster	The Almost	Pop-punk alternative rock emo
	Picture Perfect	Every Avenue	Pop-punk pop rock alternative rock
	Oh Blue Christmas (EP)	A Fine Frenzy	Christmas pop rock
	Greatest Hits	Foo Fighters	Alternative rock rock
	Say Anything	Say Anything	Alternative rock pop-punk emo
	Play On	Carrie Underwood	Country pop
10	Alter the Ending	Dashboard Confessional	Alternative rock emo
	Memento Mori	Flyleaf	Alternative metal alternative rock hard rock
	Hello Hurricane	Switchfoot	Alternative rock rock
	Christmas Like This	Ayiesha Woods	Christmas contemporary Christian
13	Them Crooked Vultures	Them Crooked Vultures	Rock hard rock alternative rock
17	Kris Allen	Kris Allen	Pop rock alternative rock
23	For Your Entertainment	Adam Lambert	Pop pop rock dance-pop

Date	Album	Artist	Genre(s)
1	Stir the Blood	The Bravery	Alternative rock post-punk
	Just like You[36]	Allison Iraheta	Pop rock teen pop
8	Graffiti	Chris Brown	R&B
	Pin Points and Gin Joints	The Mighty Mighty Bosstones	Ska punk
	Volume 4: Songs in the Key of Love & Hate	Puddle of Mudd	Post-grunge alternative rock rock
	This Is War[37]	Thirty Seconds to Mars	Alternative rock progressive rock experimental rock indie rock
	Smile Kid	We the Kings	Pop-punk pop rock
11	The Element of Freedom	Alicia Keys	R&B pop soul
22	Christmas EP	The Fray	Christmas acoustic folk
29	Twenty One Pilots	Twenty One Pilots	Emo alternative hip hop soft rock indie pop chamber pop

The best-selling records in 2009 in the US according to Nielsen Soundscan:^[38]

Position	Album Title	Artist
1	Fearless	Taylor Swift
2	I Dreamed a Dream	Susan Boyle
3	Number Ones	Michael Jackson
4	The Fame	Lady Gaga
5	My Christmas	Andrea Bocelli
6	Hannah Montana: The Movie	Hannah Montana
7	The E.N.D.	The Black Eyed Peas
8	Relapse	Eminem
9	The Blueprint 3	Jay-Z
10	Only by the Night	Kings of Leon

• "3" – Britney Spears (1 week)
• "Boom Boom Pow" – The Black Eyed Peas (12 weeks)
• "Crack a Bottle" – Eminem featuring Dr. Dre and 50 Cent (1 week)
• "Down" – Jay Sean featuring Lil Wayne (2 weeks)
• "Empire State of Mind" – Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys (5 weeks)
• "Fireflies" – Owl City (2 weeks)
• "I Gotta Feeling" – The Black Eyed Peas (14 weeks)
• "Just Dance" – Lady Gaga featuring Colby O'Donis (3 weeks)
• "My Life Would Suck Without You" – Kelly Clarkson (2 weeks)
• "Poker Face" – Lady Gaga (1 week)
• "Right Round" – Flo Rida featuring Ke$ha (6 weeks)
• "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" – Beyoncé (2 weeks in 2008, 2 weeks in 2009)
• "Whatcha Say" – Jason Derülo (1 week)

Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 2009

• January 6 – Ron Asheton, 60, guitarist (heart attack)^[39]
• January 28 – Billy Powell, 56, keyboardist (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
• February 1 – Lukas Foss, 86, pianist, conductor and composer
• February 2 – Sunny Skylar, 95, songwriter
• February 3 – Tom Brumley, 73, steel guitarist (The Buckaroos)
• February 4 – Lux Interior, 62, singer (The Cramps)
• February 7 – Blossom Dearie, 82, jazz singer and pianist
• February 11 – Estelle Bennett, 67, singer (The Ronettes)
• February 12
  • Coleman Mellett, 34, guitarist
  • Gerry Niewood, 65, jazz saxophonist
• February 14
  • Louie Bellson, 84, jazz drummer
  • John McGlinn, 55, conductor and historian of musicals
• February 18 – Snooks Eaglin, 72, guitarist and singer
• February 24 – Pearl Lang, 87, dancer and choreographer
• February 25 – Randall Bewley, 53, guitarist (Pylon)
• March 2 – Ernie Ashworth, 80, country singer
• March 3 – Sydney Earle Chaplin, 82, actor and singer
• March 4 – John Cephas, 78, Piedmont blues guitarist
• March 7 – Jimmy Boyd, 70, singer
• March 18 – Kent Henry, 60, blues/rock guitarist
• March 24 – Uriel Jones, 74, Motown Funk Brothers session drummer
• March 25 – "England" Dan Seals, 61, singer-songwriter (mantle cell lymphoma)^[40]
• April 9 – Randy Cain, 63, singer, (The Delfonics)
• April 13 – Ron Stallings, saxophonist (Huey Lewis and the News)
• May 6 – Ean Evans, 48, bass guitarist
• May 15 – Wayman Tisdale, 44, NBA basketball player and smooth jazz bass guitarist
• May 18
  • Wayne Allwine, 62, voice artist (Mickey Mouse)
  • Roderick "Dolla" Burton II, 21, rapper
• May 24 – Jay Bennett, 45, multi-instrumentalist (Wilco)
• June 3 – Koko Taylor, 80, blues singer
• June 7 – Kenny Rankin, 69, pop and jazz musician
• June 14 – Bob Bogle, 75, guitarist (The Ventures)
• June 25
  • Michael Jackson, 50, entertainer
  • Farrah Fawcett, 62, actress
  • Sky Saxon, 63, rock singer and bass guitarist (The Seeds)
• June 27 – Fayette Pinkney, 61, singer (The Three Degrees)
• June 30 – Harve Presnell, 75, singer and actor
• July 4
  • Jim Chapin, drummer, 89
  • Allen Klein, 77, record label executive
  • Drake Levin, 62, guitarist (Paul Revere & the Raiders)
• July 8 – Midnight, 47, singer-songwriter (Crimson Glory)
• July 27 – George Russell, 86, composer
• July 31 – Titus "Baatin" Glover, 61, singer (Slum Village)
• August 6 – Willy DeVille, 58, musician
• August 12 – Rashied Ali, 74, drummer
• August 13 – Les Paul, 94, jazz guitarist and inventor of solid-body electric guitar and multi-track recording
• August 14 – Gates Nichols, 65, steel guitarist (Confederate Railroad)
• August 28 – DJ AM, 36, turntabalist and celebrity disc jockey (Crazy Town)
• September 1 – Erich Kunzel, 74, conductor
• September 11 – Jim Carroll, 60, writer and punk singer (Jim Carroll Band)
• September 16 – Mary Travers, 72, folk singer (Peter, Paul and Mary)
• September 17 – Leon Kirchner, 90, composer
• September 19 – Roc Raida, 37, turntablist (The X-Ecutioners)
• October 7 – Steve Ferguson, 60, rock guitarist (NRBQ)
• October 13 – Al Martino, 82, singer
• October 17 – Vic Mizzy, 93, composer
• November 8 – Jerry Fuchs, 34, drummer (!!!, Maserati)
• December 20 – James Gurley, 69, musician (Big Brother and the Holding Company)
• December 25 – Vic Chesnutt, 45, musician
• December 28 – James "The Rev" Sullivan, 28, drummer (Avenged Sevenfold)

• 2000s in music
• 2009 in American television