best of 2008
as many of you know, i tried to only buy vinyl this year. it was a pretty challenging task (insound.com was a godsend) and i broke down and downloaded or bought CDs many times throughout the year. however; i put forth a valiant effort and these are the records/CDs/downloads i claim are the best of 2008.
Top 20 Albums of 2008
20. MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
19. Bloc Party - Intimacy
18. Tokyo Police Club – Elephant Shell
17. Tapes n’ Tapes – Walk it Off
16. Q-Tip - Renaissance
15. Manchester Orchestra - I’m Like a Virgin Losing a Child
14. Okkervil River – The Stand Ins
13. Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer
12. N.E.R.D. – Seeing Sounds
11. Black Keys - Attack & Release
10. Fleet of Foxes – Fleet of Foxes
9. Kanye West – 808’s & Heartbreaks
8. Girl Talk – Feed the Animals
7. Ra Ra Riot – The Rhumb Line
6. Lil Wayne – The Carter III
5. The Hold Steady – Stay Positive
4. The Dodos – Visiter
3. Kings of Leon – Only by Night
2. Connor Oberst – Connor Oberst
1. The Walkmen- You & Me
Honorable Mentions:
- Beck - Modern Guilt
- Sun Kil Moon- April
- Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend
- Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs
- She & Him – Volume One
- Portishead - Third (oops, this album was terrible)
I thought about questioning your ranking of albums, but then I thought about the fact I rarely ever buy albums. Why would I need to? What I do purchase on a regular basis are concert tickets. So I am going to respond with the top 10 concerts I attended in 2008. As I came up with this list, I realized that this was a rare year of fantastic live music in my life. I am pretty sure that the top three shows of the year are my top three shows of all time. Although, I haven’t really reflected enough to validate this statement.
TOP 10 CONCERTS OF 2008
10. Block Party (House of Blues, Chicago) I hate to throw this is in your face Drew but you missed a great show
9. Wolf Parade (Slowdown) The lead singer was obviously sick and it was still fantastic
8. Hold Steady (Riviera, Chicago)
7. Jesse Lacey (Waiting Room) Perfect way to kick off Lolla week
6. Modest Mouse (Red Rocks)
5. Connor Oberst (Anchor Inn) Just when I swore to never go to the Anchor again, Connor decided to play. It was outdoors, great night, and Jenny Lewis opened. You really can’t ask for more.
4. Sigur Ros (Orpheum) This show was totally worth waiting outside in a tornado warning to see.
3. Radiohead (Grant Park)
2. Kanye (Grant Park)
1. The Good Life (Barley Street Tavern) The bar only hold 80, I bet there were only 65 people there. We had seats up front. Jake Bellows and Connor Oberst opened. The guys took shots with Tim Kasher. I can’t imagine a better concert.
Honorable Mentions
The National (Lolla) I love this band, but the outdoor acoustics aren’t the best way to showcase them.
Parting Shot (Waiting Room) The lead singer is hot and it’s a great venue.
Brand New and Manchester Orchestra (House of Blues) Manchester Orchestra was a fantastic surprise, but I was too exhausted from the day to enjoy Brand New as much as they deserved. The fact I got caught in the middle of a fight didn’t help either.
slh said this on December 9, 2008 at 3:32 pm
You forgot “Circus” by Britney Spears…it’s ok, I added it for you!
~TS
Anonymous said this on January 27, 2009 at 11:51 pm