Best Albums of 2008: #20-1

Posted by Brian Berry on 12.17.2008

R.E.M., TV On the Radio, Fleet Foxes, and Vampire Weekend are just a few of the bands to end up on the Top 20 of my selections for the Best Albums of the Year. Check in to see who else made the rest of the 2008 list!

Welcome to my picks for the Top 20 Best Albums of 2008. I've been counting down my favorite albums of the year for the past three days. If you missed Part 1 or Part 2, click the links below.
Part 1: #100-51
Part 2: #50-21

Send me your Top 10 lists in the comments section!


Top 20 Best Albums of 2008



#20 REM-Accelerate
REM's 14th studio album isn't going to be as highly regarded in the rock history books as Murmur, Document, or Automatic For the People but it will be considered their first completely strong album in 15 years. Unlike their past five releases, which relied on studio trickery and experimentalism, Accelerate is a straightforward ROCKER (like the kind of uptempo rock on classics like "It's the End of the World As We Know It" and "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?") featuring some of REM's punchiest noise pop ditties to date.






#19 Calexico-Carried To Dust
Calexico aren't breaking any new ground for themselves on their 7th studio album. However, this is their most enjoyable album from point A-B yet and it plays like the perfect soundtrack for a drive through the American Southwest. Carried To Dust is so subtly cool, avoiding some of the cheesy Adult Alternative trappings of previous efforts. Download "Two Silver Trees" immediately to whet the palate and then immerse yourself fully in the rest of the album's delicate horns, percussion, guitar (Spanish and slide are their strongest points), and breathy, descriptive vocals.




#18 Sons & Daughters-This Gift
The evolution of Glasgow's Sons & Daughters is something to be admired. This Gift highlights the band maturing lyrically with even sexier female vocals and a more focused approach to their influences: X, rockabilly, ‘60s soul & Mod, and ‘70s British pop-punk. Look no further than "This Gift", "Rebel With the Ghost", and "House in My Head" for the best songs of their young career.








#17 Bon Iver-For Emma, Forever Ago
Bon Iver is the pen name for Justin Vernon, a Wisconsin man who retreated to a remote log cabin to record a lo-fi, neo-folk album. In a similar of vein of like sounding songwriters, including Antony Hegarty (Antony and the Johnsons) and Sam Beam (Iron & Wine), Vernon's debut constructs hushed vignettes of pain, finger pointing, regret, and ultimately, renewal. Springtime music this is not, but if you can handle the heavy baggage expressed on For Emma, you're sure to find one of the better poetic musical exercises in recent memory.




#16 Fleet Foxes-Fleet Foxes
I don't know what critics proclaimed as the "feel good film of 2008" but the Fleet Foxes' self-titled debut could be the soundtrack. This album is bursting with gorgeous harmonies led by a guy whose pipes are spot on like Jim James of My Morning Jacket, only Fleet Foxes (debatably) made a much better album this year than MMJ. The describe themselves as making "baroque harmonic pop jams", which is a fitting description since their music contains elements of traditional folk, gospel, and ‘60s "flower power" rock ‘n roll.






#15 Vivian Girls-Vivian Girls
This young, all-female, Brooklyn trio were a music blogger's fantasy band this year with their just-over-twenty-minutes debut album of lo-fi, kinda sloppy, melodramatic fuzz-rock. Initially released in a batch of 500 copies, the record quickly became a hot item on eBay, selling for nearly $100 before being picked up and re-released by In the Red Records [writer's note: I picked up an original copy at their show in Chicago for $10…score!]. All hype aside, any one of the ten gems here could've been released by classic girl group The Shangri-Las (or even Bleach-era Nirvana) during their heyday and not sound out of place. Love and heartbreak are the themes here and the lyrical naivety on tracks like "All the Time", "Wild Eyes", and "Tell the World" are refreshing in their straightforwardness.






#14 Sparks-Exotic Creatures of the Deep
Sparks are one of the most underrated bands in the history of rock…period. They've released over 20 albums since the early ‘70s but are often overlooked as a novelty band despite crafting some of the most intelligent pop songs of the rock ‘n roll era. Here, the Brothers Mael continue to create multi-part orchestrations highlighted with Russell's often hilarious wordplay and falsetto vocals. "Lighten Up, Morrissey" sees Sparks at their most hard rocking since 1971's "This Town Ain't Big Enough For the Both of Us" (their biggest hit) while the coy humor rolls off effortlessly on should be singles like "I Can't Believe You Fell For All the Crap in This Song" and "She Got Me Pregnant". It's not every day you find an album of new material by a band whose influence is apparent on bands ranging from Queen, Depeche Mode, and MGMT.



#13 Be Your Own Pet-Get Awkward
Bratty, brash, and boisterous, this young Nashville group disbanded (far too early) following the release of Get Awkward, their 2nd studio album. This is a twisted gem of female fronted punk rock but don't confuse this with the self righteousness of the deceased riot grrrl scene. The musicianship is stronger and the lyrics more funny (and dark) than on their debut. These qualities are most apparent on the controversial murder fantasy, track-not released on the US version- "Becky" (sample lyric: "me and her, we'll kick your ass, we'll wait with knives after class"), the 1st single and ode to Beyond the Valley of the Dolls in "The Kelly Affair" and the hater anthem "Bitches Leave". Hopefully these early 20-somethings go on to new projects sooner than later.




#12 WHY?-Alopecia
WHY? is an Oakland band playing an unusual hip-hop influenced version of They Might Be Giants brain-rock, containing heavily descriptive, speak-sing narratives and a gifted sense of humor. Their 3rd album is keyboard, guitar, and percussion heavy while highlighting the cryptic, highly sexual and emotive, stream of conscious lyrics of MC Yoni Wolf. Alopecia will bounce from the introspective to the just plain silly in less than a handful of beats and the ride from these two disconnected points is almost always a delight. "The Hallows" is a great way to test the waters of this inventive band.





#11 Girl Talk-Feed the Animals
Come on, you know it's funny to hear Lil' Wayne rap "rather be gittin' some head, git gittin' some head" alternate with the chorus of Rick Springfield's "Jessie's Girl". Some artists aren't laughing though. That's because DJ Girl Talk has taken hundreds of samples (again) of pop songs from the past 40 years-ranging from Metallica to Wu-Tang Clan to Rod Stewart and everywhere in between- without record company or artist consent to construct the ultimate mash up album (again!). Bored on a Friday night? Get your friends together to see who can list the most songs sampled on this exercise in excessive perfection. Be forewarned: due to legal reasons, you can only get this album on Girl Talk's website (they have a "pay as much as you want" agreement like Radiohead did last year).




#10 Man Man-Rabbit Habits
The unexpected tempo changes, liberal use of wacky and overlooked instruments (or, anything they can get their hands on and make music out of), and Tex Avery cartoon music on acid sound are still in tact but this time around Man Man is more accessible than ever and with more focus. Pulling from influences that seem to range from Tom Waits to Captain Beefheart to the experimental lounge of Esquivel, this is the most surprising party album of the year. Rabbit Habits is easily Man Man's best work to date.







#9 The Magnetic Fields-Distortion
Innovative and groundbreaking, this is not. In fact, Magnetic Fields mastermind Stephen Merritt is open about ripping off the distorted, wall of sound noise-pop made famous by The Jesus and Mary Chain. Fortunately, the formula worked well for Merritt's coy songwriting, and his players create a sonic world much different than their past indie-electro & pop leanings. I listened to this album more than anything else this year with the surf-rock on "Three Way", the bouncy "Too Drunk To Dream", the melodramatic "I'll Dream Alone", and the hilarious "Nun's Litany" as Distortion's strongest cuts. Really though, this whole album is gold and whether you're in a fun loving or down in the dumps mood, this album will make you smile.




#8 Wolf Parade-At Mount Zoomer
Wolf Parade's 2006 debut, Apologies to the Queen Mary, was almost universally considered one of the best albums of that year and featured a couple stellar singles ("Shine a Light" and "I'll Believe In Anything"). It came as a surprise to many when they released the 9 track At Mount Zoomer this year, which doesn't have any discernable singles initially and might make for a bewildering listen. Listen to the album a few times though and the songs begin to slowly reveal their underlying pop tendencies, with the duties being split evenly once again between Dan Boeckner's more straightforward rockers and Spencer Krug's synthesizer/organ driven, unconventional tunes. The tone from both songwriters is darker and slightly more pessimistic than on their debut but this shouldn't be grounds for divorce. Just grab a pair of headphones and listen to At Mount Zoomer through new ears: some of the best art is that which doesn't affect us all at once.




#7 Jay Reatard-Singles 06-07/ Singles ‘08
The two best punk records were released by one man this year: Jay Reatard. It seems like Jay released a perfect 7" single every month for the past 3 years straight. In the Red Records and Matador collected his singles for two separate releases of lo-fi, garage punk/power-pop fury. It's hard to recommend one singles collection over the other-every single track sounds like an "A" side-so you'd be best served picking up both of these collections.




#6 TV on the Radio-Dear Science
This probably isn't the first time you've heard that Dear Science isn't as daring or complex asReturn To Cookie Mountain (2006), or more debatedly, Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes (2004), but it's still better than at least 9 outta 10 of the albums that hit the streets in any given year. Dear Science sees TVOTR taking a more straightforward approach to their experimental twist on Doo Wop, Afrobeat, punk, electronica, shoegaze, and whatever else they can shove into their musical broth. For the band this is a good thing as it will probably widen their already large, cult fanbase. Old fans can take solace in the band making another nearly flawless album despite tidying up the noise a bit. For all the publications placing this album as the #1 album of 2008: where were you for their stronger, more engaging first two ful-lengths?




#5 Vampire Weekend-Vampire Weekend
With songs titled "Mansard Roof", "Oxford Comma", and "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa", and clean, preppy attire, these young Ivy Leaguers (Columbia U. to be exact) wear their affluence with pride. After all the hype died down, naysayers ate their words when they heard the biggest buzz album of 2008: a polished, fun collection of faux Afro-pop, ska, and Paul Simon/The Police/David Byrne indebted pop. The album is served well by its short run time, brilliantly catchy melodies, and absence of a single mediocre track in the batch ("Bryn" being the only non 4-star track in the lot).






#4 The Walkmen-You & Me
The Walkmen's drunk ‘n lonely after last call on a Saturday night tone has never been as sullen and quiet as on You & Me, their 4th album of original material. That's not to say that the band doesn't deliver occasional bursts of firey energy, aided by frontman Hamilton Leithauser's distinctive growl: they're just more economical with the angst here. This is The Walkmen's strongest display of maturity and intimacy yet, and just as great as their nearly flawless back catalog.







#3 Portishead-Third
After two superb studio albums (1994's Dummy and 1997's Portishead), there didn't seem to be a way for Portishead to one up themselves. After all, they have a sound they've pigeonholed themselves into and its elasticity is only so expansive. To the surprise of many, they got their straight-faced groove back with this unsettling trip-hop collection. As per usual, the band's timeless sound has an eerie texture, recalling a stark Russian spy thriller drenched in blue filters where the narrator could very well be the killer. Beth's vocals walk the balance of sexy and frightening while the influence of Ennio Morricone soundtracks flashes brilliantly from the palate. If we have to sit 10 more years for another offering this impressive, Portishead will make it well worth our wait.




#2 The Raveonettes-Lust Lust Lust
The end is nigh: The Raveonettes have out Phil Spector'd the Jesus and Mary Chain with Lust Lust Lust. '50s and '60s influenced surf guitar fuzz, drowning in reverb and gorgeous two part harmonies (deadpan has never been sung so sweetly) abound on the duo's 4th album. Even a song as clichéd as the hit "You Want the Candy" (seriously, how many Spector influenced songs need to be about sugar) comes off likable because the melody is too damn catchy. Every song would be a hit song in a just world and Lust Lust Lust reads like a greatest hits collection. If Chain Gang of Love were compared to Jesus and Mary Chain's noisy, ramshackle classic Psychocandy then Lust Lust Lust is naturally The Raveonettes' Darklands: an even, controlled statement of the band's handle of rock history knowledge and equally tuned gift of perfect noise-pop song structure.




#1 Deerhunter-Microcastle
Microcastle finds Deerhunter making Nuggets-era psych pop spun through Sonic Youth's Goo-ey Washing Machine (the snotty punkish "Nothing Ever Happened" could just as well be pulled from Thurston Moore's songbook). This is more accessible than Cryptograms or anything Bradford Cox has put his hands on musically. Deerhunter have tapped into the natural evolution of shoegaze, finding a new tortured, avant-genius to take the reigns from Kevin Shields and Billy Corgan. In fact, this album has much in common with My Bloody Valentine and early Smashing Pumpkins, which is why it's no surprise this album is more widely praised than its predecessor…and will likely be regarded as one of the more important albums of the newish millennium.




Past #1 Albums of the Year

2007: Panda Bear-Person Pitch
2006: TV On the Radio-Return To Cookie Mountain
2005: The New Pornographers-Twin Cinema
2004: The Arcade Fire-Funeral
2003: Hot Snakes-Audit In Progress
2002: Wilco-Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
2001: The Shins-Oh, Inverted World

Have a safe and fun holiday season!