There's never enough time to listen to the music I love; there's never enough time to investigate the music I might like. As I write this, the year-end singles lists are hitting so fast it's hard not to feel like Tippi Hedren in The Birds. So before I start plowing into the stuff I missed from those lists (which is most of it), here's a check-through of '09 songs I didn't cover in this space, but should have. Alphabetical by artist:

Art Brut, "Demons Out!" (Downtown): every line a bumper sticker, with "If we can't change the world, let's at least get the charts right" so big it obscures the license plate. Babydollz, "Boyz in the Skinny Jeans (My Cookie)" (MP3): "He be jerkin' for this cookie/He gon' get it real fast"—I'll bet. Bloody Mary ft. Argenis Brito, "Sed Non Satiata" (Contexterrior): minimal techno with real atmosphere, and not just because the spoken (male) vocal is in Spanish. Busy Signal, "Da Style Deh" (Greensleeves): what Auto-Tune is good for—pairing with Afro-Cuban percussion and a chant that goes, in part, "Ooh-la-loo-la-loo-la-la-la-la-la-lo." Cascada, "Evacuate the Dancefloor" (Robbins): what big, stupid mainstream dance is good for—choruses to yell along with.

Dizzee Rascal, "Bad Behaviour" (Dirtee Stank): "On the club scene, looking for love," and finding one snarling bass line. GusGus, "On the Job" (Kompakt): Eleven minutes of synth grind is still less time spent bitching about the workplace than most people. Charlotte Hatherley, "White" (Minty Fresh): We missed you, circa-1993 alt. Keri Hilson, "Slow Dance" (Mosley): I'm a sucker for a Prince rip, pt. 873. Love and Theft, "Runaway" (Carolwood): Nice-guy mainstream country rules, non–Brad Paisley division. Lusine, "Crowded Room" (Ghostly International): colorful and beautifully laid out, too.

Noisettes, "Never Forget You" (Mercury): like a lower budget and from-the-gut—hence better—early Mariah. Royksopp ft. Robyn, "The Girl and the Robot" (Astralwerks): The girl wins, though the robot puts up a hell of a fight. Still Going, "Spaghetti Circus" (DFA): The record Reggie Watts was born to make—stomping, galloping house that doesn't let up for eight and a half minutes. 2000f & JKamata, "You Don't Know What Love Is" (Hyperdub): G-funk goes to outer space, takes wailing diva along for the ride. Unladylike, "Sit Yo Ass Down (ESTL Remix)" (Def Jam): seven minutes of unremitting ferocity, capped with "You steady pumping your gums?/I'll put your ass on the ceiling."

Thanks for reading, and have a great 2010.