Bonnaroo lived up to its reputation as the ultimate jam band festival when it booked Phish for its first two reunion shows - a Sunday headlining slot plus a lengthy Friday late night set. But this year's Roo lineup offered so much more than jam bands. From a headlining Bruce Springsteen set to established acts like Nine Inch Nails, the Beastie Boys, Wilco and David Byrne to a who's who of current indie darlings, including Animal Collective, Phoenix, The Dirty Projectors and Grizzly Bear, this lineup was unmatched in 2009.

From the other side of the pond comes the only festival that could even reasonably be compared to Bonnaroo in 2009. Glastonbury also featured a headlining set from Springsteen, not to mention Neil Young, Blur, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Franz Ferdinand, and The Prodigy. The rest of the lineup was incredibly deep and diverse, featuring acts such as Lady Gaga, The Dead Weather, Peaches, Q-Tip, and an acoustic set from Ray Davies. Indie bands of the moment like Passion Pit, Florence + the Machine and Animal Collective also played.

Once again, Coachella landed arguably the biggest fish in the festival pond in 2009. Headliner Paul McCartney topped a stellar lineup that also featured The Cure, My Bloody Valentine, The Killers, Franz Ferdinand, and Morrisey. Coachella also continued another of its traditions, presenting a highly anticipated reunion act - this year, it was the English industrial band Throbbing Gristle. Other highlights included Mastodon, Leonard Cohen, and M.I.A.

What the 2009 version of Lollapalooza lacked in originality, it certainly made up for in sheer star power. Of the headliners, only Depeche Mode was a unique booking, but they combined with 2009 festival mainstays Jane's Addiction, Kings of Leon, The Killers, Tool, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs to form an attractive top of the bill. The undercard was also impressive, with highlights like Lou Reed, Band of Horses, Animal Collective and Vampire Weekend, to name just a few. Plus, the electronic lineup at Perry's Stage added a little diversity to the festival with DJ sets from Animal Collective, Hercules and Love Affair, MSTRKRFT and Kid Cudi.

Probably the only festival that benefited from The Beastie Boys' unfortunate cancellation, All Points West quickly secured hip hop titan Jay-Z to fill the gap caused by MCA's cancer diagnosis. Hova joined an already loaded lineup that featured Coldplay, My Bloody Valentine, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Plus, he turned APW into the hip hop festival destination of the year, as a reunited Organized Konfusion, Q-Tip, The Pharcyde, Kool Keith, and The Cool Kids also performed.

There's no question that the 2009 version of Austin City Limits belonged to Pearl Jam, who closed the festival with a set featuring guest appearances by Perry Farrell (covering Jane's Addiction's "Mountain Song") and Ben Harper. Although The Top 13 didn't love several of ACL's other headliners, including Kings of Leon and Dave Matthews Band, performances by supergroup Them Crooked Vultures, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Phoenix, Mos Def, Grizzly Bear, The Dead Weather, and The Toadies made ACL a required stop on the festival circuit.

Partly curated by the noted promoters at All Tomorrow's Parties, Primavera Sound doesn't typically match the star power of Glastonbury. But, in 2009, this second European entry on The Top 13 came through with the headliners to match Glastonbury's typically deep and varied lineup. With Neil Young at the top of the bill, Primavera also offered My Bloody Valentine, Sonic Youth, and Bloc Party. Highlights from the earlier acts included Ghostface Killah, Phoenix, Sunn O))), Squarepusher, The Jesus Lizard, The Jayhawks, and Lightning Bolt.

Though uneven and a bit unfocused, Rock Werchter's star power cannot be denied. To see sets by bands such as Oasis, Metallica, The Prodigy, The Killers, Kings of Leon, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Nine Inch Nails, attendees had to put up with the likes of Limp Bizkit and Black Eyed Peas. No doubt a worthwhile tradeoff, particularly when you add in performances by Mastodon, Bloc Party, Social Distortion, and Franz Ferdinand.

Breaking with its tradition of teaming up with All Tomorrow's Parties and its "Don't Look Back" series (which presents bands playing classic albums all the way through), Pitchfork's fantastic Friday night featured performances by Built to Spill, The Jesus Lizard, Yo La Tengo, and Tortoise of set lists chosen by the fans. The rest of the weekend wasn't bad either, featuring a wide assortment of Pitchfork-approved bands such as The Flaming Lips, The National, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Grizzly Bear, Wavves, Cymbals Eat Guitars, M83, Japandroids, and Vivian Girls.

As one of the earlier big festivals of the year, this festival's headliners such as Nine Inch Nails, Kings of Leon, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Jane's Addiction still seemed fresh when they played at the Gorge. Plus, Sasquatch!'s undercard was loaded with some of the biggest indie acts on the circuit, such as The Decemberists, TV on the Radio, and Fleet Foxes, and a number of up-and-coming blogger favorites. Other highlights included live standouts Gogol Bordello and Mos Def.

Just a two-day festival, Fun Fun Fun makes The Top 13 because of the amazing diversity of its lineup. Hip hop fans got GZA, The Pharcyde and The Cool Kids. Comedy fans got Brian Posehn, Todd Barry and Nick Thune. Indie fans got Of Montreal, Ratatat and Crystal Castles. Plus, classic acts like The Jesus Lizard, Shonen Knife, Danzig, and Death rounded out the lineup, giving Austin its second festival on this list.

All Tomorrow's Parties produced at least three festivals in 2009 that received strong consideration for The Top 13, but Nightmare Before Christmas was the standout. Curated by My Bloody Valentine (who also headlined), the Minehead, England festival featured sets by diverse acts such as hip hop legends E.P.M.D. and De La Soul, as well as Sonic Youth, Sun Ra Arkestra, Buzzcocks, J Mascis and the Fog, Bob Mould, Swervedriver, Dirty Three, Primal Scream, and No Age.

What separated this nearly 40-year-old Danish festival from so many of the other major music festivals of 2009 were the acts that performed there that weren't all over the festival scene. In addition to 2009 favorites such as Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart and Fleet Foxes, headliners and featured acts included Faith No More, Kanye West, Oasis, Coldplay, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Social Distortion and Pet Shop Boys. Roskilde even rebounded nicely from Lil Wayne's cancellation, grabbing the always fantastic Gogol Bordello as a late replacement.