Ryan Catbird is going to make fun of me this year. I’ve got five of his seven predictions on my list. I am the most predictable music blogger ever and I don’t care. Just because I don’t hold contempt against Pitchfork doesn’t mean I’m a robot. Or maybe I am! Dun dun dunnnnn.

10. Adele – 19
My female musician crush of the year. (Last year’s was Alison Sudol, aka A Fine Frenzy, if you recall.) She’s got a voice beyond her years and is pretty cute too. A pop singer with actual talent? When’s the last time that happened?

9. Joshua James – The Sun is Always Brighter
I hate how much I like this album. It’s a collection of sad bastard songs that every whiny, lonely hipster with a guitar (i.e. me) wishes they could get away with writing. Think Ray LaMontagne, but with more self-pity and cooler vocals.

8. Lil’ Wayne – Tha Carter III
This was Lil’ Wayne’s year and I totally drank the Kool-Aid. Almost every track is solid and single-worthy which, in the hip hop world, is exactly what you want. Just don’t get me started about the nurse on “Dr. Carter” that makes me want to punch babies.

7. Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes
It’s like My Morning Jacket with more awesome and less wankery. This is the kind of album that makes songwriting look simple.

6. Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend
No blogger backlash here. I liked it as soon as I heard it and I like it even more now. If you haven’t heard of this band, I’ll mail a copy of the album to “Lives-under-a-rock Avenue.”

5. The Avett Brothers – The Second Gleam
As much credit as the Avetts deserve for making the banjo punk, it’s their lyrics that do it for me. Releasing an acoustic EP was the perfect way to get my attention and it totally worked. The first time I heard “Tear Down the House” I sat back and contemplated the state of my life. Seriously.

4. M83 – Saturdays=Youth
Listening to this reminds me of watching John Hughes movies with my sisters when I was little. It is unrepentantly and unironically 80s. There’s an underlying sense of confidence in every song that speaks volumes about their creator.

3. TV on the Radio – Dear Science
They write melodies that are addictive as hell. If “DLZ” doesn’t make you la-la and “Halfway Home” doesn’t make you clap, something is wrong with your brain.

2. This Will Destroy You – This Will Destroy You
After their post-rock masterpiece Young Mountain, it was difficult at first to embrace this album’s more ambient tone, but once it clicked I was hooked. More often than not, this is the last thing I hear before I fall asleep at night.

1. Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago
The only thing I don’t like about this album is that it’s not twice as long as it is. If you haven’t heard it, I will slap you right in the mouth. I don’t feel like repeating myself, so read my review.

Honorable Mention
Horse Feathers – House With No Home
Foals – Antidotes
Earth – The Bees Made Honey in the Lion’s Skull
Dan Le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip – Angles
French Kicks – Swimming
Tobacco – Fucked Up Friends
Sigur Rós – Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust
Justice – A Cross the Universe
John Mayer – Where the Light Is: Live in Los Angeles
My Brightest Diamond – A Thousand Shark’s Teeth

18 Responses to “Josh’s Top 10 Album List of 2008”

1. On 12/17/08 12:14 PM, Jay DiNitto said:

   

   FIRST

   LIST TOTALLY SUX BR0 DWEP ASAP

2. On 12/17/08 12:17 PM, magnumforce2006 said:

   

   Bon Iver as number one is a very good pick. That album is just absolutely beautiful.

3. On 12/17/08 12:39 PM, Justin Shaheen said:

   

   I’m happy to see that the Fleet Foxes made your list. The NW always gets ignored by the rest of the country, but I know you have some ties there.

4. On 12/17/08 1:28 PM, Josh Mock » Top albums of 2008 said:

   

   [...] I’m a self-promoting narcissist, I figured I would make sure my top albums of 2008 list on Buzzgrinder gets as much attention as [...]

5. On 12/17/08 3:49 PM, tyler h said:

   

   dude, don’t hide your buzz lightyear score, man! were you level 1 or something, did a little girl beat you or something?

6. On 12/17/08 4:51 PM, Josh Mock said:

   

   It is public knowledge that I am terrible at Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters. Here’s the full image. Notice how my score is a full order of magnitude lower than my friend’s.

7. On 12/17/08 5:55 PM, Quillen said:

   

   Even though “Swimming” is my least favorite French Kicks album, I appreciate the rare love given to that band on this list.

8. On 12/17/08 6:33 PM, Jess Taylor said:

   

   Very nice…Adele- I forgot about that album.
   I did enjoy it though!

   …TWDY. : )

9. On 12/17/08 6:43 PM, tyler h said:

   

   bwahahahahaha

   i feel pity for you, josh

   here is a tip for you if you ever attempt again…

   forget the circles, forget the squares, go for triangles and diamonds they are worth much, much more…and if you get lucky…its a really hard thing to do but on both zurg’s if you hit it just right there is a hidden target on his chest that is worth 50000 points each time you hit it…

   it helps to google for hints before attempting such a game

   http://img385.imageshack.us/my.php?image=n53198019450720944238bg9.jpg

   i got the 89th highest score in the magical kingdom the saturday before last…made my g/f mad haha

10. On 12/17/08 6:50 PM, Josh Mock said:

    

    @Quillen: I brought up Swimming because of my love of the tracks “Abandon” and “Said So What.” Those two songs hold up an otherwise average album, but I listened to the album so much because of them that I had to give it honorable mention.

11. On 12/17/08 7:11 PM, Quillen said:

    

    Josh: “Said So What” is totally good, and I think there are two tracks toward the end that are really nice. But yes, “Abandon” is a true jam. Have you spent any time with their two previous albums, “The Trial of the Century” and “Two Thousand?” Whoooo boy.

12. On 12/17/08 7:18 PM, Sarah said:

    

    Now I won’t have to ask you what I should listen to next.

13. On 12/17/08 10:18 PM, Josh Mock said:

    

    No I haven’t, Quillen. I’ve only heard them in passing a few times. The only reason I spent any significant time with this album in the first place is because I had to review it for another publication you might be familiar with.

    And Tyler: I have the worst aim ever. Even if I know which ones score the most points, the odds of me hitting them are slim.

14. On 12/18/08 1:04 PM, David said:

    

    This Will Destroy You is amazing. Definitely one of the best releases this year, hands down.

15. On 12/18/08 1:14 PM, tyler h said:

    

    you just gotta keep firing away! i dont think its possible to have good aim on that game…its a hard game…you just gotta keep shootin…but think about it…if you hit a circle for 100 points 220 times you get 22000 points…or you hit a diamond three times and you get 30000 points…hitting a circle is a waste of time. kind of like what fleet foxes was when my boss made me listen to them.

16. On 12/18/08 1:42 PM, Quillen said:

    

    Josh: I see. Well, I highly recommend checking them out. “The Trial of the Century” was my fourth favorite album of 2004 at the time, though in retrospect it was my favorite. And “Two Thousand” was my second favorite of 2006. I am a huge dork, in other words.

17. On 12/20/08 1:31 PM, joe said:

    

    at least someone has Sigur Ros.

18. On 09/15/09 3:02 PM, I’ll Be There: Joshua James at Downtown Brew | BUZZGRINDER said:

    

    [...] not delusional enough to think that anyone remembers my top 10 albums of 2008, much less the fact that I plugged Joshua James for the number 9 spot with his album The Sun Is [...]

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