Chris Brown dominated the headlines in 2009, though not for the reasons he’d hoped. After a February altercation with then-girlfriend Rihanna, he pleaded guilty, was sentenced to probation and counseling, and emerged from it all a changed man.

He capped off the year by releasing a new album, Graffiti, and, as 2009 draws to a close, he looks forward to re-establishing himself as one of the brightest stars in the pop/R&B world. It was quite a journey, and along the way he drew inspiration from many sources — one of which happened to be the music of his contemporaries.

Recently, MTV News sat down with Brown to ask him about the songs and albums that helped him along the way. Because, as he told us, ultimately, it’s all about the music. These are his picks for the album and artist of 2009.

Artist of the Year

“Juelz Santana. … He played me some of his [upcoming] album, and it’s dope. He’s just gotta keep doing him. It took [Lil] Wayne a long time to break mainstream. The last couple years have been his big break. So I think it’s gonna take a while for Juelz to do it, but he got it. Juelz got it. He’s always making great music, so I think he doesn’t have too far to go.”

Album of the Year

“This year? Man, that’s hard. You know what I listened to a lot? Ryan Leslie’s [Transition] album. He’s a dope artist. He did [my song] ‘Famous Girl’ — he produced it — but he’s just a dope artist. I think creatively he’s so unique that I don’t think people get it yet. He’s just so dope. His album’s incredible. I listen to it all the time.”

Source: MTV.com