The time has come for columnists and bloggers to do their “Best of” lists for 2009. They fill some needed space for many writers and do serve a good purpose in this day and age when the fads seem to come faster and faster. I’m waiting for the day when someone declares that a TV show has “jumped the shark” (one of my least favorite terms lately) before a single episode even airs.

I won’t do these lists for a couple of reasons. First of all, I am lazy and don’t feel like doing the research. Secondly, I focus all my energy on The Brians, which will come out in a few months. Lastly, the annual “Best of” frenzy has taken on a new energy I just can’t keep up with as the decade ends. My daughter was born in 2000 so I’d be a better candidate to create a list of things I didn’t see that were awesome over the past 10 years.

That said, I saw my first bit of good news in one of these lists when I stumbled upon a list of the top 25 albums released since 2000 from Oakland Tribune writer Jim Harrington. He puts R.E.M.’s Accelerate at No. 15 on his list. High praise for an album which sailed under the radar pretty much, in my opinion.

Those who lost track of R.E.M. after 1994’s “Monster,” which seemingly includes most of the listening public, have missed some of the band’s finest work. The three-legged R.E.M., minus original drummer Bill Berry for the entire decade, returned to its early guitar-based sound on its terrific 14th studio record.

I doubly appreciated the nod for my favorite band when I scanned the list and found that not only had I not heard most of his picks, I didn’t want to hear many of them. Just give me some good guitar-driven rock any day of the week over the likes of Amy Winehouse and Bjork.