The Wildy's World Top-40 of 2009: #13-19

19 Sherwood - Qu

Sherwood has been kicking around San Luis Obispo since 2002, but hit pay dirt in 2007 with the Indy release A Different Light, which rose to #11 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart. The band's third album, Qu, debut at #91 on the Billboard 200, reaching #9 on the US Independent Albums chart. One of the stars of MySpace Records' roster, Sherwood has a propensity for upbeat Pop/Rock.

18 Jar-E - Chicas Malas

Not many artists can inspire comparisons to The Beatles, Sting and Elvis Costello all in the same review. Jar-E is that kind of songwriter, crafting pure Pop gems that will stand up for themselves long after Jar-E stops making music (hopefully decades from now). Chicas Malas is a breath of fresh air in a market full of affectations and poses. Jar-E lets the songs speak for themselves.

17 Ali Gray - Johnson Street

Gray brings the perfect Pop tone of Faith Hill and mixes it with the gritty feel of Bonnie Raitt on Johnson Street, a revelatory album that leans a bit more to the Country side of the spectrum than her Rock N Roll roots would indicate. Johnson Street is a splendid mix of Country and Rock, and in a less fractured music industry would be the album that broke big for Gray.

16 Brother Joscephus And The Love Revival Orchestra - Brother Joscephus And The Love Revival Orchestra

Brother Joscephus does for Southern Gospel and New Orleans Jazz what Brian Setzer did for Louis Prima and the entire swing movement a decade or so ago on his self-titled debut album. This is one of those records I defy you to sit still through. If you manage; you're not listening.

15 Sometymes Why - Your Heart Is A Glorious Machine

Sometimes Why puts the super back in supergroup, comprised of Crooked Still's Aoife O'Donovan, The Mammals' Ruth Ungar Merenda and Uncle Earl's Kristin Andreassen. Each member has a worth voice, but when they combine and blend together it's a bit like hearing angels sing. Your Heart Is A Glorious Machine has the capacity to quite literally blow listeners away.

14 Break Of Reality - Spectrum Of The Sky

Rock music for three cellos and percussion may seem a foreign concept at first, but Break Of Reality is so convincing you'll give up your disbelief very quickly. The third album from these alumni of the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, Spectrum Of The Sky, expands on the sound that has already seen them featured at such New York City venues as Joe's Pub, The Knitting Factory and the LaGuardia Performing Arts Center. The dark, full-textured music on Spectrum Of The Sky will make you believe.

13 Melinda Doolittle - Coming Back To You

The American Idol alumna waited a bit longer than usual for a former contestant to put out her first album. Coming Back To You proved to be very much worth the wait, running the rails of classic Soul and R&B music for one of the most dynamic vocal performances of the year. Doolittle shines throughout the album, proving once again that being true to yourself as an artist is always the right choice.