The year is winding down, and the end of another year provides an influx of best of lists. In an attempt to help all of you out there sift through the huge amount of lists, I decided to have one place to find everybody’s lists. Below I’ve added a ton of the best of lists from a variety of music publications and sites below. In an effort to keep it nice an concise I’ve only put their top five, but if you would like to see their entire lists I have a link to view it as well. Enjoy!

Rolling Stone

1. Kanye West- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

2. The Black Keys- Brothers

3. Elton John and Leon Russell- The Union

4. Arcade Fire- The Suburbs

5. Jamey Johnson- The Guitar Song

NME

1. These New Puritans- Hidden

2. Arcade Fire- The Suburbs

3. Beach House- Teen Dream

4. LCD Soundsystem- This is Happening

5. Laura Marling- I Speak Because I Can

Spin

1. Kanye West- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

2. Deerhunter- Halcyon Digest

3. Arcade Fire- The Suburbs

4. LCD Soundsystem- This is Happening

5. Jamey Johnson- The Guitar Song

Pitchfork

1. Kanye West- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

2. LCD Soundsystem- This is Happening

3. Deerhunter- Halcyon Digest

4. Big Boi- Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty

5. Beach House- Teen Dream

Stereogum

1. Kanye West- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

2. Arcade Fire- The Suburbs

3. Beach House- Teen Dream

4. Sufjan Stevens- The Age of Adz

5. Robyn- Body Talk

Paste

1. LCD Soundsystem- This is Happening

2. Janelle Monae- The ArchAndroid

3. Mumford and Sons- Sigh No More

4. Kanye West- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

5. Titus Andronicus- The Monitor

Spinner

1. Beach House- Teen Dream

2. The National- High Violet

3. Kanye West- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

4. Deerhunter- Halcyon Digest

5. Arcade Fire- The Suburbs

Cokemachineglow

1. Kanye West- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

2. Big Boi- Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty

3. Beach House- Teen Dream

4. Flying Lotus- Cosmogramma

5. Frog Eyes- Paul’s Tomb: A Triumph

Back in 2006, Roman Candle’s release of The Wee Hours Revue impressed listeners everywhere with the excellent songwriting and catchy pop-rock present in the album. It was a personal favorite in high school and everyone who received the album from me became an immediate fan. Pitchfork gave it a 7.6 out of 10 and Paste Magazine a 4.5 out of 5. Since then, Roman Candle fans everywhere have anticipated the release of a new album to love. Enter Oh Tall Tree In The Ear, the long awaited 2009 LP.

This most recent album is everything that listeners have been craving, a “modern rock masterpiece” as told by Paste Magazine. “Oh Tall Tree In The Ear” is a breath of fresh air; it’s catchy, foot tappin’ music that’s good to its core. Don’t believe me? Just take a look at the reviews the album has gotten. Pop Matters has given Roman Candle’s newest effort a 9 out of 10 and Daytrotter describes the music as “tearing us out of the present, despite such modern feels and scents,” and I tend to agree. Listening to “Oh Tall Tree In The Ear” is an experience, a period of time where the listener can get away from their hectic life and escape, escape to the world of Skip Matheny’s vocals and Roman Candle’s melodies.

We at WKNC are very excited about having Roman Candle back in the Triangle to play in the Double Barrel Benefit 7. You may recognize Roman Candle if you went to the N.C. State Pack Howl homecoming concert in September 2009.  The band will take the stage at The Pour House on Saturday, February 6 as the headliner of night two of the benefit. Bands The Tender Fruit, Midtown Dickens and Spider Bags will kick off the night.

For the complete Double Barrel schedule and ticket information, click here.

It’s that time of year again.

Year-end best-of lists will be popping up all over the internet and magazines this month, with varying opinions on who had the best record, song, music video, live show, etc. etc.

The music-related website Pitchfork, however, is offering music fans the opportunity to pick their favorites in their annual Readers’ Poll. And a few local acts have made their longlist of nominees in a couple of categories. Chapel Hill country-rock band band Spider Bags are nominated for Best New Artist.

Raleigh’s own experimental folk group Megafaun‘s fantastic second record, Gather, Form & Fly, is nominated for Most Underrated Album.

Chapel Hill guitar heroes Polvo are up for Best Reunion/Comeback.

And last, but certainly not least, Greenville ex-pats Future Islands, who also recently signed to Thrill Jockey, are up for Best Hope For 2010. So take a few minutes off from whatever you’re doing to waste time at work and head over to 2k9survey.pitchfork.com and help support some fantastic, home-grown music.

And while we’re on the subject of nominations, North Carolina hip-hop and soul group The Foreign Exchange have been nominated for a Grammy for Best Urban/Alternative Performance for the track “Daykeeper” off of their recently released sophomore effort Leave It All Behind. Durham-via-Mali kora player Mamadou Diabaté is also up for Best Traditional World Music Album for his record Douga Mansa.

Chapel Hill’s The Love Language has signed with Merge Records, according to a release from Pitchfork today. The band is joining the ranks of  The Rosebuds, Spoon, Neutral Milk Hotel and M. Ward, just to name a few from the label’s seemingly endless list of indie artists.

The Love Language will be playing at the Hear Here finale show Saturday at the Pour House. Doors will open at 8 p.m. and tickets will be $7 with copies of the compilation available for purchase.

You know the story.  Local music die hard, and WXYC alum,  Cy Rawls, was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor in June of 2008.  Unable to pay his mounting medical bills, bands and friends from all over North Carolina, Virginia, and the US pitched in to throw some of the most amazing concerts, film viewings, and even bake sales, with all benefits attributed to a fund which paid for Cy’s medical bills.  Unfortunately, at just the age of 33, on October 3, 2008, Cy passed away at Duke Medical Center.

Thankfully, it did not end there.  Enter CyTunes, a nonprofit music download site that “features exclusive music from artists who have contributed tracks (both live and in-studio) to help raise money for cancer research in memory of Cy Rawls.”  There are 44 bands and artists in all (as of today) which include:

All Night Cantwell, Gomez, and Jordan Chew Toy Cy Rawl’s Sweet Militia Dirty Little Heaters Double Negative Ex-Monkeys Evil Weiner Experts Flute Flies Geezer Lake

Greenades Hammer No More The Fingers I Was Totally Destroying It Joby’s Opinion Johnson, Eubank, Morrow, Pence Lesbian Afternoon Magic Babies Mercury Birds Nein North Elementary Ryan Pound

Povlo Razzle Red Collar Rosebuds Shake Some Action Sorry About Dresden Starmount Superchunk Tractor Hips Wes Phillips Josh Zaslow

ALL PROCEEDS from CyTunes go to Tisch Brain Tumor Center, where Cy was a patient.  Please support this amazing organization, the bands that contribute to it, and the memory of Cy Rawls.

For more information, feel free to read these excellent articles by the Independent Weekly, and this write-up by Pitchfork.