Gone are the days when almost every Malayalam film had a fabulous collection of songs. In 2009, except for a handful, there were not many songs that became real chartbusters.

In fact, the controversial remarks of music maestro Ilayaraja on ONV Kurup's lyrics in Pazhassi Raja made more news than the songs themselves. The composer, however, had a hugely successful album with Bhagyadevatha.

Prithviraj crooned to glory with a nice song and the inimitable Mohanlal came up with a superb one, yet again. Here's a look at some of the year's best albums.

Neelathamara
Director: Lal Jose
Music: Vidyasagar

The music of Neelathamara became a rage and many believe it was the popularity of the songs and their picturisation that brought in the crowds.

Anuragavilochananayi... became an anthem of sorts. Debutant singer Sreekumar and the hugely talented Shreya Ghoshal took this melody straight to the hearts of music buffs.

Director Lal Jose' visuals also unleashed magic on the screen.

The legendary composer has been teaming up with Sathyan Anthikkad in successive films during recent years.

The songs of Bhagyadevatha were simple but effective. As it is usually seen in his films, Sathyan Anthikkad used the song sequences to narrate certain aspects related to the story in an effective way.

The location of the film, Alappuzha, added to the beauty of the songs and the picturisation.

Except for the songs which were top notch, the film starring Vineeth, Navya Nair and Kavya Madhavan in the lead, was generally a disappointment.

The songs like Chanthu thottille..., Koovaram Kili..., Madhuram Gayathi... and Sivagange... were melodious and enchanting.

Bollywood singer Shreya Ghoshal proved her genius yet again, rendering the lines of songs like Chanthu thottille... perfectly.

Mohanlal could convey the feelings of his character through the song Annarakkanna vaa..., which has become a rage.

Kuzhaloothum poomthennale... was also another impressive song from the movie.

Blessy is known to be insistent on including some nice compositions in each of his film and Bhramaram is no different.

Mohanlal's voice gave the songs the right emotions which made them all the more effective.

Puthiya Mugham was a commercial blockbuster and had the kind of music which was expected from such a film. There were songs like Thattum muttum... and Rahasyamai... which made you want to shake a leg to the beats.

Picha vecha naal... too was a nice melody and the title song sung by its hero Prithviraj himself, is still dominating the music charts.

The film catapulted the young hero to stardom with the song proving that there is nothing really that a film hero cannot do!