Top 50 albums of '08
i know you've all been waiting anxiously for my list. no need to fret, here it is:
1. Mutyumu - Ilya
Japanese awesomeness. elements of post rock, metal, opera and influences of classical.
2. Grouper - Dragging a Dead Dear Up a Hill
shoegaze with stunningly beautiful vocals thanks to Liz Harris.
3. Kalisia - Cybion
progressive death metal with a theme and some awesome electronic moments. Also features a really great female guest vocal
4. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
AMAZING folk. meaningful vocals in a beautiful falsetto
5. Cynic - Traced in Air
progressive metal with jazz influences
6. The Roots - Rising Down
hip-hop with a dark flare. The Roots release another timeless hip-hop album
7. Deerhunter - Microcastle
Indie Rock combining ambience with shoegaze and pop
8. The Flashbulb - Soundtrack to a Vacant Life
Electronic one man band. Benn Jordan is a genius
9. Arghoslent - Hornets of the Pogrom
Melodic Death Metal
10. Sigur Rós - með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust
post-rock with some elements of pop
11. Atmosphere - When Life Gives You Lemons, You....
simply put: great hip-hop
12. Shugo Tokumaru - Exit
Japanese pop
13. Underoath - Lost In The Sound Of Separation
metalcore with elements of pop thrown in there
14. Dead Congregation - Graves of the Archangels
Death Metal that's surprisingly melodic
15. Elzhi - The Preface
hip-hop. one of the best in the game
16. Amanda Palmer - Who Killed Amanda Palmer?
piano driven indie. a good branch from the Dresden Dolls
17. Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts I-IV
haunting instrumental
18. Darkestrah - The Great Silk Road
my favorite black metal record on '08
19. Prolyphic & Reanimator - The Ugly Truth
hip-hop. comparisons to Eminem are inevitable, but not fair. Prolyphic has better rhymes, better flow, and a better direction with his anger.
20. Amadou and Mariam - Welcome to Mali
pop music influenced my African music
21. United Nations - United Nations
melodic sreamo with members from GlassJAw, Thursday, Converge, and The Number 12 Looks Like You
22. Off Minor - Some Blood
passionate emo. or is that an oxymoron?
23. The Dodos - Visiter
alt rock / indie rock
24. Emiliana Torrini - Me and Armini
pop female singer/songwriter with elements of folk and acoustic
25. Esperanza Spalding - Esperanza
Jazz with pop influences and a beautiful voice
26. Coldplay - Viva La Vida
well this is a surprise, coldplay doesn't suck anymore!
27. Anberlin - New Surrender
alt rock with pop-punk influences. not as good as Cities, but still pretty damn good i must say
28. Black Milk - Tronic
one of the best hip hop producers makes one of the best hip hop albums of the year
29. Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid
British alternative rock
30. Pygmy Lush - Mount Hope
really, really beautiful folk with members from pg. 99
31. Extra Life - Secular Works
progressive avant-garde with pop influences
32. Mesa Verde - The Old Road
instrumental emo with post-rock elements
33. Bar Kokhba Sextet - Lucifer: Book of Angels Volume 10
Jewish Jazz? yup and it's awesome
34. Hikaru Utada - Heart Station
Japanese pop
35. The Fall of Troy - Phantom on the Horizon
epic post-hardcore
36. Rotten Sound - Cycles
metalcore with messhugah influences
37. Portishead - Third
really chill trip-hop
38. In Mourning - Shrouded Divine
a mix of progressive and melodic death metal
39. Protest the Hero - Fortress
technical metal with punk influences
40. Misery Signals - Controller
metalcore
41. Adebisi Shank - This Is The Album Of A Band Called Adebisi...
instrumental post-hardcore that is very "mathy"
42. Blue Sky Black Death - Late Night Cinema
instrumental hip-hop
43. Lacus Somniorum - Tideshaper
extremely dark ambient
44. Iskald - Revelations Of Reckoning Day
melodic black metal
45. Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight
indie rock
46. Skepticism - Alloy
funeral doom
47. Lydia - Illuminate
indie pop rock. very beautiful
48. Kerli - Love is Dead
pop from Estonia!
49. Meat Beat Manifesto - Autoimmune
trip-hop/electonica
50. Have a Nice Life - Deathconsciousness
"blends doom, shoegaze, industrial, dark ambient, and black
metal"
honorable mentions:
Equilibrium - Sagas
Demians - Building An Empire
Todesbonden - Sleep Now, Quiet Forest
The Sound of Animals Fighting - The Ocean and the Sun
The Gaslight Anthem - The '59 Sound