The online music magazine Pitchfork Media began awarding songs Best New Track (BNT) in its track reviews in 2009 as part of its Best New Music section. A total of 98 tracks, which the source reviewed album-only cuts, singles, remixes, a-sides and b-sides of singles and so forth, were given the title in its first year. All BNTs have a rating of 8/10 or higher, although not all tracks awarded 8/10 were titled BNT. Only two tracks were awarded a perfect 10/10 score in 2009: "While You Wait for the Others" (Grizzly Bear) and "What Would I Want? Sky" (Animal Collective). This list does not contain tracks that were included on Pitchfork's best-of-year lists but did not receive BNT.
Track | Artist | Rating | Date of review | Album |
---|---|---|---|---|
"Knotty Pine"[1] | Dirty Projectors and David Byrne | 8 | January 15 | Dark Was the Night |
"Sunlight"[2] | tUnE-yArDs | 8 | February 23 | Bird-Brains |
"The Breeze/My Baby Cries"[3] | Bill Callahan (original song by Kath Bloom) | 8 | February 25 | Loving Takes This Course |
"Black Lake"[4] | Real Estate | 8 | Real Estate | |
"My Girls"[5] | Animal Collective | 9 | February 27 | Merriweather Post Pavilion |
"Wind Phoenix"[6] | Cymbals Eat Guitars | 8 | March 2 | Why There Are Mountains |
"Young Hearts Spark Fire"[7] | Japandroids | 9 | March 4 | Post-Nothing |
"Glass"[8] | Bat for Lashes | 8 | March 5 | Two Suns |
"1901"[9] | Phoenix | 8 | March 8 | Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix |
"Skeletons"[10] | Yeah Yeah Yeahs | 8 | March 13 | It's Blitz! |
"Is She There?"[11] | Nodzzz | 8 | March 18 | Nodzzz |
"Rain On"[12] | Woods | 8 | March 27 | Songs of Shame |
"It Gets Your Body Movin'"[13] | Suckers | 8 | March 31 | - |
"Daniel"[14] | Bat for Lashes | 9 | April 6 | Two Suns |
"Die Slow"[15] | Health | 8 | April 10 | Get Color |
"my life, my swag"[16] | jj | 8 | April 13 | "jj n° 1" |
"Stillness Is the Move"[17] | Dirty Projectors | 9 | April 16 | Bitte Orca |
"Freeway"[18] | Kurt Vile | 8 | April 17 | Constant Hitmaker |
"Raindrops"[19] | Basement Jaxx | 8 | April 24 | Scars |
"Lisztomania"[20] | Phoenix | 8 | April 27 | Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix |
"Young Adult Friction"[21] | The Pains of Being Pure at Heart | 8 | April 29 | The Pains of Being Pure at Heart |
"Velvet" (Gang Gang Dance remix)[22] | Remix of a song originally by The Big Pink | 8 | May 4 | A Brief History of Love (Limited edition) |
"I Want You to Know"[23] | Dinosaur Jr. | 8 | May 7 | Farm |
"Moth's Wings"[24] | Passion Pit | 8 | May 11 | Manners |
"Two Weeks"[25] | Grizzly Bear | 9 | May 13 | Veckatimest |
"Version (Test Mixxx)"[26] | patten | 8 | May 14 | - |
"While You Wait for the Others"[27] | Grizzly Bear | 10 | May 22 | Veckatimest |
"Chi Don't Dance"[28] | BBU | 8 | Fear of a Clear Channel Planet | |
"Northern Lights"[29] | Bowerbirds | 8 | May 26 | Upper Air |
"Bode"[30] | Julianna Barwick | 8 | May 27 | Florine |
"Dream City"[31] | Free Energy | 8 | May 28 | Stuck on Nothing |
"Divinations"[32] | Mastodon | 9 | May 29 | Crack the Skye |
"It Ain't Gonna Save Me"[33] | Jay Reatard | 8 | June 1 | Watch Me Fall |
"Psychic City (Voodoo City)"[34] | Y△CHT | 9 | June 2 | See Mystery Lights |
"Love the Nite Away" (Tiedye remix)[35] | Remix of a track originally by DJ Kaos | 9 | June 4 | - |
"Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell" (Wallpaper. remix)[36] | Remix of a song originally by Das Racist | 8 | June 8 | - |
"Dreamer"[37] | Tiny Vipers | 8 | June 15 | Life on Earth |
"So Insane"[38] | Discovery | 8 | June 17 | LP |
"Valiant Brave"[39] | Ganglians | 8 | June 18 | Monster Head Room |
"Beggar's Bowl"[40] | Polvo | 8 | June 24 | In Prism |
"Tunguska"[41] | Cymbals Eat Guitars | 8 | June 26 | ...And the Hazy Sea/Tunguska |
"Be My Girl"[42] | Smith Westerns | 8 | June 29 | The Smith Westerns |
"Keep It Goin' Louder"[43] | Major Lazer featuring Nina Sky and Ricky Blaze | 9 | June 30 | Guns Don't Kill People... Lazers Do |
"Coat of Arms"[44] | Nosaj Thing | 8 | July 6 | Drift |
"Ramona"[45] | The Pains of Being Pure at Heart | 8 | July 7 | "Young Adult Friction / Ramona" |
"Goth Star"[46] | Pictureplane | 8 | July 9 | Dark Rift |
"Ecstasy"[47] | jj | 8 | July 10 | jj n° 2 |
"I Am Leaving"[48] | Blue Roses | 8 | Blue Roses | |
"Vibrationz"[49] | Javelin | 8 | July 13 | Jamz n Jemz |
"Big Wave Rider"[50] | Rainbow Bridge | 8 | July 15 | - |
"You Saved My Life"[51] | Cass McCombs | 9 | July 16 | Catacombs |
"Warm Heart of Africa"[52] | The Very Best featuring Ezra Koenig | 8 | July 17 | Warm Heart of Africa |
"Walkabout"[53] | Atlas Sound featuring Noah Lennox | 8 | July 20 | Logos |
"Way U Make Me Feel"[54] | Guido | 8 | "Orchestral Lab/Way U Make Me Feel" | |
"Silver Trembling Hands"[55] | The Flaming Lips | 8 | July 21 | Embryonic |
"Space Ex"[56] | Blue Daisy featuring LaNote | 8 | July 23 | - |
"Seasun"[57] | Delorean | 9 | July 24 | Ayrton Senna |
"Deadbeat Summer"[58] | Neon Indian | 9 | Psychic Chasms | |
"Digidesign"[59] | Joker | 8 | July 27 | "Digidesign/You Don't Know What Love Is" |
"Sunshine"[60] | John Talabot | 9 | July 29 | - |
"Here to Fall"[61] | Yo La Tengo | 8 | July 30 | Popular Songs |
"Quitters Raga"[62] | Gold Panda | 8 | July 31 | - |
"Dominos"[63] | The Big Pink | 8 | August 4 | A Brief History of Love |
"K&G Beat"[64] | Floating Points | 8 | August 5 | - |
"House of Flying Daggers"[65] | Raekwon ft. Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, and Method Man | 8 | August 6 | Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt. II |
"Bay of Pigs"[66] | Destroyer | 9 | August 7 | Bay of Pigs |
"Despicable Dogs"[67] | Small Black | 8 | August 12 | Small Black EP |
"Island, IS"[68] | Volcano Choir | 9 | August 14 | Unmap |
"Feel It All Around"[69] | Washed Out | 9 | August 25 | Life of Leisure |
"Hyph Mngo"[70] | Joy Orbison | 9 | August 27 | "Hyph Mngo/Wet Look" |
"10 Bricks"[71] | Raekwon | 8 | August 31 | Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt. II |
"All Yr Songs"[72] | Diamond Rings | 8 | September 2 | Special Affections |
"I Felt Stupid"[73] | The Drums | 8 | September 16 | Summertime! |
"The Sea Is a Good Place to Think of the Future"[74] | Los Campesinos! | 8 | September 21 | Romance Is Boring |
"Shelia"[75] | Atlas Sound | 8 | September 22 | Logos |
"Surf Solar" (7" edit)[76] | Fuck Buttons | 8 | September 29 | Tarot Sport |
"11th Dimension"[77] | Julian Casablancas | 8 | October 1 | Phrazes for the Young |
"Lust for Life"[78] | Girls | 9 | October 2 | Album |
"Rollerskate" (radio edit)[79] | Matias Aguayo | 8 | October 5 | Ay Ay Ay |
"Baby Can't Stop" (Aeroplane remix)[80] | Remix of a song by Lindstrøm and Christabelle | 8 | October 8 | Real Life Is No Cool (bonus disc) |
"Shine Blockas"[81] | Big Boi featuring Gucci Mane | 9 | October 14 | Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty |
"IRM"[82] | Charlotte Gainsbourg | 8 | October 15 | IRM |
"Monster Island"[83] | Claude VonStroke | 8 | October 26 | Bird Brain |
"Songs Remind Me of You"[84] | Annie | 8 | October 27 | Don't Stop |
"Crown on the Ground"[85] | Sleigh Bells | 9 | October 29 | Treats |
"Havin' My Baby"[86] | Think About Life | 8 | October 30 | Family |
"Empire State of Mind"[87] | Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys | 8 | November 4 | The Blueprint 3 |
"Watching the Planets"[88] | The Flaming Lips | 9 | November 5 | Embryonic |
"Close Chorus"[89] | A Sunny Day in Glasgow | 8 | November 6 | Ashes Grammar |
"Love Cry"[90] | Four Tet | 8 | November 9 | There Is Love in You |
"Little Dreamer" (Jones Remix)[91] | Remix of a song by Future Islands featuring Victoria Legrand | 8 | November 11 | Post Office Wave Chapel |
"A New Chance" (The Juan MacLean remix)[92] | Remix of a song by The Tough Alliance | 8 | November 16 | Prison Break |
"Spring" (Air France remix)[93] | Remix of a song by Saint Etienne | 8 | November 17 | London Conversations: The Best of Saint Etienne |
"When I'm With You"[94] | Best Coast | 8 | November 19 | Crazy for You |
"Norway"[95] | Beach House | 9 | November 20 | Teen Dream |
"What Would I Want? Sky"[96] | Animal Collective | 10 | November 23 | Fall Be Kind |
"Take It In"[97] | Hot Chip | 8 | November 25 | One Life Stand |
"When I Look at You"[98] | Emalkay | 8 | November 30 | - |