I’ll start by saying this: Paste‘s Top 50 of 2008 offers surprises. To get a quick glean of what I mean, take a look at number 50, then close your eyes and peer at number one. What happened? Now go back and check out what is or isn’t happening in between. If you recall, last year they awarded the top spot to the National’s fourth album, Boxer. This year it goes to a debut. But not the debut you’re thinking. Give you a hint: You’re not going to guess it. In other news, it’s cool to see Torche in there even if they should be (way) higher. Now see for yourself.
50 TV On The Radio – Dear Science (Interscope)
49 Sandra McCracken – Red Balloon (Towhee)
48 REM – Accelerate (Warner Bros.)
47 Laura Marling – Alas, I Cannot Swim (Astralwerks)
46 Lykke Li – Youth Novels (LL)
45 M83 – Saturdays = Youth (Mute)
44 Kathleen Edwards – Asking For Flowers (Zoë)
43 Amanda Palmer – Who Killed Amanda Palmer (Roadrunner)
42 Thao Nguyen and the Get Down Stay Down – We Brave Bee Stings & All (KRS)
41 The Tallest Man On Earth – Shallow Grave (Gravitation)
40 Flight of the Conchords – Flight of the Conchords (Sub Pop)
39 The Dodos – Visiter (Frenchkiss)
38 Jamie Lidell – Jim (Warp)
37 Johnny Flynn & The Sussex Wit – A Larum (Lost Highway)
36 The Bridges – Limits of the Sky (Verve)
35 Colour Revolt – Plunder, Beg and Curse (Fat Possum)
34 Torche – Meanderthal (Hydra Head)
33 Santogold – Santogold (Downtown)
32 Silver Jews – Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea (Drag City)
31 The Walkmen – You & Me (Gigantic)
30 I’m From Barcelona – Who Killed Harry Houdini? (Mute)
29 Lil Wayne – Tha Carter III (Cash Money/Universal)
28 MGMT – Oracular Spectacular (Columbia)
27 Liam Finn – I’ll Be Lightning (Yep Roc)
26 Lee Ann Womack – Call Me Crazy (MCA Nashville)
25 Mugison – Mugiboogie (Ipecac)
24 Santogold & Diplo – Top Ranking? (Mad Decent)
23 Mates of State – Re-Arrange Us (Barsuk)
22 No Age – Nouns (Sub Pop)
21 The Raveonettes – Lust Lust Lust (Vice)
20 Hot Chip – Made In The Dark (Astralwerks)
19 Gentleman Jesse and His Men – Introducing Gentleman Jesse and His Men (Douchemaster)
18 Death Cab? for Cutie – Narrow Stairs? (Atlantic)
17 Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – Lie Down In The Light (Drag City)
16 My Morning Jacket? – Evil Urges (ATO)
15 Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!! (Mute)
14 Langhorne Slim – Langhorne Slim (Kemado)
13 Ida Maria – Fortress Round My Heart (Waterfall/RCA)
12 of Montreal – Skeletal Lamping (Polyvinyl)
11 The Hold Steady – Stay Positive (Vagrant)
10 Deerhunter – Microcastle (Kranky)
09 Lucinda Williams – Little Honey (Lost Highway)
08 Sun Kil Moon – April (Caldo Verde)
07 Girl Talk – Feed the Animals (Illegal Art)
06 Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes (Sub Pop)
05 Okkervil River – The Stand Ins (Jagjaguwar)
04 Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago (Jagjaguwar)
03 Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend (XL)
02 Sigur Rós – Med sud i eyrum vid spilum endalaust (XL)
01 She & Him – Volume One (Merge)
The reasoning behind She & Him:
Maybe it’s just a sweet little folk record — a tiny, flawless diamond. Or maybe it’s a pristine distillation of harmony and craft; 50 years of songwriting experience served up on a spinning silver platter. Either way, it’s our album of the year. Produced with touches of girl-group splendor and arranged with a dreamy, old-fashioned vibe, She & Him’s debut couldn’t be more adorable.
Adorable. It’s interesting to note that they’re not so into Brooklyn noise-pop a la Vivian Girls, Crystal Stilts. Or fellow Brooklynites High Places. Or, etc. You can read the rest of the write-ups at Paste.
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These lists make me puke! Seriously, She & Him do not deserve the number one spot, MGMT are majorly overrated (it seems that these days you need to be featured on a blockbuster film to receive recognition)! Hot Chip are good, but Made in the Dark was really disappointing (although Boy from School could easily be listed as one of the tracks of the year). What’s the fuss with Sigur Rós? Seriously, this comes from somebody who doesn’t really like American POP culture, underline the word POP (sorry guys! you’re nice and all but corporate America is terrible), but why do magazines feel necessary to credit bands, just because they are foreign? It’s like affirmative action but only for Europeans. And what about the brits?~ Where’s the Last Shadow Puppets? Where’s the Verve? Portishead?! Burial?!! (true it wasn’t their best album, but it still is good!). TV on the radio deserve a higher rank though.
Respect for santogold, diplo, Fleet Foxes, Nick Cave, I’m from Barcelona and Lykke Li.
boy from school was not on made in the dark. it was on the warning from 2006.
well if i made that list then She and Him would be MY #1. cause i only have a couple of those albums listed anyway
nice to see thao nguyen get some recognition. great album.
for real, no los campesinos! albums? i haven’t seen one list with them on it.
i’m pretty sure untrue by burial wouldn’t make the list anyways as it was a 2007 release.
I am honestly more satisfied with this list than I will probably be with any other I see this year. Maybe no the order, but the selection is pretty good for the most part.
Why am I the only one that doesn’t like Vampire Weekend.
Shouldn’t they wait until a little bit later to call it for the year?
Ehh, it’s a Best Of list. It’s pretty solid too. I think Dr. Dog deserve to at least crack the top 50 though. Maybe they made 51…
Wait, no Cardinology or Conor Oberst either…yeah this blows…
is everyone posting comments on this wall the smuggest piece of shit to grace this earth? read some of your comments, that absolutely fucking rancid, there is nothing wrong with the list, sorry they couldnt satisfy your shit brooklyn noise rock or your smugger than smug hip-hop albums but most importantly i really feel bad for everyone who was shocked by TVOTR, get the fuck over yourself and go listen to beach house and other shitty bands we’ll never here from again
smuggy smug smug
did I mention smug? all smug
Good to see hot chip get up there.
No Cut Copy, No Herc & Love Affair, No Portishead, No Goldfrapp…
This list is very heavy on the ‘our record sounds like lo-fi shit, cuz we wanted it to’ aesthetic… blah…
Where’s the love for tranny-disco? come on now…
I’ll admit that I haven’t heard a lot of the list, but what I have heard– mainly Fleet Foxes, She & Him, and the of Montreal records– some gems but are pretty uneven. I’m really surprised that there’s no Jicks on here. Real Emotional Trash has to be my favorite album so far this year.
Nice to see Lucinda Williams on that list. Something besides what everybody else is toting for albums of the year.
Can we get some Canada up in this humpy bumpy? How about Wolf Parade? Plants & Animals? Born Ruffians? Black Mountain? The Dears? Brendan Canning? We’d even settle for Tokyo Police Club. I mean c’mon. Give us something. Destroyer even put out a new album this year.
Yes. As someone who got back from a Plants & Animals show in Montreal ten minutes ago, I believe that any list not featuring them is bullshit. What a band.
…i like Torche
Im curious as to how they go about reaching these rankings?…. a bunch of super loaded dudes pulling albums from a hat?
Ponytail’s Ice Cream Spiritual should have been on the list, maybe the top 5….MGMT should have at least been in the top 10.
I’m sorry but the fact that Portishead and Black Mountain aren’t even on here makes this list derisory.
No love for Why? My #1
weller….cazals…elbow…..passenger
come on
Only two of my top albums made this list:
Drive-By Truckers – Brighter than Creation’s Dark
Centro-matic/South San Gabriel – Dual Hawks
John Mellencamp – Life Death Love and Freedom
Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago
Mudcrutch – s/t
Elbow – The Seldom Seen Kid
American Music Club – The Golden Age
Silver Jews – Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea
Thomas Denver Jonsson – The Lake Acts Like an Ocean
Tyler Ramsey – A Long Dream about Swimming Across the Ocean
You’re right! Where’s Elbow on that list??
i am a HUGE of montreal fan….that cd does not deserve to be so high. Cannot believe there is no love for Cut Copy either. Also agree that there is a sever lack of Canadian love. Born Ruffians deserves a top 25 spot.
Crystal Castles and Cut Copy should be top 5.
Has no one heard of The Helio Sequence or is it just that no one thinks it should be top 50?? 2nd best album of the year IMHO only to Why? Alopecia.
Why does everyone hate The Kills. Midnight Boom was my favorite this year, but I haven’t seen it on any of these end of year lists….at all. I don’t get it.
here’s my list: http://eatingtheearth.blogspot.com/2008/11/best-records-of-2008.html
rip it apart, boys!
I looked forward to this because they agreed with me last year about The National. But this time they couldn’t have gotten in more wrong in my eyes. My God, Sh & Him is a step backwards in music, however cute and enjoyable it is to listen to.
thats a pretty sleepy top50 …where’s the RAWK!?!?!
I don’t normally get worked up about these stupid lists. But how on earth can Wolf Parade’s Zoomer not be in anybody’s top 5? I actually think those guys are too smart for their own good. Buy some good headphones…….partake of..well, whatever……..listen to California Dreamer.
I’ve yet to see the Evangelicals appear on any of these lists!!!!
tragic.
I don’t agree with a lot of the albums on the list either. Disappointed there was no “Ra Ra Riot”, that’s for sure. But I really like reading the comments. Your faves not on there? Keep sharing. I’m having a blast checking out bands I haven’t heard that you feel deserve to be in the list. Keep em coming!!!
Switch the top and bottom albums, and you have a respectable list.
the thing about she & him is that they play them in the grocery store i work at….isn’t that therefore mediocre by default?
The second Neil Diamond album with Rick Rubin,Home Before Dark,is better then most of the albums combined (including John Mellencamp-yuck),It is interesting that the UK publications are not afraid to put a really great and powerful albuim on the list.And no Portishead?Please.
I am stoked that Okkervil River got #5. So cool. Big Fan.
As far as She & Him. I just finally bought the album this week when Amazon had it on sale for $5. I love it. I can’t stop listening to it. Surprisingly my husband loves it too. I don’t know completely about #1, but someone’s gotta be #1. Might as well be them.
My only “can’t believe they’re not on the list” is Dr. Dog. Fate is an incredible album. Love, love, love it!
I agree!! DR. Dog should have made every list with their album, “Fate” or some of the songs from “Fate”. It’s a great album, had only great reviews and their world tour of “Fate” has been sold out all year. They played it live in the Paste studio. You’d think these guys would remember them?
I am stoked that Okkervil River got #5. So cool. Big Fan.
As far as She & Him. I just finally bought the album this week when Amazon had it on sale for $5. I love it. I can’t stop listening to it. Surprisingly my husband loves it too. I don’t know completely about #1, but someone’s gotta be #1. Might as well be them.
My only “can’t believe they’re not on the list” is Dr. Dog. Fate is an incredible album. Love, love, love it!
Oh and I got a free Paste subscription from Austin City Limits Music Festival.
She & Him is unlistenable. My wife and I were very excited to hear it, and laughing and shaking our heads by the end of it. Obnoxious. Apparently they pulled the wool over a lot of eyes, though!
Oh, just so you know, I’m going to plug All is Well by Sam Amidon in the comments for all of these lists, unless of course it is on the list, then I won’t bother.
Neil Diamond, really?
whoever suggested fuck buttons has never even heard of paste magazine
way more fun way to handle this.
http://paste.patrolmag.com/
Hate Paste’s list?
Re-arrange all the lists courtesy of Patrol Magazine!
http://www.patrolmag.com/arts/1051/patrol-presents-fix-the-lists-2008
NO BEACH HOUSE?….NO PORTISHEAD!?!?!….OKAY U PUT LIL FLIPPIN WAYNE AND FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS [really?]..were u guys paid off…SHE AND HIM!!!??…YOU PUT GIRL TALK..THAT DOESNT EVEN COUNT AS AN ALBUM..IT’S JUST RECYCLED PUKE IN MA DRAWS…I WOULD HAVE AT LEAST PUT CRYSTAL CASTLES…i mean the ideas arent new or inovative but it’s much more entertaining than freakin vampire weekend…get off there D’s…i lost all respect for you guys..i’d rather read blender..[and blender sucks yoda dong!!]..kay bye
OMG! NO (insert obscure noise/experimental band here) ! WTF!
c’mon. this is paste, guys.
I couldn’t really care less if I’m crucified for this, but I love Paste picking She & Him’s Volume 1 for best album of the year. They’re a great band, both on the album and live. I wish Aimee Mann’s Smilers had made the cut.
I’ve been reading Paste since issue # 5. That rag has gone straight to hell. And I live in the same town where they are based so I wanted them to be great. Not anymore….the fun is over,Paste is shit.
HORRIBLE top 50 Paste. i could go on but i wont…
I have to say, some of these artists and albums are absolutely amazing. Okkervil River, The Walkmen, Fleet Foxes, and Of Montreal were on the top of my list.
But, Lee Ann Womak? Really? Where does she fit in on this list? With the way this list appears, I’m lost as to why a country artist has beat out TV on the Radio’s Dear Science.
My real question is, Where’s artists like Theresa Andersson? She was hands down my top artist of the year, and got top reviews from Paste. Why isn’t she on this list? If you haven’t gotten a chance to see or hear her, watch her youtube video, it’s what got me hooked: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMXqn42AykM
I’m surprised that TV On The Radio didn’t get ranked much higher than they what they were. Has anyone every heard of Theresa Andersson’s ‘Hummingbird Go’? Her uniqueness alone is worthy of the list. Check her out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMXqn42AykM
Shame on Paste, et.al,,,, Where is “Fate” by DR. DOG?? You and everyone else gave it great reviews. They even performed it in your studio..
Where is COG Sharing Space on this list that album kicked some serious ass in 08
I am a big fan of Hip-Hop but to put The Carter III on the list tells me that the list does not really feel the same about it.
bon iver man its all fucken bon iver. best artist ever.