Recently in year-end lists Category

Atlanta prog-sludge heshers Mastodon have just announced dates for their spring tour, which includes a stop at the Valarium on May 21. The band's still touring in support of Crack the Skye, which was released way back in March. This leg of of the tour includes Baroness, Between the Buried and Me (who just played at the Bijou Theatre on Friday night), and Valient Thorr as support.

Both Crack the Skye and Baroness' Blue Record were on Metro Pulse's list of the best albums of 2009.

The Nashville Scene has just posted its annual Country Music Critics' Poll, one of the best year-end polls around and consistently interesting for its catholic approach, which usually includes a balance of mainstream and alt-country and a lot in between.

Miranda Lambert sweeps this year, with the top album and single and a win in the female vocalist of the year category. She's playing at Thompson-Boling Arena on March 5 with Brad Paisely (who also did well in the Scene poll) and Justin Moore.

A bunch of MP contributors listed their favorite albums of the year here. Feel free to argue.

I've only heard 10 of the 24 discs on the list--at least a few (Oneida, Nels Cline, Gay Witch Abortion, Mastodon, and Baroness) might have been on my ballot if someone else hadn't picked them. Other contenders for me:

Converge, Axe to Fall
Miranda Lambert, Revolution
Liturgy, Renihilation
Jim O'Rourke, The Visitor
Raekwon, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II
Wolves in the Throne Room, Black Cascade
Yob, The Great Cessation
The xx, xx

The biggest of them all: the Village Voice Pazz & Jop Poll 2008.

Album winner is TV on the Radio's Dear Science, singles winner is M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes."

Which big-name hard-rock and metal bands from the '80s released new albums this year? Find out in St. Louis alt-weekly the Riverfront Times' list of the best metal albums of 2008. Metallica's Death Magnetic tops the list.

Pitchfork has started its cavalcade of year-end lists. So far, results are up for songs of the year, honorable mentions for album of the year, and reader picks. 

Blogger and New Yorker critic Sasha Frere-Jones has his list up. Notes on some selections are here. 

Time Magazine's list of the best albums of 2008:

1. Lil Wayne, Tha Carter III
2. TV on the Radio, Dear Science
3. Metallica, Death Magnetic
4. Girl Talk, Feed the Animals
5. Vampire Weekend, Vampire Weekend
6. Kanye West, 808s & Heartbreak
7. Santogold, Santogold
8. Portishead, Third
9. Lucinda Williams, Little Honey
10. Duffy, Rockferry

Idolator's not listing its top albums of the year (or singles, or videos, or compilations). Instead, the music blog's writers are naming "the 80 most important musical recordings, artists, trends, events, and performances of 2008" in a list they call 80 '08. 

From musicOMH:

1. Elbow, The Seldom Seen Kid
2. TV on the Radio, Dear Science
3. Bon Iver, For Emma, Forever Ago
4. Fleet Foxes, Fleet Foxes
5. Portishead, Third
6. Vampire Weekend, Vampire Weekend
7. MGMT, Oracular Spectacular
8. Laura Marling, Alas I Cannot Swim
9. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Dig!!! Lazarus, Dig!!!
10. Fuck Buttons, Street Horrrsing