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Home > Atlanta Music Scene > Archives > 2008 > December > 31
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Sonia and Shane’s Top CDs of 2008
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Of course, Sunday’s recap of notable moments in local music wasn’t our only look back at 2008.
On this last day of the year, we round up our Top 10 albums. Tomorrow it’s the Top 10 singles. And Friday, top local shows and local indie releases.
Feel free to add your own.
And now, drumroll please:
SONIA MURRAY’S TEN FAVORITE ALBUMS OF 2008
1) “Evolver,” John Legend. 2) “Paper Trail,” T.I. 3) “Tha Carter III,” Lil Wayne 4) “Leave It All Behind,” The Foreign Exchange 5) “Year of the Gentleman,” Ne-Yo 6) “New Amerykah, Pt. 1 4th World War” Erykah Badu 7) “19,” Adele 8) “Fearless,” Jazmine Sullivan 9) “Here I Stand,” Usher 10) “Viva la Vida,” Coldplay SHANE HARRISON’S TEN FAVORITE ABLUMS OF 2008 1) “Heretic Pride,” Mountain Goats 2) “Vampire Weekend,” Vampire Weekend
Tightly wound indie-pop bounce meshes with the trebly guitar of African pop and some call-and-response vocal interplay on the freshest-sounding debut album of the year. 3) “Glasvegas,” Glasvegas
Spector goes to Scotland and gets pummeled by a quartet of sensitive young punks. 4) “Made in the Dark,” Hot Chip
The latest slice of electro-pop eclecticism from this British quintet is like aural pop art: In some moments it’s pleasantly familiar and in others it skitters and crackles with icy techno funkiness. 5) “The Age of Understatement,” The Last Shadow Puppets
Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner does haunting ’60s pop melodrama 6) “Vagabond,” Spiers & Boden 7) “Rook,” Shearwater
Since both band and album are named for birds (leader Jonathan Meiburg is an ornithologist), the music offers plenty of opportunities to use the word “soaring.” Those high-flown moments — and occasional jolts of shattering musical thunder —are balanced with stretches of intimate beauty starring Meiburg’s shiver-inducing voice. 8) “A Piece of What You Need,” Teddy Thompson
The son of British folk-rock legends Richard and Linda Thompson finally made the album we knew he had in him with this pitch perfect piece of pop-rock. 9) “In Ear Park,” Department of Eagles
Innovative New York outfit Grizzly Bear took the year off, but this sweet slab of pop experimentalism from GB’s Daniel Rossen filled the void. 10) “Carried to Dust,” Calexico A BAKER’S DOZEN HONORABLE MENTIONS “Matachin,” Bellowhead “Alopecia,” Why? “The Stand-Ins,” Okkervil River “The Rhumb Line,” Ra Ra Riot “Hold On Now, Youngster,” Los Campesinos “Shallow Grave,” The Tallest Man on Earth “Lust Lust Lust,” The Raveonettes “The Seldom Seen Kid,” Elbow “Real Animal,” Alejandro Escovedo “Santogold,” Santogold “Blood’s Too Rich,” Luke Doucet “Everything That Happens Will Happen Today,” David Byrne and Brian Eno “Fleet Foxes,” Fleet Foxes 
John Darnielle’s smart, incisive and occasionally acidic lyrics have never been this fetchingly presented. The hooks gleam, but the real barbs are just beneath that catchy surface.
Traditional British folk is dragged into the new millennium by this high-energy melodeon-and-fiddle duo.
The Arizona outfit sounded re-energized on this follow-up to the more subdued “Garden Ruin,” a lovely album that was a little light on the band’s usual Mexican spice. “Carried to Dust” brings that flavor back full force.
