2008 in music.

Radiohead's In Rainbows rightfully won 2007. Let's see who wins 2008.

Billboard chart-topping albums of 2008:
Josh Groban - Noel (cont. from 2007)
Mary J. Blige - Growing Pains (cont. from 2007)
Radiohead - In Rainbows (cont. from 2007)
Alicia Keys - As I Am (cont. from 2007)
Soundtrack - Juno (cont. from 2007)
Jack Johnson - Sleep Through the Static
Janet Jackson - Discipline
Alan Jackson - Good Time
Rick Ross - Trilla
Danity Kane - Welcome to the Dollhouse
Day26 - Day26
George Strait - Troubador
Leona Lewis - Spirit (cont. from 2007)
Mariah Carey - E=MC2
Madonna - Hard Candy
Neil Diamond - Home Before Dark
Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs
3 Doors Down - 3 Doors Down
Usher - Here I Stand
Disturbed - Indestructible
Lil Wayne - Tha Carter III
Coldplay - Viva La Vida
Nas - Untitled
Miley Cyrus - Breakout
Sugarland - Love on the Inside
Soundtrack - Mamma Mia
Jonas Brothers - A Little Bit Longer
Slipknot - All Hope is Gone
Young Jeezy - The Recession
Metallica - Death Magnetic
TI - Paper Trail
Kenny Chesney - Lucky Old Sun
AC/DC - Black Ice
Soundtrack - Twilight
Taylor Swift - Fearless
Beyonce - I Am Sasha Fierce
Kanye West - 808s and Heartbreak
Briney Spears - Circus

Billboard chart-topping singles of 2008:
Flo Rida - Low
Usher - Love in This Club
Leona Lewis - Bleeding Love (cont. from 2007)
Mariah Carey - Touch My Body
Lil Wayne - Lollipop
Rihanna - Take a Bow
Coldplay - Viva La Vida
Katy Perry - I Kissed a Girl
Rihanna - Disturbia
TI - Whatever You Like
Pink - So What
TI - Live Your Life
Britney Spears - Womanizer
Beyonce - Single Ladies

What are your top three albums for 2008? We will keep a running tally and eventually have some sort of bracket. For me it would be:
1. Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Flight
2. Gojira - The Way of All Flesh
3. Colour Revolt - Plunder, Beg and Curse

What are some of the forgotten gems from the year? What is overrated? What did you discover at a young age and what did you discover later?

YEARS IN MUSIC • forum.chorus.fm

 

shawty had them applebottom jeans
boots with the fur
(with the fur)

 

remaining top 15:
4. Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs
5. Oasis - Dig Out Your Soul
6. Lil Wayne - Tha Carter III
7. The Mars Volta - The Bedlam in Goliath
8. The Gaslight Anthem - The '59 Sound
9. TV on the Radio - Dear Science
10. Kanye West - 808s & Heartbreak
11. Have Heart - Songs to Scream at the Sun
12. Coldplay - Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
13. Fucked Up - The Chemistry of Common Life
14. Phantom Planet - Raise the Dead
15. Ceremony - Still Nothing Moves You

honorable mentions:
Beach House - Devotion
The Black Angels - Directions to See a Ghost
The Black Keys - Attack & Release
Conor Oberst - Conor Oberst
Dear and the Headlights - Drunk Like Bible Times
Drive-By Truckers - Brighter Than Creation’s Dark
Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
Intronaut - Prehistoricisms
Kings of Leon - Only by the Night
The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age of the Understatement
Los Campesinos - Hold on Now, Youngster
Margot and the Nuclear So and Sos - Animal
Meshuggah - Obzen
Mogwai - The Hawk is Howling
Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts I-IV
Nine Inch Nails - The Slip
Okkervil River - The Stand Ins
The Parlor Mob - And You Were a Crow
Portishead - Third
Protest the Hero - Fortress
The Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonely
REM - Accelerate
Russian Circles - Station
Slipknot - All Hope is Gone
Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks - Real Emotional Trash
Taylor Swift - Fearless
Thrice - The Alchemy Index Vols. III & IV
Titus Andronicus - The Airing of Grievances
Underoath - Lost in the Sound of Separation
Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
The Verve - Forth
Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer

stuff to check out:
Beyonce - I Am Sasha Fierce
Deerhoof - Offend Maggie
Deerhunter - Microcastle
Destroyer - Trouble in Dreams
The Hold Steady - Stay Positive
Jazmine Sullivan - Fearless
Killer Mike - I Pledge Allegiance to the Grind II
Nas - Untitled
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Dig, Lazarus, Dig
Rick Ross - Trilla
The Roots - Rising Down
Solange - Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams
Tokyo Police Club - Elephant Shell
Why? - Alopecia

 

If I'd heard of Frightened Rabbit in 2008, it would've been Midnight Organ Fight for me too, but they were a couple years later for me

Looking back to 2008 my favorite was hands down Coldplay's Viva La Vida

I also really dug Heretic Pride by The Mountain Goats

 

1. Lil Wayne - Tha Carter III
2. Nana Grizol - Love it Love it
3. Meek Mill - Flamers

Algernon Cadwallader - Some Kind of Cadwallader
Girl Talk - Feed the Animals
Los Campesinos - Hold On Now Youngster
Los Campesinos - We are Beautiful, Doomed
Taylor Swift - Fearless
Kanye West - 808s and Heartbreak
Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
Hot Chip - Made in the Dark
Q-Tip - The Renaissance
Nine Inch Nails - The Slip
MGMT - Oracula Spectatular
Wale - Mixtape About Nothing
Arthur Russell - Love is Overtaking Me
Kid Cudi - A Kid Named Cudi
Nas - The Tape

 

tha carter iii rules, fun year to start college with that and 808s

 

Paper Trail was whatever but I remember downloading the leak that had some extra songs and this remains my favorite TI song. Incredible Dream hook:

 

Oasis 00's period is severely over-looked. The only "meh" album they really have in their catalog is Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants.

 

This song is so good too

 

1. Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight
2. Frank Turner - Love Ire & Song
3. Chad Perrone - Wake

Another fantastic year!

Frightened Rabbit were such a special band to me and Scott's lyrics, especially on this album, really connected with me. He was such a unique and interesting writer and I'll be forever grateful for the music they made.

Love, Ire & Song is my favourite Frank Turner record, I think it's a pretty perfect set of songs with some of his best lyricism and songwriting.

Bookended by two of my all time favourite songs, Wake is a fantastic record filled with really emotionally resonant lyrics and some of the best vocal performances of his career. The whole album sounds fantastic musically too, I really love the production and instrumentation.

Honourable mentions;

4. Copeland - You Are My Sunshine; It hurts to not be able to rank this one because I love it so much. One of the loveliest sounding albums I've ever heard. There's just something warm about it that makes me feel so happy. Some of my favourite vocals ever from Aaron on here.

5. Lydia - Illuminate; This is another really special sounding album and I really wish they made more music like this, or at least anywhere near this quality. I love pretty much everything about it.

6. The Reign of Kindo - Rhythm, Chord & Melody; I love this band so much, they have such a cool jazz influenced sound with really great vocals/songwriting.

7. Emarosa - Relativity; I don't love this quite as much as their EP but I think they do a fantastic job of changing their sound to fit Jonny's voice and I think this is the best thing he's ever been a part of.

8. Promise of Redemption - When the Flowers Bloom; This is probably one of the saddest albums I've ever heard, written after the death of his girlfriend, it deals with themes of loss and grief but it's also quite hopeful and celebratory of the love they shared. I really love it.

9. The Classic Crime - The Silver Cord; This is the only thing I've ever really gotten into by this band but it's so good. There's a ton of energy and the vocals are fantastic, they kinda remind me of a heavier Anberlin.

10. Joshua Radin - Simple Times; I've always really loved this album, despite being a little bit of a letdown compared to his first record. There's so many great songs on here.

11. The Used - Shallow Beliver; This is a b-sides compilation but I think it's better than most of their actual records, I don't think there's a song on here that I don't love.

12. Valencia - We All Need a Reason to Believe; This is kind of a follow up to the Promise of Redemption record. Follows a lot of the same themes but not quite as sad, it's a pretty standard pop punk sound but done about as well as it can be.

13. Panic at the Disco - Pretty. Odd.; One of the most disappointing albums ever for me that's grown a ton on me over the years. I really love this sound for them now and think it's a close second to Fever, some fantastic melodies and really fun lyrics. I just wish Ryan Ross never had the desire to sing.

14. Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs; Probably the last truly great Death Cab album, I really love the depressing vibe lyrically here.

15. Kanye West - 808s & Heartbreak; This is another album that's grown on me a lot over the years, the production is so damn good and I love the sound of Kanye's voice with the autotune. Some of his saddest, most personal material.

16. La Dispute - Somewhere at the Bottom of the River; I've always thought of this album as significantly weaker than the two that followed but listening to it this week it's a lot better than I thought. The lyrics are fantastic as usual with this band but the songs have a kind of energy and fun to them musically despite the depressing themes.

17. Pompeii - Nothing Happens for a Reason; Really lovely little album, great melodies, nice slightly post-rock influenced sound. Love the use of strings on here.

18. Cute is What We Aim For - Rotation; More fun pop rock from these guys. I like it a bit less than I used to but these are still fun songs.

19. Brightwood - Wake; Another catchy pop rock record with great vocals, I definitely have a preference for this shit. Love this albums vibes.

20. Taylor Swift - Fearless; This has grown on me so much thanks to the Taylor's Version release. I still like that one more but I've grown to really love a lot of these songs.

21. Foxy Shazam - Introducing Foxy Shazam; Man I miss this version of Foxy Shazam, Eric had so much passion and charisma in his voice. Love the aggression and energy on here.

22. Moving Mountains - Foreward; Some fantastic stuff on here but it does feel like every song is significantly longer than it needs to be and it kinda hurts it a tad. Still love it though, just not quite on the same level as Pneuma or Waves for me.

23. Fall Out Boy - Folie a Deux; The best stuff on here is easily my favourite version of Fall Out Boy. Stuff like "Disloyal Order" or "Headfirst Slide" are perfect FOB songs but like every album of theirs for me, it's really inconsistant.

24. The All American Rejects - When the World Comes Down; Like Folie, this has some of the best songs the band has ever done, some of the worst, and a bunch in between.

25. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes; Lovely sounding record with some really nice songwriting. Nothing on here really blows me away but I really like all of it.

26. Thrice - The Alchemy Index III & IV; I think the sounds they experiment with here are really cool and fit the concept well but overall it doesn't quite stand up against their best records.

27. McFly - Radio:Active; This was another pretty disappointing album for me, not nearly as interesting or well written as thier last two albums. That said I still enjoy it a decent amount.

28. Midori - Aratamemashite, hajimemashite, Midori desu.; Super fun Japanese punk record, really love the vocals and use of piano. It's hectic and fun, would probably be higher if I'd spent as long with it as some of the others on here.

29. House of Heroes - The End is Not the End; This is a rather inconsistant one for me but it usually has great verses and rather weak choruses. I still like it a lot overall and it has a handful of really great songs.

30. Forgive Durden - Razia's Shadow: A Musical; I really like the ambition on here and I really love some of the songs too but it also has a good chunk that I don't like at all, usually because I dislike the guest vocalists. Still a cool album!

 

Talk about big musical discovery year for high school me

1. Lil Wayne - Tha Carter III
2. Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs
3. The Gaslight Anthem - The 59' Sound

ALSO
Kanye West - 808s and Heartbreak
Jack's Mannequin - The Glass Passenger
Kid Cudi - A Kid Named Cudi
Fall Out Boy - Folie a Deux
Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
The Reign of Kindo - Rhythm, Chord & Melody
The Years Gone By - Forever Comes Too Soon
Panic! At the Disco - Pretty.Odd
Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
Copeland - You Are My Sunshine
Bring Me the Horizon - Suicide Season
Lil Wayne - Dedication 3
Rise Against - Appeal To Reason
Los Campesinos! - Hold On Now, Youngster!
Lydia - Illuminate
Suicide Silence - The Cleansing
Anberlin - New Surrender
Coldplay - Viva La Vida or Death & All His Friends
Girl Talk - Feed the Animals
Have A Nice Life - Deathconsciousness
Oasis - Dig Out Your Soul
Bayside - Shudder
Dirty Heads - Any Port in the Storm
The Fall of Troy - Phantom on the Horizon
Flying Lotus - Los Angeles
Portugal. The Man - Censored Colors
The Kooks - Konk
TV On the Radio - Dear Science
MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
Protest the Hero - Fortress
Less Than Jake - GNV FLA
Valencia - We All Need A Reason To Believe
Senses Fail - Life Is Not A Waiting Room
The Maine - Can't Stop, Won't Stop
Thrice - The Alchemy Index Vols. III & IV
Goldfinger - Hello Destiny
Alkaline Trio - Agony & Irony
The Black Keys - Attack & Release
The Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonely
Why? - Alopecia

 

1. Chad Perrone - Keep Us Around
2. Frightened Rabbit - Floating in the Forth
3. The Classic Crime - The Beginning (A Simple Seed)
4. The Reign of Kindo - Hold Out
5. Emarosa - The Past Should Stay Dead
6. The All-American Rejects - Another Heart Calls
7. La Dispute - Said the King to the River
8. Panic at the Disco - When the Day Met the Night
9. Frank Turner - A Love Worth Keeping
10. Copeland - Strange and Unprepared
11. Promise of Redemption - It Just Takes Time
12. Fall Out Boy - (Coffee's for Closers)
13. Lydia - Sleep Well
14. Pompeii - Rabbit Ears
15. Death Cab for Cutie - Grapevine Fires
16. Joshua Radin - They Bring Me to You
17. Kanye West - Welcome to Heartbreak
18. Taylor Swift - Forever & Always
19. Valencia - The Good Life
20. Foxy Shazam - Red Cape Diver
21. Thrice - Broken Lungs
22. The Used - My Pesticide
23. Coldplay - Viva la Vida
24. McFly - Falling in Love
25. Midori - Yukikosan
26. Brightwood - Conversations With Stars
27. Cute is What We Aim For - Practice Makes Perfect
28. Forgive Durden - The Missing Piece
29. House of Heroes - By Your Side
30. Fleet Foxes - Ragged Wood

Songs list.

 

1. La Dispute - Somewhere at the Bottom....
2. Conor Oberst - S/T
3. Now, Now Every Children - Cars

Tigers Jaw - S/T
MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
Have a Nice Life - Deathconsciousness
Beach House - Devotion
WHY? - Alopecia
Lydia - Illuminate
Colour Revolt - Plunder, Beg, and Curse
Underoath - Lost in the Sound of Separation
The Sound of Animals Fighting - The Ocean and The Sun
Forgive Durden - Razia's Shadow
Little Joy - S/T
Right Away, Great Captain - The Eventually Home
Library Tapes - Somewhere Beneath The Trees

 

it’s their best album but i agree with your general point

the meh album is heathen chemistry

 

No big shocker there folks, lol:
1. Fall Out Boy – Folie a Deux
2. Augustana – Can’t Love, Can’t Hurt
3. Kings of Leon – Only by the Night

4. Katy Perry – One of the Boys
5. Gavin DeGraw – S/T
6. Lady Gaga – the Fame
7. Ashlee Simpson – Bittersweet World
8. Hit the Lights – Skip School, Start Fights
9. The Cab – Whisper War
10. Jack’s Mannequin – The Glass Passenger

And the Rest that were on Rotation:
Lydia - Illuminate
Ludo - You're Awful, I Love You
Jason Mraz – We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things
Coldplay – Viva La Vida
Anberlin – New Surrender
Jack’s Mannequin – The Glass Passenger
Taylor Swift - Fearless
Kanye West – 808s & Heartbreak
Beyonce – I Am… Sasha Fierce
Pink - Funhouse
Joshua Radin – Simple Times
Trapt – Only Through The Pain
David Banner – The Greatest Story Ever Told
The Maine – Can’t Stop Won’t Stop
Lil Wayne – Tha Carter III
Jesse McCartney - Departure
3 Doors Down – S/T
Steve Winwood – Nine Lives
Adele – 19
Vampire Weekend – S/T
Danity Kane – Welcome to the Dollhouse
Flo Rida – Mail on Sunday
Panic! At the Disco – Pretty. Odd.
Fall Out Boy – Live in Phoenix
Flight of the Conchords – S/T
3OH!3 – Want
Hit the Lights – Skip School, Start Fights
Zac Brown Band – the Foundation

 

I've been very much doing these in terms of my favorites now in 2022, not what my favorite was back then (although in many cases they're the same)

 

1. Story of the Year - The Black Swan
2. City & Colour - Bring me Your Love
3. Lil Wayne - Tha Carter III

 

1. La Dispute – Somewhere at the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair
2. Dance Gavin Dance – Dance Gavin Dance
3. Frank Turner – Love, Ire & Song

4. Frightened Rabbit – The Midnight Organ Fight
5. Defeater – Travels
6. Protest the Hero – Fortress
7. Underoath – Lost in the Sound of Separation
8. United Nations – United Nations
9. Tigers Jaw – Tigers Jaw
10. Kanye West – 808s and Heartbreak

 

This was the first year I started doing year-end lists and, consulting with it, my tastes have grown as there is such little crossover as I reconsider the year:

01) THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM - The 59 Sound

Obvious answer but still an incredibly romantic shot of earnest and heartfelt rock and roll and was my most played in 08.

02) FALL OUT BOY - Folie A Deux

The FOB "truther" album that contains both their catchiest and most experimental music to date while also setting the stage with the back half for their reboot in 2013.

03) FLEET FOXES - Fleet Foxes

The pinnacle of indie's beard-rock era with beautiful lush harmonies and gorgeous songs.

04) DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE - Narrow Stairs

Maybe Death Cab internalized how often they were associated with The OC and that whole scene and decided to make a weird, darker record which thankfully didn't sacrifice any melody.

05) TV ON THE RADIO - Dear Science

A futuristic and paranoid freak-out that equally draws from both R&B and indie rock.

06) SANTIGOLD - Santigold

This is what happens when a former A&R scout just decides to make bangers on her own terms.

07) KAISER CHIEFS - OfF With Their Heads

My lists have always featured a number of acts that just never quite hit in the US and the Kaiser Chiefs should have been much bigger here. They kept their pile-driving sound with some added keyboard/new-wave touches.

08) PANIC AT THE DISCO - Pretty Odd

This is the Panic "truther" album and dark horse in their catalog since the departed Ryan Ross was really taking the lead here. Emo-through-Beatles is a lazy but accurate way to describe this.

09) CUT COPY - In Ghost Colours

Sharperning their beats into songs, Cut Copy began their run of excellent synth-pop jams.

10) ELBOW - The Seldom Seen Kid

Smart, eccentric, gorgeous and charming British rock that deserves all the recoginition and awards it received.

11) PORTISHEAD - Third

Most welcome comeback of 2008 with Portishead going beyond their trip-hop label and building one of the most impressive sonic soundscapes of the year.

12) COLDPLAY - Viva La Vida Or Death Of All His Friends

A fairly bold (for Coldplay at least) reinvention that was both an artistic and commercial success.

13) BLOC PARTY - Intamacy

Some people scoffed at Bloc Party de-emphasizing organic instruments in favor of electronic templates but I still love this record.

14) VAMPIRE WEEKEND - Vampire Weekend

The hype and backlash around this band was absurd at the time and now their debut just sits as an extremely sharp, catchy and well-crafted indie pop debut that set the stage for a long career.

15) THE RACONETURS - Consolers Of THe Lonely

Feeling more like a band than on their debut, Jack White and Brendan Benson kick up a fun racket to emphasize their unique rock and roll songwriting.

16) FRIGHTENED RABBIT - The Midnight Organ Fight

A fantastic morose and brooding record that still feels as sad as it did in 2008

17) THRICE - The Alchemy Index Vol III and IV: Air and Earth

Thrice continues their experimental bent adding more acoustic and natural-sounding instrumentation.

18) FRIENDLY FIRES - Friendly Fires

More dance-ready electronic indie rock jams that unfortunately never quite got as far in the US.

19) LUDO - You're Awful, I Love You

Funny and quirky pop/rock from a band that could comfortably play both the Warped tour and Coachella

20) CAGE THE ELEPHANT - Cage The Elephant

I forever had this tagged as a 2009 album but Wikipedia obviously can't lie. Scuzzy blues-driven rock that, similar to Vampire Weekend, was a precursor to a much longer career.

21) SNOW PATROL - A Hundred Million Suns

With Coldplay going more experimental and U2 absent, we needed an earnest group of UK balladeers to give us U2-sized anthems and Snow Patrol delivered.

22) THE BLACK KEYS - Attack And Release

The last "dirty" sounding record for The Black Keys before they hit the mainstream, this one grooves by one track after another.

23) OASIS - Dig Out Your Soul

As experimental as Oasis gets they finally got over their worry of repeating Be Here Now and added some psychedelic touches to their winning approach.

24) RISE AGAINST - Appeal To Reason

Expanding beyond the punk scene and no doubt influenced by playing some of those rock radio shows, Rise Against release their biggest sounding record to date with both lighter and heavier touches.

25) FOXBORO HOT TUBS - Foxboro Hot Tubs

In between recording their second rock opera and, most likely, as a way to blow off steam due to the pressure of following up American Idiot, Green Day boogied on this collection of 12 60's garage-rock inspired jams.

26) SIGUR ROS - Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust

More insanely beautiful, atmospheric music that no one else does better, Sigur Ros is best when they're just being themselves.

27) THE HOLD STEADY - Stay Positive

One of the few albums indie rock and Warped scene kids could agree on, this soundtracked the nervy year of 2008.

28) METALLICA - Death Magnetic

Fogetting the loudness wars issue this album got me back on board for Metallica and features some of their trickiest and most complex compositions.

29) LYKKE LI - Youth Novels

A fantastic debt that can soundtrack both dance floors and bedroom headphone listening

30) SCARS ON BROADWAY - Scars On Broadway

Not quite as good as a System Of A Down record but I prefer Daron's hooky, riff-centric approach to Serj's avant-garde pop

HONORABLE MENTIONS

COUNTING CROWS - Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings

A worthy candidate to an already stacked catalog

CITY AND COLOUR - Bring Me Your Love

Beautiful singer/songwriter record from a dude that came from a "screamo" band I never cared for

GNARLS BARKLEY - The Odd Couple

A slight freak-out to a international smash that still provided a ton of interesting moments

IDA MARIA - Fortress Around My Heart

I loved in this in 2008 and there was a ton of hype (remember the ill-fated Perez Hilton tour she headlined?) Haven't listened to this in a while but it's still a great indie rock/pop album.

NICKELBACK - Dark Horse

Not a joke, Nickelback partnered with Mutt Lange to make a glossy, big-sounding butt-rock album with non-stop hooks.

FOALS - Antidotes

Tricky and twitchy sounding indie rock that was just the first chapter

LYDIA - Illuminate

Forgot about this one until I saw someone mention it but great dream pop embraced by the Warped crowd

NINE INCH NAILS - The Slip

The most casual, tossed-off release NIN has ever made and also the most concise.

 

Eh I'm team HC any day due to Songbird, Little By Little, Hindu Times, etc.

 

songbird might be their worst song on any album hahahah

 

Not even gonna lie, this was our fucking jam in the club. My girl Gina and I still go nuts whenever we hear it lol

 

Seen a few people call out the All-American Rejects and, while that album is just ok to me, "Another Heart Calls" is my favorite song by them.

 

Man, a top 3 this year was hard for some reason. Lots of albums I love, but this was the height of my loving albums that I don't like that much anymore. Also the height of me burning CDs for my friends and trading them like currency at school.


1. Fall Out Boy - Folie a Deux

• Without a doubt my favorite Fall Out Boy album. Love just about every song here. Every strange experiment works for me (except I always skip the Pete part at the end of "20 Dollar Nose Bleed). Every cheesy line and bombastic melody has worked its way into my vernacular over the years and this was the first FOB album release I really got to be a part of. I remember the mixtape, I remember playing FOB Oregon Trail, I remember the album getting pushed back over a month and being fucking bummed. Here's a fun game: what songs would you pick here as singles instead of "I Don't Care" and "America's Suitehearts?" "Tiffany Blews" seems like an easy choice to me.

2. Flight of the Conchords - Flight of the Conchords

• Had a really hard time picking my #2, but ultimately choice this because it was my group of friends' consensus favorite album. We didn't find this album until a few years after it came out, but when we did, we memorized every word on this beast and would terrorize our high school like a bunch of alt comedy theater kids.

3. House of Heroes - The End Is Not The End

• Almost put Panic! here, but wanted to go with the strange choice. One of my band members introduced me to this band and since then, I've liked pretty much everything they put out. This one is probably my second or third favorite of their albums, but it definitely contains the most ambition they'd ever record. Lyrics are a little religousy and regressive, but as Relient K proved to me, I don't care how many times you say "God" in a song as long as it is catchy or has some cool guitar parts.

Honorable Mentions
Metallica - Death Magnetic

• Album #1 that both me and my dad were able to love. I also got Guitar Hero: Metallica, which fixed the loudness problem, and this is a solid batch of songs.

AC/DC - Black Ice

• Album #2 that both me and my dad were able to love. Some great tunes and riffs here.

Relient K - The Bird & the Bee Sides

• LOVED both sides of this album so much when I was younger. I think side A does a great job preparing the fanbase for FANSD and side B has a ton of great pop punk bangers that could've easily lived on their first few albums.

Ludo - You're Awful, I Love You

• Contains Ludo's highest highs and most middling tracks. And some unsettling incel-y lyrics, but the hooks are catchy and the guitar work is superb.

The Academy Is... - Fast Times At Barrington High

• An album that was unfairly maligned upon release. The "glossy" production is almost humorously raw compared to pop punk now and I honestly think every song is at the very least good.

Jack's Mannequin - The Glass Passenger

• Great album that could probably be trimmed by a few minutes. It's the more introspective stuff that works best for me here. Never got into American Love or Suicide Blonde.

Foxy Shazam - Introducing

• Fun band is missed. Weird lyrics on here too.

The Gaslight Anthem - The '59 Sound

• Really love about half this album. Definitely had a too-early nostalgic sound for me at the time, so I had to go back and get into it a few minutes later.

Phantom Planet - Raise the Dead

• Really love the first half of this album and easily my favorite Phantom Planet album. It's too bad this didn't catapult them into the stratosphere, because the 1-2 punch of the title track into "Dropped" certainly makes me want to.

Anberlin - New Surrender

• My first Anberlin album! The ballads on here are pretty cheesy, but I quite like the album's poppier sound.

Panic At the Disco - Pretty. Odd.

• Almost my #3, I can't believe I liked this album when it came out. But the melodies are absolutely gorgeous. Click here to see the deluxe vinyl I bought in 2008.

The Offspring - Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace

• This album is all I listened to in 2008. Led by the strength of "You're Gonna Go Far, Kid," this dominated my 5-disc changer for years to come. Pretty wild to listen now and hear how bad they're stealing from Linkin Park and Green Day on this thing.

Bayside - Shudder

• A lesser Bayside album, but still a ton of fun. "The Ghost of St. Valentine," right into "No One Understands," is one of the strongest pop Bayside duos.

Butch Walker - Sycamore Meadows

• A little too organic-sounding for my '08 tastes, I didn't like this when it came out, but I love it now and recognize it as one of his best.

The All-American Rejects - When the World Comes Down

• Did not care much for this album when it came out, but recently re-listened and I think it's way more consistent than I gave it credit for. People in here are right about "Another Heart Calls." I also think "Breakin'" is underrated.

Others
Kanye West - 808s and Heartbreak

• Back when he could still turn his anguish into good music.

The Airborne Toxic Event - The Airborne Toxic Event

• Love the one song from this.

Alkaline Trio - Agony & Irony

• My first Alk3 album, I got into the band seeing the awful video for "Help Me" on Fuse. One of their bottom 3 albums for me personally because Skiba tips fully into autopilot.

Forgive Durden - Razia's Shadow

• What an interesting album. Kinda like it, kinda don't.

Weezer - The Red Album

• The strangest Weezer album, IMO. Half good, half bad, and a quarter great, I LOVE the production on this album and actually don't hate Brian or Pat's songs.

Rise Against - Appeal to Reason

• Liked the singles a lot, haven't really revisited.

Forever the Sickest Kids - Underdog Alma Mater

• I loved the front half of this album when I was young. I still think there are some super strong choruses here, even if this is definitely indicative of where the genre should not have been going.

3OH!3 - Want

• Proof that these guys knew how to write a hook. Front to back bangers that have aged questionably.

Santigold - Santigold

• Stuffed with great songs.

The Friday Night Boys - Off the Deep End

• Love love loved these guys back in '08/'09. I don't think this ever broke out the way it should've, but I also think they chose bad singles. Weird lyrics on here too.

Cage the Elephant - Cage the Elephant

• God I wish this band still sounded like this.

 

1. gaslight anthem - the 59 sound
2. Fleet foxes - fleet foxes
3. TV on the Radio - Dear Science