Over the last couple months I’ve been comprising some of my top music for 2008 to consolidate some of my recommendations. I was planning on making something to incorporate into Tune Muncher, but time has not been on my side. Nonetheless, I didn’t want to see my efforts go to waste. Here are my recommendations.

Impressive Debuts

• Flobots
• The Black Ghosts
• MGMT grew on me. I didn’t like at first, glad I came back
• Justice
• The Asteroids Galaxy Tour first heard on the new iPod Video commercial

New To Me

Bands I got turned on to in 2008

• The Virgins – The Virgins
• Amy Winehouse – Back To Black

Established Awesomeness

Artists I listen to who put out strong albums in 2009.

• The Black Keys – Attack & Release, my vote for top album of 2008
• Beck – Modern Guilt
• We Are Scientists – Brain Thrust Mastery, sophomore release just as awesome as With Love and Squalor
• Radiohead – In Rainbows
• Thievery Corporation – Radio Retaliation
• Oasis – Dig Out Your Soul
• Panic at the Disco – Pretty. Odd., I’ll be first to admit I hated this album when it first came out. It completely lacked the energy and intensity that I loved in the first PATD album, but it grew on me over time. There are some excellent tracks on this disc.

The Best Tracks

Infinite Repeat

• The Tings Tings – “Shut Up And Let Me Go”
• MGMT – “Kids Oracular”
• Estelle – “American Boy Ft. Kanye West”
• Kings of Leon – “Sex On Fire”
• My Morning Jacket – “Touch Me I’m Going To Scream Part 2″, best beginning and ending to a song released in ‘08
• Air France – “Collapsing At Your Doorstep”
• Justice – “Genesis”
• Grum – “Whoa”
• M83 – “Kim & Jesse”
• The Virgins – “Rich Girls”
• Hot Chip – “Ready For The Floor”
• Death Cab For Cutie – “I Will Possess Your Heart”
• Panic at the Disco – “Nine In The Afternoon”, best viewed here.
• Stars – “The Ghost Of Genova Heights”
• My Robot Friend – “Robot High School” (In Digital Form Remix
• Of Montreal – “Id Engager”

Best Albums of 2008

1 requirement – strong from start to finish, never skip a track.

• Beck – Modern Guilt
• The Black Ghosts – The Black Ghosts
• My Morning Jacket – Evil Urges
• MGMT – Oracular Spectacular
• Kings of Leon – Only By Night
• M83 – Saturdays = Youth

Let Downs

• Cold War Kids – Loyalty To Loyalty, didn’t hold my attention
• The Dears – Missiles, totally changed their sound, no good tracks. Can’t keep members together: Wikipedia.
• Fujiya & Miyagi – Lightbulbs, same sound only, nothing new, not as good
• The Presets – Apocalypso, no stand out tracks like “Girl and the Sea” or “Steamworks” on their previous album.
• Ratatat – LP3, I falls way short compared to Classics
• Dungen – Tio Bitar, doesn’t compare to Ta Det Lungt
• Taproot – Our Long Way Home, doesn’t compare to their previous releases.
• Hot Chip – Made in the Dark, I had high expectations for this album because I played “Ready For The Floor” x 100000, but the rest of the album is meh.
• Death Cab For Cutie – Narrow Stairs, maybe I’m being harsh but I was looking for an album to rival Transatlanticism and never got it.

EPIC FAIL

• The Killers – Day & Age

I’m always waiting for The Killers to bring me back to the heyday of Hot Fuss. I always leave disappointed. On the first single “Human” Brandon Flowers asks “are we human or are we dancer” a play on a Hunter S Thompson proverb. What a stupid song. The horns in “I Can’t Stay” was horrid enough to stick hot needles through my ear drums. The Epic Failure of another piece of crap album by a band I once loved is enough to turn off the dial permanently. I am never listening to The Killers again. What an EPIC waste.

Best Concerts of 2008

• The Black Keys @ The Orpheium
• VAST @ Harper’s Ferry
• Ambulance LTD @ The Middle East
• Band of Horses @ The Paradise
• Rogue Wave @ The Paradise
• The Go! Team @ The Paradise

Best Compilations

• Lounge Anthology
• Indie Rock Playlists

Where Are They?

• The Avalanches – Air France reminded me of them
• Sean Lennon, 8 years between his debut (1998) and his sophomore release (2006), I’m not holding my breath
• Muse

Rediscovered

Back from the dead. Oldies but goodies.

• 311 – 311, I still could sing along with “T&P Combo”. That surprised the hell out of me.
• VAST
• Sean Lennon – Friendly Fire
• Second Coming – Second Coming, “Soft”

Music Resources

Give a listen to some of the artists/albums/tracks I’ve mentioned on these sites.

• Hypem, check out their 2008 Zeitgiest
• delicious.com/somedirection17/music
• The Yellow Stereo
• Aurgasm
• Last.fm
• Pitchfork Top Albums of 2008, Pitchfork Best Tracks of 2008
• Tune Muncher

What’d I miss? Let me know in the comments!