What's the best album of 2008? - Page 2

I haven't listened to enough to say what I think is "best" of the year, but of the albums I have heard, Cut Copy's In Ghost Colours is my favorite. Beach House and Portishead are up there, too.

Although, for some stupid reason I haven't listened to Aimee Mann's new album yet, and since I love everything she does I'm sure it'll be near the top of my list when I finally get to it.

I think "Whatever You Like" is a pretty decent pop tune.

The Gasman - Superlife


I haven't heard the new Squarepusher yet, but he usually makes my top ten. Svn Fngrs by Black Francis, Autechre - Quaristice, Kieran Hebden and Steve Reid - NYC. 2008 has been a better year for music than movies for me.

Rise Against - Appeal To Reason

My favorites:

Matthew Herbert Big Band - There's Me and There's You
Of Montreal - Skelatal Lamping
The Drive-By Truckers - Brighter Than Creation's Dark
Various Artists - Como Now
Deerhoof - Offend Maggie
The Heliocentrics - Out There
Erykah Badu - Amerykahn Promise, Part 1
King Khan and the Shrines - The Supreme Genius of...
Mitch Hedberg - Do You Believe in Gosh?
Beck - Modern Guilt

Various Artists - Nigeria 70: Lagos Jump
Various Artists - Calypsoul 70

Death Magnetic. It's a solid record from Track 1 to the last. You don't get that very often at all anymore.

I just forgot to put a / there because I'm really unsure as to where the guy fits. I'm loathe to call his work hip hop*, but rap doesn't seem the right tag either.

*due to the connotations of quality associated with the term

Yeah, I figured, but as an odd phrase it made me laugh.

I'm reluctant to really separate things into "rap" and "hip-hop". It feels like another thing that intellectuals do to "justify" the fact that they like the music. It feels very elitist. "I don't listen to that dumb 'ho's up in the club' music. I listen to hip-hop. That's like poetry, you know." But that's an argument for another thread.

After thinking about it (and listening to them again) for a few days, I switched my number two top spots and got a list of twenty.

TV on the Radio: Dear Science. A postcard of where we are emotionally and sonically in 2008.

Deerhunter: Microcastle. Dreamy, slightly experimental pop-rock with great hooks that you won’t be able to get out of your head. This reminds me of Radiohead’s Amnesiac album. It’s a grower and I’m surprised it’s not on more lists.

Girl Talk: Feed the Animals. Greg Gillis is the William S. Burroughs of pop music, except his mash-ups are more listenable than Burroughs cut-ups were readable.

Fucked Up: The Chemistry of Common Life. Loud, in your face, sonically ambitious, brilliantly produced, over the top and incredibly engaging.

Jay Reatard: Singles 2008. OK, technically not an album, but all of these singles came out this year so why not? Also, you get to see Jay’s progression as a punk songwriter and guitar player. For a punk purist, he’s tremendously diverse who writes great hooks and uses interesting instrumentation. Highly recommended live act, too.

Department of Eagles: In Ear Park. Dreamy pop from Grizzly Bear side-project. Really well rounded album with lots of surprises. I actually prefer this to Grizzly Bear.

Tobacco: Fucked Up Friends. The guy from Black Moth Super Rainbow borrows his bands sound but tweaks it and makes a better album. This is a playhouse record but man is it like ear candy.

El Guincho: Alegranza. Such a joyous experience. If you feel like partying, throw this on. It’s like being in Rio for carnival. A good time.

Wale: The Mixtape About Nothing. Best hip-hop album of the year (not including Feed the Animals) is a free mix tape that revolves around Seinfeld of all things. Check out the Kramer and then dive in and enjoy the rest. This guy is going places.

No Age: Nouns. Makes me feel like being a teenager again. Simple but elegant garage noise punk with just the right amount of gutsy pop. Lovely album.

Santogold: Santogold. I don’t get the M.I.A comparisons (she’s more like a much better version of Gwen Stefani in No Doubt) but I totally dig how tonally eclectic this album is, from hip hop to no age and back again. And it all works. Don’t be a hater, we can have more than one female artist that share a FEW similar styles of sound, can’t we? I mean Christ, how many emo bands do we have?

The Silver Jews: Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea. One of David Berman’s best, in my opinion. Sadly overlooked.

Lil’ Wayne: The Carter III. Admit it. It’s awesome.

Shearwater: Rook. Beautifully complex arrangements and some solid songwriting. I think it falters a bit near the end, but you can’t beat its first handful of tracks.

Vampire Weekend: Vampire Weekend. I cry foul on people for hating this just because it’s popular. It’s fucking hard to make songs this catchy, this refreshingly sunny, without making annoying dreck. I don’t know what the future will bring for Vampire Weekend. Perhaps they will descend into self parody, but this is an excellent start.

Okkervil River: The Stand Ins. One of my favorite bands, and I love two thirds of this album. Take out the pointless musical interludes and the last song and you have an excellent EP.

Fleet Foxes: Fleet Foxes. Lovely, folksy pop with beautiful harmonies. Their lyrics need some work but I love this record. Makes me feel at home. Makes me want to go on a hike.

The Hold Steady: Stay Positive. Only a couple of bad songs (One for the Cutters) but since when do the Hold Steady write bad songs? A couple of tremendously incredible songs (Constructive Summer, Slapped Actress, Sequestered in Memphis, the title track) keep it high above the rest of the pack, but nowhere near the heights of Separation Sunday and Boys and Girls in America.

M83: Saturday=Youth. A fun record from M83, but I want him to get a little more serious with his songwriting. Still, some great songs here, including the epic Couleurs.

Wolf Parade: At Mount Zoomer. God, that cover art. I might even bump it up a couple of spots if not for that. Ugh.

You should check out Those Poor Bastards, they're kind of in the same gothic country genre, but a little more trippy.

Mogwai - The Hawk is Howling
This Will Destroy You - This Will Destroy You
Red Sparowes - Aphorisms

This thread reminds me how little I listen to new music and much I'm missing out on. But from what I did listen to, my favorites were:

Black Mountain- In the Future
Dennis Wilson- Pacific Ocean Blue (reissue of a semi-rare album, so I count it)
Fleet Foxes- Fleet Foxes
Metallica- Death Magnetic
MGMT- Oracular Spectacular
Vampire Weekend- Vampire Weekend
Weezer- Red Album

This kind of thread comes out every year and every year I go to Metacritic best of 2008 and clean up with the mainstream music gems I missed out on. (as well as Chewers' lists!)

I dont know any of the top 10 on this year's Top 30 Metacritic list except for Nick Cave and Robyn. Robyn!?

The Robyn album is very strong for a dance-pop album. I was totally taken by surprise. "With Every Heartbeat" is a brilliant single.

I wasn't that keen on the latest Mogwai album,i thought it started off strong but then sorta deteriorated into background music for me.

I'd add the Deerhunter album to my list,i got my hands on it the other day and have really enjoyed it,i only became aware of them through Cryptograms.

Didn't even know that Okkkervil had a new record out?Black Sheep Boy was superb,its one of those albums that i've passed around a lot,my mate compared them to The Frames which i don't quite see myself.

The Hold steady have never really been my thing but Stay Posistive was overall a good album.Navy Sheets would be the stand out track for me.

Coincidentally, I got this one from an album blog, thought it was long out of print. So yeah, it counts. It's a great album, maybe the best 70's perverted westcoast record along with John Philips' 'Wolf King of LA'.

for the hell of it I'll throw out 3 albums I bought that have the 90's nostalgia vibe.

Local H-12 angry months
Matthew Sweet- Sunshine Lies
Oasis-Dig Out Your Soul

All three are actually pretty darn good (but not top 10 material)

I don't put much stock in that Metacritic list. I don't have the time or inclination to read through the entire explanation of how the scores are tabulated, but it's telling that the Amadou and Mariam album score is based on only 7 reviews and the Teddy Thompson score is based on 8, while the Nick Cave score is based on 32 and the TV on the Radio score is based on 40.

I'm not sure how many of you have been keeping up with Noel Murray's Popless column at the AV Club, but he made this relevant point in his epilogue:

If an album really grabs a critic, he or she will be more inclined to write about it. Because of Teddy Thompson's relative obscurity, most critics aren't going to go out of their way to write a mediocre or overwhelmingly negative review of a Thompson album. But if Thompson really surprises the few critics who hear him, he may be overpraised a bit. So with something like Metacritic, there's a pretty big risk of an album being championed by just a few critics and ignored by the rest (who may have found the album too unremarkable to bother reviewing), yet ending up with an impressive score due to how the average gets worked out.

I'm starting up my annual music marathon/endurance test on the blog next week, but, pre-review, I'd say these are near the top for me:

Okkervil River - The Stand Ins
It's the Godfather II to The Stage Names' Godfather - that rare sequel that works in perfect harmony with the original and adds nuance and heft that wasn't necessary, but is sure appreciated.

The Hold Steady - Stay Positive
It's not as consistent as Boys and Girls in America, but it's hard to find too much fault with an album that has songs as good as the ones Parker mentioned above, among others.

Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight
While the two bands don't share all that much sonically, Arcade Fire fans who treasure that band for their straightforward sincerity will probably find a lot to like about these guys. The music's built on a shakey foundation of acoustic guitars and threatens to become unhinged more often, but the earnestness in Scott Hutchison's pronounced brogue makes it epic, nonetheless.

Overall, this year hasn't had the highs of 2007, but that was a hard year to beat. There were a fair number of good albums, though, if not great ones.

Ironically, I started listening to this one 10 minutes ago.

I'm not really sure which albums from this year really did it for me, but I know that Wolf Parade isn't getting enough love. At Mount Zoomer lacked the awesome singles of Apologies to the Queen Mary, but more than made up for those losses with awesome, sprawling compositions that reveal new and interesting layers with each listen. Kissing the Beehive is the rare listenable 10-minute long song.

Deerhunter - Microcastle by far.

Most of what I liked has been stated in this thread (Dear Science, Fleet Foxes, Stand Ins), so here are some diamonds in the rough:

Astronautalis - Pomegranate & Why? - Alopecia, Hyper-literate white boy hip-hop
Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks - Real Emotional Trash, Pavement cum Jeff Beck
The Mae Shi - HLLLYH, Punk Rock Opera about religion (No, really)
Magnetic Fields - Distortion, Fuzzed-out winter pop
Titus Andronicus - The Airing of Grievances, Shoegaze crossed with Springsteen and the 'Mats
Wale - The Mixtape About Nothing, The best mixtape you'll ever listen to

Intriguing.

Interestingly enough, it was a similar description (actually, more Springsteen fronting Sonic Youth or MBV) that led me to The War on Drugs' Wagonwheel Blues over the weekend. Still haven't heard enough of it to decide whether that's accurate.

I'd definitely say War on Drugs are sonically similar to Titus Andronicus, though Titus sounds grittier. I'd describe their sound as earnest blue collar lyrics and attitude mixed with eclectic instrumentation, ranging from multiple guitars to keyboards to harmonica. There's a little bit of Pogues in their sound, but the urgency of their stage presence (which doesn't always shine on their album) really gains them the Springsteen and 'Mats comparisons. They really lay it on the line. I've seen them a handful of times this year, and some of their shows have been excellent but sometimes they're a bit rough. Always entertaining, though.

http://www.daytrotter.com/article/1439/titus-andronicus

These are re-recorded versions of songs off their LP. Lyrics are on their Myspace page.

On a slight tangent, I'm about shoulder deep in a mix-cd that includes a portion of my top picks for the year plus a bit of this and a bit that which I've got laying about here. I'm gonna be making a bulk of them for friends and such and I always end up with a stack of extra disks so I was curious if anyone here would be interested in one. It's picking up quite an early seventies psych-folk feel with some more instrumental metal and retro-seventies doom thrown into the mix. I'm not sure where it's gonna end up at but that's where I'm at. Let me know if you're interested.

Paint it Black-new lexicon
have heart-songs to scream at the sun
polar bear club-sometimes things just disappear

I've finally had a chance to give it a good listen, so I can finally regret not putting on my reissues list and spreading the love for Love Train: The Sound of Philadelphia box set. It has breadth, depth (The Jackson 5 worked with Gamble/Huff? Who knew?), but it is also, unlike many compilations and box sets, sequenced amazingly. The songs flow from one to the other without raising an eyebrow. This is the jam.

Wow. This thread just shined the light on how pathetic my music taste is. I'm caught in an awkward place of moving away from hip-hop and not knowing what other music to listen to.

The two best albums I plunked down money for would have to be Carter III and Portishead's Third.

I'd put Titus in with the "good to better" albums of the year. The guys a little too whiny for me sometimes, but I know that's a really stupid complaint. I thought they were good live when I saw them for the record. If you're looking for a band to sound just like they do on record, they're not for you but they weren't lacking in spunk or energy.

Also glad someone else digs the Wale!

This is a good album and I admire it a lot but I just can't squeeze it onto my list. I think it has to do with the structure, honestly. It starts with such a high that I never feel like it recaptures. Modern Leper is an incredible song, and many of the other songs are good...but I think it peaks a little too early.

After listening to it non-stop since Monday, I have to second Dave's choice here. What really got me was their percussive work. It's on my list from now on.

Old Old Fashioned, The Twist and Head Rolls Off are outstanding.

I just caught on to the new Kings of Leon. That's a great album, though it whimpers to a close (relative to the rest of the album).

If I was a pretentious music blogger, I'd have this in my top 10.

Imagination Movers-Juice Box Heroes

Why? Not only is it Pop music.. its for kids.. and its good. Not only is it great for kids, I don't think there is a single adult who doesnt like their music.
other great reasons
1)The Imagination Movers are from New Orleans
2)While technically a compilation of songs off their indie label, its their first national CD with distribution through Disney. So Yeah they are a children's indie band from New Orleans.
3)Most songs are about "What's in your fridge?" and "Clean it up now", the last song on the album "We've got Each Other" is a song for kids about Hurricane Katrina. Its actually kind of sad, but heart-warming.
4)They incorporate horns in many of their songs (the back up horn section is from New Orleans too I think).
5)The television show has made them an instant success story, after struggling to get their music and tv show in motion for many years.
6)They are the closest things to a new version of the MONKEES you'll ever see in your lifetime.
7) I've heard their music EVERY DAMN DAY for 3 months and I'm only borderline crazy, rather than full blown crazy, so that is a testament to how decent a band they are.

so I'm here to champion all pretentious bloggers to add them to your top 10 or top 20 list as a WTF factor and "I'm cooler than you because I listen to kids music and you are too closed minded to do so" factor.

Favorite of the year for me is Brighter Than Creation's Dark, by Drive-By Truckers.

The rest of my list, at least as of today:

Attack and Release- Black Keys
Break Up The Concrete- Pretenders
City That Care Forgot- Dr. John
Funplex- B-52's
Hold on Now, Youngster- Los Campesinos!
Just Us Kids- James McMurtry
Lay It Down- Al Green
Live: Hope At The Hideout- Mavis Staples
Real Animal- Alejandro Escovedo
Tell Tale Signs- Bob Dylan
That Lucky Old Sun- Brian Wilson
Vampire Weekend- Vampire Weekend
Venus on Earth- Dengue Fever

My favorite reissue would be Aretha Franklin: Queen of Soul. Maybe the most fascinating thing I've heard all year is the comparison between the original version of "Chain of Fools," and the familiar hit single: same recording, but re-edited and re-jiggered into something completely different.

My lady mentioned she wanted the new War on Drugs CD the same day I read about them in here. Surprised her with the disc last night, she loves it. Yay me. Yay lady. Yay CHUD.

I wish people would start mentioning Elbow. Eventhough I perfer Leaders Seldom Seen kid is yet another great album by them that gets completely ignored in America.

Elbow has been mentioned. Twice. Sackley and me.

Sorry I meant more in a larger context. They seem to get ignored by many critics.

I would mention Elbow, but I found their latest album to be uniquely terrible especially when compared to the greatness of Leaders and their earlier work.

Thats too bad. I defintely liked Leader better but I think "Grounds for Divorce" and "Lonliness of a Tower Crane Operator" are awesome songs.

Not mentioned yet (that I've seen) but that haven't been out of rotation on my stereo:

The Knux - Remind Me In Three Days - What can I say? I like my rap old school.

David Byrne and Brian Eno - Everything That Happens Will Happen Today - It's Byrne and Eno. Do you need another reason?

Chip Taylor - New Songs of Freedom - I'm a sucker for good hippie rock.

Raphael Saadiq - The Way I See It - Nice blend of Motown sensibilities and modern hip hop.

Also have to add these two albums to my list

Foals - Antidotes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGrZkUQ6_r8

Yeah, they're kind of dweeby and that sound isn't for everyone but that math rock found itself lodged in my skull for pretty much the entire summer after Antidotes came out.

Cloud Cult - Feel Good Ghosts

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-u0Xrm4Nqg

Thanks to Martin for name dropping this. This is the first I'd heard of the group and I've already fell in love with the sheer joy and energy of their sound. No One Said it Would Be Easy, It's What You Need and When Water Comes To Life are like on constant repeat at the moment.

Sun Kil Moon's "April", Mates Of State's "Re-Arranger" and the 2 NIN releases are the best ones mentioned so far.

Portishead and Opeth were pretty good, but don't have a lot of staying power for me. The new Mars Volta has some great moments as well, but overall I'm not crazy about it.

"Ruiner" by Made Out Of Babies deserves an honorable mention. I mean, it's not a classic, but it fuckin rocks. I'm a connoisseur of female fronted bands, and this is one of the few metal-esque ones that has managed to deliver lately.

The best album I've heard that came out in 2008 (in my extremely non-objective opinion) is "My Magic City" by Caithlin De Marrais, former Rainer Maria singer. It's glorious. She is my favorite female vocalist working today (since Anneke quit The Gathering), and her melodies will burrow their way permanently into your brain given the chance. The songwriting varies between piano pop and folk and other such genres, but her potent attitude, charisma, and coiled intensity is what steals the show. Give her a chance at http://www.myspace.com/caithlindemarrais . Due to the shitty state of the music industry, her album is available only in 320kbps MP3 form from her label's website for 10 bucks, but it's more than worth it.

Most of the good stuff I've bought this year has been from the 80s and 90s, though. I probably won't hear the best albums of 2008 until the rest of the world gets a chance to sift through them to find the real gems.

Ya know, sometime in August of 07, there was a thread in here I was browsing that made me go look up Rilo Kiley, and proceed to become obsessed with them for the next year.
It's now over a year later, and once again this forum said "Hey, check out this Amanda Palmer chick" and I said "Sure, why not?"
and proceeded to obsess over another singer's collection.
Way to go CHUD. Keep up the good work.

Thanks to those of you who recommended Amanda Palmer.
I love this album.

Now start working on the Dresden Dolls stuff, starting with the self-titled. You won't be disappointed.

Inspiring thread.

But apparently there is not too much love for electronic music around here though. Might have to try and change that. Therefore I nominate Booka Shade - The Sun And The Neon Light.

Very captivating stuff. Some of it is hell to dance to while other is amazing soundscapes. You should check them out if you like electronic music. And their DJ sets are legendary.

I don't think there can be a 'best' album of 2008, none of them have leaped in front of the others and seemed especially important. The Walkmen one was good. And The Dears released another good album. Not that anybody listens or knows of them. The Dears are shunned by both the mainstream and the indie scenester kids.

Year's not over yet! To add to my list:

Shugo Tokumaru - Exit (thanks to that metacritic list I linked earlier, though DaveB's reply was taken into account, that site's list always has gems)
Winona - Rosebud (Craig Armstrong!?)
Plastic Tree - Utsusemi (not as good as their previous stuff but still decent)
Cdatakill & Abelcain - Passage (made me aware of the two guys, though cdatakill's albums blow abelcain's out of the water)

Sadistik - Balancing Act is an interesting hip hop album though I dont know if I like it or not, need a few more listens. Good production but the rhymes feel a bit been-there-with-Cannibal Ox-and-Atmosphere and-done-that, I think I'd rather have an instrumental version.

Susumu Yokota - Love Or Die, needs a few more listens to make up my mind also, I've heard better from him, like the fantastic 'Symbol'.

Nevermind not knowing 'Winona' was Craig Armstrong's new musical venture, I had no idea he'd released an album earlier this year. Have yet to listen to 'Memory Takes My Hand', anyone got a heads up on if its good or not?

I think this might be a story you're telling yourself. I've heard nothing but good things about it from multiple sources. Pitchfork gave it a 7.3. Just enjoy it. You don't need the world to be against you to justify liking an album.