Paste‘s year end list raised some eyebrows yesterday, and we expect this countdown to do the same, despite its predictable top spot. Blender‘s 33 favorites share ten with Paste‘s 50, but represent a more diverse array of styles, for better (Ponytail, Erykah Badu) or worse (that’s Katy Perry above, not Zooey Deschanel). Thanks to reader JTO3 for transcribing the list from a copy of the Dec/Jan issue he made sure to point out was given to him as a gift.
33 Hayes Carll – Trouble In Mind
32 Taylor Swift – Fearless
31 Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds – Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!
30 Young Jeezy – The Recession
29 Raphael Saadiq – The Way I See It
28 Stephen Malkmus And The Jicks – Real Emotional Trash
27 Mariah Carey – E=MC²
26 Usher – Here I Stand
25 Santogold – Santogold
24 The Roots – Rising Down
23 The Cool Kids – The Bake Sale
22 Coldplay – Viva La Vida
21 Erykah Badu – New Amerykah: Pt. One (4th World War)
20 Wale – The Mixtape About Nothing
19 Katy Perry – One Of The Boys
18 Ponytail – Ice Cream Spiritual
17 Conor Oberst – Conor Oberst
16 Be Your Own Pet – Get Awkward
15 Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago
14 Jenny Lewis – Acid Tongue
13 Al Green – Lay It Down
12 My Morning Jacket – Evil Urges
11 Death Cab For Cutie – Narrow Stairs
10 Fall Out Boy – Folie A Deux
09 Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend
08 Randy Newman – Harps and Angels
07 of Montreal – Skeletal Lamping
06 Robyn – Robyn
05 Hot Chip – Made In The Dark
04 Metallica – Death Magnetic
03 TV On The Radio – Dear Science
02 Girl Talk – Feed The Animals
01 Lil’ Wayne – Tha Carter III
Your move, Spin.
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Its great to see Usher finally get the critical acclaim he has so long been after. End of the year lists make me queasy.
c’mon blender wtf is this
I gave you a red-down-arrow for having expectations of Blender.
Where’s the love for Department of Eagles in all of these lists? I hope the NPR list comes out favorably.
BLEH. Pretty gross list for the most part.
Stereogum, why incite the insuing riot with this post?
Fleet Foxes? Raconteurs? MGMT? El Guincho? CUT COPY? C’mon, this list sucks.
They need to remove Katy Perry from that list immediately. She a big attention whore who will write “risque” songs just so they get played and she gets even more attention. That disgusts me.
Katy Perry got some big ass titties.
What are ass titties?
Albums that made Blender’s Top10 that would not make my Top50:
10 Fall Out Boy – Folie A Deux
09 Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend
07 of Montreal – Skeletal Lamping
06 Robyn – Robyn
05 Hot Chip – Made In The Dark
04 Metallica – Death Magnetic
02 Girl Talk – Feed The Animals
01 Lil’ Wayne – Tha Carter III
Randy Newman and TVOTR can hang, but none of these other guys. .
like you give a fuck about randy newman
In the interest of not sounding like every single other person who’s going to post on all the year end list threads, I’m going to refrain from making any negative comment and merely point out the things I like: It’s great to so far see Girl Talk getting some love. Feed the Animals is my number two favorite this year and it’s quite possibly the most viscerally fun, party-like experience I’ve ever had listening to an album in the typically boring and very un-party-like confines of my own home.
Well, in my defense. I’m not being critical of this list just to be contrarian. To justify my claim that of their Top10 only TVOTR and Randy Newman would make my top 50:
Lil Wayne- Occasionally the guy can string together an interesting couplet. But, that’s about it.
Girl Talk- Yes, this album is fun as hell and perfect for a lively party. However, I think Girl Talk is more of a curiosity than something that will actually stand the test of time.
Metallica- Really? They had an album come out this year? Really? They were last vaguely relevant in the early 80′s.
Hot Chip- Too indie to be dance, too dance to be indie. These guys are trapped in a boring limbo that makes them safe enough to have mass appeal but not interesting enough to stand up to scrutiny.
Robyn- Haven’t critics and blogs been blowing their load over this chick for about three years now? If she was from the States, she’d be opening for Pink.
of Montreal- I respect this band. They’ve just never done it for me. Nothing negative to say about them though.
Vampire Weekend- Sorry, I just don’t get it. I’ve tried. I really have. But there is just nothing happening with these guys. If I wanted to listen to a watered down version of Graceland, I’d pull that album off of my external hard drive, put it on, and then kick out one of my speakers.
Fall Out Boy- This falls under the heading of I don’t feel the need to even justify my disdain for this band/album. Any Hot Topic employees out there? Flame away. I’m ready for you.
Actually, Metallica were relevant well into the late ’80s. Get your facts straight, buster.
sad thing is, chrisd was probably born in the 90′s and his context is all fucked up. I wish Master of Puppets would come to life and eat him like truckasaurus
I think you are spot-on Chris D. Your description of Hot Chip is perfect. Perfect. And I laughed out loud when I read your thoughts about Vampire Weekend. Dead the fuck on. The Brits beg for us to love Robyn. I don’t get it. Dear Science, however, was consistently brilliant.
Pretty obvious that Blender only listened to 33 albums that came out this year. Why else the totally random number?
33rpm… think vinyl.
ahaha
With few exceptions, this could be called the top 33 albums that have had full sized posters displayed on the New rack at Borders.
If only Bon Iver had tried harder, he could have beat Fall Out Boy.
I can’t believe that’s NOT Zooey in that photo.
Initially I was just going to say that Blender suck suck sucks. But Metallica at no. 4 is just beyond suck suck sucks. They should have just put JoBro at no 1
Ponytail randomly being on this list is hilarious to me
Why the hell is no one giving any love to Los Campesinos? Hold on Now, Youngster… was really, really good.
No kidding! Los Campesinos! is definitely in my top 5.
although some inclusions (mariah, katy perry, metallica’s absurdly high placement) is typical of blender, the list is actually a lot better than i expected it to be. a lot.
Question: What do you do with albums like El Guincho and The Wombats that were out overseas before this year, but came out in the U.S. in 08?
Take it case by case.
El Guincho: embrace it.
Wombats: throw it away.
Is it just Tito, or was this kind of a whack year for music? It was no ’08, that’s for sure.
Love,
LCD Soundsystem, M.I.A. & Menomena
Very cool for Hayes Carll to be up there #33
……I remember him playing at TUT’s bar in Conroe Texas for new years……wow
I’m really surprised Be Your Own Pet Is on here.
I haven’t seen them on any other lists, but they are, or were, a very good band.
I know! Be your own pet before Coldplay!? I know it’s wrong for me to like this list, but I kinda actually do! Jokes! This lists sucks! I support the fact that Blender put Get Awkward on the list, but I pretty much don’t approve of the list in general (I’m talking to you Katy Perry and Fall out Boy!)
I just threw up a little in my mouth…
omg who reads magazines anymore
er, is the new Fall Out Boy even out yet?
Where’s Street Horrrsing by Fuck Buttons, Dragging a Dead Deer up a Hill by Grouper, Saint Dymphna by Gang Gang Dance or Laulu Laakson Kukista by Paavoharju?
Someone is drinking cokemachineglow’s Kool-Aid.
I feel it is necessary to point out to everyone complaining that this was written by BLENDER, which is hardly a real music magazine. Seeing this list in a magazine I respect more like, say, Southern Living would actually upset me.
Nail on the Head: Conor, Bon Iver, Malkmus, TVotR, Nick Cave (though would have liked to see him higher up)
Pleasantly Surprised: Robyn, Death Cab, Jenny, Hot Chip
Not My Personal Favorite But Can See Where You’re Coming From: Coldplay, Erykha, Lil Wayne
Go Away Already: Fall Out Boy, Girl Talk (yeah I said it), Vampire Weekend For God’s Sake
Really??: Katy Perry (??), Mariah Carey (???), Taylor Swift (???!!!)
I am okay with Blender being mainstreamish, but I am not okay with them promoting shit. In no list should Taylor Swift be within spitting distance of Nick Cave, period.
bottom line is that it was a pretty weak year…especially when you compare it to last year.
Yes, this was a weak year. But Fall Out Boy in the top ten and no Destroyer, Beck, Devotchka, Wolf Parade??? You Suck blender…
Nice to see some love for Wale. It’s good album. Plus it appeals to white people love for Seinfeld so that’s an instant hit right there.
So Bon Iver is officially from this year?
If so, my list has to change..
I disagree. The Bon Iver album was released independently in 2007. Jagjaguwar released it in February 2008. In my books it came out in 2007 and stands in my top 5 for LAST year.
So I read this site quite frequently… And it seems that people on here on former dave mathews fans that have now moved on to “more complicated music” like Arcade Fire, The National, and The Walkmen….
I guess the best way to explain the love of Lil Wayne and Vampire Weekend, is to consider it another step in musical evolution… Once you get past the earnest, boring, sometimes good music of Arcade Fire, National type bands you get to just enjoying good music.. And you realize that stuff like Lil Wayne,Vampire Weekend, Timberlake is fucking great… Because its fun and catchy and clever.. And Animal Collective, Black Dice, Panda Bear, Fuck Buttons, etc. Is great because its catchy, fun and complicated…
And that shit like National and Arcade Fire is really just indie MOR….
With that said… Tha Carter 3 is one of the best records of the year… Right next to THe Ruby Suns, El Guincho and Deerhunter.!!! All brilliant in different ways…
This has been a very good year for music.. You just have to listen with open ears..
Oh yeah… Oberst, New Malkmus, Coldplay= MOR
MGMT and Bon Iver are last year releases….. And MGMT is bullshit,, Bon Iver good but not top 25 anyways…
you’ve figured it all out! way to go!
also, shut up.
What? I’m glad you think you’ve figured me out though.
Considering the forum, you may as well have just said “you know what, that Hitler guy had some good ideas…”
But as much as I love the new Walkmen and Malkmus, I gotta admit, you’ve got some points. The best one is “MGMT is bullshit”. They so are, you guys! The worst, that is.
this list is weird but i like about half the albums so not too bad. the real question is are Katy Perry and Zooey Deschanel related? twins?
I know! I’m so put off that that ISN’T Zooey Deschanel! I think there should be a rule that one cannot be famous at the same time as one’s bizarro twin – therefore Katy Perry needs to be locked up in a closet (forever).
Also, this list is pretty random. I only agree with 10-12 of their picks.
this list isn’t that terrible. i’m glad real emotional trash and skeletal lamping are on it. Nos 12-10 are kinda wtf, along with a couple of other curious choices, but all in all it could have been a lot worse
Pretty hilarious to see people jump all over Blender, when the reviews for the mag are written by bloggers, old guard rock scribes (Christgau, Pareles, Eddy, Wolk, Sheffield) pitchforkers (Dombal), etc. What, because it says “Maxim” somewhere in it and not “New York Times,” these guys have less weight? Honestly, this list is far more interesting than the predictable, unpopular-in-the-grand-scheme-of-things Fleet Foxes, Deerhunter, Cut Copy, Dodos, No Age indie rundown that will appear everywhere else. It’s great to see the Saadiq and Al Green get some love.
I think this proves it was a pretty terrible year in music. I do not see one album on this list that I will likely still listen to 5 years from now with the exception of Bon Iver, which is a really great, and pretty timeless record.
That’s NOT Zooey Deschanel?!?! Whew, close one, I almost whipped out the little bishop to beat him furiously. Guess I’ll just pop “The Happening” in the DVD player instead.
Thanks for sharing that tidbit, pal.
Take it easy kids, this is Blender we’re talking about.
I don’t think this year was bad for music, there were some really good albums. Most of them are not listed above!
does anybody else not get the appeal of lil wayne to hipsters.
this list is bullshit except for My Morning Jacket at 12!
what is the difference between katy perry and wayne gretzky? wayne gretzky showers after 3 periods……sex with katy perry is not unlike wearing one of shaquile o’neals old tennis shoes….they are both very loose fitting and the smell is horrible….good album though….she kissed a girl, right?
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, RADIO ZERO !!!
Wow. Of course it goes without saying that this list blows.
But I could really tolerate it pretty well if it weren’t for the inclusion of Metallica. Jesus Christ! Who the fuck could honestly consider those assholes relevant anymore, much less good. I know I haven’t heard the record, but I find it impossible to believe that an album made by a band that made shitty music in their prime could somehow reverse that a make an album topping most of the fantastic stuff that came out this year.
In my mind, Metallica really ought to just die off and not be heard from again. Fuck you, Blender. Fuck you if you bought this record. And fuck Metallica, because they are a bunch of first class pricks who unleashed mainstream cornhole rock on the world and called it metal. God damn I hate everything about Metallica, the idea of it, the existence of it, etc. Shit.
And my hope is that this post will somehow change the world.
masters of puppets is pretty killer. leave metallica alone!!!!!
keep it down, if James Hetfield hears about this he will eat your first born son and write an awesome record about it.
Metallic is the Pauly Shore of music….
Meaning: Great!
there’s katy perry over there what about lady gaga, ladyhawke and duffy. phew~
i don’t understand the love for the new MMJ and Death Cab. I think those records are absolutely terrible.
yes?
why hasn’t Dr. Dog shown up on anyones list? fate is an amazing album. what about Nights Falls in Kortadella? not even paste has love for Jens?
Night Falls came out last year. And Fate is good, yes.
Where in the h*ll is PORTISHEAD Third album? Should be placed in TOP 10.
Blender gave it a low, low review of 2 out of 5 saying it was “Just noise.”
I can’t believe people think tvotr new album is any good. This list is far worse than Paste’s.
Kirk I’m right there with you… I don’t have a clue about that!
Acid Tongue IMO is not that good…. and I say that as a HUGE Jenny Lewis/Rilo Kiley fan who often jokes that she wants to be Jenny Lewis when she grows up… the CD really disappointed me. There’s some good stuff on it but overall it’s pretty meh.
hey. hazim here.
i cannot BELIEVE Hilary Duff’s 4th greatest hits album isn’t on the list!
I had to check twice to make sure.
honestly. Blender’s better than the other lists cus theirs is always different.
number one isn’t surprising though. they love their wayne.
Katy Perry???? What kind of joke is this. Whoever wrote this list is a F***ing moron
terrible
Where’s Nickelback’s Dark Horse?!
In hell.
pretty soon the top 10 list on stereogum’s right sidebar is going to be all year-end lists.
Hercules, Love Affair
A good friend of mine has been telling me about Los Campesinos for weeks now. I should have listened. I will listen.
Listen. Sounds like you have quite the friend.
I disagree with everything!
worst list ever
now i remember why i stopped subscribing to Blender.
Blender needs to listen to a group called Deerhunter and reconsider their list
kanye should be 1- 33
I mean, I agree with the shittiness of this list, but it’s Blender. You kind of just have to chuckle and ignore it. But yeah, GT at 2 at least is cool.
Deerhunter is the best
People are over reacting way to much. This is Blender people. BLENDER!! If I’m correct they are considered one of the shittyest music magazines ever. What do you care if they choose Kate Perry as one of the top 33. EVERYONE was expecting a shit list. I’f there is anything surprising, it’s that Stereogum didn’t call it.
I like your list a lot because of your inclusion of several great hip hop albums. Nice job Stereogum
A) this list sucks, but it’s from blender… what did you expect?
B) all the people who wrote that this was “a weak year for music” obviously have only heard the music off the Blender and Paste lists.
how about some REAL indie music that was AMAZING this year: Fredrik, Frontier Ruckus, Port ‘O Brien, Born Ruffians, Blind Pilot, Bowerbirds, caUSE co-MOTION!, Blitzen Trapper, Truckasaurus…. CHAD VANGAALEN???? i get so sick of all this fake “indie” crap that everyone loves to tout about on their blogs. if i was gonna go mainstream, i’d ask “wtf no Beck?” but that’s just me.
-jay
http://littleboxofindie.com
crap. sorry for the dbl post. it took forever to show up. but those bands are worth two mentions so it’s all good.
Does anyone else find it funny that Oasis and the Killers did not make the list??? Ditto for Kings of Leon
hot chip is amazing, im happy to see them get some acclaim.
have you heard the mixtape about nothing its def should be higher than lil wayne Carter 3.. Aint nobody want to hear lollipop songs. Style + Substance… Wale
Also check out kid cudi is really nice.
Boo. I like our Popdose.com list better.
VAAAT?
No Katy Perry on first place, what the fuck Blender. What the fuck?
Blender is Maxim for guys who think they’re cool just because they’ve heard of Stereolab. I can’t believe this fucking magazine is still around. Alternative Press is far worse though; at least Blender never tried to pass themselves off as a “punk rock zine”. *shudder*
no fleet foxes? wow.
Blender.
ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
This list looks schizophrenic
So wait wait hold on, you guys are telling me that all of you expect every single year-end list to look exactly the same? You seriously think that NME, Cosmo,Blender, AP, Paste, Stereogum, Pitchfork, MTV, Grandmother’s Knitting Monthly, and all other publications should have top 10′s that include: Portishead, Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes, M83, Born Ruffians, Deerhunter, Deerhoof, Department of Eagles, Blitzen Trapper, and of Montreal?
Newsflash– people are not all part of one giant indie brain that rules the world.
This list sounds about right. Heard a radio interview today with one of Blender’s editors who was falling all over herself to proclaim the greatness of Chinese Democracy.
Guess Blender only gets POP promos in their “Music” Dept…
No Oasis?!?!
Soo glad TV on the Radio beat out Metallica, if it hadnt I need to make a mad dash to the bathroom to vomit my lunch…. Fucking Blender.
This list might be worse than Paste’s, but at least they included Ponytail….but Lil’ Wayne at #1? that retardulous.
Blender – Hey people! Are you growing out of that Alternative Press poo-on-paper happy horse shit? Are you noticing that your quasi-Asian indie bitch of a girlfriend is listening to weird things like M.I.A. and Justice? Do you still want that “whore-a-thon for meatheads” Maxim style mixed with your favorite jock-rock radio station? Do you miss those days where you could buy a Red Hot Chili Peppers album without getting laughed at by the skinny fagot behind that stinky fucking record store your smartass twat of a hipster girlfriend dragged you into? Well buy our magazine! You’ll learn about all that gay music your overly opinionated cumdumpster of a girlfriend is listening to while still able to feel good about working out to Lil Wayne or Metallica! Now you got indie creed and you still have your balls!!! Now go watch a Will Farrell movie and drink some Bud Light while your skinny jeaned American Apparel model fucks that shitbox hobo record store clerk.
Shitbox hobo record store clerks get all the love.
They get my respect for including Wale
here’s my list: eatingtheearth.blogspot.com/2008/11/best-records-of-2008.html
rip it apart, boys!
any list that has Of Montreal and Lil Wayne on its top10 spot is a waste of time. ugh.
fleet foxes are a fucking BORE, i sat through that shitfest just to see what the hype was about. but hey, the LP makes a great floor tile.
i use blender back issues for insulation.
Hey! That Girl Talk album is brilliant! Stop being so damn pretentious and enjoy it, you Coldplay-sucking hypocrites.
Blender is for 12 year olds.
where THE FUCK is Fleet Foxes in this list !?!?!?!?!!!!?
I like of Montreal.. but this is definitely not one of their better albums.. #7 WTF
Blender is teh complete suks
I can sort of understand missing All is Well by Sam Amidon since it didn’t get much hype, but no Fleet Foxes is really, really sad. Did these guys not visit a music blog this year?
Anger and frustration seem right on…why Top 33 and you know the list is bs when Taylor Swift and Mariah Carey are on it. This is a sad, sad statement on the status of recorded music. And there were actually some great albums this year (or at least ones I finally stumbled upon, I can be a bit slow); Jamie Lidell, Lady Gaga, Jazmine Sullivan, Kings of Leon…not all pop music has to be dumbed down.
i just threw up in my mouth a little bit.
ehh what is this?
where is radiohead? coldplay? come on now
blender’s taste is all in their mouth
“FATE” by DR. DOG has been praised by ALL of these magazines and they have done live shows of these songs at many of these studios and their world tour has been sold out for months… Where is “FATE”?? Many Dr. Dog fans are outraged. Even Kanye West and Beck has praised their album.
at least they got al green. that guy’s cool.
Just like other printing companies, the blender magazine is also struggling due to recession. Blender magazine will now quit printing, and will just switch to an entirely online format. It looks like short term loans couldn’t help their decreased revenue enough and they are no longer able to avoid layoffs. The magazine joins numerous other journals and newspapers that will no longer be able to keep up with costs associated with printing and the number of staff required to keep a publication circulating. The number of online only publications has been exploding, and many people are predicting the death of the newspaper and the magazine within the next decade. Among the first casualties appears to be Blender magazine. Read more at http://personalmoneystore.com/moneyblog/2009/03/27/blender-magazine-stop-printing-april-issue/