Todd Snider Gets Phishy With His Top 10 Albums of 2009

It's that time of year where people like to make lists and check them twice. While every music blogger and Facebook friend of yours prepares their Top 10 lists for 2009, singer-songwriter Todd Snider gave Spinner a look at his. He gives slots to Phish for their new album 'Joy' (No. 2), and to the Rolling Stones, for an upcoming reissue of their all-time classic album, 'Exile on Main Street' (No. 7). But Snider's top spot goes to -- drum roll, please -- Phish performing 'Exile on Main Street.' It's kind of like the combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, if you're a fan of fast food joints -- irresistible from both sides. "My new favorite band tackles my favorite album from my all-time favorite band, and do they ever," Snider tells Spinner. "Bong-meltingly groovy times."

Snider admits that "he's going through a bit of a Phish phase," giving them the top two spots on his list, but from there he branches off to Robert Earl Keen's 'Rose Hotel' ("It's like Mark Twain meets Willie Nelson," he notes), Kings of Leon's 'Only By the Night' and Kris Kristofferson's 'Closer to the Bone.' Just making the cut in 10th place, Snider says that his copy of Robyn Hitchcock's 'Good Night Oslo' got worn out on the road this year. "I think he's a killer performer," he says. "And watching Peter Buck crawl out of a van to play rock 'n' roll with a friend for no real discernible reason but fun just makes me feel better about everything."

Yep, Snider sure does have an entertaining take on things; his own CD from this year, 'The Excitement Plan,' is sure to make its own share of Top 10 lists -- including but not limited to Phish's Trey Anastasio, who singled Snider out in an interview earlier this year as being one of his new favorites. The feeling is obviously mutual.

Here is Todd Snider's Top 10 for 2009:
1. Phish -- 'Exile on Main Street' (live)
2. Phish -- 'Joy'
3. Robert Earl Keen -- 'Rose Hotel'
4. Yonder Mountain String Band -- 'Show'
5. Les Claypool -- 'Of Fungi and Foe'
6. Kris Kristofferson -- 'Closer to the Bone'
7. The Rolling Stones -- 'Exile on Main Street' (reissue)
8. Kings of Leon -- 'Only by the Night'
9. Black Crowes -- 'The Rock Side' (live)
10. Robyn Hitchcock -- 'Good Night Oslo'