Favorite Albums of 2008

After a long wait, here are my favorite albums of 2008. I think I listened to more new albums this year than any of the last several years, yet I still found myself feeling that very few of these records really deserved to be ranked as "top ten" or whatever. A whole lot of albums were "good" but not "great." Also, of course, there are many albums I never heard in their entirety, and certainly many more I've never even heard OF. Forgive me if I don't mention your favorite album, or if my list seems to follow too many trends.

1. Kemman - "The Long Rocker"
Hell yeah, I put my own band in the #1 spot. Screw everyone else. This CD Rocks!

2. Dr. Dog - "Fate"
A surprise find, Dr. Dog has an organic, earnest feel that reminds me of The Band or Wilco, with a lot of Beatles influence. Over the last month, this album emerged as the one I enjoyed more than the rest.

3. Bon Iver - "For Emma, Forever Ago"
Quiet, solemn record of primarily one man and his acoustic guitar.

4. M83 - "Saturdays = Youth"
Synthy and 80's sounding, but still heartbroken and moody.

5. Sloan - "Parallel Play"
Another great Sloan record. A couple of dud tunes, but mostly fun rock singalongs.

6. The Futureheads - "This is Not the World"
A good British rock record that stood out amongst some others by similar bands. I still think of this band as XTC on crack.

7. Secret Machines - "Secret Machines"
Not as likable as their previous album "10 Silver Drops," but still the same loud drums!

8. Blitzen Trapper - "Furr"
Another surprise. Another more rootsy indie-rock album (see #2), but quirkier?

9. Parts & Labor - "Receivers"
Really cool indie-rock album.

10. MGMT - "Oracular Spectacular"
Apparently this was released online in 2007 so not sure if it qualifies. Electro and dancey but not too much? Got a few fun songs on it.

Runners up:
Just Added: French Kicks - "Swimming"
Kaiser Chiefs - "Off With Their Heads" (Brit-pop)
The Dodos - "Visiter" (Would have ranked higher but unique sound gets old after a while).
The Kooks - "Konk" (see #6. Liked their last album better)
Cut Copy - "In Ghost Colours" (Some good tunes. Would rank higher if I was more into dance music).
The Night Marchers - "See You In Magic" (Great rock album from former Rocket From The Crypt singer)
Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin - "Pershing"
The Broken West - "Now or Heaven"
Coldplay - "Viva La Vida"
TV on the Radio - "Dear Science"
She & Him - "Volume One"
Torche - "Meanderthal"
The Explorers Club - "Freedom Wind"
Ness - "You Can't Afford to Feel"