If you go to the main page of the music section on Metacritic and click on "sort by score" under Upcoming & Recent Releases it will reorder the albums by highest aggregate score. As of right now [Friday, May 16, 2008] there are 14 albums that have garnered an 80+ score and have been awarded a star.

Question:
Of these which, do you prefer?

Choices:
Bon Iver (88)
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (87)
Robyn (87)
Hurcules & Love Affair (86)
Portishead (85)
James McMurtry (83)
Meshuggah (83)
Frightened Rabbit (82)
Erykah Badu (82)
Elbow (82)
The Dodos (81)
Santogold (81)
Sun Kil Moon (81)
Atlas Sound (81)

 

none of these records makes my top 5 except maybe Atlas sound (no.5 or 6), so i'll go with that one.

I voted April but I could've went Hercules & Love Affair too.... they're both somewhere in my top 10.

is the dbt album too old? i'd have voted for that, but instead it was a toss-up between bon iver and sun kil moon. when i get done listening to april i'm kind of done with it, but after for emma, i always have to listen to re: stacks one more time, so bon iver wins.

I voted for Bon Iver...it's my top album so far this year...and because it was played on Grey's Anatomy last night.

Frightened Rabbit!!!!

It's the most dynamic indie rock record to come out this year. Bon Iver's good, but it doesn't rock.

Interestingly, they played Frightened Rabbit on Grey's Anatomy two weeks ago. I don't watch Grey's Anatomy but I occasionally catch the end when I'm tuning into Lost.

I picked Frightened Rabbit from that list, although I really like Santogold right now too.

I vote Nick Cave and Bon Iver, but...and this is why I've been bitching about MC not having their 2008 top thirty up yet...MC drops titles from their sort by score function pretty quickly...I know at least Vampire Weekend is missing amongst 2008 titles, and that would definitely be in my top three, if not number 1 spot for 2008 so far...

Of all the titles on the list that I've heard, Hercules and Atlas Sound would definitely be at the bottom of my list...not a big fan of Deerhunter, so not surprised that Atlas Sound feels a little better to me but still more of the aimless ambient same (in my opinion, almost no one out there does instrumental duller than that dress wearing kid), Hercules surprised me though, I though it would have more kitschy punch...been so many good to great dance records last few years, it really doesn't stand out against the pack like I thought it would.

robyn
self indulgement

I voted for Portishead but the poll says 0 votes.

something ain't workin'...

I voted Bon Iver. There is only half a dozen form the list that I enjoy.

quote:

Originally posted by cuneyt81:
I voted for Portishead but the poll says 0 votes.

something ain't workin'...

It's got 3 votes as of now. It's the bar above the name, not below.

quote:

Originally posted by cuneyt81:
I voted for Portishead but the poll says 0 votes.

something ain't workin'...

It got 3 votes. The label is under the bar. It's sort of counter-intuitive.

Had to go with Sun Kil Moon but Frightened Rabbit is a close second.

The whole "Sort By Score" does leave stuff off as Illiniq pointed out, though if you do an Advanced Search in the Music section and sort by score (highest-to-lowest) and Date after 12/31/2007 you'll get the full list. Vampire Weekend, Drive-By Truckers and a couple more were left off. Nothing that would top my list though.

I feel bad voting because ther are so many options. I've haven't listened to at least half of the options so for me it's not really much of a comparison. It is however plenty of motivation to check out the others. For now though I'll go with Bon Iver.

I'm the sole Meshuggah voter. I feel so unique. I kinda think i should've voted for Portishead, but i was in a Meshuggah mood at the time, so there you have it.

Of those, I have to go with The Dodos. None of my favorite albums of the year thus far are on there though.

Sun Kil Moon's really the only one listed I care for. Of course, I haven't heard most of them, but I'm pretty certain I wouldn't like most of them as they are simply of a style I don't care for.

I voted for The Dodos as well, to spite my burgeoning love for Bon Iver, and my latent groveling over Portishead. The Dodos will absolutely not get the credit they deserve, but their next album is going to be legendarily bad, so... no lack of history-in-the-making either way.

quote:

Originally posted by goathouse:
I voted for The Dodos as well, to spite my burgeoning love for Bon Iver, and my latent groveling over Portishead. The Dodos will absolutely not get the credit they deserve, but their next album is going to be legendarily bad, so... no lack of history-in-the-making either way.

I'm still working on the Dodos CD. Can't tell yet what I think. It'll be slow grower if it does ever catch on. I must have listened to this album 6 times or so already, and I still don't remember much from it.