DJMonsterMo | 4:20 PM |

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Favorite Albums of 2008

Ok, here's my long overdue Favorite Albums of 2008 list. A lot of year-end lists suffer from the recency effect. I try to avoid this by keeping a running top 20 list throughout the year, which inevitably ballooons into a top 50, then top 75, etc. I hope you find this list a useful guide to the year of music that was 2008.

Favorite Albums
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1) Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
This stunning debut album is like a leisurely horseback ride through the countryside. Its soothing and familiar qualities belie its complexity and timelessness. It's nostalgic without feeling cheesy or derivative: a down-to-earth tapestry of folk, rock, baroque pop, and alt-country. Don't forget to check out their equally brilliant EP, 'Sun Giant'.


2) Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
A haunting and mesmerizing album borne from heartbreak and sickness. In releasing these songs in their original form, one can imagine a broken soul laying in bed, recuperating and ruminating.


3) TV on the Radio - Dear Science


4) The Walkmen - You & Me
This is the album that I've been waiting for from The Walkmen. Put behind you the notion that they can only churn out a few good songs per album. This is full of the contemplative, moody ballads that you wish they would write a whole album of.


5) Stereolab - Chemical Chords
This is possibly Stereolab's most acccesible album to date. Although stubborn fans and purists may be turned off a bit, it's a fun mix of the usual Sterolab eclecticism in a stew of bouncy synths, horns, strings, loungy/mathy/jazzy elements, and an electronic ye-ye vibe.


6) Love Is All - A Hundred Things Keep Me Up Night


7) Envelopes - Here Comes The Wind


8) Portishead - Third


9) Tricky - Knowle West Boy
This is Tricky's best album since his classic, 'Maxinquaye'. I didn't think Tricky had an album this good left in him. Bristol is back, baby; just don't call this trip hop. One listen to "Past Mistake" will take you back to 1995; but this album is so much more. It's the sound of urban decay with a hint of nostalgia, a sound that deftly blends a dark soundscape of downtempo, dub, electro, reggae, rap, blues, and rock. The songs are well-constructed with solid contributions from relative unknowns that nicely complement Tricky's raspy voice.


10) Beck - Modern Guilt
Pairing Beck with Danger Mouse was a daring idea. The combination works better than I would have imagined. Danger Mouse shows some restraint but nevertheless contributes a solid production effort with his usual bag of tricks: disembodied beats and samples. Beck uses these as a backdrop to craft his best folky melancholic songs since 'Sea Change'.


11) Lil Wayne - Tha Carter III


12) Los Campesinos! - Hold on Now, Youngster


13) Angus & Julia Stone - A Book Like This


14) Santogold - Santogold


15) Gang Gang Dance - Saint Dymphna


16) Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours


17) Steinski - What Does It All Mean? 1983-2006 Retrospective
Fans of the old school and cut up need this album. Steinski is a DJ's secret weapon. This album will replace a whole pile of scratched up vinyl in your dusty ol' record bin and obviate the need for that wish list of remaining white labels that you thought you'd never get your hands on.


18) Neon Neon - Stainless Style
Neon Neon is a collaboration between Boom Bip and Gruff Rhys. 'Stainless Style' is a refreshing album that departs from the typical stale formula that plagues most revivals of the 80s synth pop sound. More often than not, they succeed in creating fresh sounding 80s-inspired songs like "Raquel", "I Lust U", and my favorite, "I Told Her On Alderaan".


19) Bajofondo - Mar Dulce
Not to be pigeonholed as electronic tango, this Argentine-Uruguayan group fashions a sexy mix of tango, latin rock, jazz, hip-hop, and loungy downtempo with live and sampled drums, bass, violin, accordion-like bandoneon, and guitar. Don't overlook the solid slate of guest appearances which includes Elvis Costello and Nelly Furtado.


20) Slumdog Millionaire Soundtrack
I'll have to admit I'm fairly ignorant of A.R. Rahman's oeuvre, whose Bollywood musical body of work has apparently sold over a hundred million records. I was intrigued upon learning that it was partly M.I.A's appreciation for his work that inspired her to record 'Kala'. Much of 'Kala' as a matter of fact was recorded at Rahman's studio, although they never collaborated until this soundtrack, which runs the gamut from more traditional Bollywood to hip-hop to progressive house.

21-30
White Denim - Workout Holiday
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!
Black Milk - Tronic
M83 - Saturdays = Youth
Mystery Jets - Twenty One
Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue
David Byrne & Brian Eno - Everything That Happens Will Happen Today
Kathleen Edwards - Asking For Flowers
The Very Best (Esau Mwamwaya & Radioclit) Mixtape
The Magnetic Fields - Distortion

31-40
Beach House - Devotion
Islands - Arm's Way
Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles
Kanye West - 808s and Heartbreak
Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer
Ra Ra Riot - The Rhumb Line
Ida Maria - Fortress Around My Heart
Adele - 19
Death Vessel - Nothing Is Precious Enough For Us
Girl Talk - Feed the Animals

41-50
No Age - Nouns
Little Joy - Little Joy
Emmylou Harris - All I Intended To Be
Sian Alice Group - 59.59
Sigur Rós - Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust
Hot Chip - Made in the Dark
Mogwai - The Hawk Is Howling
She & Him - Volume One
The Black Keys - Attack & Release
The Mountain Goats - Heretic Pride

51-60
The Ting Tings - We Started Nothing
Nas - "Untitled"
Clipse - We Got It 4 Cheap Vol. 3
Yo La Tengo - They Shoot, We Score
The Roots - Rising Down
The Raconteurs - Consolers Of The Lonely
Of Montreal - Skeletal Lamping
MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
Lightspeed Champion - Falling Off The Lavender Bridge
Diplo vs. Santogold - Top Ranking

61-70
Bun B - II Trill
Shelby Lynne - Just A Little Lovin'
Sia - Some People Have Real Problems
Hercules And Love Affair - Hercules And Love Affair
The Hold Steady - Stay Positive
Thao Nguyen - We Brave Bee Stings And All
Lykke Li - Youth Novel
The Kills - Midnight Boom
Tokyo Police Club - Elephant Shell
The Long Blondes - "Couples"

71-80
Ladytron - Velocifero
Cat Power - Jukebox
Gnarls Barkley - The Odd Couple
Destroyer - Trouble in Dreams
My Blubeberry Nights Soundtrack
The Raveonetttes - Lust Lust Lust
Dr. Dog - Fate
Elvis Costello & The Imposters - Momofuku
Tilly and the Wall - O
Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend


HM
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Aimee Mann - @#%&*! Smilers
Alejandro Escovedo - Real Animal
Alphabeat - Alphabeat
Ann Vriend - When We Were Spies
Atlas Sound - Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel
Atmosphere - Strictly Leakage
Atmosphere - When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Sh*t Gold
Be Your Own Pet - Get Awkward
Ben Folds - Way To Normal
Beyonce - I Am...Sasha Fierce
(-) Black Kids - Partie Traumatic
Black Mountain - In the Future
Bonnie "Prince" Billy - Lie Down in the Light
Booka Shade - The Sun & The Neon Light
Boris - Smile
The Breeders - Mountain Battles
Brendan Canning - Something For All Of Us...
British Sea Power - Do You Like Rock Music?
Cassettes Won't Listen - Small-Time Machine
The Charlatans UK - You Cross My Path
Chairlift - Does You Inspire You?
Clinic - Do It!
Coldplay - Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
Cold War Kids - Loyalty to Loyalty
Colin Meloy - Colin Meloy Sings Live!
Common - Universal Mind Control
Conor Oberst - Conor Oberst
(-) CSS - Donkey
Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs
Dengue Fever - Venus on Earth
DeVotchKa - A Mad and Faithful Telling
Die! Die! Die! - Promises Promises
The Diggs - ctrl-alt-del
The Dodos - Visiter
Dresden Dolls - No, Virginia...
Drive-By Truckers - Brighter Than Creation's Dark
Duffy - Rockferry
El Madmo - El Madmo
Emiliana Torrini - Me And Armini
Evangelicals - The Evening Descends
Erykah Badu, New Amerykah Part One: 4th World War
Estelle - Shine
The Faint - Fasciinatiion
Firewater - The Golden Hour
Flight of the Conchords - Flight of the Conchords
Flying Lotus - Los Angeles
Foals - Antidotes
The Fratellis - Here We Stand
Free Kitten - Inherit
French Kicks - Swimming
Frightened Rabbit - Midnight Organ Fight
F*ck Buttons - Street Horrrsing
F*cked Up - The Chemistry of Common Life
Fujiya & Miyagi - Lightbulbs
The Game - L.A.X.
Goldfrapp - Seventh Tree
Guilletmots - Red
GZA - Pro Tools
Harvey Milk - Life...The Best Game in Town
Headlights - Some Racing, Some Stopping
HEALTH - DISCO
The Helio Sequence - Keep Your Eyes Ahead
Hello Blue Roses - The Portrait Is Finished & I Have Failed to Capture Your Beauty
Hey Willpower - PDA
Ice Cube - Raw Footage
Isobel Campbell And Mark Lanegan - Sunday At Devil Dirt
James Jackson Toth - Waiting In Vain
Jason Collett - Here's To Being Here
Jamie Lidell - Jim
Janet Jackson - Discipline
(-) Jewel - Perfectly Clear
Jonny Greenwood - There Will Be Blood Soundtrack
Kasai All-Stars - In The 7th Moon, The Chief Turned Into A Swimming Fish And Ate The Head Of His Enemy By Magic
by Kasai Allstars
Kate Maki - On High
Kate Nash - Made of Bricks
Kate Walsh - Tim's House
Kings of Leon - Only By The Night
The Kooks - Konk
Kylie Minogue - X
The Last Shadow Puppets - Age of the Understatement
Laura Cantrell - Trains and Boats and Planes
Laura Marling - Alas I Cannot Swim
Lee "Scratch" Perry - Repentance
Leona Lewis - Spirit
Lonely Drifter Karen - Grass Is Singing
Los Campesinos - We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed
Lyrics Born - Everywhere At Once
Madonna - Hard Candy
Man Man - Rabbit Habbits
The Mars Volta - The Bedlam In Goliath
Martina Topley-Bird - The Blue God
Mates of State - Re-Arrange Us
The Melvins - Nude With Boots
Mirah - The Old Days Feeling
Mudhoney - The Lucky Ones
Muse - H.A.A.R.P.
(-) The Music Tapes - Music Tapes for Clouds & Tornadoes
My Brightest Diamond - A Thousand Shark's Teeth
My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges
Nada Surf - Lucky
N.E.R.D. - Seeing Sounds
Nine Inch Nails - The Slip
No Kids - Come Into my House
The Notwist - The Devil, You + Me
The Orb - The Dream
Oxford Collapse - Bits
Paavoharju - Laulu Laakson Kukista
Patti Smith and Kevin Shields - The Coral Sea
Pepi Ginsberg - Red
Peter Bjorn and John - Seaside Rock
Pete Rock - NY's Finest
Peter Moren - The Last Tycoon
Plush - Fed
Port O'Brien - All We Could Do Was Sing
(-) Primal Scream - Beautiful Future
Protest The Hero - Fortress
Q-Tip - The Renaissance
Raheem DeVaughn - Love Behind The Melody
Randy Newman - Harps and Angels
Ratatat - LP3
The Raveonettes - Lust Lust Lust
Rhymefest - Man in the Mirror
The Ruby Suns - Sea Lion
Russian Red - I Love Your Glasses
RZA - Digi Snacks
Sambassadeur - Migration
Scarface - Emeritus
Scarlett Johansson - Anywhere I Lay My Head
School of Language - Sea From Shore
Sera Cahoone - Only As The Day Is Long
Shannon McArdle - Summer of the Whore
Shearwater - Rook
Shugo Tokumaru - Exit
Silver Jews - Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea
Solange - Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams
Snoop Dogg - Ego Trippin'
Son, Ambulance - Someone Else's Deja Vu
Sons and Daughters - This Gift
Spiritualized - Songs in A&E
Squarepusher - Just a Souvenir
Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks - Real Emotional Trash
The Submarines - Honeysuckle Weeks
Subtle - ExitingARM
Sun Kil Moon - April
Super Furry Animals - Hey Venus!
Tapes 'n Tapes - Walk It Off
The Teenagers - Reality Check
The Tough Alliance - The New School
Tift Merritt - Another Country
Tim Fite - Fair Ain't Fair
Times New Viking - Rip It Off
Usher - Here I Stand
Van Morrison - Keep It Simple
Van She - V
The Watson Twins - Fire Songs
We Are Scientists - Brain Thrust Mastery
The Wedding Present - El Rey
Weezer - Weezer
What Made Milwaukee Famous - What Doesn’t Kill Us
Whigs - Mission Control
Widespread Panic - Free Somehow
Willie Nelson & Wynton Marsalis - Two Men With The Blues
Wire - Object 47
Xiu Xiu - Women As Lovers

Labels: electronic, hip-hop, indie rock, pop

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