best albums of 2008: 5-1
05 Various Artists, Miles From India: We almost forgot about this record. Earlier this year, Miles From India hit the site, and everyone got really excited. What a fun concept, and it’s done well! But then it got taken down just as quickly, and it vanished from our memory. Well, it came back, of course, and we immediately knew that this had to be the highest-ranking jazz record, and the more we listened, the higher it climbed. Highly recommended, of course.
04 Various Artists, Nigeria Special: Modern Highlife, Afro-sounds & Nigerian Blues 1970-76: We broke the rules a bit. The How To Construct A Year-End List manual states that you cannot have a reissue high in your list. Well, we have two. And we don’t give a shit. We want music that sounds good and makes us feel good, and Nigeria Special has it. Is it that much better than Nigeria 70, which we had earlier in the list? Not really. But it has moments that stop us cold, and we couldn’t justify it being any lower than this.
03 Rodriguez, Cold Fact: Another reissue! But again, this one is worth it. If Alex were here he would make a stirring argument for this record — it was his number one — so I will merely add that it sounds like Love or Donovan, the softer but still druggy side of the ‘60s, those transitionary moments between rock & roll innocence and absolute mania.
02 Deastro, Keeper’s: If I never do anything in music again, I will still feel proud of putting out this record. It’s amazing, and I’m just waiting for the day where the entire indie world realizes it. There is more potential in Randolph Chabot than anyone I know. The kid is a mad genius, and his music here — recorded and written while he was still a teenager — is just astonishingly mature and ambitious and amazing. If anything, the fact that this is a Selects release hurt this album, as we would have felt weird about naming it #1, even though it has certainly earned it.
01 The Gaslight Anthem, The ’59 Sound: From the minute we started thinking about this poll, I knew this had to be #1. This record came out of nowhere to dominate our office and our listening habits. It’s really just a tremendous collection of songs, and I don’t feel the least bit conspicuous when I say that I think this record will be remembered well. That ten years from now this will be emblematic of a moment we were all proud of, the point where a new soundtrack to our lives began. Because this record feels like the onrush of life, it’s a record about ageing and about hanging on. What’s more universal than that?
And so there you have it. Our picks for the best albums of 2008. We’ll start rolling out your picks tomorrow. Finally, don’t forget where we’ve been:
88 DJ/rupture, Uproot
87 Benoit Pioulard, Temper
86 Bobby Watson, From the Heart
85 Mr. Scruff, Ninja Tuna
84 Friendly Fires, Friendly Fires
83 The Avett Brothers, The Second Gleam
82 Zomby, Where Were U in ‘92?
81 Olof Arnalds, Vio og vio
80 Jenny Scheinman, Jenny Scheinman
79 The Mole, High As the Sky
78 Fredrik, Na Na Ni
77 Juana Molina, Un Dia
76 Various Artists, Nigeria 70
75 twi the humble feather, Music for Spaceships and Forests
74 Rainbow Arabia, The Basta
73 She and Him, Volume One
72 Bang on a Can All-Stars, Music for Airports Live
71 Otis Redding, Live in London & Paris
70 James Blackshaw, Litany of Echoes
69 Ladyhawke, Ladyhawke
68 Black Mountain, In the Future
67 Cut Off Your Hands, Happy As Can Be
66 Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson at Emmanuel
65 John Ellis, Dance Like There’s No Tomorrow
64 Boduf Songs, How Shadows Chase the Balance
63 Huun-Huur-Tu, Mother Earth! Father Sky!
62 Headlights, Some Racing, Some Stopping
61 Crystal Castles, Crystal Castles
60 Simone Dinnerstein, The Berlin Concert
59 Studio, Yearbook 2
58 Johnson & Johnson, Johnson & Johnson
57 Okkervil River, The Stand Ins
56 The Kills, Midnight Boom
55 Kurt Vile, Constant Hitmaker
54 2562, Aerial
53 Breathe Owl Breathe, Ghost Glacier EP
52 The Fireman, Electric Arguments
51 Titus Andronicus, The Airing of Grievances
50 Blacklisted, Heavier Than Heaven, Lonelier Than God
49 Eliza Carthy, Dreams of Breathing Underwater
48 Seun Kuti & Fela’s Egypt 80, S/T
47 Top Choice Clique, Reel Chemistry
46 Army Navy, Army Navy
45 Chris Knight, Heart of Stone
44 Paul Lewis, Beethoven Piano Sonatas Vol. 4
43 Elzhi, The Preface
42 Fuck Buttons, Street Horrrsing
41 Avishai Cohen Trio, Gently Disturbed
40 Esperanza Spalding, Esperanza
39 British Sea Power, Do You Like Rock Music
38 Kayhan Kalhor, Silent City
37 Liam Finn, I’ll Be Lightning
36 Marco Benevento, Invisible Baby
35 Horse Feathers, House With No Name
34 Crystal Stilts, Alight of Night
33 Valery Gergiev, Mahler Symphony No. 3
32 The Raveonettes, Lust Lust Lust
31 Richard Swift, Ground Trouble Jaw
30 She Keeps Bees, Nests
29 The Rural Alberta Advantage, Hometowns
28 Let’s Wrestle, In Loving Memory Of…
27 Atlas Sound, Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel
26 Beach House, Devotion
25 Vampire Weekend, Vampire Weekend
24 Pete and the Pirates, Little Death
23 Osmo Vanska, Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 2 and 7
22 Madvillain, Madvillainy 2: The Madlib Remix
21 Carl Craig, Sessions
20 High Places, 03/07 – 09/07
19 Hauschka, Ferndorf
18 Portico Quartet, Knee-Deep in the North Sea
17 Jay Reatard, Matador Singles ‘08
16 John Eliot Gardiner, Brahms Symphony No. 1
15 Siah & Yeshua dapoED, The Visualz Anthology
14 Santogold, Santogold
13 Deerhunter, Microcastle
12 Shearwater, Rook
11 Grouper, Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill
10 Thao, We Brave Bee Stings and All
09 Frightened Rabbit, The Midnight Organ Fight
08 The Walkmen, You and Me
07 Terakaft, Akh issudar
06 Bon Iver, For Emma, Forever Ago
Well. That was definitely a surprise.
Nice work, ladies and gentlemen! Easily the best Best Music List of 2008 (as I knew it would be). Thank you!
Great list and great top 5. Totally unpredictable and fresh from end to end. Thanks guys! (And yay for Destro and all the other selects!!)
And what a day to have my downloads refresh, too! Currently downloading Gaslight Anthem and Terakraft, sound unheard. I expect to be impressed. Very impressed.
…and The Fireman and Friendly Fires. Goodness… what have you done with my downloads, eMusic?
Great, unique list. A little sad you didn’t give Dodos’ Visiter the love no one elese seems to be showing. Also, maybe integrate exceptional film/show albums into the list next year, along with the classical, international and jazz? Many thanks for the great ride.
Wow, I didn’t know Miles From India came back…! Nice Choice! I actually would have put it on my list if I knew it had resurfaced. Love it, and the Nigeria Special too!
“Miles From India” is an inspired choice. I downloaded it the day it first appeared. I didn’t know it was back. I think a lot of the musicians on it played with Miles Davis.
Cosign the “Yea” for Deastro. A very good disc. I still love that video clip 17 Dots posted of him playing “Shaded Forest,” I think.
I don’t know what to make of The Gaslight Anthem. Aside from Springsteen himself (who I love, but mostly in his quiet mode, e.g., Tunnel Of Love), bands that sound like him do little for me. But I trust you guys, so I’ll give it another try.
You got me yancey right there (in the hurt spot of the ludicrous mind).
So I’ve just ripped off a booster one so that I can download
Keeper’s by Deastro.
Never too late to say – sorry for not doing this earlier but this one will sure accompany me in the long gogear mp3 player walks of 2009.
TROY
@Daniel, Esq. I agree with you about Gaslight Anthem. Too many people who I trust have been raving, but all I’m hearing is John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band.
Gaslight is just such a big rock & roll record. I dunno. To me it just sounds huge!
And thanks guys so much for sticking with this whole thing. This has been tons of fun, and my own Save for Later list has gotten massive with all of your suggestions of things we omitted.
The next batch of stuff we have coming — your votes for album of the year, best artist, most overrated and most underrated — is gonna be just as fun.
Hmm. No Why?, no Mountain Goats, Xiu Xiu. etc…still, an interesting list, fun to watch it unfold.
Sad to see Department of Eagles did not make the list. That was my #2 album this year
I just wanna throw out there how much I love the way you guys did your list this year. I love the craziness, I love the surprises, I love my SFL growing like mad. But what I really love is that you guys kept it all to yourselves. Seriously, y’all are sitting at the cool kids lunch table. You know the place, you know the people. I love that you didn’t ask others outside of the eMusic to vote. While I’m sure those homeschoolers are cool, they really don’t need to be voting for class president, you know?
This is has been the most creative year end list I remember seeing on eMusic. Even if I’m shocked by your #1 (seriously? The Gaslight Anthem? It leaves me feeling like the limp-wristed, clammy, “peace be with you” church handshakes with strangers do – underwhelmed), I still dig that it was just you guys pulling it all together.
I’m really looking forward to the user list and seeing how it matches up to your list. I’m curious to see who’s more full of crap – you or us!
No Dengue Fever? I guess it’s like the Oscars–if you release your album in January, everybody’s forgotten about it by voting time.
Dengue Fever will show up in one of these lists. And yr totally right about release dates.
And flamgirlant, I can say with 10000% certainty that we are more full of crap. But I’m glad you enjoyed it!
What the fuck is wrong with you not including Why?
I’m fucking ashamed.
Ryan G… do you kiss your mother with that keyboard?
…and Flamgirlant, “seriously? The Gaslight Anthem? It leaves me feeling like the limp-wristed, clammy, ‘peace be with you’ church handshakes with strangers do – underwhelmed” was a rather brilliant sentence. Nice job articulating what I, apparently, could not.
A very interesting list, and I’ve already downloaded some more albums based on the recommendations. But I have to say that I’m pretty disappointed that Adele, the Dodos, and Cut Copy didn’t even make the list. Not to mention that I’m also of the persuasion that the Gaslight Anthem sound a tad… bland.
Then again, I seem to be one of the few people not completely in love with the High Places…
Yes! Completely agree with your #1. Just last night I was having an discussion about how I couldn’t believe Paste put She & Him at #1. (It shouldn’t be anywhere close, in my opinion.) When my friends asked me what I thought should be #1, The ‘59 Sound was my pick.
Great job with the list – not just because I agree with #1, either. This has been a fun list to follow. Between this list and the booster pack sale, I’m going to be busy.
Just a heads-up, links to the albums are broken. The link’s attributes are enclosed in typographer’s quotes.
I apologize .. I’m just really upset that Why? hasn’t shown up on any year-end lists. I’m shocked, really.
ok, putting it in the right place.
Okay, so I have to give those folks another listen, apparently, because my first listen to The Gaslight Anthem wasn’t terribly inspiring, but at #1 it must be worth checking out again.
I listened to some samples of Deastro and it sounded terribly distorted (but otherwise great). Is it a clipping thing or an intentional sound?
Thanks for the laundry list of music (I guess). Now I get to try to figure out how to listen to all of the stuff that interests me (yay).
Still can’t believe there’s no Murder by Death or Rosebuds or Ra Ra Riot. Ah, well. Lots of good stuff anyway.
(try #2 at posting a comment)
Overall I really like the list and have already started downloading some albums based on the recommendations. But I can’t help but be a little bit disappointed that Adele, the dodos, and especially Cut Copy didn’t make this list at all. And when I checked out the Gaslight Anthem before I found them a tad… bland.
I liked Gaslight Anthem…it was comforting in its familiarness. Like a young Springsteen backed by Against Me re-recording New Miserable Experience in full. Had it come out in ‘94 they would have been huge.
Hmm. Guess it’s time to listen to Gaslight Anthem. This is the craziest best-of year I’ve seen from eMusic yet, but it’s doing the trick. I’ve downloading many of the selections so far, and there’s a lot here that I’m sure I would never had listened to–or heard of–had you folks not drawn my attention to them.
After I first discovered eMusic, I decided to cancel my subscription after just a couple of months of downloading. I thought I’d found what I wanted and that I was done. Then I remember running across the Spotlights (or whatever they were called then), and I was hooked. I’ve been discovering and downloading gems ever since. I’ve always appreciated the passion with which the eMusic writers convey what they love about music. Thanks for being a bunch of tasteful trustworthy guides!
Wow. I haven’t downloaded any of these albums. And only sampled 4 or 5, I think. Guess I have some catching up to do …
yay for giving Rodriguez his due… in the U.S. (apparently he’s got South Africa dialed in.) also yay nigeria special, and miles from india is totally new to me.
here’s a link to my best of ought eight user list… some similarities, lots of differences. for one, more electronica. for two lots of metal, as opposed to none. it’s not 88, but we’ll see what happens when my dls refresh.
http://www.emusic.com/profile/lists.html#/profile/ajax/lists/showlist.html?lid=33737037&p=
as far as surprises, yancey, given your prediliction for mathy post rock i’m a little suprised Conifer’s “Crown Fire” didn’t show up here somewhere.
maybe i’ll listen to that gaslight anthem record someday.
Let me add a big thumb’s up for Miles From India. I’m old enough (50) that it evoked my youthful discoveries of the original Miles albums (esp. the electric stuff) on which it is based.
Thom I have to agree about the Dodo’s album, not so much Cut Copy (i tried really I tried to like it), and Adele I’m listening to right now. It’s OK, but I only really love the last two songs on it based on the samples (they’re the ones I downloaded). I got it because Tom Jones said he was listening to it, so I got curious and then saw it on My “Music You’d Like” among all the Rap
“No Dengue Fever” yeah I’m kinda surprised too they’ve definitely got a fresh/new sound (anyone remember what Amishi Thought of it? Was it too Indian?)
I’m sure I gave gaslight a listen but don’t remember it so I’ll check it out again. And I think I didn’t get Deastro because My brother got it and I wanted to listen all the way through but never did, maybe i’ll go listen to the samples.
I’ve loved both Rodriguez songs I’ve gotten maybe I’ll hit up the rest of it at refresh (only three more songs left this month)
So sad my favorite orgy wasn’t there on the list
I thought the Dodos had a handful f good songs but was really too chaotic. More tracks like Walking, Jody, and Red and Purple would have made it much better. It’s not BAD (it’s good!), but I was a bit disappointed.
Dengue Fever was this year, too? Man, another one I left off.
Yeah, where are Adele and Mountain Goats? I’ll have to look on the dry erase board to see the pool you all were working from.
Miles From India link not working…again.
I ain’t no sucka… no way am i DLing Gaslight Anthem… ever! This is music critic Bandwagonism at its most extreme. Don’t fall for it.
That’s pretty uncalled-for toyballoon. I’ll admit that Gaslight Anthem doesn’t really seem like my kind of thing, but It’s not an overly hyped album, and I think a somewhat unusual and non-bandwagon choice for a number 1. It shows in my opinion a group of critics picking what they like to listen to.
Why do people get so personally offended by these lists? If everybody made a list with everything on it that you liked, what would be the point?
I like that this list was really varied – and I’ve already picked some very different things off of it that I may not have otherwise gotten. (e.g. Siah and Yeshua DapoED, Blacklisted and Mahler’s Third – all great)
“Why do people get so personally offended by these lists? If everybody made a list with everything on it that you liked, what would be the point?”
I SECOND THIS NOTION
I’m not “personally offended” at all. I kinda chuckled when i saw it at number 1. I dig that this list is a bit all over the place and believe me i’m very appreciative of this list… all lists in general: it’s the best way to find new music in my opinion. The eMusic community as a whole is very important to me also and i’ve discovered heaps of great new stuff through it’s avenues. When i say “don’t fall for it” I guess all i’m saying is “take these lists with a grain of salt”. Sorry if i upset anyone. If anything Adamm, you’re just displaying your passion and love for Gaslight Anthem, just as i’m displaying my dislike for what i’ve heard from them. We’re clearly both passionate about music, only difference is i’m a jerk, and you’re a nice guy.
Oh, and “the point” would be that i would be RIGHT, and I’d sit on my computer in my dark little room all alone and nod and smile and feel like a better person because my insecurities about not being hip would float away temporarily.
Actually I only meant to stick up for the listmakers. I haven’t downloaded Gaslight Anthem yet and not sure if I ever will, but I like seeing something I didn’t expect at number one.
What about Of Montreal???
Great list. Here’s mine.
Ok, decent list, but your top 5 completely undermined the thoughtfulness of the rest of your list. I have enjoyed the Deastro album very much, but what the hell is going on with the other 4? Gaslight Anthem as #1? Seriously? How hard is it to make an album about 5 or 6 years after it should have been made? Wow, so out of the loop here. Definitely a surprising pick from a company who is known for their focus on indie music that is so much more worthwhile than the mainstream drivel forced upon us by corporate America… GA’s album is OK, but better than the Bon Iver disc? No. In the same ballpark as the Okkervil River album? Not on your life. C’mon… there’s a difference between unique and reckless… let’s continue to groom with former without succumbing to the latter.