Update:

Lots of new stuff (marked with *) in this list:

1. The Hold Steady – Stay Positive (4.364)*
2. Frightened Rabbit – The Midnight Organ Fight (4.364)
3. R.E.M. – Accelerate (4.182)
4. My Morning Jacket – Evil Urges (4.154)
5. Shearwater – Rook (4.111)
6. Nick Lowe – Jesus of Cool (4.050)
7. Drive-By Truckers – Brighter than Creation’s Dark (4.000)
8. Destroyer – Trouble in Dreams (4.000)
9. The Raconteurs – Consolers for the Lonely (4.000)
10. Nada Surf – Lucky (4.000)
11. Vampire Weekend – s/t (4.000)
12. Los Campesinos! – Hold on Now Youngster (4.000)
13. The Dodos – Visiter (3.939)
14. The Bellrays – Hard Sweet & Sticky (3.909)
15. Beck – Modern Guilt (3.900)*
16. The Helio Sequence – Keep Your Eyes Ahead (3.900)
17. Wolf Parade – At Mount Zoomer (3.889)
18. British Sea Power – Do You Like Rock Music (3.833)
19. The Last Shadow Puppets – The Age of the Understatement (3.833)
20. Thao Nguyen – We Brave Bee Stings and All (3.818)*
21. Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks – Real Emotional Trash (3.800)
22. Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago (3.778)
23. The Night Marchers – See You in Magic (3.769)
24. Super Furry Animals – Hey Venus! (3.727)
25. Plants and Animals – Parc Avenue (3.727)
26. The Mountain Goats – Heretic Pride (3.667)
27. The War on Drugs – Wagonwheel Blues (3.667)*
28. Port O’Brian – All We Could Do Was Sing (3.636)*
29. Blind Pilot – 3 Rounds and a Sound (3.636)*
30. Joan as Police Woman – To Survive (3.600)*
31. The Constantines – Kennsington Heights (3.583)
32. Marah – Angels of Destruction! (3.545)
33. Black Mountain – In the Future (3.500)
34. The OaKs – Songs for Waiting (3.500)
35. American Music Club – The Golden Age (3.462)
36. Evangelicals – The Evening Descends (3.455)

Stay Positive is the first album this year that I have wanted to listen to over and over again. If anything, my star rating on it might be a little low.

I passed on the Thao Nguyen album earlier this year, but gave it another chance a couple of weeks ago when I was bored. It's really good. Don't be put off by the Edie Brickell-like vocals. These mostly acoustic tracks are quirky and fun.

I like the albums by The War on Drugs, Port O'Brien, and Blind Pilot quite a bit. The War on Drugs has a nice Dylanesque feel to it, but it is held back by two instrumental tracks that I could do without. Port O'Brien has an interesting perspective to offer, as many of the songs talk about being from a fishing town in Alaska. This gives the album a distinctive voice that I enjoy. But, a few of the tracks seem lackadaisical to me. Blind Pilot reminds me a lot of The Dodos, but with more muted percussion. I'm looking for big things from these bands on their next albums.

The Raconteur's album is growing on me. I had it leap-frog Nada Surf, Vampire Weekend, and Los Campesinos! this week. I keep coming back to this one. "Many Shades of Black" and "Five on the Five" are great songs, and the whole album is solid. I expect it may keep creeping up my list.

My top 50:

1. The Tallest Man on Earth - Shallow Grave
2. Johnny Flynn - A Larum
3. Andy Dale Petty - All God's Children Have Shoes
4. Micah P. Hinson - Micah P. Hinson and the Red Empire Orchestra
5. Langhorne Slim - Langhorne Slim
6. Neil Halstead - Oh! Mighty Engine
7. Jens Carelius - The First Songs
8. Vetiver - Thing of the Past
9. Bonnie "Prince" Billy - Lie Down in the Light
10.Matt Bauer - The Island Moved in the Storm
11.Brown Bird - The Bottom of the Sea
12.Elliott Brood - Mountain Meadows
13.Sam Amidon - All Is Well
14.Pete Molinari - A Virtual Landslide
15.The Burning Hell - Happy Birthday
16.Festival - Come, Arrow, Come!
17.The Felice Brothers - The Felice Brothers
18.The Battle of Land and Sea - The Battle of Land and Sea
19.King Darves - The Sun Splits For... The Blind Swimmer
20.James Yorkston When The Haar Rolls In
21.Cath & Phil Tyler - Dumb Supper
22.Quinn Walker - Laughter's An Asshole / Lion Land
23.Okay - Huggable Dust
24.Ilya Monosov - Seven Lucky Plays, or How to Fix Songs for a Broken Heart
25.Turner Cody - First Light
26.Pickering Pick - A Twitch Upon the Thread
27.Port O'Brien - All We Could Do Was Sing
28.Kurt Vile - Constant Hitmaker
29.Damien Jurado - Caught in the Trees
30.Chris Brecht - The Great Ride
31.Karen Dalton - Green Rocky Road
32.Sun Kil Moon - April
33.Timesbold - Ill Seen Ill Sung
34.The Accidental - There Were Wolves
35.The Avett Brothers - The Second Gleam
36.Blackbird Harmony - Hardwood Exits
37.Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
38.Malcolm Middleton - Sleight of Heart
39.Sigur Rós - Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust
40.Grouper - Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill
41.Noah and the Whale - Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down
42.Adrian Crowley - Long Distance Swimmer
43.Drakkar Sauna - Wars and Tornadoes
44.Possessed by Paul James - Cold and Blind
45.Travel By Sea - Days of My Escape
46.Eric Chenaux- Sloppy Ground
47.Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson – S/T
48.Destroyer - Trouble in Dreams
49. David Karsten Daniels - Fear of Flying
50. Butcher the Bar - Sleep at Your Own Speed

After redoing my list, I now have 18 albums that are still resonating with me. Huge thank you to whoever recommended Noah and the Whale - it's a wonderful indie pop album and I've been listening to it non-stop the last few days.

1. Laura Marling - Alas I Cannot Swim
2. Fleet Foxes - s/t
3. Coldplay - Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends
4. Noah and the Whale - Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down
5. Okkervil River - The Stand-Ins
6. Sam Roberts - Love at the End of the World
7. Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs
8. Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer
9. Lykke Li - Youth Novels
10. Sigur Ros - með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust
11. My Brightest Diamond - A Thousand Shark's Teeth
12. Vampire Weekend - s/t
13. Winona - Rosebud
14. Santogold - s/t
15. She and Him - Volume One
16. Goldfrapp - Seventh Tree
17. Crystal Castles - s/t
18. The Watson Twins - Fire Songs

Funny my list is like a combination of the two above lists. Have basically been cycling four albums the last few days (Okkervil River, Noah and the Whale, A Weather, and Neil Halsted) and three of the four are probably top ten entries. This last week or so is going to lead to a big list shake-up.

To TheDoctor: No A Weather in the top 50? I remember you being high on this earlier in the year, just wondering because I like the album a lot and I picked it up because of your recommendation

quote:

Originally posted by DrAwesome:
To TheDoctor: No A Weather in the top 50? I remember you being high on this earlier in the year, just wondering because I like the album a lot and I picked it up because of your recommendation

I really like the A Weather album, but it's not better than the 50 albums that I just listed.
BTW, isn't that Neil Helstead record magical? You also might want to find the new James Yorkston. It's really good!

Ya the Neil Helstead album is really good, definitely one of those albums that you have to listen to from beginning to end; not a weak track on there.

I'll check out Yorkston...

quote:

Originally posted by Lawrence_Of_Suburbia:

quote:

Originally posted by just indie:
anybody heard anything about a tv on the radio album in 08?

I haven't heard anything from the TVOTR front in a while. Sitek seems busy elsewhere, so who knows. I'm eagerly awaiting whatever they put out next though.

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/142379-tv-on...w-album-dear-science

get excited people

quote:

Originally posted by Marlon:

quote:

Originally posted by BAfé:
I think it's because '07 started off so strong. '08 will end strong. Don't worry people, we're still waiting for:

The Cure
The Postal Service?
Of Montreal
Antony and the Johnsons
My Bloody Valentine?
Brian Wilson
Annie
Patrick Wolf?
Lilly Allen
Junior Boys
Deerhoof
I'm From Barcelona
Conor Oberst

I'm worried...after looking at that bleak list.

That is just my personal "excited" list. There are many others that I don't really care much about.

As for the new Cure album, I've heard 3 songs (those being the singles they're releasing on every 13th). "Freakshow" is so far the weakest but I'm really loving "Sleep When I'm Dead" (which I recently found out was from The Head On the Door sessions). The new Cure album will likely not be amazing, but ANYTHING they do will be better than Bloodflowers and their 2004 self-titled -_-.

quote:

Originally posted by krugulitis:

quote:

Originally posted by Lawrence_Of_Suburbia:

quote:

Originally posted by just indie:
anybody heard anything about a tv on the radio album in 08?

I haven't heard anything from the TVOTR front in a while. Sitek seems busy elsewhere, so who knows. I'm eagerly awaiting whatever they put out next though.

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/142379-tv-on...w-album-dear-science

get excited people

Whoop Whoop

quote:

Originally posted by The Doctor:

quote:

Originally posted by DrAwesome:
To TheDoctor: No A Weather in the top 50? I remember you being high on this earlier in the year, just wondering because I like the album a lot and I picked it up because of your recommendation

I really like the A Weather album, but it's not better than the 50 albums that I just listed.
BTW, isn't that Neil Helstead record magical? You also might want to find the new James Yorkston. It's really good!

After a couple listens the new James Yorkston sounded pretty boring to me. Altogether too laid-back and content-sounding album if you ask me. It sounds very formulaic: picked guitar patterns with Yorkston's monotone intoning very weak and undynamic melodies. I felt the same way about Year of the Leopard. I'll have to listen to that A Weather album again. It's been a long time, and I've heard more than a couple people sing its praises.

One album you guys need to check out if you haven't heard it is Big Star by Haley Bonar. I'm really digging it and her previous two albums The Size of Planets and Lure the Fox, released in 2002 and 2006, respectively, may be even better. They're a bit more melancholy than her new one. Anyways, she's got a beautiful, emotive voice, and the songs are very heartfelt. "Better Half" may be my favorite song of the year so far. The lyrics to that song are great as well.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: RavingLunatic,

quote:

Originally posted by RavingLunatic:

quote:

Originally posted by The Doctor:

quote:

Originally posted by DrAwesome:
To TheDoctor: No A Weather in the top 50? I remember you being high on this earlier in the year, just wondering because I like the album a lot and I picked it up because of your recommendation

I really like the A Weather album, but it's not better than the 50 albums that I just listed.
BTW, isn't that Neil Helstead record magical? You also might want to find the new James Yorkston. It's really good!

After a couple listens the new James Yorkston sounded pretty boring to me. Altogether too laid-back and content-sounding album if you ask me. It sounds very formulaic: picked guitar patterns with Yorkston's monotone intoning very weak and undynamic melodies. I felt the same way about Year of the Leopard. I'll have to listen to that A Weather album again. It's been a long time, and I've heard more than a couple people sing its praises.

One album you guys need to check out if you haven't heard it is Big Star by Haley Bonar. I'm really digging it and her previous two albums The Size of Planets and Lure the Fox, released in 2002 and 2006, respectively, may be even better. They're a bit more melancholy than her new one. Anyways, she's got a beautiful, emotive voice, and the songs are very heartfelt. "Better Half" may be my favorite song of the year so far. The lyrics to that song are great as well.

I can't disagree with anything you've written about the Yorkston's last 2 albums which is precisely the reason why I liked them both.

And yes, that Haley Bonar record deserves some attention, although comparing it to her last 2 albums, I was slightly disappointed.

Yeah, I guess other people could describe some of my favorite records similarly to how I described Yorkston's, but that's just the objectivity of music for you. Adem in particularly is sometimes very similar to Yorkston, yet Homesongs seems to have a magical element that is lacking from most of Yorkston's work (the exception being most of Just Beyond the River, much of which I think is exceptional).

1 Deerhunter "Microcastle"
2 Elbow "The Seldom Seen Kid"
3 Cut Copy "In Ghost Colours"
4 Fleet Foxes "S/T"
5 Portishead "Third"
6 Atlas Sound "Let the Blind Lead..."
7 Bon Iver "For Emma, Forever Ago"
8 DiskJokke "Staying In"
9 Dr. Dog "Fate"
10 No Age "Nouns"
11 My Morning Jacket "Evil Urges"
12 Plants and Animals "Parc Avenue"
13 Crystal Castles "S/T"
14 The Black Keys "Attack & Release"
15 M83 "Saturdays = Youth"
16 STS9 "Peaceblaster"
17 Beck "Modern Guilt"
18 Dead Meadow "Old Growth"
19 Hercules and Love Affair "S/T"
20 Lil Wayne "Tha Carter III"
----------
21 Ratatat "LP3"
22 Sigur Ros "Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust"
23 Neon Neon "Stainless Style"
24 Nine Inch Nails "The Slip"
25 The Black Angels "Directions to See a Ghost"
26 Beach House "Devotion"
27 Black Kids "Partie Traumatic"
28 Silver Jews "Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea"
29 Hot Chip "Made in the Dark"
30 Born Ruffians "Red, Yellow, & Blue"


***I expect new albums from TV on the Radio, Okkervil River, and Of Montreal to bust into the upper part of the list. I absolutely can't wait to hear what TVOTR unleashes. Curious about the upcoming Mercury Rev LP as well.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Vaygus,

quote:

Originally posted by BAfé:
ANYTHING they do will be better than Bloodflowers and their 2004 self-titled -_-.

Bloodflowers is underrated. it's actually a very strong album IMO

Here we are, seven months into 2008, and there's no clear cut favorites for the best album this year.

I'm not dumping on 2008. I think there's a lot of near great albums. Quantity-wise, there's a lot of good music out there.

But, by this time last year we had Of Montreal, The National, Okkervil River, etc. If things continue like they are, we could seek some dark horses creep into the top 5. Things like Elbow, Atlas Sound, and Vampire Weekend could sneak into the top.

So, if the year were to end today, what dark horses do you think would come to the top of the list?

Plants & Animals - Parc Avenue is a great great record (Montreal does it again) and every time I listen to it now, I think "top 5 this year" so I'd call them a dark horse. It's epic, especially "Faerie Dance" and "New Kind of Love."
The Seldom Seen Kid is a wonderful record as well, that one will still creep up my list, I think.

A LOT of new additions, a couple even broke the top 5...Takka Takka and Nomo both released FABULOUS albums, I can't stop listening to either of them...

01. Sam Roberts >> Love at the End of the World
02. Plants and Animals >> Parc Avenue
03. Takka Takka >> Migration
04. Fleet Foxes >> Fleet Foxes
05. Nomo >> Ghost Rock
06. Beck >> Modern Guilt
07. Coldplay >> Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
08. Bon Iver >> For Emma, Forever Ago
09. Wolf Parade >> At Mount Zoomer
10. Fuck Buttons >> Street Horrrsing

11. Death Cab for Cutie >> Narrow Stairs
12. Frightened Rabbit >> The Midnight Organ Fight
13. The Dodos >> Visiter
14. Elbow >> The Seldom Seen Kid
15. Ratatat >> LP3
16. Sun Kil Moon >> April
17. Langhorne Slim >> Langhorne Slim
18. Man Man >> Rabbit Habits
19. The Black Keys >> Attack and Release
20. Born Ruffians >> Red, Yellow and Blue

21. Noah and the Whale >> Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down
22. The Tallest Man on Earth >> Shallow Graves
23. Sigur Ros >> Med sud i eyrum vid spilum endalaust
24. The Raconteurs >> Consolers of the Lonely
25. The Accidental >> There Were Wolves
26. Mountain Goats >> Hectic Pride
27. Vampire Weekend >> Vampire Weekend
28. Animal Collective >> Water Curses EP
29. Why? >> Alopecia
30. Dosh >> Wolves and Wishes

31. The Ruby Suns >> Sea Lion

This message has been edited. Last edited by: anbc,

quote:

Originally posted by brainofp:
Bloodflowers is underrated. it's actually a very strong album IMO

I agree. I'd say the same about their self-titled, too. Some of my favourite music from the band comes from their last two full-lengths.

quote:

Plants & Animals - Parc Avenue is a great great record (Montreal does it again)

quote:

01. Sam Roberts >> Love at the End of the World

Sam Roberts is from Montreal too.

quote:

Originally posted by anbc:
03. Takka Takka >> Migration

I like the few songs I heard on their MySpace. Haven't heard of them before and can't find the album anywhere in the internet though.

quote:

Originally posted by The Doctor:
And yes, that Haley Bonar record deserves some attention, although comparing it to her last 2 albums, I was slightly disappointed.

Seriously? I think it's a great album, similar in quality to her previous two and having several phenomenal tracks, especially "Better Half," which may be my favorite song of the year so far.