# Top Ten Albums of 2008 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 1, 2008, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-albums-of-2008/475209 "2008-12-01T17:46:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SuntanTigerTamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@SuntanTigerTamer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanTigerTamer)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2008, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-albums-of-2008/475209/1 "2008-12-01T17:46:58Z")
Hey all. It’s pretty simple: post your top ten albums of this year. Also, post what you felt was the worst album, and the most overrated. 1. Department of Eagles - In Ear Park 2. Lil Wayne - Tha Carter III 3. The War on Drugs - Wagonwheel Blues 4. Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue 5. Of Montreal - Skeletal Lamping 6. She & Him - Volume One 7. Santogold and Diplo - Top Ranking 8. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend 9. The Walkmen - You and Me 10. Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer Worst Album Guns & Roses - Chinese Democracy Most Overrated Fleet Foxes - Ragged Wood Your turn, GO! ---
**Author:** ![Meltdown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Meltdown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meltdown)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2008, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-albums-of-2008/475209/2 "2008-12-01T19:43:54Z")
In chronological order, rather than in order of preference: 1. Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend 2. British Sea Power – Do You Like Rock Music? 3. Why? – Alopecia 4. Los Campesinos! – Hold On Now, Youngster 5. Sigur Ros – Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust 6. The Hold Steady – Stay Positive 7. The Baseball Project – Volume 1: Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails 8. Okkervil River – The Stand Ins 9. Amanda Palmer – Who Killed Amanda Palmer 10. TV on the Radio – Dear Science Worst Album (disclaimer: I don’t think I heard any truly bad albums, at least not all the way through, so this is probably more like “most disappointing”) Weezer – The Red Album Most Overrated Portishead – Third ---
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2008, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-albums-of-2008/475209/3 "2008-12-01T20:02:57Z")
In no particular order… 1. Lady Gaga - The Fame 2. Lil’ Wayne - The Carter III 3. Cool Kids - The Bake Sale 4. Hercules and Love Affair 5. Kidz in the Hall - The In Crowd 6. Giant Panda - Electric Laser 7. Moe Pope and Headnodic are Megaphone 8. Rihanna - Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded (technically a re-release, but it deserves to chart just for “Disturbia”) 9. N.E.R.D. - Seeing Sounds 10. Nas & DJ Green Lantern - The Nigger Tape \*Edit: replace one of the albums on the above list with _Then What Happened_ by J-Live. Worst Album - Like Meltdown, I don’t think I listened to the entirety of an album that I thought was truly bad. If I’m going to go for most disappointing, I’ll go with _Hard Candy_ by Madonna. Some catchy songs, but a lot of the lyrics are embarrassing, as is the whole hip-hop shtick she adopts. Most Overrated - I’ll agree with Fleet Foxes. Don’t really see the appeal. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2008, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-albums-of-2008/475209/4 "2008-12-01T20:15:19Z")
1. Cajun Dance Party - Colourful Life 2. Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles 3. Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours 4. Robert Forster - The Evangelist 5. James Hunter - The Hard Way 6. Seun Kuti & Fela’s Egypt 80 - Seun Kuti & Fela’s Egypt 80 7. The Indelicates - American Demo 8. M83 - Saturdays=Youth 9. The Magnetic Fields - Distortion 10. Times New Viking - Rip It Off Worst Album The Hold Steady - Stay Positive Most Overrated Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago or Santogold - Santogold ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2008, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-albums-of-2008/475209/5 "2008-12-01T20:28:45Z")
I could have actually done a top 15 this year and included the following: Deerhoof - Offend Maggie Foals - Antidotes The Long Blondes - Couples Los Campesinos - Hold On Now, Younster Why? - Alopeica …Don’t even get me started on re-issues. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanTigerTamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@SuntanTigerTamer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanTigerTamer)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2008, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-albums-of-2008/475209/6 "2008-12-01T21:08:31Z")
> [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > …Don’t even get me started on re-issues. First, I totally spaced Cut Copy’s album. Replace Vampire Weekend with In Ghost Colours on my list. Good call. And also David Bowie’s Live In Santa Monica '72 deserves to be up there. Make it number 11. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2008, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-albums-of-2008/475209/7 "2008-12-01T21:24:35Z")
Airbourne - Runnin’ Wild Heaven Shall Burn - Iconoclast (Part 1: The Final Resistance) Cataract - Cataract Testament - The Formation of Damnation Opeth - Watershed The Haunted - Versus Porcupine Tree - Nil Recurring Motörhead - Motörizer Gojira - The Way Of All Flesh I know that’s only a Nifty Nine, but my funds were more limited this year than last. Oh, and any “best of” list that includes any of the following may be ignored (and the lister should prolly be flogged): Metallica - Death Magnetic AC/DC - Black Ice Guns N Roses - Chinese Democracy Dragonforce - Ultra Beatdown ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2008, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-albums-of-2008/475209/8 "2008-12-01T22:09:31Z")
I must be old. I only recognize the albums that sucked. (Although apparently not too old to appreciate the suckiness of them). ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-albums-of-2008/475209/9 "2008-12-02T00:28:55Z")
I can’t really say that I bought ten great albums this year … I really liked Death Cab for Cutie’s “Narrow Stairs” but I liked them anyway so it was no big surprise. I liked the S/T Flight of the Conchords CD but I already knew all the songs from the show. The new Portishead wasn’t really that great. NIN’s “The Slip” didn’t grab me outside of one or two tracks. I did really like “Move Forward” by KLOQ. All in all, I’d say my favorite album this year by a mile was “Seventh Tree” by Goldfrapp. Though I have to asterisk it since, while it was released in February, I had a copy in November 2007. Still, nothing topped it for me. I love that album to little bitty pieces. ---
**Author:** ![Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunshine_and_Smiles)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-albums-of-2008/475209/10 "2008-12-02T00:30:02Z")
These are in no order, and would almost certainly be different if I answered in a half hour. The Black Keys - Attack and Release Flight of the Conchords - Flight of the Conchords My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges Ryan Adams and the Cardinals - Cardinology Conor Oberst - Conor Oberst Margot & the Nuclear So + So’s - Not Animal Eagles of Death Metal - Heart On Lil’ Wayne - Tha Carter III Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend N.E.R.D. - Seeing Sounds Most utterly disappointing: Islands - Arm’s Way Most overrated: Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-albums-of-2008/475209/11 "2008-12-02T00:37:00Z")
I didn’t buy much new music either, but I really liked Elbow’s The Seldom Seen Kid. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Credible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a8b319/32.png) [@Justin\_Credible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Credible)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-albums-of-2008/475209/12 "2008-12-02T00:44:34Z")
I think I bought 3 albums this year. 1. Rush - Snakes and Arrows Live 2. Snow Patrol - One Million Suns (I think that’s the title) 3. Kaiser Chiefs - Off With Their Heads I was a bit disappointed with the Kaiser Chiefs album; it was okay, but nowhere near as good as their first two. **SuntanTigerTamer** , is Jenny Lewis the chick from Rilo Kiley? The girl who was in The Wizard? I used to have a big crush on her when I was about 11, when that movie came out. I heard she was in a band now, but I’ve never heard them (or her). ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Not\_Appearing\_on\_This\_Site](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7cd45c/32.png) [@Sir\_Not\_Appearing\_on\_This\_Site](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Not_Appearing_on_This_Site)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-albums-of-2008/475209/13 "2008-12-02T00:48:54Z")
I will have to add one of my favorites for the year was Glistening Pleasure by Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head. 😃 Oh, and another vote for Vampire Weekend. ---
**Author:** ![ZebraShaSha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/eada6e/32.png) [@ZebraShaSha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZebraShaSha)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-albums-of-2008/475209/14 "2008-12-02T01:09:12Z")
> [@Justin\_Credible](#): > > **SuntanTigerTamer** , is Jenny Lewis the chick from Rilo Kiley? The girl who was in The Wizard? I used to have a big crush on her when I was about 11, when that movie came out. I heard she was in a band now, but I’ve never heard them (or her). Yep. Personally, I think her collaboration with the Watson Twins - called _Rabbit Fur Coat_ - is easily her best album, ever, with any line up. _Acid Tongue_ is way better than _Under the Blacklight_ and _The Initial Friends EP_ is almost as good as _Rabbit Fur Coat._ The last half of this year sucked for music. There’s simply not a lot happening and I’m not entirely sure why, no one can figure it out. Since most of the major indie releases have been mentioned, here are a few more that people should check out that should be in the discussion for “best of 2008”… The Evangelicals - The Evening Descends Beach House - Devotion Chad VanGaalen - Soft Airplanes David Karsten Daniels - Fear of Flying James Pants etc, etc, etc I’d have to add some more props to Crystal Castles. Even if they became indie darlings overnight, that’s still a fucking awesome record. Most Disappointing: My Morning Jacket, easily. Most Overrated: Los Campensios, Eagles of Death Metal, Cut Copy, Girl Talk (+1000), No Age, and a lot of others I don’t care to name right now. Wost: Too many to count. Oh, and, I do enjoy Fleet Foxes a bit, but you have to understand that it’s yet another Brian Wilson/Beach Boys inspired harmonies derivative applied to southern/indie pop sensibilities a la My Morning Jacket. Just, less epic is all. On preview: Yea, Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head is one novelty-named band that is actually quite good. That one song is more infectious than almost anything else I’ve heard this year. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanTigerTamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@SuntanTigerTamer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanTigerTamer)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-albums-of-2008/475209/15 "2008-12-02T01:12:30Z")
> [@Justin\_Credible](#): > > **SuntanTigerTamer** , is Jenny Lewis the chick from Rilo Kiley? The girl who was in The Wizard? I used to have a big crush on her when I was about 11, when that movie came out. I heard she was in a band now, but I’ve never heard them (or her). Yes, it is the girl from Rilo Kiley, a band I dislike a great deal. Her solo album is incredible though and a revelry in diverse musical styles. Definitely worth a listen. > [@Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](#): > > Most utterly disappointing: > Islands - Arm’s Way I think I’m too big of a Unicorns fan to dislike anything Nick Thornburn touches. Did you listen to his album with Jim Guthrie under the name Human Highway? What were your thoughts on that? ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-albums-of-2008/475209/16 "2008-12-02T01:18:45Z")
> [@ZebraShaSha](#): > > Oh, and, I do enjoy Fleet Foxes a bit, but you have to understand that it’s yet another Brian Wilson/Beach Boys inspired harmonies derivative applied to southern/indie pop sensibilities a la My Morning Jacket. Just, less epic is all. I actually enjoyed them a bit, too (though obviously not enough to make my top 10). ---
**Author:** ![ZebraShaSha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/eada6e/32.png) [@ZebraShaSha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZebraShaSha)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-albums-of-2008/475209/17 "2008-12-02T01:32:53Z")
> [@SuntanTigerTamer](#): > > I think I’m too big of a Unicorns fan to dislike anything Nick Thornburn touches. Did you listen to his album with Jim Guthrie under the name Human Highway? What were your thoughts on that? What made the first Islands album and the only Unicorn album so great was that borderline psychotic energy that permeated every track. Every moment, even the slow times, seemed spontaneous, or at least were largely unexpected. With _Arm’s Way_, it seems they knew this, that an album that’s a cornucopia of musical styles was expected, and so they stressed over it and produced the hell out of every last moment. Considering every single member (IIRC) went to music school of some sort, this is not a completely unexpected result, but it was definitely disappointing as an album. It was flat, dull, overworked, not at all catchy, and worst of all, it didn’t seem like fun at all. Definite disappointment, especially considering it’s some of the best album art of the year. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanTigerTamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@SuntanTigerTamer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanTigerTamer)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-albums-of-2008/475209/18 "2008-12-02T01:38:55Z")
> [@ZebraShaSha](#): > > What made the first Islands album and the only Unicorn album so great was that borderline psychotic energy that permeated every track. Every moment, even the slow times, seemed spontaneous, or at least were largely unexpected. > > With _Arm’s Way_, it seems they knew this, that an album that’s a cornucopia of musical styles was expected, and so they stressed over it and produced the hell out of every last moment. Considering every single member (IIRC) went to music school of some sort, this is not a completely unexpected result, but it was definitely disappointing as an album. It was flat, dull, overworked, not at all catchy, and worst of all, it didn’t seem like fun at all. Definite disappointment, especially considering it’s some of the best album art of the year. I agree with all of the above, but somehow had the opposite reaction to the album. I thought it was the perfect step forward for them; over-produced, maybe. Or maybe they finally attained the level of production that the complexity of thier music deserves. And, IMHO, “Kids Dont Know Shit” could have fit right in on Who Will Cut Our Hair When We Are Gone. ---
**Author:** ![Palooka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/palooka/32/2902_2.png) [@Palooka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palooka)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-albums-of-2008/475209/19 "2008-12-02T01:44:00Z")
Crystal Castles deserve much love. Pendulum’s _In Silico_ was pretty terrible. ---
**Author:** ![Freejooky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ba8739/32.png) [@Freejooky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freejooky)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-albums-of-2008/475209/20 "2008-12-02T01:44:04Z")
1. Lil Wayne - _The Carter 3_ 2. Magnetic Fields - _Distortion_ 3. Mount Eerie - _Dawn_ and _Lost Wisdom_ 4. [Starflyer 59 - _Dial M_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_GFfUBBQVw) 5. the Mountain Goats - _Heretic Pride_ 6. Cut Copy - _In ghost colours_ 7. Portishead - _Third_ 8. Boris - _Smile_ 9. Max Tundra - _Parallax Error Beheads You_ 10. [the Foxglove Hunt - _Stop Heartbeat_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eSJYv3WXtQ) (links to things that I think nobody else probably heard) Individual Songs of the Year: [Minisnap - “new broom”](http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=21915641), [, M83 - “Kim and Jessie”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9yvItZAjfY) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-albums-of-2008/475209.md?page=2)