Best of 2008: Music

So here, much delayed, is my best of 2008 music selection. There were a lot of albums that came out last year they I played to death. Due to the recession, this was also probably the least amount of albums I've bought in a year in the last decade. Regardless, I still tried to listen to as much as I could and without further ado, here is my top 10 albums of last year. As always, this is a list of the top 10 albums that I've heard. I can't judge what I haven't listened to, so if you think something out there deserves to be in this top 10, let me know the album and I'll give it a listen, tell you my taste is superior to yours and call it a day. Seriously though, I love to hear new music and if you know of something I should be listening to, drop me a line.

Anyways, here it is. Artist: Album followed by release date and why it's on my list. All of these albums can be found on iTunes. You can listen to a sample of all these albums, so at the very least, give a listen to my favorite songs.

10.) The Last Shadow Puppets: The Age Of The Understatement
May 06, 2008. Brits really know how to rock and I can't seem to get enough of that young, british post-Strokes sound. Best song on the album is, "Time Has Come Again"

9.) MGMT: Oracular Spectacular
January 22, 2008. Great group with their own unique sound. MGMT seems to be kind of in with the hipsters which sucks, but don't let that deter you from it. I'm sure they're over this by now and onto something hipper. Best song on the album is either "Electric Feel" or "Pieces of What"

8.) She & Him: Volume I
March 18, 2008. Zoey Deschanel sounds great when produced and backed by Matt Ward. Her voice is so unique but at the same time so familiar and nostalgic. Best song on the album is a cover of "You Really Got A Hold On Me"

7.) Jason Mraz: We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things
May 12, 2008. Great summer album. I'm sure you've all heard it, but my favorite song on the album is the wildly popular hit, "I'm Yours"

6.) Girl Talk: Feed The Animals
I don't remember the official release date for this album. He posted it on his website as one of those "choose your own price" things. I clearly chose to pay $0. Not that it isn't worth it, but if I can't pick up the cd in a store, I really don't want to pay money for a digital copy of something. It pretty much made me dance my way through the summer and is now making me robot my way through the winter. My fave is 'No Pause" Mixing Eminem with Yael Naim is pretty amazing.

5.) Weezer: (The Red Album) [Deluxe Edition]




















June 3, 2008. Still not quite capturing the brilliance of the mid 90's but it's the best effort from the group since the Green Album in early '01. A couple of the tracks remind me of Pinkerton which almost brings a tear to my eye. My favorite song flip flops depending on my mood as with any album by one of my two favorite bands. Currently it's "Pig" but last week it was "The Angel and the One" The Deluxe Edition contains 5 songs not in the regular album version, all of which are pretty great.

4.) Taylor Swift: Fearless




















November 11, 2008. Her followup to her self titled debut album is not quite as good, but it's pretty damn close. She's all grown up now (18) and her lyrics are a little less optimistic than the ones she wrote at 15. The album is a but more 'serious' and is less about summer love and more about heart aches and the like, but she does it so well. I love all the songs on here but if I'm forced to choose I might go with "Forever and Always" which is actually a joke and a play on words about how one of the Jonas brothers (I still don't know who these f-ing kids are) broke up with her over a phone call that lasted 23 seconds (I saw her talk about it on Ellen).

3.) Bon Iver: For Emma, Forever Ago




















February 19, 2008. Great album from start to finish. Now that Elliott Smith is no longer around to depress me and uplift me at the same time, I have Bon Iver. They're really not half as depressing as he is, they just have a similar sound. It's part Elliott Smith, part Modest Mouse and all awesome. I didn't have it last spring but it feels like a great album to listen to as the snow melts and you start to see some green poking out of the ground. My favorite song right now is "Skinny Love" or "Re; Stacks"

2.) Rivers Cuomo; Alone II - The Home Recordings Of Rivers Cuomo



















November 24, 2008. This album has a special place in my heart. Where recent Weezer albums have failed me, Rivers' solo releases have re-instilled my love for music. As with the 1st volume, it is a bunch of songs that Rivers has written and recorded by himself over the last 15 years. This second batch of unreleased songs is better than Volume 1 in my opinion and shows a lot more of himself. The liner notes alone are worth it as he has written almost a small novel inside about how he came to write all the songs and how he recorded them and his state of mind at the time when he wrote them. My favorite song has also become my anthem for the coming year, "My Day is Coming."

1.) Vampire Weekend: Vampire Weekend




















January 29, 2008. I remember a friend of mine sent me a link to them about a week before the album came out. I loved it and the next week went to the store and bought the album. After the first time I listened to it I told my brother it was going to be the best album of the year. Obviously I was right. This is one of the greatest albums I've heard in a long time. I'm sure you've all heard it by now and can agree, at least that it's one of the years best. "A-Punk" still stands out as my favorite song on the album.

As always, go big or go home.

-M, p, z & shredder

oh ps- I've decided that tonight is make or break for Grey's Anatomy. It has gotten out of control. It's so bad now it's unbelievable. The only thing that would make sense is if Izzie drops dead because of a huge brain tumor. Otherwise Brown Guy is right, it's just some crazy chick who runs off to masturbate with a ghost.