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20. Hot Chip - Made In The Dark [Astralwerks]Dark is clever, sexy dance music that rewards repeated listening—the more you hear it, the more you can’t live without it. The record gets bonus points for “Ready For The Floor,” one of the best songs of the year in any genre.
19. Gentleman Jesse and His Men - Introducing Gentleman Jesse and His Men [Douchemaster]
This Atlanta power popper’s long-in-the-works debut LP echoes many heroes past and present, from Nick Lowe and Elvis Costello to the Exploding Hearts. But what the record lacks in originality it more than makes up for with hooks and hooks and hooks and even more unforgettable hooks.
18. Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs [Atlantic]
Death Cab’s second major-label release is a sonic feast. The drama-building atmospherics of sprawling first single “I Will Possess Your Heart” display a Radiohead-like shrewdness—an appreciation for the perfect mix of instrumental textures, anchored by metronomic drumming. You can tell that Ben Gibbard and company have plenty of steam left in their creative engines.
17. Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy - Lie Down In The Light [Drag City]
Only after “seeing a darkness” and “learning to let go” could Will Oldham find himself in the light like this, coolly cooing about worldly balances and rightfully declaring himself “the king of infinite space.”
16. My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges [ATO]
The latest from one of the most inventive bands of the decade, Evil Urges finds MMJ hitting all the reverb-drenched, keyboard- and guitar-rock pleasure points while hurling one nasty, space-funky curveball that’ll leave you scratching your head in perplexed ecstasy.
15. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!! [Mute]
The Dark Prince of Rock ’n’ roll drops his most ass-shakin’ graveyard romp yet, throbbing with enough moonlit swagger to roll the Stones right outta their high-holy thrones.
14. Langhorne Slim - Langhorne Slim [Kemado]
His most ambitious, fully realized album to date, Langhorne Slim comes across like a gritty update of Blonde on Blonde, with Slim yelping unadorned poetry about the everyday struggles of life and love.
13. Ida Maria - Fortress Round My Heart [Waterfall/RCA Label Group]
At once deeply confessional and dangerously carefree, Norway’s latest export sings every song like she’s on the verge of breaking into a million pieces. The music holds her together.
12. Of Montreal - Skeletal Lamping [Polyvinyl]
The giddy experimentalism and collagist aesthetic of Kevin Barnes’ avant-pop outfit changes direction so frequently, you’ll marvel at the number of compelling ideas he manages to cram into an album that clocks in at just under an hour. Exhausting! Exhilarating!
11. The Hold Steady - Stay Positive [Vagrant]
Separation Sunday earned The Hold Steady a monopoly on best-bar-band-in-the-country honors. Now, after Boys and Girls in America and the powerfully anthemic Stay Positive, they’ve become one of the best bands in America. Period.
The Master's Sputum: Unfinished Nabokov Novel Now…
Catching Up With... David Rawlings
Ears We Trust: Robert Earl Keen
Salute Your Shorts: The Golden Age of…
The 17 Best Romantic Comedies This Decade
The 20 Best Gadgets of the Decade…
The 50 Best Movies of the Decade…
The 25 Best Movie Performances of the…
Heather Greene - Moon Hangs Fire
Blind Pilot - The Story I Heard
James Yuill - This Sweet Love (Earth…
B.O.B. - Put Me On
Punch Brothers - Punch Brothers at CMJ
Elvis Perkins in Dearland - Stay Zombie…
David Bazan - Hard To Be
Really? She and Him? Hmm... ... ... ...
It's like you just put some records in a hat and drew #s, lotto style.
Hell yes for colour revolt
no calexico, really?
Girl Talk 7th? You are an idiot.
No Drive By Truckers??!?!? Gotta be kidding me...
You put TVOTR at 50. Seriously? Although I agree She & Him deserve to be on the list, this debut album doesn't merit first place. Did you even listen to Dear Science? That's your #1.
Where's Brian Eno & David Byrne? Cold War Kids? Calexico? Beck? Aimee Mann? The Roots? I can't determine whose head is further up their own ass...Paste or Pitchfork?
yes, let's waste time getting angry about a year-end list, because THAT never happens. cool your jets. make your own list and paste it in your cubicle to keep your blood pressure down if you have to.
Kind of a wacky top 25. She & Him is confusing as #1, especially since you have the Raveonettes on there at #21. Plus Jackson doesn't make much of a case for why this record is so great. I'm going to need a bit more convincing before I even consider it in my top 20 of the year. Omissions of In Rainbows, Dr. Dog's Fate, and Cut Copy's In Ghost Colours are also very surprising.
No Kings of Leon or Does It Offend You, Yeah?...
Paste needs to listen to more music...
Ya know, all in all I could see most of it. But it's completely shocking to me that there's no Cold War Kids, and I find it equally surprising that Death Cab got so high, when Narrow Stairs was shot down by most other critics. Honestly, I love death cab, but it NS fell a little flat for me as well, outside of Grapevine Fires.
blitzen trapper.
No "Modern Guilt" by Beck!?
Was this just a ploy to get Zooey Deschanel on the cover? I do like a good amount of the albums on your list, but the order is way off, and you probably should have waited until the actual end of the year. So many great artists are releasing in November alone!
The fact that so few people have commented on such a substantially sub-par listing shows your magazine still has some work to do.
JBG, mags get albums up to five months in advance.
What, no "Real Animal" by Alejandro Escavedo. Are you nuts? I also agree that beck should be on here.
Yes, Calexico should definitely have been on there.
O.K., after leaving a couple of comments about who should have been on i looked at the list again. This is the worst list Paste has ever come up with and been subscribing since issue one. Were you just trying to be quirky or trying to hard to be cutting edge? You don't need to listen to more music, you need to listen to less music and concentrate on the best.
Okay, I'm no rocket scientologist (and maybe they weren't obscure enough to make the list)... but The Raconteurs: Consolers of the Lonely was by far and away the best album of the past 10 years. I realize that's a lot of personal bias... but it's definitely worth the top 50 of 2008.
Nthing the non-appearance of Escovedo. I'm not going to get worked up about this, but it would have been nice to see former _Paste_ cover girl Janelle Monae make the list. I'd also hoped (vainly) that _Paste_ would throw some year-end love to Sparks, whose 2008 release _Exotic Creatures of the Deep_ is the best album by a band who's old enough to be the grandparents of the average _Paste_ reader -- experimental pop with funny and strangely poignant lyrics.
But, hey, you managed to leave Conor Orifice off the list -- that's a nice show of restraint, there.
I feel like a more constructive thing to do would be to list your top 5 or top ten or top 50. If you're saying your music taste is better than show it and it will help share music with others. Here's my top 5 right now:
1. Thee Silver Mt. Zion Band - 13 Blues for 13 Moons
2. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
3. Horsefeathers - House With No Home
4. TV on the Radio - Dear Science
5. Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Flight
Yes this is probably the worst top 50 list. I agree the list has a lot of really good records but she and him as #1 that is by far the worst choice it sounds like a corny movie soundtrack and m. ward kinda sells himself short even working with her imo. and who voted cause they need to rethink this and or hire new critics paste really needs to think things through before doing another top 50 Sun Kil Moon by far one of the best records of 08 even though they are previously recorded songs. Calexico should have been somewhere up top shame on yous
How about the masterpiece we've always thought Paul McCartney had in him, the wildly innovative Electric Arguments?
I'd love to see these guys somewhere on the list:
Blitzen Trapper: Furr
Beck: Modern Guilt *TOP 10*
Horse Feathers: House with no Home *TOP 10*
Beach House: Devotion
The Black Keys: Attack & Release
Gnarls Barkley: The Odd Couple *TOP 10*
Kings of Leon: Only by the Night
The Raconteurs: Consolers of the Lonely
Ratatat: LP3 (probably #50)
I don't understand why people get so angry when they don't agree with the list. Music taste = opinion. And even though I disagree with their list, there were probably 10-20 albums with which I wasn't familiar, so it's a great source of new music.
seriously, this list is sort of a joke without DBT's Brighter Than Creations Dark in your Top 50. Your mag gave it 4 stars back when you were ballsy enough to actually rate albums.
The only album recorded and mastered for vinyl and yet you choose to place 45 other albums on your list that sound like high school freshman recorded the tracks using Pro Tools. Paste is a music magazine...it's supposed to be snobby. Suggest upping your quality control next year.
07 list was solid, 08 is comical at best.
is there going to be an actual paper magazine with this stuff coming out? cuz if so ill just look at it then but if not, ill do it now.
As previously mentioned, Calexico and Alejandro were no brainers. Jenny Lewis, Martha Wainwright, the Breeders should all be on the list . And no way should MMJ be lower than top 5.
Dude this list sucks because it's different than the exact list I would have made if I were in charge of everything. New 2008 end-of-year list: the 50 most pathetic internet whiners.
"Notice how tightjeans69 infuses his vitriol with an almost palpable sense of paternal longing. What's left out of his scathing rant is actually what says the most: the hyperbole of his reaction only hides the fact that he secretly wants a website and a list to call his own. The tellingly sloppy format of this harangue gives the reader a thrilling sense of urgency, and his demand for the inclusion of albums that are already on the list or that came out last year leaves a bittersweet aftertaste of irony. The deep emotional resonance of this flame is what makes it our #1 comment of the year."
I just wonder how the list is created, cause piling through your number ratings they don't match up. Albums you gave 70s make your list, but albums you gave 89s-95 (or four and five stars) don't make the list? How does that work???
I wanna see what the top 50 rated albums as you published them in the magazine are just for comparison.
I write for a music website and there is ALWAYS bitching about my year end lists.
I gotta say I disagree with My Morning Jacket, She & Him, and Lil Wayne on the list. These were 3 of the most overrated, hard to sit through albums of the year.
Albums I highly recommend that didn't make it include: Sparks, Frightened Rabbit, Beach House, Subtle, Jay Reatard, Portishead, Calexico, Department of Eagles, Man Man...shit, I can be here for days.
Hey, I wanna bone Zooey, too, preferably while listening to Vampire Weekend, but c'mon ...
I disagree, but thats me ...
My favs for 2008 is;
1.R.E.M - accelerate
2.Why - alopecia
3.Wolf Parade - at mount zoomer
4.Black Mountain - in the future
5.The Raconteurs - consolors of the lonely
6.The Duke Spirit - neptune
7.Nick Cave - dig lazaruz dig
No 'Ice Cream Spiritual' by Ponytail??? shameful!
That is a terrible list. I cannot believe a staff of people would choose that number one. this is as ridiculous as your new crappy format. I used to love Paste Magazine, but the past year has been total crap. i'm done with paste.
I agree with Alliso. It would be nice to see a list based on the numbering system that paste uses for comparsion.
Thanks Paste for a great year of music review and discovery. While She & Him are good, I couldn't see bringing them into my Top 15. How Conor Oberst's amazing album is not in your Top 10 (much less your Top 50) is beyond me.
After much deliberation, and many reviews of my library and ratings, here are my Top 5 for 2008:
1. My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges
2. Fleet Foxes - S/T
3. Conor Oberst - S/T
4. Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer
5. Vampire Weekend - S/T
I'm looking forward to checking out the rest of everyone's (including Paste's) lists. Have a great holiday season everyone!
SHE AND HIM DOES NOT DESERVE TO BE NUBMER 1.
I'd be surprised if they'd make the top ten honestly.
I think conor oberst needs to be top ten all the way.
No Black Mountain, and Coner Oberst. And one more thing WHERE THE HELL IS STEPHEN MALKMUS AND THE JICKS, are you crazy.
I'm shocked that Gringo Star didn't make your top 50. When it was streaming at your site, I couldn't get enough of it. Should have been top 10. What gives?
Ok maybe Lucinda finally recorded something decent again, but Heather Waters Propellor was ten times better... she's got pipes like Patsy Cline.
My bad, it's CONOR Oberst. Ra Ra Riot should also be on the list along with Beck. Welcome to a New America everyone, Peace Out!
ok. seriously. people need to stop freaking out. Paste is a magazine about music and they can select whomever the hell they want for their top 50 list... when you get your own music magazine, then YOU can create your own list of top 50. I think people need to learn the difference between facts and opinions. and anyway i like She & Him and not because i want to bone Zooey.
the kills, the kills, the kills.
i also enjoyed the duke spirit and portishead. thought they'd get a mention.
Coldplay - Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends?? Anyone? At least Sigur Ros is way up there.
This list is suspect, and I am being kind. I don't think I can trust Paste any longer. Apparently "signs of life" means "we like MOR crap, and legitimately terrible albums like Skeletal Lamping." Good luck with all that.
Decent list, but some great records are missing in my opinion, Here's my 2 cents.
1. The Uglysuit-"The Uglysuit"- My favorite album of the year. Fantastic!
Dr.Dog-Fate- I love this one.
Blitzen Trapper-Furr- Great
T.V.On the radio should be higher than 50
Ra Ra Riot should have been in there somewhere
The Sea and Cake-"Car Alarms" is also wonderful.
There's no use in getting pissy about a top 50 list people.
To quote the great Duder or El Duderino,"It's just like, their opinion man."
lol I am confused by this years batch of best of. I generally agree closely if not exactly with Paste's top ten or five. But She and Him? As far as freshman folk efforts go, fleet foxes and bon iver put out better more cohesive efforts. As far as i'm concerned any record that is comprised of more than one cover doesn't deserve to better than other "original" records. She and Him is brilliant, but not flawless. And Conor Oberst and Beck missing from this list seems like a mistake. Also, my personal pick for best album of the year, Atmosphere's When Life Gives You Lemons You Paint That Shit Gold, isn't even on the list. Tisk, tisk. Still, I agree with a great deal of the list, and think this best of will still be more accurate than EW's or Rollingstone's year end round up
On my list that didn't make the cut:
Anathallo - Canopy Glow The Avett Brothers - The Gleam II Beck - Modern Guilt Ben Folds - Way to Normal The Black Keys - Attack and Release Coldplay - Viva La Vida/Prospekt's March Conor Oberst - Conor Oberst Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. - Searching for the Hows and Whys Kings of Leon - Only by the Night Noah and the Whale - Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down Peter, Bjorn, and John - Seaside Rock Ryan Adams & the Cardinals - Cardinology Slow Club - Slow ClubFor me, the biggest shaft goes to Noah and the Whale.
Where's 'Real Emotional Trash' by Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks!? ?
Ok, very funny paste, lol! We get it... good one! ...alright now show us the real list.
Seriously.
Well, everyone's got an opinion and all, but I am disappointed The Gaslight Anthem's The '59 Sound has been overlooked. That's my #2 release of 2008 (after Stay Positive).
Paste, I'm beginning to lose faith in you. Please, get it together. Here's some incredible albums that you missed out on:
Beck: Modern Guilt
Bloc Party: Intimacy
Crystal Castles: Crystal Castles
Flying Lotus: Los Angeles
Gnarls Barkley: The Odd Couple
Hercules and Love Affair: Hercules and Love Affair
Los Campesinos!: Hold on Now, Youngster...
Man Man: Rabbit Habits
Ratatat: LP3
Hercules and Love Affair stands out in particular. They deserve more recognition.
It's a shame that Sorta (Sorta) and Blue Mountain (Midnight in Mississippi) are not on this list. I manage two of the best bands out there and both released records this year recorded by Grammy Award winning producer Stuart Sykes (White Stripes, Cat Power, Lorreta Lynn).
It is almost as if Paste picks their Best of with the sole intent of trying to be indie cool vs any true music opinion. Shame really- it would be a nice magazine, if they would stop trying so hard to be "cool."
I love you, Paste. And I realize there is no definitive, scientific way to come up with a best of the best. There's no fault there.
But I literally did a few double-takes. She & Him in the top spot is simply inexplicable.
And I agree with what someone down there said. Why?'s Alopecia should have been included.
Perhaps Rabbit Habits as well, somewhere in the bottom 20.
Worst Best Of List Ever...
Anathallo's Canopy Glow is a masterpiece. You guys missed the mark big time.
It's pretty obvious that Paste gets off on giving the number one spot to a band non-deserving. Last year The National, this year She and Him. Great efforts by both bands, but overrated and non-deserving.
1.) TODD RUNDGREN - ARENA – 'Arena' proves Todd still has a lot of songwriting muscle and performance minded guitar chops. ....
(2.) JEFF BECK - LIVE AT RONNIE SCOTT'S JAZZ CLUB - As impressive as any Jeff Beck fan would expect. …. (3.) STEVE WINWOOD - NINE LIVES - This is pop music with soul. Deeper and braver lyrically than anything he's ever done. .... (4.) WALTER BECKER - CIRCUS MONEY – Becker lives up to his high self imposed standards with this very fine album. …. (5.) GUNS N' ROSES - CHINESE DEMOCRACY - A great, audacious, unhinged and uncompromising hard – rock record. ....
(6.) NADA SURF – LUCKY – ‘Lucky’ radiates with the oomph of a solid power pop release. ….
(7.) NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS - DIG!!! LAZARUS DIG!!! – Cave’s sharpest, wittiest, most resolute album in quite some time. .... (8.) DIDO - SAFE TRIP HOME - Comforting, reassuring music that's quietly powerful. …. (9.) PORTISHEAD - THIRD – ‘Third’ is so consistently strong from start to finish that it vaults right into classic status. …. (10.) BUDDY GUY - SKIN DEEP - ‘Skin Deep’ works as an effective showcase for Buddy's wild, gnarly guitar. ....
* (BONUS) DAVID BOWIE - LIVE IN SANTA MONICA 72 - This is David Bowie at the pinnacle of his creative power. ....
** BONUS (BEST CHRISTMAS CD 08) KARL MORASKI - WHAT IS CHRISTMAS? – This exceptional Christmas cd can be purchased at
http://www.karlssongs.net
1.) TODD RUNDGREN - ARENA – 'Arena' proves Todd still has a lot of songwriting muscle and performance minded guitar chops. ....
(2.) JEFF BECK - LIVE AT RONNIE SCOTT'S JAZZ CLUB - As impressive as any Jeff Beck fan would expect. …. (3.) STEVE WINWOOD - NINE LIVES - This is pop music with soul. Deeper and braver lyrically than anything he's ever done. .... (4.) WALTER BECKER - CIRCUS MONEY – Becker lives up to his high self imposed standards with this very fine album. …. (5.) GUNS N' ROSES - CHINESE DEMOCRACY - A great, audacious, unhinged and uncompromising hard – rock record. ....
(6.) NADA SURF – LUCKY – ‘Lucky’ radiates with the oomph of a solid power pop release. ….
(7.) NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS - DIG!!! LAZARUS DIG!!! – Cave’s sharpest, wittiest, most resolute album in quite some time. .... (8.) DIDO - SAFE TRIP HOME - Comforting, reassuring music that's quietly powerful. …. (9.) PORTISHEAD - THIRD – ‘Third’ is so consistently strong from start to finish that it vaults right into classic status. …. (10.) BUDDY GUY - SKIN DEEP - ‘Skin Deep’ works as an effective showcase for Buddy's wild, gnarly guitar. ....
* (BONUS) DAVID BOWIE - LIVE IN SANTA MONICA 72 - This is David Bowie at the pinnacle of his creative power. ....
** BONUS (BEST CHRISTMAS CD 08) KARL MORASKI - WHAT IS CHRISTMAS? – This exceptional Christmas cd can be purchased at
http://www.karlssongs.net
Let's face it, a best of list is pretty subjective, but every person who I know with a respectable music taste puts Kings of Leon in their top 10. Anyone who doesn't, doesn't have much music taste in my book. That album is amazing.
As for the rest...at least it's better than Rolling Stones. Although they had KOL at 20, they had Lil Wayne at 3, which is simply ridiculous. Also, Santogold should be much higher, that album was not only different, but different in a way that was catchy as hell, and didn't make me want to kill myself as a lot of these other albums do.
What is it with "Best of" lists giving the highest ratings to bands just because they sound different and weird? If it's so weird you don't want to ever listen to it, what's the point? That's pretty much how I feel about a lot of the top spots.
I also agree that the Raconteurs was one of the top 10 of the year. Can we get over this depressing indie phase and get back to what really rocks us?
blah blah blah
Paste is either trying too hard to be hip, or they threw a bunch of random no-name indie bands in a hat and just picked names out.
Great list. Here's mine.
TV On The Radio's Dear Science should be No.1!
It seems a few get upset with fans expressing there feelings about music. Remember everyone and never forget, without the fans alot of this dosent exsist. Paste, Rolling Stone, Spin etc. Dosent exsist. We buy the albums, the tickets to the shows, and the magazines. The fans opinon my not be the only one, but it is the most important one.
Four Words DAMIEN JURADO
Damn Fine.
I like the She & Him album but I think it's definitely a bit overrated here. I actually prefer M. Ward's solo albums anyway.
I think albums the newest albums by Oasis & Beck have been overlooked because it's now cool to look for the latest flash in the pan indie stuff instead of the actual best albums of the year.
I must say, I was a bit bummed that the Verve's Forth was excluded from this list. it got rave reviews from virtually every music magazine and yet hasn't shown up on any of the year's best.
thanks for including Lust Lust Lust by the Raveonettes. that was definitely my personal favorite album of the year.
Anything with M.Ward is deserving of first place ;) Nice choice.
A couple of days ago I listend to TV On The Radio's Dear Science, for the first time.It's Amazing! The fact that they are at number 50 makes this list a tragady.
Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks put out an instant classic with "Real Emotional Trash". No credit there makes this list instantly questionable.
Thats just one man's opinion.
This is the dumbest, most MOR list I've read anywhere on the internet, and that's saying a lot. This publication - whatever it is - is the most irrelevant and boring piece of crap I've ever read.
I'm glad some of my personal favs from the year did make the list...
bon iver, kathleen edwards (was obsessed with that one for a while), mates of state, my morning jacket, vampire weekend... and pleasantly surprised with REM... not to shabby.
all of those were playing constantly at my house.
a few others that i enjoyed this year:
band of horses (is this technically 07??)
rogue wave
and can we get some love for ben folds and weezer? maybe not cool enough for paste, but that red album had so many wonderfully redeeming qualities...
and huge aww yeah to LockWesMonster for bringing up Anathallo!!
those guys are so great i would really just prefer to keep them to myself...
Lil Wayne? Really? Wow, Paste has lost all of its fleeting credibility with this choice.
I see a lot of complaints, but one thing I love about this list is the mention of Colour Revolt.
Much love for my hometown heroes. :)
Why is everyone insulting She & Him? Okay, maybe not the BEST album of 2008, but it is still insanely awesome. M.Ward has a voice that literally melts things in its path and zooey is just beautiful. So I agree its not the best but hold back on the insults.