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Listeners Pick The Year's Best Music (So Far)

NPR listeners cast thousands of votes for the year's best music (so far) and kept the race tight. In the end, Animal Collective edged out every other artist in both the Best Album category, and for Best Song. Artists like Grizzly Bear, The Decemberists and Neko Case weren't far behind. One thing was clear: 2009 has been one of the strongest years for new music in recent memory.

Below are the top five songs and the top five albums, picked by NPR listeners in our online poll. We've got a more complete listing of the poll results on our blog.

Download this show in the All Songs Considered podcast.

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