Rolling Stone: 50 Best Albums of 2008

[IKnowWhereIAM]

If CD it may have ranked higher..But whatever, still cool it was metioned...My issue of that liberal rag, which I haven't been charged for in years, has yet arrived..Where did Britneys new album rank?

RS is to magazines, as mtv is to television.  Of Course to rank albums on anything but sales, ends up being purely subjective, based on the tastes of the few who are polled...and even album sales only indicates the subjective tastes of the masses (since so many seem to be interested in cRap, cRap will dominate).   The only ranking that should matter is your own...everything else is just designed to fill in the space between paid advertisements.

I used to subscribe to an certain un-named magazine a few years back...and one day after I finished reading everything that could be considered an 'article' in a single sitting on the 'throne', I decided to see what percentage of the mag - based on space usage - was paid ads...it came out to a total of something like 50 pages out of 75.  66% crap.  33% meaninless filler, in a constantly recycled/reused format.  1% thoughtful writing (in the 'letters to the editor' section).

[FunkyMonkey]

Nice that GNR are on both lists...

http://www.rollingstone.com/issue1068-69

[FunkyMonkey]

From the Boston Globe...

Sarah Rodman's top CD picks of 2008

December 14, 2008

SHE & HIM, "Volume One" (Merge) M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel celebrate a mutual love of vintage pop, soul, and country on this sepia-toned and blissfully irony-free charmer that includes an achingly intimate take on Smokey Robinson's "You Really Got a Hold on Me."

GUNS N' ROSES, "Chinese Democracy" (Geffen) Axl Rose proves that the emperor actually has some sweet threads. Maybe not worth the wait, but worth its weight in screaming guitar solos, pop songcraft, and heavy metal pomp.

THE ROOTS, "Rising Down" (Def Jam) Who else could boast of being "part Mele Mel and part Van Halen" and only be scratching the surface? If the world is burning down, this Philly hip-hop group convincingly offers up its services as the house band for the apocalypse.

SUGARLAND, "Love on the Inside" (Mercury) This winning duo perfected the recipe for success on its third album: a mess of classic country, a heaping helping of smart pop, a dash of mountain music, a soupcon of hair metal, a sprinkle of humor, and a heart on the sleeve.

VAMPIRE WEEKEND, "Vampire Weekend" (XL) Bands become critical darlings for a reason. In the case of this Columbia University-spawned quartet, youthful exuberance and a fresh take on a buoyant, world-beating pop sound certainly helped.

AL GREEN, "Lay It Down" (Blue Note/EMI) The reverend calls upon the heavens and they reply, sending angels in the form of simpatico pals like Anthony Hamilton and Corinne Bailey Rae to help him with this collection of sublime songs that stand alongside the soul legend's best.

JOE JACKSON, "Rain" (Rykodisc) On this fluid, elegant album, Jackson paints pictures with his jazz-pop ruminations. His tales of characters accruing hard lessons and even harder shells are so vivid and poignant they're worthy of a museum.

THE HOLD STEADY, "Stay Positive" (Vagrant) An album for any rock fan who's ever felt like and/or fallen in love with a misfit - and both lamented and gloried in all that it means.

RAPHAEL SAADIQ, "The Way I See It" (Columbia) Saadiq nails the spacious analog sound of classic Motown soul-pop and clutches at the very romantic heart of it. A pointed and tuneful reminder that classic can also mean timeless.

TV ON THE RADIO, "Dear Science" (DGC/Interscope) The Brooklyn hipsters conjure up a barrage of disparate sounds that magically coalesce, resulting in random acts of beauty and noise - from pristine pop harmonies to fuzzy punk shrieks.

http://www.boston.com/ae/music/cd_reviews/articles/2008/12/14/sarah_rodmans_top_cd_picks_of_2008/

[GeraldFord]

It could definitely have clocked in over Vampire Weekend and Fleet Foxes...though both are decent albums...neither are top ten material.

at least GNR faired better than AC/DC who got beat by the Jonas Brothers.

Otherwise...a pretty average list.  Nothing too unexpected...

I sort of agree. I bought TV on the radio, FF and VW...all good--but not better than Chinese Democracy.

For me it's a toss-up between The Slip and Chinese Democracy as best album of 2008. Robin should feel proud as he played on both of them.

[jarmo]

Rock List: Readers? Top 30 Albums of 2008

12/15/08, 4:40 pm EST

Last week, after revealing Rolling Stone?s Top 50 Albums of 2008, we asked the readers to tell us their favorites. As predicted, the Killers fans came out in full force to ensure the band?s third album Day & Age made it to the top of the readers? list, and it did by a landslide, beating out Coldplay and Kings of Leon. But where did albums by Kanye, Metallica and Chinese Democracy land? Where did the readers rank Rolling Stone?s #1 album, TV on the Radio?s Dear Science? Check out the full list of Readers? Top 30 Albums of 2008 below.

1. The Killers - Day & Age
2. Coldplay - Viva La Vida
3. Kings of Leon - Only By the Night
4. MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
5. Guns N? Roses - Chinese Democracy
6. TV on the Radio - Dear Science
7. My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges
8. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
9. The Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonely
10. R.E.M. - Accelerate
11. Beck - Modern Guilt
12. Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs
13. Kanye West - 808s & Heartbreak
14. Metallica - Death Magnetic
15. Nine Inch Nails - The Slip
16. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
17. Portishead - Third
18. Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue
19. Lil Wayne - Tha Carter III
20. The Black Keys - Attack & Release
21. The Mars Volta - Bedlam In Goliath
22. Erykah Badu - New Amerykah: Part 1 (4th World War)
23. Santogold - Santogold
24. Weezer - The Red Album
25. The Drive-by Truckers - Brighter Than Creation?s Dark
26. Ryan Adams & the Cardinals - Cardinology
27. Oasis - Dig Out Your Soul
28. Girl Talk - Feed the Animals
29. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
30. The Verve - Forth


http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2008/12/15/rock-list-readers-top-30-albums-of-2008/



/jarmo

[thesloth]

No way would I put Metallica above GnR for the simple fact of mastering it the way they did one can't even call it a professional recording

[FunkyMonkey]

http://www.hitsdailydouble.com/news/newsPage.cgi?news07389m01

TRAKIN CARE OF BUSINESS:
A YEAR IN THE LIFE    

Let Roy Be Your Filter in Figuring Out What?s Worth Hearing, Seeing and Reading From the Last 12 Months.

December 19, 2008

ALBUMS

HONORABLE MENTION: Duffy, Rockferry (Mercury/Island); David Byrne and Brian Eno, Everything That Happens Will Happen Today (digital release); The Raconteurs, Consolers of the Lonely (Third Man); Brian Wilson, That Lucky Old Sun (Capitol); Beck, Modern Guilt (DGC/Interscope); Elbow, The Seldom Seen Kid (Fiction/Geffen); Passing Strange: Original Broadway Cast Recording (Ghostlight); Lupe Fiasco, Lupe Fiasco?s The Cool (1st & 15th/Atlantic); Kate Nash, Made of Bricks (Geffen); N.E.R.D., Seeing Sounds (Interscope); Mudcrutch (WB); Lucinda Williams, Little Honey (Lost Highway); Martha Wainwright, I Know You?re Married but I?ve Got Feelings Too (Zoe/Rounder); Panic at the Disco, Pretty. Odd (Decaydance/ Fueled by Ramen); Guns N? Roses, Chinese Democracy (Black Frog/Geffen)