ShockHound

1. MGMT — Oracular Spectacular
2. TV On The Radio — Dear Science
3. Portishead — Third
4. Kings of Leon — Only By The Night
5. Darker My Love — 2
6. Death Cab for Cutie — Narrow Stairs
7. The Gaslight Anthem — The '59 Sound
8. Ryan Adams & The Cardinals — Cardinology
9. M83 — Saturdays = Youth
10. Bon Iver — For Emma, Forever Ago

In a year dominated by headlines about Britney Spears’ mental health, Madonna’s divorce, Led Zeppelin’s “will they or won’t they” reunion and Dr. Pepper’s bizarre attempt to cash in on the release of the new Guns N’ Roses album, it was easy to occasionally forget that there was actual music being made — wonderful, life-affirming, ass-kicking music, at that.
    In fact, so many killer albums came out in 2008, we didn’t have the faintest idea of where to start our year-end “Best Of” roundup. So in the grand American democratic tradition (as well as the grand American tradition of passing the buck), we asked the ShockHound staff — along with some friends and extended family — to vote for their 10 favorite albums of 2008.
    The albums that received the most votes across the board are listed below, but are by no means the only slabs o’ sound from the past 12 months that deserve some space on your MP3 player. (To see how our panelists voted — and to find out about over 100 other amazing albums from this year — CLICK HERE.) But from MGMT (pictured above) down through Bon Iver, these are 10 albums you truly can't go wrong with.

1. MGMT — Oracular Spectacular


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Ironically enough, a project that started out as a joke between Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden became one of the most revered albums of 2008, and for good reason: The duo’s debut studio effort is a synth-driven masterpiece with groovable tunes, catchy hooks and intoxicating dance beats eaten up by neon-clad club junkies and hard-to-please indie kids alike. Catapulted by the tongue-in-cheek single, “Time to Pretend,” about the fantasy life of fast cars and faster women, the rest of the album lives up to expectations with the funky, Prince-esque “Electric Feel,” the dancefloor anthem “Kids,” and the airy space rock of “The Youth.” While MGMT may be responsible for making sweatbands acceptable club attire, we can find it in our hearts to forgive them if they keep cranking out infectious electro-pop like this.
— Courtney Lear

2. TV On The Radio — Dear Science


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How do you top an album (Return to Cookie Mountain) that was widely praised as the best release of 2006? How about with the most widely acclaimed album of 2008? The Brooklynites’ Dear Science has already topped Best of 2008 lists from Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly and Spin (and just missed the top slot on ShockHound’s list). TV on the Radio’s sound has never been easy to classify…and Dear Science pushed the boundaries even farther with its space age melding of post-punk, doo-wop, psychedelia, indie rock, funk and soul. Yet somehow they ended up with their most cohesive and accessible effort to date. The end result is an album that is ambitious, beautiful, and timeless.
— Randy Bookasta

3. Portishead — Third


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In 1998, electronica trailblazers Portishead were riding a wave of commercial and artistic success, culminating with their epic Roseland NYC Live album recorded with the New York Philharmonic. And then...nothing…for over 10 years. The Bristol trio finally emerged in 2008 with their striking Third, an album that measures up with their groundbreaking ‘90s releases. Challenged with expanding their sound while still sounding recognizable, they sculpted an album that is unmistakably Portishead while far more extreme than their previous output. There’s nothing on Third that anyone could label as “trip-hop,” and unlike it predecessors, this music would likely rattle any dinner party. Appropriately, Third finished third in ShockHound’s year-end list. 
— Randy Bookasta

4. Kings of Leon — Only By The Night


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On Kings of Leon’s fourth studio effort, the boys from Tennessee whittle down their heavy Southern influence to carve out a real re-fined anthem rock style that stays true to their roots without getting lost in a gimmick. Maturation aside, this album could have been overlooked as a solid arena rock effort without a second glance, but it’s the raw energy and urgency behind the music that sets this album apart from the band’s catalog and the slew of great records released this year. Without a doubt the standout track, no matter how many times you’ve heard it on the radio, is the appropriately titled “Sex on Fire.” Driven by frontman Caleb Followill’s passionate, soulful vocals, it’s not just baby-makin’ music — it’s throw-you-on-the-bed, rip-off-your-shirt, claw-marks-down-your-back music.
— Courtney Lear

5. Darker My Love — 2


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LA’s Darker My Love squarely hit the psych-pop sweet spot on their aptly titled second album, a hypnotic and beguiling mixture of distorted guitars — Black Rebel Motorcycle comparisons have abounded, though these cats actually have better songs — spacy shoegazer jams, propulsive Kraftwerk-meets-Led Zep rhythms, and wistful Laurel Canyon harmonies. Though the band tries to dodge the “psychedelic” label, it’s hard to argue with the blissfully transportive qualities of tracks like “Two Ways Out,” “White Composition” or “Immediate Undertaking,” even while fuzz-fests like “Blue Day” and “Wave” come close to flaying the skin from right off your face. 
— Dan Epstein

6. Death Cab for Cutie — Narrow Stairs


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Death Cab for Cutie’s 2008 outing saw them making a substantial departure from the lovable, upbeat emo rock of their Transatlanticism and Plans days. Ben Gibbard’s heart-warming turns of phrase have taken on a world-weary tone of desperation, most noticeably in the foreign loneliness of “Your New Twin Sized Bed” the self-pitying “You Can Do Better Than Me” and the ballad of an ill-fated bride in “Cath.” (“And soon everybody will ask what became of you/'Cause your heart was dying fast, and you didn't know what to do,” he sings in the latter.) You may be sleeping comfortably in a king sized bed with your significant other, you may think that you’re a complete catch, you may even be happily married; but with each track, the characters that Gibbard concocts with ease become heart-wrenchingly real and completely relatable.
— Courtney Lear

7. The Gaslight Anthem — The '59 Sound


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In a year where this country’s massive economic woes finally got people talking again about the plight of the American working (and middle) class, the Gaslight Anthem’s second album was just what the doctor ordered. These Jersey boys wear their Springsteen influence on their greasy sleeves, and it came through loud and clear on tracks like “Old White Lincoln,” “High Lonesome” and (well, duh) “Meet Me By The River’s Edge.” But Brian Fallon’s heartfelt tales of broken dreams and busted axels sounded fresher and grittier than anything The Boss has waxed in 25 years, and they struck a chord with enough ShockHound voters to crash The ’59 Sound into our year-end Top 10.
— Dan Epstein

8. Ryan Adams & The Cardinals — Cardinology


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Once hailed as one of the greatest songwriters of his generation, Ryan Adams has come perilously close over the last few years to pissing his talent and reputation away. But as Cardinology proved, the man is not only back, but raising the bar. “Born Into A Light, “ “Go Easy,” “Fix It,” “Let Us Down Easy” and “Like Yesterday” are more than just great roots rock songs — their meditative lyrics and organic instrumental interplay totally warm the soul and lift the spirit. And “Stop,” the glacial, Neil Young-damaged rehab ballad that closes the album, may be the single most honest and devastating performance of Adams’ career.
— Dan Epstein

9. M83 — Saturdays = Youth


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It's taken Anthony Gonzalez a few years to reach critical mass, but 2008's Saturdays = Youth finally did it. Call it the John Hughes soundtrack that never was, an electro-pop masterpiece of shoegazy guitars and spaced out synths written in homage of high school romance. From anthems written for best friends to the story of a young goth girl's crush to instrumental loveletters, this bildungsroman album weaves a lovelorn narrative taking the listener on a familiar journey back in time to whimsical school days and never-ending summers.
— Tatiana Simonian

10. Bon Iver — For Emma, Forever Ago


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In a year of bombastic hip-hop and pop, the unlikeliest of debuts came from a Midwest warbler named Justin Vernon, aka Bon Iver. After cooping himself up in a remote cabin, the Wisconsin native spawned an album with the stirring, emotive qualities of Antony and the Johnsons and the haunting aura of Jeff Buckley. Singer-songwriters are around every corner these days, but few posses the rare stuff that a legacy artist is made of: Justin Vernon is one of them.
— Tatiana Simonian

Related Artists MGMT Bon Iver Darker My Love Death Cab For Cutie Kings Of Leon M83 Portishead Ryan Adams & The Cardinals The Gaslight Anthem TV On The Radio