year-end lists: December 2008 Archives

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

The London-based Fact Magazine Top 20 Albums of 2008:

1. Gang Gang Dance, Saint Dymphna
2. No Age, Nouns
3. Zomby, Where Were U in 92?
4. Portishead, Third
5. Late of the Pier, Fantasy Black Channel
6. Jay Reatard, Matador Singles 08
7. MGMT, Oracular Spectacular
8. Thomas Brinkmann, When Horses Die...
9. Deerhunter, Microcastle
10. Flying Lotus, Los Angeles
11. High Places, High Places
12. Hercules and Love Affair, Hercules and Love Affair
13. Ponytail, Ice Cream Spiritual
14. 2562, Aerial
15. Vampire Weekend, Vampire Weekend
16. The Bug, London Zoo
17. Kelley Polar, I Need You to Hold On While the Sky Is Falling
18. Claro Intelecto, Metanarrative
19. Hush Arbors, Hush Arbors
20. M83, Saturdays = Youth

Fact also released its Top 20 Mixes of the Year, Top 20 Videos of the Year, and Top 20 Reissues/Compilations of the Year. 

Vice Magazine dissects the year-end list. 

From XLR8R, in alphabetical order:

Atlas Sound Let the Blind Lead Those Who See But Cannon Feel 

Beach House Devotion 

Brenda Ray Walatta 

Bun-B Il Trill 

Daedelus Love to Make Music To 

Dizzee Rascal Maths + English 

Flying Lotus Los Angeles 

Foals Antidotes 

Glass Candy Beatbox 

Jeremy Jay A Place Where We Could Go 

Kelley Polar I need to Hold on While the Sky is Falling 

Lindstrøm Where You Go I Go Too 

Lone Lemurian 

M83 Saturdays = Youth 

MGMT Oracular Spectacular 

The Notwist The Devil, You + Me 

Portishead Third 

Syclops I've Got My Eye on You 

Spiritualized Songs in A & E 

The Mole High as the Sky 

Throw Me the Statue Moonbeams 

Tobacco Fucked Up Friends 

Xiu XiuWomen as Lovers 

Yelle Pop-Up 

Zomes Zomes