A criminally/necessarily abbreviated list (at least it can get you started) from the the Times Online, NPR, Downbeat, Soundcheck (WNYC), and a variety of other sources is below. Check Acorn for current availability and much more of the previous decade’s best.
| John Adams, On the Transmigration of Souls | CD MUS-7514 |
| Julian Anderson, Book of Hours | CD MUS-11597 |
| J.S. Bach, Goldberg Variations (Simone Dinnerstein, piano) | CD MUS-12766 |
| Bang on a Can, Renegade Heaven | CD MUS-10978 |
| Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphonies (Minnesota Orchestra ; Osmo Vänskä, conductor) | CD MUS-12057 (Symphony no. 9) |
| Café Tacuba, Cuatro caminos | CD MUS-12800 |
| Ornette Coleman, Sound grammar | CD MUS-8890 |
| Flaming Lips, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots | CD MUS-12693 |
| Osvaldo Golijov, The Passion According to St. Mark | CD MUS-7353 |
| Andrew Hill, Time lines | CD MUS-10375 |
| Jay-Z, The Blueprint | CD MUS-12693 |
| James MacMillan, St. John Passion | CD MUS-12256 |
| W. A. Mozart, Don Giovanni (René Jacobs, conductor) | CD MUS-10193 |
| Nico Muhly, Mothertongue | CD MUS-12696 |
| O Brother, Where Art Thou? (Soundtrack) | CD MUS-5566 |
| Brad Paisley, 5th Gear | CD MUS-12808 |
| Andy Palacio, Wátina | CD MUS-10779 |
| Panda Bear, Person Pitch | CD MUS-12801 |
| Radiohead, Kid A | CD MUS-5523 |
| Kaija Saariaho, Notes on Light; Orion; Mirage | CD MUS-12769 |
| Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra, Sky Blue | CD MUS-10093 |
| Dmitry Shostakovich, Complete Symphonies (Mariss Jansons conducting various orchestras) | CD MUS-12823 |
| The Silk Road Ensemble, Silk Road Journeys: When Strangers Meet | CD MUS-5752 |
| Sigur Ros, ( ) | CD MUS-12640 |
| Adam Steffey, One More for the Road | CD MUS-12824 |
| Tinariwen, Amassakoul | CD MUS-11920 |
| Ali Farka Touré & Toumani Diabaté, In the Heart of the Moon | CD MUS-12641 |
| Wayne Shorter Quartet, Beyond the Sound Barrier | CD MUS-12809 |
| Kanye West, Late Registration | CD MUS-11136 |
| Wilco, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot | CD MUS-12642 |
| Cassandra Wilson, Loverly | CD MUS-12043 |
Stay tuned and we’ll narrow it down to a much less ambitious Best Reviewed Recordings of 2009!