Closing a decade too full of surprises -- 9/11, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the collapse of the economy -- 2009 was a dependable year on the local music front, dominated by familiar names, including one legendary figure who towered over everything even in death, and a handful of newcomers with deep roots and an undying respect for the city's musical past:

Don Perry

Jack Yarber, with punkers the Oblivians and garage-rockers Jack O and the Tennessee Tearjerkers, had a stellar year.

Daniel Drinkard

Memphis has plenty of links to Andrew Bryant's powerful folk rock.

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10. Brothers Toby and Jake Vest made an abrupt 180 from the heady, intellectual sci-fi rock of their old band the Third Man/Augustine on Attack!, the debut disc from their new group the Bulletproof Vests. (Give them extra points for best band name.) Inspired by Jim Dickinson (their bandmate in the the local supergroup Ten High & the Trashed Romeos) and Memphis garage rock, the record added needed guts and muscle to the talented duo's musical body of work.

9. Booker T. & the MGs meet Henry Mancini at a late-night jam session on The Safecracker, a sly and irresistible record of funky, cool instrumentals from the City Champs.

8. With Luther Dickinson off playing with the Black Crowes, his fellow North Mississippi Allstars Chris Chew and brother Cody Dickinson formed the Hill Country Revue with local six-string whiz Kirk Smithhart and others. On their debut disc Make A Move, the new band pared down the Allstars' drawn-out jams and focused on a batch of excellent songs (mostly written by one-time Allstar Gary Burnside) to create a more accessible version of the 21st century Mississippi blues.

7. A consummate sidewoman who has sung with Lenny Kravitz, Norah Jones, Cat Power and countless others, Memphis diva Susan Marshall enjoyed her most satisfying solo effort to date with Little Red, an evocative, richly produced update of classic soul.

6. It is probably not without some irony that Memphis indie rock enfant terrible Jay Reatard titled his breakout 2009 disc Watch Me Fall. From his unfortunate choice of stage name (his real name is Jay Lindsey) to his notorious stage antics (that reportedly led his backing band to quit earlier this year), Reatard seems determined to keep pushing buttons until he finds the one that kills his career. It's testament to his musical ability, exemplified on his Matador Records full-length debut, a punk rock tour de force that was Spin Magazine's No. 13 record of the year, that we're willing to put up with him along the way.

5. Years and years of hard work, including seemingly nonstop touring and six independently released albums, paid off for local stalwarts Lucero this year when the band at last landed a major-label record deal. The quintet responded not by playing it safe and churning out more of the bar-friendly country punk, but by issuing 1372 Overton Park (named for the address of the band's longtime residence/rehearsal space), an ambitious, horn-laden attempt at Springsteen-style epic grandeur.

4. The eponymous debut disc on Ardent Records from trio Star & Micey bears little resemblance to the label's best-known act, Big Star. But the spirit -- a blending of ineffable Memphis grit with broader, at-large pop themes -- is spot on, and more than 35 years later has again resulted in divinely catchy music.

3. Whether he was guesting on others' records, working and influencing artists like the Vest brothers (see No. 10) or his son Cody Dickinson (No. 8), or issuing his own disc, the jazzy Dinosaurs Run in Circles, the late musician/ producer/mentor/raconteur Jim Dickinson completely dominated the year in Memphis music, almost as if he expected his death in August at the age of 67 and was determined to squeeze in as much music as possible. A star-studded September tribute concert at the Levitt Shell was perhaps the live event of the year, but the most touching send-off came in November when son Luther and a coterie of close musical compatriots dubbed the Sons of Mudboy released Onward and Upward, an album of gospel standards cut just days after Dickinson's death that is as fitting a farewell as anyone could wish for.

2. You can quibble about whether Andrew Bryant, who lives outside of Oxford, Miss., qualifies as a Memphis artist. The fact that he plays here often and his band lives here are my rationale for inclusion. But even if the technical criteria land you on the opposite side of the argument, the power of the glorious, moody folk-rock collection Galilee is more than enough reason to annex him.

1. It was a standout year for the '90s Memphis punk favorites the Oblivians. Not only did the band reunite for a brief, well-received tour, but each of the trio's members enjoyed success in his own right, with Eric Friedl's Gonerfest music festival exploding in its sixth and biggest year and Greg Cartwright's North Carolina-based band the Reigning Sound issuing the excellent Love and Curses. But it was Jack Yarber, laboring under the banner of Jack O & the Tennessee Tearjerkers, who delivered the year's most unexpected pleasure, teaming with ax-man extraordinaire John Paul Keith (the One Four Fives) on The Disco Outlaw, a potent combination of whip-smart songwriting and expertly executed garage-rock soul.

Best Reissue: As usual, there were plenty of gems plucked from Memphis' rich musical past to vie for this honor, including Concord's continuing excavation of the Stax catalog and an expanded, remastered and definitive edition of Elvis Presley's seminal From Elvis In Memphis. But the title has to go to the long- overdue Big Star box set Keep An Eye On the Sky. Even if you already had Big Star's three studio LPs (and, really, you should), there were enough extras -- band predecessors, demos, unreleased tracks and plain dot connectors -- to make this four-disc set essential.

Best Expat Release: Again, there was no shortage of entries in this race, including excellent recordings by such former Memphians as God rockers Skillet, singer-songwriter Jesse Winchester, and the Reigning Sound. But the standout of the year was Todd Snider's The Excitement Plan, another round of tuneful, witty tunes from the droll troubadour.

Mark Jordan is a freelance music writer for The Commercial Appeal.