I concur with a lot of the foregoing, so without repeating those albums here are too many favorites from 2009, in no particular order:
ROCK/POP
Ben Gibbard and Jay Farrar -- One Fast Move or I'm Gone: Kerouac's Big Sur
Steve Earle -- Townes
Grizzly Bear -- Veckatimest
Dave Rawlings Machine -- A Friend of a Friend
Monsters of Folk -- Monsters of Folk
Flight of the Conchords -- I Told You I Was Freaky
WPA -- Works Progress Administration
The Avett Brothers -- I and Love and You
Robyn Hitchcock and The Venus 3 -- Goodnight Oslo
St. Vincent -- Actor
The Smithereens -- Tommy
M. Ward -- Hold Time
Wilco -- Wilco
Iron & Wine -- Around the Well
Yo La Tengo -- Popular Songs
God Help the Girl -- God Help the Girl
JAZZ
Anthony Wilson -- Jack of Hearts
Joshua Redman -- Compass
Branford Marsalis Quartet -- Metamorphosen
Christian McBride -- Kind of Brown
Steve Kuhn -- Mostly Coltrane
Anouar Brahem -- The Astounding Eyes of Rita
The Masada Quintet -- Stolas: Book of Angels Vol. 12
Dave Douglas -- Spirit Moves
John Zorn -- Alhambra Love Songs and O’o
Doctor 3 -- The Song Remains the Same
Jeff “Tain” Watts -- Watts
Enrico Rava -- New York Days
Ran Blake -- Driftwoods
Nels Cline -- Coward
Peter Bernstein Trio -- Monk
Bobby Broom -- Plays for Monk
SF Jazz Collective -- Live 2009