Q Magazine // Top 50 Albums Of 2008
My list is going to take some serious criticism. I don’t even have the Kings of Leon in my top 25. I’m a big fan of the band, but I was underwhelmed with ‘Only By The Night’. Thoughts?
Omissions: Deerhunter, Deerhoof, Department of Eagles, The Black Keys
Head Scratchers: Jack Johnson, Razor Light #21, Glasvegas #5 & Coldplay #3
Good Picks: Jenny Lewis, Black Mountain, Joan As Police Woman, The Raconteurs, Elbow
Q Magazine // Top 50 Albums Of 2008
50 Dido – Safe Trip Home
49 Emmylou Harris – All I Intended To Be
48 Jenny Lewis – Acid Tongue
47 Randy Newman – Harps And Angels
46 The Verve – Forth
45 Jack Johnson Sleep Through Static
44 Black Kids – Partie Traumatic
43 Joan As Police Woman – To Survive
42 Liam Finn – I’ll Be Lightning
41 Lindsey Buckingham – Gift Of Screws
40 My Morning Jacket – Evil Urges
39 Santogold – Santogold
38 John Mellencamp – Life Death Love & Freedom
37 Lykke Li – Youth Novels
36 R.E.M. – Accelerate
35 The Hold Steady – Stay Positive
34 Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago
33 Hercules & Love Affair – Hercules & Love Affair
32 Oasis – Dig Out Your Soul
31 Black Mountain – In The Future
30 Portishead – Third
29 AC/DC – Black Ice
28 Paul Weller – Dreams
27 Neil Diamond – Home Before Dark
26 Conor Oberst – Conor Oberst
25 Metallica – Death Magnetic
24 The Last Shadow Puppets – The Age Of The Understatement
23 Beck – Modern Guilt
22 The Killers – Day & Age
21 Razorlight – Slipway Fires
20 The Gaslight Anthem – The ‘59 Sound
19 Goldfrapp – Seventh Tree
18 British Sea Power – Do You Like Rock Music?
17 Adele – 19
16 Hot Chip – Made In The Dark
15 Lil Wayne – Tha Carter III
14 Kaiser Chiefs – Off With Their Heads
13 MGMT – Oracular Spectacular
12 Keane – Perfect Symmetry
11 Sigur Rós – Med sud i eyrum vid spilum endalaust
10 Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!
09 The Raconteurs – Consolers Of The Lonely
08 Elbow – The Seldom Seen Kid
07 TV On The Radio – Dear Science
06 Duffy – Rockferry
05 Glasvegas – Glasvegas
04 Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend
03 Coldplay – Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends
02 Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes
01 Kings Of Leon – Only By The Night
Download:
MP3: Black Mountain – Stormy High
November 29th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
really? what? did you just read an issue of spin and decide off their articles? i cannot honestly believe this is anyone’s list…
November 29th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
?
November 29th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
never even heard of Q mag. I guess for a reason.
November 29th, 2008 at 9:17 pm
sorry i meant did they… not you… haha
November 29th, 2008 at 10:18 pm
No problem. Your comment confused me b/c I mentioned Spin in another post. Take Care
November 30th, 2008 at 4:12 am
Kings of Leon at number one!?!? Only By The Night doesn’t deserve a spot in the top 100 in my book. It’s the Kings’ least sincere album to date… just look at “Sex On Fire”. It has no depth. Caleb sang the lyrics as a joke during rehearsal and the rest of the band liked it, so they said hell, it sounds catchy, why not put it on the album. (citation:the Kings’ very own video journal).
I recommend reading this review of the album: http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/145526-kings-of-leon-only-by-the-night
Q’s entire list is just bonkers. My two favorite albums of the year are nowhere to be found: Deerhunter’s Microcastle and Little Joy’s self-titled. I’d explain myself more but if you agree with me just head over to my blog and hit up some reallll good music =)
Cheers
-mark
November 30th, 2008 at 4:18 am
I agree with everything you said. The Brits have always loved KOL. I like your choice of Little Joy and Deerhunter. Deerhunter is my #3 and Little Joy is my #5. In fairness to the magazines they had to put their list together before fully digesting both albums. Mark, I will check out your blog.
November 30th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
Blue Sky Black Death – Late Night Cinema?
December 1st, 2008 at 3:49 pm
Kings of Leon are solid but unfortunately soulless, which is ironic given their pentecostal upbringing. Even watching them live failed to ignite a spark in my core — they feel a little paint-by-numbers for my taste. For a good laugh — and I admit this may not be a fair thing to do to any music video, I recommend watching their “Sex On Fire” video without any sound — it looks like it an alternate version of a video for Spinal Tap’s “Stonehenge”.
December 1st, 2008 at 4:34 pm
Beck’s Modern Guilt is pure shit. Just over a thirty minute playtime. Kind of like paying $50 for an hour-long set.
No Mudcrutch? For shame…
December 1st, 2008 at 8:13 pm
Mr. Mike B.
I’ve heard other musicians refer to them as the “Kings of Revlon”.
December 1st, 2008 at 8:14 pm
Cecil,
I agree with you on Beck. I still like him, but ‘Modern Guilt” is weak. I don’t have the ‘Crutch on my list.
December 2nd, 2008 at 3:04 am
Respect for the inclusion of Bon Iver though, albeit beneath albums that are utter shit – Kaisers
December 3rd, 2008 at 2:56 am
ohhh i didn’t know Q was a UK mag haha. that makes a lot MORE sense that they put Kings at the top of the list, but still… the album brings nothing new to the table. Because Of The Times Vol. 2.
and Santogold’s self-titled is on there, but not the Top Ranking Diplo mixtape? weird
rollogrady, are you going to post your own top albums of 2008? i like your music taste!
January 16th, 2009 at 3:33 pm
the list is ok and typical, kings of leon did NOT have the best album of the year, but who really cares. Its all a matter of opinion, my list is not like theirs. The Kaisers album is in my top ten, so is the Fleet Foxes and TV on the Radio, not sure about the others, but Vampire Weekend is a band that you want to hate, but the album is good, kind of like MGMT, you wanna hate it, but its pretty cool. My top 5———Foxes, TV, DYLAN, Kaiser, Arthur Russell
notables —–VW, MGMT, beck, raconteurs, Black Keys
guess thats a top ten, bon iver and deerhunter make the next tier, both good albums, bon iver isnt as strong as I would like, deerhunter is really cool, maybe a little too cool and not enough real substance and thought, every album i put above it is there for a reason other than its cool.
January 16th, 2009 at 3:43 pm
fuck i totally forgot that portishead – third is one of my favorite for the year, i would fit it in my top 5 for sure.
January 16th, 2009 at 7:31 pm
I agree with you, KOL album was average at best. It’s funny, I agree with you on the bands that you want to hate. My list includes Vampire Weekend, MGMT and Fleet Foxes. I now love MGMT, FF’s are talented and I still don’t like Vampire Weekend.