The Best Albums of 2008

so yeah. if you follow my blog, you know i already posted this like a week ago...but i just got an email from a record company "threatening" me to take down the downloads i had posted or else hahaha. So i had to take my post down, so here again, are my top 30 albums, minus the free downloads. sorry everyone, but by this time, i hope you already had them. and i'm too lazy to post albums covers too...it takes too long. thanks for reading!

1. Cut Copy – In Ghost Colours
when the year began, I had already heard plenty of tracks from “in ghost colours” but by years end, I didn’t think this masterful work would be the best album of 2008. When it comes down to it, much like vampire weekend, cut copy didn’t represent anything new with this album, but it is easily the most consistent album of 2008. If you know me, you know I’m an avid runner, and throughout 2008, there has not been a day when I haven’t run to this album. This 80’s dreamlike dance pop isn’t just one of the greatest dance records I have ever heard, but it largely puts other dance albums to shame. I am absolutely astounded by how much I have listened to “in ghost colours,” and NEVER gotten sick of it. Seeing them twice live, just added to my overwhelming respect for these Australian revolutionaries. With “hearts on fire,” being the greatest song of the year (wait for that list later) and songs like “far away,” and of course the irresistible “lights & music,” “in ghost colours,” represents the future of pop music. For god’s sake, I’ve heard the reject/b sides of this album, and I can’t stop listening to those either! (look for the bootlegs online). Cut Copy shocked me with their consistency, and the sincere beauty of their blissful keyboards which leave me dyingggg for more.

2. The Dodos – Visitor
I first heard this album driving up to santa barbara this year, and from when I left los angeles, there was no other album I listened to until I got there, or left there for that matter. This really is almost in a dead tie with my #1, but based on shear listenability, I chose to put it at my #2. These men from San Francisco have truly changed my outlook on acoustic music. Before I listened to this album, I was really only listening to dance/electronic in 2008, but “visitor” has opened doors to music I never before heard. Where the dodos succeed, is not just consistency, but lush beauty. They do things with acoustic guitars I didn’t even know were possible, and if you have ever seen their live performance, you know that they play with instruments attached to every body part (and I mean every body part!) I truly love every song on this album, from the opener “walking,” to the simple magnetic fields like “undeclared,” “visitor,” is truly something to be not just listened to, but experienced.

3. Deerhunter – Microcastle
before this album, I never really like deerhunter. They were one of those bands I didn’t “get.” I listened to their previous record, “cryptograms,” repeatedly, and could never get into it, but I instantly fell in love with “microcastle.” Not only is it just more accessible and listenable, but the message remained the same. Before this album, I had never been a fan of “dream pop,” but where this album succeeds, is the fact that you can either listen to this album while going to bed, or listen to it at a party. Despite me instantly liking “microcastle,” I had to listen to it repeatedly to understand what I was listening to. This album isn’t just fantastic, but mind bending and genre altering. How can I even describe deerhunter? They are just that fantastic in every way.

4. Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago
This album was written in northern Wisconsin in a hunting cabin for three months, and that is exactly what it sounds like. What comes to mind listening to bon iver, is a mixture of antony hergarty and jose gonzalez. A hauntingly different voice, that leaves you cringing in a corner. This is such a refreshing, yet horrifying album. Its almost a tear jerker, and no other album has had such an emotional impact on my life in 2008. I fell hard for this album at first listen, and have fallen harder after every listen since then. So simplistic, yet far from it at the same time.

5. Fleet Foxes – S/T
No surprise here. This album has landed at the top of so many lists, its probably will be called the best when all is said and done. But when I first listened to this album I didn’t care for it. It wasn’t until the third or fourth listen that I began to understand the haunting beauty this debut record entails. Think of fleet foxes as a mix between band of horses and wolf parade. Church like symphony that only sub pop can bring you. When I think of this album, I think of driving up the coast with my window down, or a late night campfire. A truly beautiful record that doesn’t represent anything new to the music world, but shows how good indie pop can be at its best.

6. Vampire Weekend – S/T
this one is going to be controversial. I know so many of you HATE vampire weekend, and a biggg part of me does as well, but what I have to admit is how truly fantastic this album is. Despite it coming out in January technically, I’ve had this album for almost two years, and it just hasn’t really gotten old. Despite vw going somewhat “mainstream,” how can anyone deny the swift, cunning simple beauty these young men have created? Vw is also surprisingly one of the most remixed bands of 2008 as well, I have at least 10 remixes of various songs from this record, and despite being on the cover of spin, or despite the various late night gigs they have played, vampire weekend have remained the most talked about band of 2008, and deserving at that (sort of).

7. Black Kids – Partie Traumatic
another controversial choice. I haven’t seen this album on ANYONE’S list, sadly probably due to pitchfork’s dismal review of it, everyone’s afraid to like it. But this album was nothing but fun loving sweaty dance rock. Not only are the melodies enduring and fun, but black kids proved what bloc party failed to do this year, showing how fun music can be without even trying. Seeing black kids in concert just further showed me how fun rock music can be. A truly just straight up fun album. Don’t look for any deep found lyrical meaning or profound political authority with this record, but just put on your dancing shoes and get movingggg.

8. Air France – No Way Down
I have never been a fan of m83, even with the hugeee success of “Saturdays = Youth,” but this album by air france is everything I hoped m83 would be. This record meets somewhere between cut copy and m83, where yes there is beautiful dance pop, but at times turns panda bear/album leaf-ish. A truly wonderful surprise, I wasn’t expecting to fall in love with this album, but I found myself listening to it over and over again. Humming the melodies and shaking my hips. Where sigur ros and others failed to succeed this year, “no way down,” is one of those records you can try to fall asleep to, but when its over, you have the energy to get up and dance. Boy, has that caused problems for my sleeping habits…

9. Foals – Antidotes
This album represents where death cab miserably failed this year. This was probably the most refreshing album of 2008. A wonderful record all the way through, with, with out a doubt the most thought provoking lyrics of the year. The best British debut since the almighty Klaxons toreee it up last year. This genre bending album was so brilliantly executed, it deserves to be higher on this list, but the other eight are just that much better. A wonderful debut, nonetheless.

10. Crystal Castles – S/T
to let all of you know, this album was originally my #4 album of the year. But after seeing them live on Halloween, I lost a ton of respect for them. Honestly, a horrible live performance. But who wasn’t on something that night, you know? This was the primitive spring/summer record. I remember driving everywhere with this album, blasting out my eardrums with the Nintendo like electronics. There is no denying how absolutely catchy this album is, and how you can’t help but rip your clothes off when it comes on. A wonderful, surprising debut from this Canadian duo who has blown up as much as Justice did last year. Now if they could just work on their live performance, 2009 should be a fantastic year for these two hipster gods in leather.

11. Dr. Dog - Fate
12. Beach House – Devotion
13. Frightened Rabbit – The Midnight Organ Fight
14. Grouper – Dragging A Dead Deer Up A Hill
15. The Magnetic Fields - Distortion
16. Friendly Fires – S/T
17. Born Ruffians – Red, Yellow & Blue
18. Hercules & Love Affair – S/T
19. Why? - Alopecia
20. MGMT – Oracular Spectacular
21. Midnight Juggernauts – Dystopia
22. Portishead – Third
23. Department Of Eagles – In Ear Park
24. Los Campesinos! – Hold On Now, Youngster
25. Wolf Parade – At Mount Zoomer
26. The Walkmen – You & Me
27. Santogold – S/T
28. Ra Ra Riot – The Rhumb Line
29. Lykke Li – Youth Novels
30. The Black Keys - Attack & Release