Top Ten Albums of 2008
1. The Killers: Day & Age
2. The Racontuers: Consolers of the Lonely
3. REM: Accelerate
4. The Mars Volta: The Bedlam in Goliath
5. Kristoffer Ragnstam: Wrong Side of the Room
6. John Mellencamp: Life, Death, Love & Freedom
7. Metallica: Death Magnetic
8. Absentstar: Sea Trials
9. Cat Power: Jukebox
10. The Dead Trees: King of Rosa
So once again, in conjunction with many of the best blogs on the Internet, I have ranked my top ten albums of 2008. At the top spot, is The Killers with their third album Day & Age--a fantastic group of songs that sound fresh and rank at the very top of their catalog. At the two and three spot, are two albums released just within days of each other. REM hit it big this year with their best album since Automatic for the People. After a long stretch of so-so releases, they were able to give a considerable amount of credibility to their artistic hype which may be a bit blown out of proportion.
The Mars Volta continued to do what they do best--they pushed boundaries, and made some tweaks to their sound and created an album that sounded like a brick wall hitting you over the head. At times there is so much going on it becomes a bit overwhelming, but this album pays massive dividends if given enough attention.
Metallica was also able to release their strongest effort since The Black Album. Metallica finally went back to their roots and recorded material similar to their heyday in the 80s. If they were to have cut out a few songs then this album could easily be considered in the top three. It's a bit too long for my taste, not to mention a few of the songs are completely worth passing over.
Finally, there were several lesser known bands to make the list who competed with the big wigs. Kristoffer Ragnstam released an album that sounded extremely fresh and would be comparable to Beck. Absenstar delivered a straight forward pop-rock album with no gimmicks, just catchy music. The Dead Trees came out with the strongest dose of Americana induced music which landed them the final spot on my top ten albums of 2008.
Was 2008 a spectacular year for music? Problably not. But it did have some fantastic moments.
2. The Racontuers: Consolers of the Lonely
3. REM: Accelerate
4. The Mars Volta: The Bedlam in Goliath
5. Kristoffer Ragnstam: Wrong Side of the Room
6. John Mellencamp: Life, Death, Love & Freedom
7. Metallica: Death Magnetic
8. Absentstar: Sea Trials
9. Cat Power: Jukebox
10. The Dead Trees: King of Rosa
So once again, in conjunction with many of the best blogs on the Internet, I have ranked my top ten albums of 2008. At the top spot, is The Killers with their third album Day & Age--a fantastic group of songs that sound fresh and rank at the very top of their catalog. At the two and three spot, are two albums released just within days of each other. REM hit it big this year with their best album since Automatic for the People. After a long stretch of so-so releases, they were able to give a considerable amount of credibility to their artistic hype which may be a bit blown out of proportion.
The Mars Volta continued to do what they do best--they pushed boundaries, and made some tweaks to their sound and created an album that sounded like a brick wall hitting you over the head. At times there is so much going on it becomes a bit overwhelming, but this album pays massive dividends if given enough attention.
Metallica was also able to release their strongest effort since The Black Album. Metallica finally went back to their roots and recorded material similar to their heyday in the 80s. If they were to have cut out a few songs then this album could easily be considered in the top three. It's a bit too long for my taste, not to mention a few of the songs are completely worth passing over.
Finally, there were several lesser known bands to make the list who competed with the big wigs. Kristoffer Ragnstam released an album that sounded extremely fresh and would be comparable to Beck. Absenstar delivered a straight forward pop-rock album with no gimmicks, just catchy music. The Dead Trees came out with the strongest dose of Americana induced music which landed them the final spot on my top ten albums of 2008.
Was 2008 a spectacular year for music? Problably not. But it did have some fantastic moments.
Heavy Metal Addiction -- http://hardrockheavymetal.wordpress.com/
Hard Rock Hideout -- http://hardrockhideout.wordpress.com/
Heavy Metal Time Machine -- http://metalmark.blogspot.com/
Bring Back Glam -- http://bringbackglam.squarespace.com/
Rock And Roll and Meandering Nonsense -- http://rnrnonsense.toomanyvoices.com/
All Metal Resource -- http://allmetalresource.com/
Imagine Echoes -- http://www.imagineechoes.com/
Metal Excess -- http://metalexcess.wordpress.com/
The Ripple Effect -- http://www.ripplemusic.blogspot.com/
Rock Of Ages -- http://rockofages.wordpress.com/
Layla's Classic Rock -- http://laylasclassicrock.blogspot.com/
Hair Metal Mansion -- http://hairbangersradio.ning.com/
The Metal Minute -- http://rayvanhornjr.blogspot.com/
posted by Jeff at 10:38 PM
6 Comments:
We have Metallica in common, I had them at #30. I meant to get that Mellencamp album but I never got around to it. I've always been a big fan of his and I missed the last time he came to Providence, RI.
Steve
Heavy Metal Addiction
http://hardrockheavymetal.wordpress.com/
Steve - I'm not a big Mellencamp fan but this album was much different than the rest of his material. It was a dark and rootsy brand of folk that worked really well.
When looking at most of the lists I noticed that mine was predominantly favoring mainstream music, but I guess that's just my taste.
The Killers? Seriously? Please tell me you're kidding.
I am glad to see someone else include the Mars Volta. Bedlam was just another insane outing for them.
I totally spaced on that Raconteurs album. It should have made my list and it just slipped my mind (not because it was forgettable).
I liked the Mellencamp album well enough too, but it didn't make my list.
It looks like there's a few things I need to check out here. I haven't bought an REM album since New Adventures in Hi-Fi, so maybe I should pick up the new one.
Bob - I figured I would get a lot of that for ranking The Killers at number one. It's a diverse album with great songs from top to bottom. I think any of my top three could have been interchanged, but I could see The Killers album getting the most play from me in the future.
When I first heard Bedlam, I couldn't get through it. There was just too much going on, but after a few more listens I really started to enjoy it. Just like everything they do, it was classic. In my opinion, they're probably the best band of this decade.
Not too many in common with our list on the Ripple Effect (any?) but that's what makes music so fun. I gotta check out the Mellencamp
WoW Great Posting
I like it
Thanks for information
Post a Comment
<< Home