The best Mustaches of 2009

Let’s face it, the mustache has come a long way since your great-grandfather’s fu manchu. In 2009 we saw not only the revival of the beard, but also a few trend setting musicians who threw their razors out the tour van window and just said “no” to shaving.

A quick Google search will result in everything from Pitchfork’s Top Albums of the Decade to your mom’s favorite workout tunes of 2009, however, there seems to be one list that is missing in the blogosphere…the best mustaches of ’09. So as the year unwinds and we celebrate the best of the best, we would like to praise the musicians who made lip ticklers both socially acceptable and even enviable, after all, not just anyone can pull off a bristly mustache like Jesse Hughes.

Over time, musicians have carefully perfected the art of grooming and there is unarguably a correlation between artists featured on Stereogum playlists and facial hair. No longer just for Western outlaws and policemen, the mustache is slightly easier to maintain than a beard and says “I’m in a band” just as obviously as a pair of Ray Ban sunglasses or a Fedora hat. It’s the free accessory that guarantees comments on your Facebook profile picture and a girlfriend who’s a dead-ringer for Zooey Deschanel.

In honor of facial profiling, from perfectly clipped to unkempt, we’ve narrowed down the top 10 mustaches of 2009. While there are varying degrees of mustache epic-ness, each of these men deserve more than a high five for their unwavering dedication to their image and help with preserving a timeless fad. Their push brooms serve as inspiration for future mustache growers everywhere and give us faith that the mustache will outlive any facial hair trend.

(Oh, and while we’re at it, here’s a round of applause for the wives and girlfriends who have to kiss these faces and undergo Microdermabrasion daily).