My Top 20 Mudic Albums of 2008.

Yes. I know. I am sorry. IT is almost two months into the new year but I have put together some sort of list of my favorite albums of 2008. I am not too into lists of this type and find it sort of silly that we always seem to have to come up with lists like this to quantify different commercial arts.

I also must say that I am in no way saying that these are the best albums of the year but happen to be the twenty albums of last year that at the moment of time where I made this list happened to be the albums that I liked at the time that I have heard this year. It could change tomorrow. It might not.

My main goal of this post is that hopefully you might discover a band you have not heard of before and check them out. Maybe it or future albums by these artists will find your way into a top ten list in your near future.

I will post albums 20-11 today and then at a later time albums 10-1. But first three albums from last year I recently got that I have not had time to properly digest. Maybe with more time they could crack the top 20.

Fucked Up-The Chemistry of Common Life
Gaslight Anthem-The '59 Sound
Atmosphere-When Life Gives You Lemons, Paint That Shit Gold

20) Cut Copy -In Ghost Colors
Kind of like an 80's pop album with modern sensibilities. A pretty strong release but there are songs I do not care for.
Top Songs: Out There On The Ice, Hearts On Fire, So Haunted


19) These New Puritans-Beat Pyramid
These Brits? have the post punk vibe going on. Most of the songs are very angular and bouncy while the lead singer has a very skittish voice. There are also a lot of slower songs which add some time to breath. My only problem with the album is that it doesn't flow well since there are a couple tracks that seem to be filler and don't really add anything.
Top Songs: Numerology, C 16+-, Swords of Truth


18) Vampire Weekend -Self Titled
I'm sure everyone knows these guys. Four liberal arts majors who love wearing sweaters. They make some catchy tunes though. It has been described as Afro-Pop which I say is a fair description. I recommend it with a warning that it all starts to bleed together after a while.
Top Songs- Oxford Coma, Campus, Walcott, Cape Code Kwassa Kwassa


17) Anti-Flag - The Bright Lights of America
I as worried when this album came out since they said it was their experimental album. Luckily in the punk world that means maybe adding an instrument or two to a couple songs and maybe a child choir. Their lyrics are still a little slogany but at least they are singing about some important issues.
Top Songs- The Modern Rome is Burning, Spit in the Face, Good and Ready


16) The Mae Shi - Hillyh
They write punky songs that are catchy as hell that sound like they came from a Nintendo game. Just got into them not too long ago and if that wasn't the case this could be higher up on my list.
Top Songs- Young Marks, Run To Your Grave, Kingdom Come, The Melody


15) The Presets - Apocolypso
A fun little dance album that has some catchy beats. The singer took some warming up to but once I did I was quite surprised by how much I liked this album. Maybe a good way to describe the album is if the lead singer of Joy Division was still around and was in New Order.
Top Songs: This Boy's In Love, Together, Yipyo-Ye


14) Baskervilles - Twilight
I don't know where I found out about this band since I can't find any information about them. They remind me a little bit of Vampire Weekend but they have a female singer as well. I think their arrangements are more exciting than Vampire Weekend and a little bit more chilled out.
Top Songs: Sweet and Sour, Where Did My Summer Go, Caught in a Crosswalk


13) Love Is All - A Hundred Things Keep Me Up At Night
I really like this album a lot. Catchy as hell and the girls voice really sucks you in. There is a lot of energy on this album with some cool guitar riffs.
Top Songs: Movie Romance, Give It Back, Sea Sick


12) Ponytail - Ice Cream Spiritual
This is some crazy shit to say the least. God knows what the lead singer is singing about but she sounds like she is having a good time. There are some Prog Rock elements to be found i this album that could sway some people away. It might be a little too crazy for some but I really dig the organized chaos. There are not many songs on this album but what there is sure packs a punch.
Top Songs: Sky Drool, Beg Waves, Celebrate The Body Electric


11) Q-Tip - The Renaissance
A very fine rap album. I always liked Q-Tip back when he was in tribe do to his smooth flow. There is nothing too exciting on this album but it is a smooth enjoyable disc with more mellow than most rap found today.
Top Songs: We Fight/Love, Gettin Up, Move, You


10-1 to follow soon along with honorable mentions.