Here are my favorite albums of 2008. Leave your favorites in the comments if you’d like, we’d love to see them. Make sure to check David’s list at the bottom of the post. Thanks for reading the blog this year, guys.
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20. Diplo & Santogold | Top Ranking
There were a handful of arguably groundbreaking mixtapes this year (Wale, PRGz, Kid Cudi, the Very Best, etc.) that showcased their respective artists’ best work, so it’s not too suprising that I ended up loving Top Ranking considerably more than Santogold‘s proper debut LP. Like everyone else, I got tired of hearing Santi’s stuff in every third commercial on TV in ’08, but this mixtape is refreshingly all over the place, and of course, the presence of Diplo as beat selector doesn’t hurt. “Icarus” is possibly Santogold’s most stunning piece of work yet. [buy]
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19. Lykke Li | Youth Novels
With Youth Novels, Sweden’s Lykke Li put out one of the most self-assured pop debuts of the year. She’s still finding her way, sure, but the girl’s got swagger, and with the assistance of PB&J sage Bjorn Yttling, she was responsible for some of the most interesting and evocative pop singles that came out this year (see “Little Bit,” “I’m Good I’m Gone,” “Breaking It Up,” and “Dance Dance Dance“). [buy]
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18. Department of Eagles | In Ear Park
In Ear Park definitively establishes Department of Eagles as much more than a mere Grizzly Bear side-project, as Daniel Rossen and Fred Nicolaus have created an expansive and deeply personal collection of vibrant psych-pop gems. The record almost has an old-timey feel at times, which Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes nicely articulates on his blog:
“More progressively Brothers Grimm jams from Dan o’ Grizzly Bear, best album of the year easy. I feel like this is what people in the 30′s thought music would sound like in the future. If there was a music section at ‘Tomorrow’s World’ during the 1939 New York World’s Fair this would have been the main example…” [buy]
mp3:
department of eagles :: no one does it like you
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17. No Age | Nouns
In a year steeped with imitators, Nouns is set apart by No Age‘s unreal knack for melody and their inimitable ability to craft a genre-bending pastiche of layered, delay-laden ambience, and fuzzy, lo-fi thunder punk. Dean and Randy have an innate sense of how to effectively pace an album and get to the point without ever being afraid of ending a song as quickly as it begins. [buy]
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16. Flying Lotus | Los Angeles
Admittedly, I was a latecomer to this one, only turned on to Flying Lotus‘ vivid futuristic jams months after the proper release of Los Angeles, thanks to a couple of tight remixes and a pair of decent headphones. Repeat listens reveal a dense, intensely soulful soundscape that is best experienced as a cohesive whole, a la Donuts or Untrue. Also, you can’t not love this clip for “Parisian Goldfish“; not necessarily the best song on the record, but probably the most insane (NSFW) video of ’08. [buy]
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15. Air France | No Way Down
Air France‘s self-proclaimed “Socialist roof top music” was a staple for me this summer, and as the weather cooled and these jams got better, it became apparent that it’s a pretty perfect autumn record too. While I’m definitely a fan of both the new M83 and Cut Copy records, No Way Down has them both beat in terms of blissful, sweetly nostalgic, wistfully romantic dance pop. Sweden still holding it down. [buy]
mp3:
air france :: collapsing at your doorstep
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14. Harlem | free drugs;-)
“the album free drugs;-) isn’t really about drug drugs. we used to go swimming at venice beach all the time and it was how we described the feeling after you swim all day and you still feel the waves after you get out.”–Harlem (source)
After a cursory listen to their dirty, eerily authentic throwback garage rock, you sort of get the sense that Harlem really doesn’t give a fuck about anything but girls and drugs. This value system apparently serves them well, because their debut LP, Free Drugs;-), holds some of the most consistently tight, infectious, and endearingly scuzzy tunes I’ve heard all year. “South of France” is without question one of the best rock songs of ’08. [buy]
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13. Quiet Village | Silent Movie
I was pretty obsessed with this record early in the year, even attempting at one point to track down all of the incredible, often decades-old source material that Quiet Village utilized in crafting this impossibly mellow collage (which, by the way, has drawn comparisons to classic efforts from DJ Shadow and the Avalanches). It’s faded just a little since then, but every time I revisit the record, I’m sort of blown away by the fact that the duo was able to construct something so seamlessly original and modern-sounding from what is essentially a bunch of stylish re-edits based on their myriad influences (“Italian film soundtracks, BBC library music, disco edits, acid rock, vintage soul and easy listening”). [buy]
mp3:
quiet village :: circus of horror
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12. The Very Best | Esau Mwamwaya and Radioclit are the Very Best
Esau Mwamwaya and Radioclit are the The Very Best, and their mixtape is one of the most genuinely joyous, uplifting things I’ve heard in a long time. Feel-good jams of the year, hands down. Since I first wrote about Esau’s glorious “Chalo” back in March, he’s become one of my favorite new artists, and the group’s proper debut LP (due in Spring) is one of my most anticipated releases of ’09. [download for free]
mp3:
the very best :: dinosaur on the ark
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11. Gang Gang Dance | Saint Dymphna
Saint Dymphna detractors bemoan the fact that this record is far more accessible and song-based than Gang Gang‘s previous output, and they’ve got a point. But I’m a big fan of the relatively pop-focused direction the band took on this LP, and the fact that these infectious, kaleidoscopic tribal dance jams are immediately engaging and somewhat accessible doesn’t make them any less thrilling. [buy]
mp3:
gang gang dance :: desert storm
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10. Paavoharju | Laulu Laakson Kukista
Paavoharju is Finnish and they creep me out a little, but for some reason I find Laulu Laakson Kukista one of the most inviting and enchanting (in a bizarro-Disney way) albums I’ve heard in years. As I stated back in May, the record often evokes some “distant AM radio transmission, fading in and out from some hazy, psychedelic ether,” making it equally suitable for atmospheric late night background noise, or an intense, focused listen on headphones. Plus, their label’s description of the album is awesome:
“Sounds of raindrops falling on sheet metal roof melted together with old television’s random-dot-pattern-noise. Leena Uotila’s soft voice echoes in empty, dusty rooms. Catowls gathered to the sky, appletrees were blooming and waves rocked a barrell against the pier. Suddenly all this started to form esoteric mildew to cassette’s magnetic tape. I finished our work with prayer only a moment before the cold winds rose from Saimaa.” [buy]
09. Beach House | Devotion
More consistently haunting, utterly elegant dream-pop from B-more’s Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally. Legrand’s voice is at once seductive and heartbreaking, making it an ideal complement to Scally’s ghostly slide-guitar. The shimmering, Motown-informed “D.A.R.L.I.N.G.” is perhaps the duo’s crowning achievement (although their new single comes pretty close). [buy]
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08. The Walkmen | You & Me
I still feel as strongly about You & Me as I did the first time I wrote about it, so I’ll just repost that. One of the most moving albums of the year, and definitely one of my most listened to. My original sentiments, from July of this year:
“I’ll preface this by saying that after A Hundred Miles Off, I probably couldn’t have been any less excited about a new record from the Walkmen. So, with no expectations going into the band’s new You & Me LP, I’m a little shocked that it’s quickly become one of my favorite albums of ’08. There’s no “The Rat” here, but that’s alright; the majority of this record is made up of woozy, intimate, often heartbreaking slow jams about fucked up relationships, and Hamilton Leithauser’s worn, damaged growl is more affecting than ever.” [buy]
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07. WAVVES | Wavves
“wavves are exemplifying every musical pastiche of what anyone in their mid 20′s has been through, and somehow, some that they have not…”–destijl, on Wavves
As you might’ve gathered from my excessive posting about this dude over the last two months or so, I can’t get enough of Wavves‘ radical “lo-fi beach punk.” Listening to Nathan Williams’ noisy, fuzzy, endlessly hummable melodies as they hiss out of my barely serviceable tape deck fills me with an inescapable urge to move back to Southern California immediately. Prone to vaguely appropriate/slightly unfair No Age comparisons, although I’ve heard rumblings that the two are now labelmates. Look for a new LP in February ’09 on Destijl. Sidenote: Nathan also has a great rap blog where he posts Jeru tha Damaja videos and other cool shit. [cassette is sold out :: buy on LP/CD]
mp3:
wavves :: wavves
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06. Little Joy | Little Joy
I think we’ve said this a couple times, but Little Joy‘s ridiculously charming self-titled debut is one of the most unsassuming, tastefully executed and perfectly timeless sounding records of the year. Influenced in part by Sam Cooke and early Bob Marley, Fabrizio Moretti‘s already stellar collection of instantly classic melodies is elevated to another level by the vintage warmth of “unofficial fourth member” Noah Georgeson‘s uncanny production. Best experienced on vinyl. [buy]
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05. Q-Tip | The Renaissance
“Your dubious style may rock for right now / but in the long run you really lost one.” –Q-Tip, on “Move“
While not necessarily overtly political, it feels pretty fucking awesome and fitting that The Renaissance was released on November 4, 2008. The Abstract’s first official solo effort in years recalls A Tribe Called Quest‘s final LP, 1998′s sorely underrated The Love Movement, in that both records are smooth, breezy, feel-good joints whose overwhelming depth is almost lost in their laid-back subtlety. Also, like that record (and all Tribe efforts, for that matter), I’m pretty convinced that I’ll still be spinning The Renaissance regularly in 10 years. The J Dilla-produced “Move“/”Renaissance Rap” is one of the best hip-hop singles of the year. [buy]
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04. Vivian Girls | Vivian Girls
I could go on and on about why I love Vivian Girls‘ irresistibly imperfect self-titled debut LP, from their charming, wilfully lo-fi/scuzzed-out production, to the girls’ deft ability to incorporate their own obvious influences into something that feels new and exciting, etc. But it really comes down to two things that set Vivian Girls apart from other bands trying their hands at this steez: the group’s unstoppable vintage girl-group harmonies, and a grip of insanely infectious songs that never, ever get old. [buy]
mp3:
vivian girls :: where do you run to
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03. Erykah Badu | New Amerykah Part I (4th World War)
Dallas’ own Erykah Badu made her triumphant return early this year with New Amerykah Part I, a collection of soulful, heartfelt jams that, while at times a little messy and uneven, is one of the most adventurous and emotionally resonant albums of the year (and probably Ms. Badu’s best). Seeing an extremely pregnant Badu perform these songs at ACL was one of the weirdest, greatest things I saw all year, and only reinforced how mindblowing and out there her ideas can be at times. Also: “The Healer” might be my favorite song of ’08. [buy]
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02. Grouper | Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill
2008 was a banner year for hazy, ethereal dream-pop (see Beach House, Fight Bite, High Places, School of Seven Bells, Chairlift, etc.), with Grouper‘s devastatingly beautiful Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill firmly implanting itself at the pinnacle of the broad genre. And while they’re obviously nothing alike sonically, Dragging replaced Untrue as my go-to late night soundtrack for a good part of ’08, which is probably the highest praise I could give it. [buy]
mp3:
grouper :: heavy water/i’d rather be sleeping
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01. White Denim | Exposion
While Workout Holiday was garnering praise from just about everyone in the UK (the BBC, The Independent, Rough Trade, the Observer, et al.), White Denim quietly released their U.S. debut LP, Exposion, here in the states on Austin’s fledgling Transmission label. To be real, I love both records immensely and either could be in this spot, but the slightly different sequencing and the addition of “You Can’t Say,” “Migration Wind,” and the new extended version of “Sitting” (a song of the year candidate) give Exposion the slight edge, and offer a glimpse at the band’s transition into slightly smoother waters without sacrificing a bit of the raw power, intensity, and sheer athleticism of the WD live show. Any and all conceivable hype aside, these guys were the best band in America in ’08. [buy]
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Check David’s list after the jump…
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David’s Top 12 of 2008:
12. Vivian Girls | Vivian Girls
11. Quiet Village | Silent Movie
10. Gang Gang Dance | Saint Dymphna
09. Sunset | Bright Blue Dream
08. Beck | Modern Guilt
07. Animal Collective | Water Curses EP
06. No Age | Nouns
05. White Denim | Exposion
04. Various Artists | Nigeria Special: Modern Highlife, Afro-Sounds, and Nigerian Blues 1970-6
03. The Walkmen | You & Me
02. Little Joy | Little Joy
01. Beach House | Devotion
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good lists. nice to see the Nigeria comp.
you managed to leave out deerhunter.
is that possible?
grouper at #2, love it…well deserved. Solid list overall. Glad to see no tvotr, deerhunter, of montreal. OVERRATED.
Agreed with “team poop”
Deerhunter is good but extremely overrated. That said, it will be at or near the top of Pitchfork’s list.
Great lists here. It’s a good sign that you guys altogether stayed away from the Deerhunters.
Y’all had a great year: got me listening to White Denim, Lykke Li, Beach House…thanks so much!
This is the first good best of 08 list I’ve seen. No Cut Copy, but at least somebody finally recognizes that Q-tip’s album is better than Lil’ Wayne’s.
that grouper record is too good, chris. i’ve literally slept to it at least 150 nights this year. it’s incredible.
where’s WHY? !!
i have only started to regularly read your blog around 2 months ago, so there is lots of stuff i dont know yet… cant wait to listen into all those names… im disapointed not to find the mountain goats heretic pride though…
no alopecia? or was that not this year…
PRGz – F&L in Huntsvegas…..how did this one miss out!
I have to say, leaving out Fleet Foxes is a huge disappointment. I know that their record has done incredibly well which leads some to disregard it but it really is one of the best albums I’ve heard in a while. The latter part of this decade will always be marked in my mind by Fleet Foxes and Person Pitch. I was glad that Why? and Deerhunter were left off, despite the protests that choice will inevitably bring, but the Fleet Foxes debut is just too good to ignore.
My taste is a lot different than yours so it makes sense that you wouldn’t have included my favorites of the year: R.E.M.’s Accelerate, Jamie Lidell’s Jim, Fleet Foxes, and especially Anathallo’s Canopy Glow. I LOVE the Very Best mixtape though and that’s my favorite off of your list and one of my favorites in general from this year. :)
Thanks for all your great coverage! I’ve enjoyed reading your blog this year. :)
thanks for all of the comments guys! yeah i had to cut the list off somewhere, and i feel like there are a handful of records i really like (deerhunter, cut copy, fleet foxes, PRGz mixtape, weezy, a few more) that i just don’t quite love as much as these for whatever reason.
for the record, Why? is not one of them.
Shocked to see White Denim at the top of your list…rly…<3 that Very Best album so much..
GROOOOUPER, so perfect.
Why all the deerhunter hate? The album is quite nice.
Pacific Rhythm from Silent Movie is from Ryuichi Sakamoto’s album “Summer Nerves”, the song is called “You’re Friend To Me”
What? No Vampire Weeked?
I kid, I kid.
Good list and glad to see artists that have been mostly ignored by Paste, Mojo, etc.
EXCELLENT exclusion of Fleet Foxes (by far, the most overrated this year) as well as TVOTR. I could take or leave Deerhunter.
But toss White Denim down the shute, as well as Department of Eagles (and Grizzly Bear with ‘em).
But 2008 isn’t over yet. Case in point: the new Fennesz album.
It wouldn’t be a gvb list without white denim at the top. but really, nice list. my list will look similar, which is a testament to your positive influence, or my inability to think for myself. either way.
my list would definitely include:
LATE OF THE PIER – Black Fantasy Channel
FOALS!! – Antidotes
THE LAST SHADOW PUPPETS – The Age of the Understatement
MAN MAN – Rabbit Habbits
BECK – Modern Guilt
KING KHAN AND THE SHRINES – The Supreme Genius of
THESE NEW PURITANS – Beat Pyramid
THE BLACK KEYS – Attack and Release
…to name a few
i’m glad someone recognized man man
surprised the cool kids didn’t make the cut. Nice list though.
I am happy to see Vampire Weekend not on a list.
I have tried to like the Why? CD, but i just can’t
i love your little review of Grouper’s DDD.. it has been my sleepy time soundtrack (almost every night) since the day it came out.
Decent list. I disagree about the White Denim at the top. I absolutely love that band, but it’s just not a cohesive album. Is it math-rock or is it dirty blues or is it indie-jazz? Shouty or whiney or yelly or sing-songy vocals? I get so confused every time I queue it up.
Grouper’s album was the one that came on after Yellow House one night when I was trying to sleep. Needless to say, it’s my current late-night soundtrack as well.
man your top is cool, thank for wavves, harlem and white denim. deerhunter will be at the top of my list
Best list I have seen. Keep up the coverage. Deerhaters need to chill the fuck out. Isn’t it sad that what other people think can ruin great music for you?
Where’s the love for Born Ruffians or Ratatat?
I like you have Erykah Badu that high. Totally agree with that. I miss Destroyer and El Guincho on your list.
huggable dust and alopecia should be up there. just sayin.
Hi,
don’t you know the dodos? and who is this lovely girl under the KEXP Blog Ad?
Greetings
I’m glad to see The Walkmen finally getting some list love. This is probably the best list I’ve seen release do far. well done!
I know 4-5 of those albums only. But I have to agree on your number 1 spot. White Denim’s albums and sitting have been some of my favourite music all year. I have it #2 on my list after Chad Vaangalen’s Soft Airplane.
i always hate it when people say things like this, but i will anyways: you put WAVVES ahead of NOUNS?! besides that good list! and yeah, thank god you left out tv on the radio & although i like the album more than some of the others on your list (grouper, esau maumwya), deerhunter is also a much-welcomed exclusion.
oh yeah, and: NO PRGz?!
sam, to be honest PRGz mixtape would probably be my #21, but there were a couple remixes on there that dragged it down a little for me.
The Healer is certainly one of my favourite tracks this year. When you bring a good rapper/singer onto a Madlib beat its going to be fire
cool
biggest omission – mt. eerie with julie doiron and fred squire – lost wisdom…..
Dang…i thought Why?’s Alopecia was the only truly great album that came out this year, with the possible exception of Beach House’s Devotion.
Tons of consistently good records, but no great ones.
But Yoni’s lyrics and his bands’ sound are undeniable. Except to the people who don’t like it ;).
Born Ruffians? Red, Yellow, Blue… wasn’t in pitchforks polls either.. what’s up with that..
@Blake re: deerhunter – it’s becuase they can write songs. which obv. would leave them off of a list like this full of unrealized, soulless shit.
This list is a pile of bloghouse
I really enjoyed Pattern Is Movement’s ‘All together’ as well as the Extra Life album ‘Secular works’.
I think Why? should definitely be included and maybe even Wild Beasts’ debut.
Also, how can anyone not like ‘In Ear park’…..it is genius!
Great list, and nice to see Erykah Badu and Q-tip in the ranks with Grouper and Paavoharju. I’m surprised Madlib didn’t make the cut, but nice work. Thanks for another year of good music and looking forward to what’s in store for ’09!
Yep, good end year’s list. So glad for the Grouper #2 ! Seems like its definitely the 2008′s sleeping album of a lot of people around here, including me ! I would’ve put the beach house one higher though. The why? exclusion is ok i guess, record was ok, but didnt really past the months…and seing them live kind of ruined it all for me, guys are so lazy on stage, seems like they just don’t give a fuck.
h8 yall so much, Kevin
Through some strange twist of fate, Microcastle has become the most talked about album of 2008!
Now that I’m going back through this year’s releases, the Beach House album was actually really fucking good. I know that I’m the last guy on the planet to come to that realization but it didn’t grab me at first. Hindsight does you wonders.
To be honest I thought Lykke Li wasn’t really that great. I got the album after I was blown away by Dance, Dance, Dance and its retro afro-pop almost breezy feel but the rest of it was a let down.
biggest omittion – welcome to mail by amadou and mariam. enough said
“sabali” will be in my top 5 songs of the year
Isn’t it a little too early for year end lists? No? Okay…
I was expecting Water Curses, and thought you liked the Abe Vigoda record enough to find its way into a top 20. Also thought there might have been some love for Pocahaunted…
portishead – third
I can’t wait to read Pitchfork’s lists.
Honestly I can’t imagine putting mixtapes on a year end best of list when there are many great afore-mentioned albums (Fleet Foxes, Microcastle, Third) or even many albums that have been neglected to gain notoriety on many blogs like Benga’s “Diary of an Afro Warrior” or Deerhoof’s “Offend Maggie” which has seemeingly sailed under the radar the past couple months.
strange to not see Empire of the Sun on the list. unless you just liked the one song Walking on a Dream, which you basically creamed over for months.
portishead-third is defintely at #1 for me. also, thanks for getting me into grouper…heavy water is absolutely beautiful.
Any of the albums people have mentioned in the comments probably deserve to be on this album more than “Top Ranking”. I love me some Santogold, but that mixtape was just not all that great. “Icarus” is spectacular vocally, but neither Santo or Diplo can take credit for the beauty of the original composition it was sung over. I’m not saying that it was a bad mixtape…it just doesn’t deserve to be on anyone’s top 20 album lists…
Portishead- Third
School of Seven Bells- Alpinisms
Fleet Foxes- s/t
Stephen Malkmus- Real Emotional Trash
People seemed to hate the Malkmus record, but I think it’s one of the the most solid things to arrive this year.
good list (though lista re always going to be contentious). mine is here;
http://www.brendan-mcnulty.com/2008/11/top-albums-of-08.html
I like your list Chris, I have 3 of your top records for this year on my list as well. – Don’t have to tell you which ones are they, I’m already predictable enough ;)
The ‘little joy’ debut is charming for its lack of pretension, very warm and familiar but it feels too much all over the place to me It surely left wanting to hear a little bit more from them, see where they develop their sound from here.
Which reminds me, if you like this record I’d recommend to take a listen to VU’s Loaded if you haven’t already. It seems to me like the biggest influence to this record.
and to Justin. Malkmus album sucks. he was better as Pavement. he just talks w/ crap music in the background. he likes to rhyme. but w/out the Pavement great music. i guess it’s more about the more money for me kind of album(s). malkmus is the kind of artist who i once would have cleaned his bathroom. now he can’t even clean a toilet. because he’d have to clean his shit out of my toilet. and does anyone pay attention to music. Panda Riot’s album is amazing.
wow, I lov lov loved Blitzen Trapper’s furr, and fleet foxes was great. Jenny lewis album is geat too.
Four on the floor.
Tape – ‘Luminarium’
Stars Like Fleas – ‘The Ken Burns Effect’
Pattern is Movement – ‘All Together’
Fight Bite – ‘Emerald Eyes’
When can we expect the songs list?
El Guincho es lo mejor!
i agree. el guincho had a great album.
beach house would have to be my #1 album though. i’ve listened to it nearly every night since i saw them in birmingham back in march.
i’d also have starflyer 59′s new album “dial m” in my top 20 as well. i dont know if anyone else likes them or not but jason martin has always been an excellent songwriter.
Great list! I’m definitely glad you included Department of Eagles, Air France, and No Age, though The Very Best was a shocker, (but a good one).
seems most of these people just stick to the blogs for their music info. There is more to this year’s music than Deerhunter. And I bet if TVOTR hadn’t received so much attention many people would have love it too. And I think the Of Montreal album has been a tad underrated by many of the band’s old fans, Hissing Fauna was overrated…
most of that list was no surprise, but why Flying Lotus? I would have expect Fight Bite there…
great list. no room for m83?
I really like your list. I agree on a lot of them but I would have squeezed Cass Mccombs Dropping the Writ in the top 20 if not top 5.
i had Cass McCombs’ ‘dropping the writ’ on my list last year, i love that album. it was an ’07 release in the states.
Great lists, but how is God's name is the Black Keys Attack & Release album not in the top five, let alone on any of these lists?!?!
Good list, but somes albums I found very hard to ignore, and probably won’t be on many lists this year are:
Chad Vangaalen – “Soft Airplane”
now, now every children – “cars”
mimas – “the worries”
duchess says – “Anthologie des 3 Perchirs”
Seagull – “Goodbye Weather”
Ofrin – “On Shore Remain”
love your list, especially loving that you put air france and erykah badu in there. i didn’t think i liked that vivian girls album, but after you put it so high i gave it another try and it’s a grower for sure. same with gang gang dance, for me at least. so thanks for bringing those to my attention again
a few that top my list..
dodos~visiter
marnie stern~this is it…
el guincho~alegranza
fuck buttons~street horrrsing
crystal antlers~ep
frightened rabbit~midnight organ fight
tvotr~dear science
Four more on the floor…
Juana Molina – ‘Un Dia’
Samamidon – ‘All Is Well’
Jasper TX – ‘In a Cool Monsoon’
School of Language – ‘Sea from Shore’
Great list. I LOVE the Grouper album, but was sad to see the Portishead album was left off. I would also like to see a list that inculdes the Gas Nah und Fern boxset. I know the music was released before this year, but most of the songs were re-edited and sound different from the originals. Much love.
this list is helpful, i think I may go and purchase some of these.
luvved the Beach House album, which made nobody’s lists this year. Amazzzzzing.
AWESOME call on Q-Tip, Quiet Village, and Flying Lotus. That music video is brilliantly retarded.
P.S. – I loathe the word ‘overrated’ with a passion.
Thanks for another great year. I voted for you as best blog of 08. Good luck. Thanks for turning me on to Lykke Li, Beach House, Vivian Girls, etc.
What about
NODZZZ
&
WOMEN!!!
I’m really surprised to see Beach House so high on many people’s lists.
it’s not as good as their first, yet still lovely.
Like many others before me, I’m really curious why you left off WHY?’s Alopecia. For me, it’s easily the best album of the year.
No Marnie Stern? :(
White Denim is one of the best bands I’ve discovered through GvB, so thanks a million for that one. They’re near the top of my list, but #1 for me had to go to The Kills for Midnight Boom. I know it’s gotten a fair amount of exposure, but it’s loaded with so many great songs.
The Vivian Girls are, without a doubt, the worst band I have ever heard. Utterly talentless in every facet. Terrible list because they were included.
^ this guy above me sounds like an ignorant asshole.
what about times new viking? that album is off the heezy!
I’m on the fence about Deerhunter, don’t know where all the TVOTR hate comes from.
One record I loved this year that seems to have been ignored everywhere is “Flight of the Knife” by Bryan Scary and the Shredding Tears.
Paavoharju – Laulu laakson kukista
Paavoharju – Laulu laakson kukista
those darn Finlanders!
sent from: fav.or.it
Good list.
Good list.
Interesting list. I’ll have to check out a few of these as I haven’t heard most of them. Grouper seems to be getting a lot of love here.
nice lists, i too am glad to see tvotr left off
nice post
you guys are great.
i love how on stereogum’s list, i know 50 out of 50 bands…but on yours i know a little less then half.
truly progressive.
thank you!
If this were 1992, surely if you didnt include Pavement S&E on there, people would say "So glad to see no pavement. OVERRATED" Ah, hipsters.
My list:
http://jo-tel.com/sharks-top-15-albums-of-2008/
My list:
http://jo-tel.com/sharks-top-15-albums-of-2008/
i 100% agree with David about the sunset record…Fabulous and totally overlooked.
Wow quite a good deal of Vampire Weekend hate. The Vampire Weekend album is very white and good. My list would definitely include Girl Talk especially for being part of the .00001% of Hip people who aren’t douches. Am I the only one not that impressed with The very best? He is African. I get it.
Here’s my list…
http://perfectlines.wordpress.com/2008/12/12/top-o-2008/
anyone who puts beach house at #1 has amazing taste in music
okay you were the only place i have seen to give to to that Harlem album.. Wake the fuck up people. That album is insanely good.
u r blog Is very nice
I like this list so far: http://www.cokemachineglow.com/feature/Yearend2008
Not a huge fan of the list. You guys need to stop jocking White Denim’s nuts so much. Not that it’s not a good album though. Deerhunter? Overrated? That makes me laugh.
Who gives a shit if you’re a fan of the list, Nathan. No one, that’s who.
and that Deerhunter album is the most overrated, utterly average record in the last 11 blog years.
Hey Check out
http://www.doisneauartois.blogspot.com
Its a new blog just started up but they have done a short write up on this great new band called my boy/my girl. Well worth a listen if youre into No Age and Wavves etc.
Sick of these ‘best of’ debates…everyone’s music taste is different and there is a massive amount of music out there a lot of which is underground and doesn’t even get considered in these ‘best of’ lists. It’s good to hear what people enjoyed most at the end of each year, it helps others to discover bands they haven’t previously heard of or given a good listen to. But leave the ‘best of’ tags alone…you should know better than that. Horses for courses I say.
Wow, Its beautiful…
^^ nice blog!! ^@^
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^^ nice blog!! thanks a lot! ^^
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Thats a very interesting post. I have been inspired. Thanks. Web Designer
Many years ago, I already know the silkroad online game, but at that time I do not play, Recently due to my friends introduce, I began to play the game, but I need the silkroad gold, my friend look me the first time to play so send me some sro gold, but I still need more silkroad online gold, so I want to buy.
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Don’t know why all the blogs are leaving out Vetiver’s “Thing of The Past” on the best-of-2008 lists. One of the most musically thorough and multi-faceted albums I’ve heard in a while. It’s like someone gave Led Zeppelin a banjo and a five-string. Truly a life changing experience.
Nice to see the place a gain
nice handy man
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nice work mate….
cirrogram
thx for the mp3s… think u might have forgotten a few songs to add to this list but non-theless nice