1. The Gaslight Anthem - That 59 Sound

My hands down number one. This album has an early Springsteen/Jersey feel but a bit more pop. Every single song on this disk is great. Every one!

2. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend

I will get criticized for this but regardless of how people feel about the band and their fame, the album they put out was pure gold. Every song on this disk was original and catchy. Really good stuff even if they did sell out.

 

3. Blizen Trapper - Furr

I got this one late in the year but wow! Think Bob Dylan with an early Wilco kick. BT has amazing range to make all of their songs sound different very much like Santigold but less eclectic. The song Furr is way up there on the song of the year list.

 

4. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago

Anyone of the first 5 could have ended up #1 on this list they were all that good. If I was in a darker place in my life Bon Iver would have taken the top billing. Perfect dark winter music, when you are drunk all by yourself… what? Don't judge me!

 

5. Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight

Probably the most fun album in the top 10. Pure British pop, and I am not ashamed to say "I love it." I know they are Scottish but you know the sound. The only reason I slotted them at the 5 spot and not the 2 spot is there was nothing new or different about their sound, but it is beautifully crafted music and a beautifully crafted album.

 

6. Thao - We Brave Bee Stings And All

The hot Asian chick with a huge voice. This is another disk you won't find any bad songs on. If she puts out another great album like this she has the look and the pipes to be a household name.

 

7. Santogold - Santogold

This album has something for everyone! The only knock on this album would be that it is so eclectic. Every song sounds different, but that is why I love it. LES Artistes is the smash hit but the whole thing is good.

 

8. The Walkmen - You and Me

This is another one I might get blasted for as my PIIYF contemporaries didn't like it as much as I did. Of the top 10 this is the slowest behind Bon Iver but it is damn good music.

 

9. Rural Alberta Advantage - Hometowns

This is probably my biggest reach but I can't get enough of this album. RAA has a little Neutral Milk Hotel to their sound but where NMH focused on failed love songs RAA brings a refreshingly honest look to love and loss.

 

10. Rodriguez - Cold Fact

Ok I chose Cold Fact over the beautifully crafted Fleet Foxes album but this one just caught my ear a little more. The best way to describe it is it kind of has a 70s drug sound, but in a 2008 way. I know that makes no since gut give this disk a whirl and you will get it too.

 

The Next 10 (alphabetical order)

Austin Collins - Roses Are Black

Breath Owl Breath - Gost Glacier

Deer Tick - War Elephant

Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes

Greg Laswell - Three Fights From Alto Nido

Okkervil River - The Standins

Ra Ra Riot - The Rhumb Line

She Keeps Bees - Nests

Sheerwater - Rook

The Hold Steady - Stay Positive

 

Song of The Year

Bound Stems - "Happens to Us All Otherwise" from The Family Afloat

- I try to pick a song off of an album not in the top 20 to feature as the best song of the year. I do this to get people to realized there are damn good songs and damn good bands outside the top 20 you just have to look.