Time well wasted
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| Sunday, January 4, 2009 |
| Top 12 Albums of 2008 |
Well folks, 2008 has come to and end. It was definitely a good year in many ways. Last year I did a "favorite moments of 2007" and will do the same this year, but I also decided to do a top albums of the year to get warmed up for reflecting on the best of the year. So without further ado - my favorite albums of 2008
1. William Fitzsimmons - The Sparrow and the Crow
William Fitzsimmons is one sad, sad man. This album, written about his recent divorce, is so amazingly sad that I got a little depressed because it was so good I couldn't take it out of my car cd player for a week.
Favorite Song: After Afterall
2. Ben Rector - Songs That Duke Wrote
Seriously? Yes seriously. This album is good - very good. I hadn't heard but one song when I went to see him play a few months ago (he's a local artist) but it was so good that I bought (yes bought) both of his albums this year.
Favorite Song: When She Comes Around
3. Anberlin - New Surrender
I still can't decide if I like New Surrender or last years Cities better, but both are fantastic albums by a band that has now retained the #6 slot in my car cd canger almost continuously since I bought the car a year and a half ago.
Favorite Song: Burn Out Brighter
4.Coldplay - Vida La Vida
Coldplay is one of those bands that I'm always slightly apprehensive about new albums. They're all so good that it seems hard to believe they can compete with previous works, but they never disappoint.
Favorite Song: Death and All His Friends
5. Leeland - Opposite Way
It was definitely the title track of this album that drew me in. I've listened to it I don't know how many times. It's not an album I generally listen to all the way through, but it has some fantastic songs. These guys have such a unique sound that I can't compare them to any group I know. Their lyrics are definitely worshipful, but they don't have the sound of any other worship group.
Favorite Song: Opposite Way
6. Run Kid Run - Love at the Core
I had never heard of this band before this year. Then they came on my last.fm station and I liked them immediately. I don't listen to a lot of punk/rock anymore (not nearly the amount I did in high school) but I still enjoy a good punk/rock group every once in a while. And these guys are very good. Someone likened them to a Christian Fall Out Boy, which seems fairly accurate. Like Relient K you really have to pay attention to the lyrics to catch the Christian undertones.
Favorite Song: My Sweet Escape
7. Snow Patrol - A Hundred Million Suns
I had this album for quite a while before I ever gave it a chance. Then on a trip with some friends I put it in and let it play all the way through. I don't know that it's better than their previous albums, but it's very good.
Favorite Song: If There's a Rocket Tie Me to It.
8. Augustana - Can't Love, Can't Hurt
I really don't know where these guys came from on this one. I have All The Stars And Boulevards, and there were really only two tracks I really liked. They definitely set the bar much higher for their albums. I can, and have, listened to the album through many many times.
Favorite Song: Sweet and Low
9. Ben Rector - Twenty Tomorrow
Seriously? This guy again? Yes. He released two albums this year - his only two. He's a wiz on the piano and writes a mean lyric. Great recipe for catchy music. I actually remade my top albums list after buying these two albums about a month ago.
Favorite Song: Disarm
10. Bon Iver - For Emma, For Ever
Probably the most unique sound of any album on this list. When I first heard it I didn't think I was going to like it. Then I was sitting in a bar one day and they played the first three tracks off the album and I realized how good it was. It's not the type of music I generally get into. But this guy is good.
Favorite Song: Skinny Love
11. Death Cab - Narrow Stairs
I've had two music-loving friends put this on their most disappointing albums of the year list and I just can't see how. It's classic Death Cab as far as I'm concerned. If you like Death Cab and don't like this album I think you should give it another try.
Favorite Song: Your New Twin Sized Bed
12. The Weepies - Hideaway
The Weepies are very hit and miss for me, they have some songs that are simply amazing, and others that are so so. But the amazing ones are enough to keep the album at the top of the list. The guy/girl singing duo is just a match made in heaven in my book.
Favorite Song: Can't Go Back Now
Albums I wish had made the list:
Copeland - You Are My Sunshine
Out of 4 Copeland albums I like 2, but I like those two so much that I keep hoping they'll come out with another good one. But I just can't get into their last two albums. Here's to hoping there's better to come.
Jack's Mannequin - The Glass Passenger
Andrew McMahon has been the lead singer of 3 of some of my favorite albums - Something Corporate's North and Leaving Through the Window, as well as Jack's Mannequin's Everything In Transit. But sadly this album just isn't very good. I'm hoping this is a fluke. |
posted by Brian @ 1:17 PM  |
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