As I Heard It: The Top 10 Albums of 2008

I know that we set this up originally as a music blog, but Grant wrote that bullshit about cereal, so I figured this wouldn't be too far off topic.

The following is a list of the Top Ten albums of the year according to me. I haven't heard everything, so, inevitably, someone will argue I left something off the list. I'm only one man. What can I do?

So here goes:

10. Weezer-The Red Album: Let's just put everything on the table--this album only made the list because it was Weezer. Originally it wasn't even on my list, I bumped The Raconteurs' 2008 release (which sucked anyway) to make room for it, but I remembered it came out right before I started typing this up, so here we are. Having said that, there are a few good songs on this album, and it was much more fun to listen to than Maladroit or Make Believe. What's unfortunate, and seems to be Weezer's M.O. is that the bonus tracks and b-sides are better than most of songs they put on the album. "Prodigy Lover" was far and away the best track that came out of the Maladroit recording sessions, and most people have never heard it. "Miss Sweeney," "Pig," and "King" are better than at least three tracks on the actual album. Key Tracks: "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived (Variations on a Shaker Hymn)," "The Angel and the One." Skip: Almost everything else.

9. Death Cab for Cutie-Narrow Stairs: I feel Death Cab for Cutie has become fairly formulaic at this point. I don't mean in the way that most pop musicians are formulaic, I just mean that Death Cab has figured out what works for them and they do not deviate much from it. Make no mistake, this is no Transatlanticism or The Photo Album, but there are a few good tracks on this album that you'll want to listen to more than once. Key Tracks: "You Can Do Better Than Me," "Grapevine Fires," "Long Division." Skip: "I Will Possess Your Heart." The song is 8:26 of the same thing. I can listen to a song for almost nine minutes if you're doing something creative. This one just drags on and on.

8. Kings of Leon-Only by the Night: My review of this will pretty much be a carbon copy of Narrow Stairs. It's good...but it's not their best. I thought "Because of the Times" was the best album of 2007, so they've taken quite a tumble with 2008's offering. They are the New England Patriots of the music industry, only their lead singer didn't get hurt so they don't really have an excuse--just a sub-par album. Only four songs out of eleven are worth listening to, and they come right in a row. They should have just released an EP. Key Tracks: "Use Somebody," "Manhattan," "Revelry," "17." Skip: Everything Else.

7. Gnarls Barkley-The Odd Couple: This album grew on me the more I listened to it. It took me three or four tries to make it all the way through, but I'm ultimately glad I did. This album didn't have the same commercial success as "St. Elsewhere," but I think that has to do with the fact that this lead single ("Run") didn't get stuck in every person in the world's head like "Crazy" did. My dad liked "Crazy" and the last big pop sensation he was familiar with was the Disco Movement. That's impossible to follow up and I think Gnarls made a solid effort. Key Tracks: "Run," "Who's Gonna Save My Soul," "Going On." Skip: "No Time Soon," "Whatever," "Open Book."

6. Vampire Weekend-Vampire Weekend: Are you planning on tying your sweater around your neck, throwing on your Keds, and heading up to Cape Cod for a nice weekend getaway on your parents' yacht? Then, boy, do I have the album for you. No band has better exemplified the bourgening snoody, pop-rock genre than Vampire Weekend. The album is not as serious or ground-breaking as they consider themselves, but it's fun, beach party music. I mean, if you come from old money. Unfortunately for the boys, the album kind of falls off near the end. Key Tracks: "Mansard Roof," "Oxford Comma," Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa," "M79." Skip: "I Stand Corrected."

5. My Morning Jacket-Evil Urges: Finally, we reach a first on this list: a band that tried something different this time around. When Jim James' vocals kicked in for the first time, it really did surprise me. It sounded more like something I would expect to hear on a Prince album. That was all it took for me to be hooked on this album. On this album, the band tried to mesh more of southern soul and gospel they grew up on into their Country Rock sound. So this comes out sounding more like Otis Redding than the Allman Brothers. Or some weird mix of the two that I'm really in to. Key Tracks: "Evil Urges," "Sec Walkin," "Librarian," "Smokin from Shootin." Skip: "Highly Suspicious"--I don't think it's a terrible song, I just don't think it fits with the rest of the album. I applaud them for trying something on that one, though. It's definitely got a unique sound.

4. Flight of the Conchords-Flight of the Conchords: I, along with every other person in the United States who is into quirky, offbeat comedy, got swept away by the Flight of the Conchords movement circa Summer 2007. A friend sent me the video for "The Most Beautiful Girl in the Room" and I was hooked. I think the thing that distinguishes them from other musical comedy acts, other than their brains, is that they seem to actually have some musical talent and understanding. They aren't just loud mouths who picked up a guitar and learned a few chords one day. *cough Jack Black cough*. It doesn't really matter what Flight of the Conchords is singing about, it would still sound good to my ears. Add in the fact that the songs are genuinely funny, and you've got me on board. Key Tracks: "Ladies of the World," "Think About It," "Leggy Blonde," "Most Beautiful Girl in the Room." Skip: "Foux de Fafa," "Boom."

3. Girl Talk-Feed the Animals: Girl Talk's 2008 album isn't just for drunken hipster dancing anymore. (Although, it's still good for that too.) This album is just a ton of fun to listen to at any time, and unlike the other Girl Talk albums I've heard, it's cohesive. It really tells a story I think. It builds and swells in spots and cools off in others. And going out to Journey's faithfully with Andre 3000 talking over is a great way to end the album. Now, because the album does flow together so well, it's hard to pick out individual tracks that stand-out, so I'll give you a few mash-ups that really work: "No Diggity" by Blackstreet over Kanye's "Flashing Lights," "C.R.E.A.M." over some rock song I can't place, Busta Rhymes over The Police, and Emimem over Feist, just to name a few. Seriously, check this one out.

Before we go any further, I just want to say that numbers one and two were really close for me. I think they are both great albums from opening to close and I'm not going to tell you to skip any tracks on either of these, which is more than I can say for the number one album most years, much less number one AND two. My two favorite albums from last year, the aforementioned Because of the Times and Kanye West's Graduation, both had songs I could do without. That's not the case for these two. Picking just a few "Key Tracks" is going to be tough. Just know that any three or four could be interchanged with no real harm done. I'm just going to pick the few that strike me as I'm typing this.

2. The Black Keys-Attack & Release: This album was originally written to be recorded by Ike Tuner before his death. Unfortunate for Ike Turner, a bit of luck for The Black Keys. This is a brilliant album. It's got just the right amount of blues, rock, folk, and catchy hooks. I had some exposure to The Black Keys prior to this album, but now I've got back and devoured all their old stuff too. Just a great, great band. They do some interesting stuff on this album. For instance, the banjo-driven "Psychotic Girl" is one of the best songs on the album. Key Tracks: "I Got Mine," "Strange Times," "Oceans & Streams."

1. Dr. Dog-Fate: So many bands have been anointed as the next Beatles--Oasis and the Jonas Brothers to name a few ridiculous ones I've heard. Quick tangent: I don't know what it is about our society that we always have to replace our great artists. We're always looking for the next big thing and instantly comparing them to our old favorites. Kobe Bryant is the "next" Michael Jordan. Rob Reiner is the "next" Woody Allen. Nuttella is the "next" Peanut Butter. Why can't Nuttella just be itself, and not have to live up to the exceedingly high expectations established by peanut butter. Now, having said that, I've never heard a band that captures the Beatles' musical essence like Dr. Dog has on this album. They have everything: The catchy melodies, the borderline depressing lyrics, the dueling frontmen. Still, they are not the Beatles. They are Dr. Dog, and I think Dr. Dog is pretty fucking good. The only way we could get a modern Beatles is to take Dr. Dog's music and mix it with The Flaming Lips' live experience. And yet, the mere fact that I'm making this comparison says something great about Dr. Dog. The fact that they are half-Beatles is pretty damn good. That's half more than Oasis or the Jonas Brothers. Key Tracks: "Army of Ancients," "The Breeze," "Hang On," "The Rabbit, The Bat, and the Reindeer," "The Ark."