2009 was a fantastic year for music and as we head into a new decade, its time to reflect on the best releases of the previous year.  Since the focus of this site is live music and we’re discussing studio albums here, we decided to add a new, exclusive live song from each artist who made our list.  So without further ado, here is ATWL’s Top 10 Albums and Mixtapes of the year.

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Panacea have quietly established themselves as one of the most consistent, innovative and all around best hip-hop groups out there.  Producer K-Murdock paints lush, sonic landscapes for criminally slept-on emcee, Raw Poetic, to script his vivid tales with precision delivery.  I cant recommend these guys enough.  Aside from from their outstanding studio releases, they also put on one of the best live shows in hip-hop.  Performing with their side-project band, RPM (Restoring Poetry in Music), they expertly translate the spacey vibes to live grooves.  Here is an exclusive live performance of their single “Starlite“.

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