The WAY too late best of 2008 list.

Hey friends, get ready for a slew of posts soon.

Anyways, I was so busy over winter break and the end of the semester I realized I never made my best of 2008. So here it is!!!

#1: MURDER by DEATH, Red of Tooth and Claw
It seriously upsets me that this record got overlooked by many lists. I loved it since it's release. MBD always puts out good records, this one was the one that I said "Damn!! They did it!!"

#2: Coldplay, Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends...
I really don't care what people say. They are great. Most people all know it too. They're just ignorant. It's okay, I hate admitting I like somethings too.

#3: Amanda Palmer, Who Killed Amanda Palmer?
Another one, enormously overlooked (not as much as MBD though). Her cutting edge lyrics are so beautifully matched with melodies that will have to singing along in no time, perhaps about curious sexual situations, astronauts, and a boy named Blake.

#4: Bloc Party, Intimacy
What I LOVE about these guys is that almost every year we get a new album AND the albums are all solid. I LOVE the first two and this one is right up there with them!!! They are on a roll...

#5: Butch Walker, Sycamore Meadows
This was a nice refreshing album to me because quite honestly, I really did not like Butch Walker and the Lets-Go-Out-Tonites. I am not saying it wasn't good, it just wasn't my style. This record is awesome though, very much back to the roots like Letters had.

#6: Thrice, The Alchemy Index III & IV
Wow. Well-crafted philosophical songs to close out their Fire, Water, Air, and Earth ep's. These last two I would argue really grabs more people on a global scale. Well played. (Side note, amazing live show too!)

#7: The Mars Volta, Bedlam in Goliath
My favorite record since their debut. Very, very good, it musically sounds a little more clearer than Frances on Mute.

#8: The Cure, 4:13 Dream
Well those of you know me close knows what this band has done for me so this will look a little bias. However, this album, I think is their best since Bloodflowers, I may even go so far to say Wish...Check it out, you will not be disappointed.

#9: The Magnetic Fields, Distortion
Wow.

#10: Bon Iver, For Emma
Come on! He's from Wisconsin...no really, this album is really good IF you like folk and acoustic rock.

#11 Nine Inch Nails, The Slip
I actually like this better than Year Zero. Yeah, I said it...

#12: Panic! at the Disco, Pretty.Odd
I really didn't care too much for this record when I first bought it but by about the 5th time through I was saying "this is pretty good." There are some throw away songs that don't do anything for me but theres enough to keep me in love with it (Northern Downpour, Do You See What I am Seeing, Behind the Sea, to name a few...)

#13 Lil Wayne, Tha Carter III
Yes, it's kinda of low on my list, but I don't listen to rap much. However, when I find that album or two that hits me, I will ALWAYS give it credit. Well deserved publicity over this one and very well deserved Grammy.

#14: She & Him, Volume One
Take two things I love. The guitar playing of M. Ward (solo act, Bright Eyes, other collaborations) and Zooey Deschanel (who I had no idea could sing!) and you have She&Him. This record is great, it reminds me of listening to my mom's old 60's records. I really hope they keep making records and proves not to be just another actor/actress taking a stab at singing, she's great and so is Ward's riffs.

#15: R.E.M., Accelerate
Pretty damn good if you like the early indie years of R.E.M. and even if you don't there's enough to keep you happy.

Yup, thats right, TV on the Radio isn't on here. 10 years from now you won't know them, Rolling Stone, Spin, etc. ALL magazines that I read, but remember sometimes they don't rank whats good, they rank what they want you to think is good. "Come listen to TV on the Radio and you'll be cool, everyone's doing it..."
Also, Radiohead's In Rainbows was 2007, I bought it off their website in 2007, thats when it came out...

Honorable mentions:
Fleet Foxes, they show promise, I like what I've heard...
Alkaline Trio, not really as good as the last two but a solid effort...
Common, I really liked this R&B record a lot...
Portugal. The Man, hell yeah...
Vampire Weekend, ok-to-pretty decent, I need more convincing on this band
The Gaslight Anthem, I haven't heard anything before The '59 Sound, but this is a very good record...
Bring Me the Horizon, they are breaking through...also catching big break on tour with big names.
Jack's Mannequin, honorable mention but it could have been way better...
This Town Needs Guns, I don't know much about them, but Animals is awesome! This was probably my #16...

A little on the disappointing side...

Death Cab for Cutie, it's okay, I forgive you, the last 3 we're A+ records, this one is like C
The Academy Is...,why do people like Fast Times At Barrington High so much? Seriously, I almost shed a tear...Santi was SOOOO good and then this?
The Killers, really? really? "are we human or are we dancers?" I love metaphors and all, but what the fuck does that even mean?


best new artists:
She&Him
Bon Iver
The Gaslight Anthem
This Town Needs Guns
Bring Me the Horizon

There it is friends, I'm sure I missed one or two...what were some of your faves?