AllMusic's Favorite Mixes of 2009

2009 was a real good year for mixtapes and we've rounded up twenty that made us the happiest. There's some dancehall reggae, hardcore rap, old school hip hop, dubstep, dancefloor friendly jams, and general goodness with big names like Beck and Lil Wayne bumped up against promising newcomers like Nicki Minaj, Freddie Gibbs and Joy Orbison. At least one of these mixes is as good as any legit album that came out during the year; all of them are first-rate examples of how to generate interest in your work through the time honored tool of the mix. As always, feel free to let us know if we missed anything!

Drake - So Far Gone
Buraka Som Sistema - The Blood Diamond Mixtape
Peanut Butter Wolf - 45 Live
Joy Orbison - DLDRMS001
Freddie Gibbs -“ The Miseducation of Freddie Gibbs
Themselves - Free Houdini Mixtape
Rico Uno - It's All Over - Livestock Block Party Mixtape 2009
Beck - Planned Obsolescence Series
The Cool Kids & Don Cannon - Gone Fishing
Joell Ortiz - Covers The Classics
Joker - Purple Wow Sound Mix
Nicki Minaj - Beam Me Up Scotty
Dam Funk @ Sweaterfunk
Proof & Renmin - Night Shift II
Chinese Assassin -“ Girl I’ll House You
Version Big-Fi - Reggae Service Mix
Mick Boogie & Terry Urban - Slab Up: The Cleveland Show
Lil Wayne - No Ceilings
Kid Cudi - Dat Kid From Cleveland