Top 10 Albums of 2008

I listened to more new full albums this year than probably ever, largely due to having a fast internet connection, a stretch of unemployment, and a desire to put this list together. These rankings always change/potentially become embarrassing with time, but as of the second day of the new year here's my tops (update: I had to change this around a little after listening to the Erykah Badu obsessively).

10. Amplive - In Rainbowz (Radiohead In Rainbows Remixes)
The DJ/producer from Zion I turns my favorite album from last year into haunted hip hop/electro bangers. Who thought you'd ever hear Too $hort and Thom Yorke on the same track?

9. Q-Tip - The Renaissance
"What good is your ear if Q-Tip ain't in it?" The Abstract proves he's still on point (without Phife) with an incredibly tight, focused album of organically grooving jams that reminds you of the glory days without sounding stuck in the past.

8. Fucked Up- The Chemistry of Modern Life
It's been a looong time since I liked a hardcore album this much. That sun shining through city blocks is the perfect cover image, symbolizing the ultimate positivity of this band despite its ugly elements. It makes me feel like I can take on the world, despite everything.

7. Lil Wayne - Tha Carter 3
It was Wayne's year, without a doubt. This album showcases not so much the flow that took him to the top, but rather the weirdo pop smarts that's keeping him there. Let's hope he gets out of his "singing in Autotune and pretending to play guitar are awesome" phase and tops this.

6. El Guincho - Alegranza!
Its title is a rarely used word for 'happiness,' which seems appropriate. Endless tape loops, tribal chanting, innovative percussion, bizarro samples. The weird thing is that everyone was saying that he sounds like Animal Collective, but that wasn't true until the stuff on AC's new album.

5. Esau Mwamwaya and Radioclit are The Very Best
Another feel-good one, this time in a more traditional way. The Malawian sings gorgeous original melodies in his native language over a diverse array (MIA, Vampire Weekend, Michael Jackson) of backing tracks.

4. Gang Gang Dance - Saint Dymphna
Despite being apparently the most accessible album by this band, it's still definitely a grower. I love the freak-out live percussion skittering over the synths as the singer does otherworldly things with her voice.

3. Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours
This record proves that great songwriting and amazing electronic sounds aren't mutually exclusive. The acoustic guitars meld wonderfully with the keyboard arpeggios and 90s rave synths and the songs are sequenced in a way that you're totally ready for the four-on-the-floor, hands in the air moments.

2. Erykah Badu- New Amerykah Part One (New World War)
I had always seen Ms. Badu as merely an above average hippyish R&B singer, not really my cup of tea, and was not prepared for an album of this depth and magnificence. The lyrics explore complex social realities and the whole thing has a simultaneous 70s soul/avant garde hip hop vibe to it, like Stevie Wonder mixed by the spirit of J Dilla.

1. TV on the Radio - Dear Science
This started as my least favorite TVOTR album, and there are few tracks that still don't totally work for me (like the opener), but I've fallen in love with the rest of it. The addition of Antibalas as a horn section and the increased emphasis on funk were absolutely steps in the right direction, but the slow burners (Family Tree, Stork and Owl) are among the best they've ever done too.

Honorable Mentions:
Santogold's proper album and Top Ranking mixtape, Lindstrøm, Flying Lotus, Vampire Weekend, The Walkmen, Sigur Rós, Sébstien Tellier, Black Milk.