2009 has started with bang, as critics have already proclaimed Animal Collective’s Merriweather Post Pavillion the best record of the year. Mind you the year is 5 days old and the record has only been released on vinyl (as of today), but now you can listen to the heavily-hyped, closely-watched-for-leaks album in its entirety. And legally.

It’s only been officially out for a few hours, but already The Chicago Tribune, Paste Magazine, Spin and Pitchfork are elbowing each other out of the way to bow down in front of it. Why don’t you be the judge?

With a current listener rating of a rather paltry 5 out of a possible 10, NME is hosting the entire album on its website. The only catch is you need Windows Media Player installed (c’mon NME — don’t you run on Mac’s?), so we sent this to our intern who works on a PC to indeed verify they are the entire songs and the entire album. To listen, just click here.

1. From The Editor – Ok, I’ll Be The One To Say It, The New Animal Collective Album Is…
2. Animal Collective – “Peacebone”
3. Merriweather Post Pavilion
4. Will Merriweather Post Pavilion Vinyl Sales Land It On Billboard Charts?
5. Animal Collective to Reissue Campfire Songs, Sneak S’mores