Rolling Stone had a great Top 50 list that compelled me to create this, a knock off, but in my opinion even better.
1. The Way I See It - Raphael Saadiq
A genuine '60's throwback that cannot even be compared to other 2008 albums. This is in a league of its own. Saadiq is a recent discovery to me but I believe this to be his best album to date. If you love Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding, Sam Cooke - this will fit in perfectly.
Best Track: Sure Hope You Mean It
2. Modern Guilt - Beck
Mid-life crisis, scientology, the end of world: what else could you want? This album is brimming with catchy, almost electro songs that are too good for the radio to understand. This perfectly caters to my favorite mixture of sad songs set to happy beats.
Best Track: Gamma Ray
3. Volume One - She and Him
M. Ward has grown into one of my favorite artists over the last year and the combination of his guitar playing and Zooey Deschanel's beautiful, soft voice make this one of the most soothing records of 2008. Their undeniable charm glistens through every song, including classic covers of "You Really Got a Hold on Me" and "I Should Have Known Better".
Best Track: Change Is Hard
4. Evolver - John Legend
From songs about love to sex to politics, Legend's voice oozes honey all over the speakers. Sticking to a similar format as his previous two albums, Evolver dabbles in a range of genres but sticks to the smooth R&B beats that made songs like, "Heaven" and "Ordinary People" such big hits. Legend himself commented on his website that he wanted these songs to be more "radio friendly" but the first single, "Green Light", is the only one of its kind on the record.
Best Track: Quickly
5. Mudcrutch - Mudcrutch
Before the Heartbreakers, there was Mudcrutch, consisting of many of the same musicians but a style closer to country than rock. Tom Petty, the greatest lyricist alive in my biased opinion, is at the center of this southern jam parade and manages to separate this music entirely from anything else he's ever done although the trademark twangy voice is still in full force. A classic album from start to finish.
Best Track: Six Days on the Road
6. Firesight - Jessie Baylin
I first discovered there was a Jessie Baylin while seeing Matt Nathanson at the Nokia theatre in October. Her opening set blew me away. One song after another was catchy, witty, and genuinely captivating. Unlike many of her contemporaries, she has soul and humility that set her apart. With music that has more in common with early '60's psychedelic rock mixed with classic R&B than any sort of typical bubblegum pop, I expect Baylin to soon be a little more mainstream.
Best Track: Contradicting Words
7. The Age of the Understatement - The Last Shadow Puppets
Lead singer of the Arctic Monkeys, Alex Turner, has created another unique band that makes fantastically catchy songs while still keeping an experimental vibe. Although they have yet to fully catch on in the US, their albums has already gone #1 in the UK and the band is already planning new material for a 2009 release. These guys fit in perfectly with any band from The Rascals to The Kooks, just fun, indie pop rock.
Best Track: Standing Next to Me
8. Last Days at the Lodge - Amos Lee
Lee is described as jazz (famously discovered by Norah Jones), folk, and R&B almost interchangably but "soul" is the only way to perfectly describe these songs. On this album specifically, songs vary from fast paced to slow jams but all keep that soft spirit that is almost palpable through the speakers. There are few musicians that can speak as eloquently about serious issues as Amos Lee.
Best Track: Streetcorner Preacher
9. Little Joy - Little Joy
This is the newest discovery for me. Just last week I came across this band on iTunes and as is proned to happen when I love something: I couldn't stop listening all night. Little Joy, which consists of Strokes drummer Fabrizio Moretti, Moretti's girlfriend Binki Shapiro, and Devendra Barnhart collaborator Rodrigo Amarante, is pure and simple. There is nothing flashy or hi-tech or particularly memorable even. That is almost the best part. This music just sounds like the noise your brain would make as it clears out. Although that doesn't sound like the best description, I think you'd understand if you took a listen.
Best Track: The Next Time Around
10. We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. - Jason Mraz
Mraz is the greatest at making corny music with a message. From songs like, "Only Human", that describes the difference between people and squirrels to the kinky "Butterfly", comparing a woman to well... you get it, Mraz manages to be an extremely coherent stoner on all tracks. Unlike the over produced Mr. A-Z, this album brings along some great new Mraz classics that his die hard fans aren't ashamed to have on the radio. Great album art as well.
Best Track: Make It Mine
11. Furr - Blitzen Trapper
Neil Young and Beatles influenced, as mentioned on a couple other sites, this album is full of nostalgic sounding tunes that cater to several generations all at once. Although I haven't spent much time with this album, some of the lyrics impressed me more than any other record on this list: "And now my fur has turned to skin And I've been quickly ushered in To a world that, I confess, I do not know But I still dream of running careless through the snow Through the howling winds that blow Across the ancient distant flow To fill our bodies up like water till we know." I think that says it all.
Best Track: Gold For Bread
12. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
Probably the breakout band of the year, Fleet Foxes have garnered much attention and thankfully it's well deserved. As one Amazon.com reader points out, "The Fleet Foxes are a rock band that sounds like no other -- imagine a pastoral choir overwhelming a sweeping folk-rock band, in the middle of a sunlit forest in the spring." And that is exactly how they sound, in the best way possible.
Best Track: Ragged Wood
13. Tell Tale Signs - The Bootleg Series - Vol. 8 - Bob Dylan
I have not always been a Bob Dylan fan. For a long time I have been resentful of people acting like Tom Petty bites off his style and didn't understand the mass appeal of his songs. Luckily for me there are acoustic versions of songs I previously didn't enjoy like "Most of the Time", that have turned me around. This album in particular has some of the best versions of Dylan songs I have ever heard. Without all the fake rock hoopla in the background, it's easier to understand why Bob Dylan is considered one of the greatest poets of all time. In my opinion, his words sound better with as little background music as possible and this record perfectly displays that.
Best Track: Most of the Time
14. Warpaint - The Black Crowes
I don't understand why this album wasn't better appreciated by the masses but I know without ever hearing these songs previously I fell in love with them live. The Black Crowes played the concert venue I work at on the day of their album release and it was phenomenal. In a two set concert that first catered to their new album (in its entirety) and then a heaping helping of all their older classics, Chris Robinson converted me to an eternal fan.
Best Track: Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution
15. Gossip in the Grain - Ray LaMontagne
Although Gossip is no Trouble, LaMontagne has proved that he not only has massive staying power in an industry that doesn't always welcome sensitive, husky voiced singer/songwriters but he has a growing audience as well. Not only did we learn from this album that he can sing a country song like nobody's business, he also has a crush on the female half of The White Stripes in an appropriately titled song, "Meg White". This album is fabulous even subtracting the fact that he poses on the cover with one of the best beards I've ever seen - that's talent.
Best Track: You Are the Best Thing
16. Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams - Solange
Beyonce's little sister brought forth a stronger effort than her sister no matter what the numbers say. This album, which is a complete interpretation of what the '6o's would sound like today, makes me want to dance regardless of my mood. It is undeniable. I'm a huge fan of hand claps and this is THE 2008 Hand Clap album. It makes me sick how good this is. Girl group sound, funky R&B, blah, blah, blah. Just listen.
Best Track: I Decided
17. In Rainbows - Radiohead
A collection of eclectic songs that have been analyzed and reviewed too much already this year. As a semi-Radiohead fan, I found this album to be fantastic. I've heard rumblings of the usual, "this isn't as good as the older stuff", but I disagree. What's wrong with shorter songs and hipper beats? So many of these tracks are sure to be constants on my iPod for a long time to come.
Best Track: Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
18. Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends - Coldplay
Like In Rainbows, this is sure to be an album that doesn't just disappear after this year. Although I know it's tempting to dissect what makes this different from their other albums, I kind of feel like it's right on par with the previous ones. It's fantastic, true to its form, atmospheric-like rock that is lucky enough to have Chris Martin's haunting voice on every track (except the instrumental ones that remain haunting enough in and of themselves).
Best Track: Lost!
19. For Emma, Forever Ago - Bon Iver
Another genuine breakout star of 2008, Justin Vernon, sounds like way more than just one person. Holed up in a cabin in Wisconsin during winter time, Vernon managed to make the most texturally interesting album of the year. These songs sound like a winter's evening alone but manage to not be excrusiatingly depressing. Very acoustic and very soothing.
Best Track: Skinny Love
20. The Felice Brothers - The Felice Brothers
On a previous list I had forgotten completely about this album and although that doesn't sound very good, I was mortified when I realized it. The Felice Brothers are genuine country that do not compromise their sound in any way. With a sound not unlike The Band, this album is playable the whole way through.
Best Track: Frankie's Gun
21. Oracular Spectacular - MGMT
I can't pretend that I like this entire album but "Electric Feel" is one of my favorite songs I've ever heard and any band that could create a song like that has massive potential and extreme talent. They are unique, crazy, psychedelic, and undeniably catchy in a super hip way. "I'll move to Paris, shoot some heroin, and fuck with the stars". Aah, lovely.
Best Track: Electric Feel
22. Cardinology - Ryan Adams and the Cardinals
Once again, a reviewer on amazon.com manages to speak about this record better than I can find the words to: "It's obvious that Adams is a man who reveres the classics, as sounds of classic country, Elton John, and especially Neil Young are very prevalent in the music, working into a seamless blend which results in something greater than the sum of its parts." I haven't listened to this album as much as I'd like to yet but I've found this is one of those rare records that takes only one listen to understand its genius. I liked it instantly.
Best Track: Magick
23. Time the Conqueror - Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne never gets tired. His lyrics are as fresh today as they were in the '7o's. His exuberant energy to understand the world around him is compelling and inspiring. There are some wonderfully silly lines like, "Why is impeachment not on the table/We better stop them while we are able" but they are balanced out with the classic tales of love and loss. If there's any album to make one think this year, it's this one. It cannot be stressed enough what a brilliant writer Jackson Browne is.
Best Track: Time the Conqueror
24. AC/DC - Black Ice
I love this album and I don't even own much of it. One of the downfalls of iTunes is their lack of AC/DC. This band simply rocks and makes endless classic songs. Granted, many of their songs sound quite similar but if it ain't broke don't fix it, right? They're still number one.
Best Track: Big Jack
25. Loyalty to Loyalty - Cold War Kids
It was a toss up between this album and Jazmine Sullivan's Fearless for the final spot but Cold War Kids have the upper hand as I believe this to just be the start of their really interesting musical contributions to us. On thier first album, Robbers and Cowards, they had the tremendous "Hang Me Out to Dry" that I am still playing all the time and on this record they strum up a new collection of catchy, dark songs. I'm fascinated along with countless others. PS. The only thing I dislike are comparisons to The National, the greatest band to ever live.
Best Track: I've Seen Enough
