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At any given point in 2009, World Cafe host David Dye's Top 10 list would inevitably look different. So consider this a snapshot — and otherwise subject to change at any time. Some picks won't be new to most readers, but others qualify as left-field musical discoveries.

On a wet, chilly October afternoon, the prodigiously talented young jazz pianist Eldar visited the KPLU performance studio in Seattle. He immediately warmed everyone up with his outgoing personality and stunning solo piano work.

The music of Rodrigo y Gabriela combines delicate flamenco and metal-influenced lead guitar with stunningly percussive rhythmic strumming. Their covers of Metallica and Led Zepplin showcase their melding of hard rock and classical Spanish styles. But most of their music is original, and all of it instrumental.

Monteverdi stood on the divide between two great musical periods, the Renaissance and the Baroque. His Vespers illustrates a mastery at blending the new with the old in a way that's coherent, expressive and moving, especially in John Eliot Gardiner's atmospheric recording made in Venice.

One of the most influential Brazilian psychedelic rock bands of the Tropicalia movement, Os Mutantes recently released its first album in 35 years, Haih or Amortecedor. Formed by brothers Sergio and Arnaldo Dias, the group drew inspiration from the likes of Jimi Hendrix, English rock and traditional Brazilian music.

Mahler's grand-scale "Resurrection" Symphony marked the real beginning of his career as a composer. It's the work with which he answered the metaphysical challenge of Beethoven's Ninth, with a turbulent beginning and a triumphant conclusion.

Infected Mushroom resides at the forefront of an emerging musical genre called psy-trance — complex electronic music with the sophistication of rock or jazz. The group expanded from a voice-and-keyboard duo to a quintet in an effort to make electronic dance music more interesting.

The group may be called Monsters of Folk, but "folksy" is not the adjective that springs to mind when listening to the debut album from Jim James, Conor Oberst, M. Ward and Mike Mogis. With steel drums, samples from '70s gospel music, contemporary pop, blues and, of course, a folk element, it's a conglomerate of sounds and inspirations.

Though his career stems from modest beginnings, the Senegalese singer, guitarist and percussionist is one of the most renowned musicians in the world. He brings a multilingual mix of West African music, reggae, salsa and electronic music to a session at World Cafe

From undiscovered indie-film composers to stars with world-wide acclaim, The Swell Season have released their second album, Strict Joy. Featuring a number of renowned musicians, the album demonstrates the winning combination of Hansard's singer-songwriter style and Irglova's classically trained piano and vocals.