rock and roll ain't noise pollution....

I think there's just time to squeeze in one more list before the Earworms of the Year countdown tomorrow, don't you?

How about a quick "best albums of 2008" countdown?

Over at The Auditorium, we've been counting down our albums of the year for 2008, and I thought it was worth putting the whole of that list up here - not least because I think it's interesting that between the three of us, LB, bedshaped and I have come up with 28 different albums from 30 picks, with LB and me both picking Coldplay, and bedshaped and me both picking Elbow. Just goes to show how different things float different people's musical boats, eh?

That list in full then.

Number 10s.

Santogold - Santogold (bedshaped)
James - Hey Ma! (ST)
The Killers - Day and Age (LB)

Number 9s.

Billy Bragg - Mr. Love & Justice (ST)
Sigur Ros - Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust (LB)
TV on the Radio - Dear Science (bedshaped)

Number 8s.

The Feeling - Join With Us (LB)
Glasvegas - Glasvegas (bedshaped)
Metallica - Death Magnetic (ST)

Number 7s.

Scars on Broadway - Scars on Broadway (bedshaped)
Laura Marling - Alas, I Cannot Swim (ST)
Alphabeat - This is Alphabeat (LB)

Number 6s.

Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend (ST)
Royworld - Man in the Machine (LB)
Estelle - Shine (bedshaped)

Number 5s.

Paul Heaton - The Cross-Eyed Rambler (LB)
Albert Hammond Jr - Como Te Llama (bedshaped)
Coldplay - Viva La Vida (or Death and all his Friends) (ST)

Number 4s.

Britney Spears - Circus (bedshaped)
White Denim - Workout Holiday (ST)
Neil Diamond - Home Before Dark (LB)

Number 3s.

Flight of the Conchords - Flight of the Conchords (ST)
Coldplay - Viva La Vida (or Death and all his Friends) (LB)
Kings of Leon - Only by the Night (bedshaped)

Number 2s.

Keane - Perfect Symmetry (LB)
Goldfrapp - Seventh Tree (bedshaped)
Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid (ST)

Number 1s.

Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid (bedshaped)
Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes (ST)
Tina Dico - Count to Ten (LB)

Amazing how three people can hear the year so differently, isn't it? The write-ups are all well worth a read, anyway. LB went to a lot of trouble compiling that lot and adding pictures and links and stuff.....

Other end of year lists:

Mike's albums of the year
LBs singles of the year (50-21)
LB's singles of the year (20-1)
Your chance to vote the top 50 singles of 2008

Happy New Year to everyone. I'm not sure that you could really say that 2008 was a vintage year for music, exactly - in my view, lots of the really big releases were either not worth bothering with (Oasis, Kaiser Chiefs, Madonna....) or disappointing (Keane, Snow Patrol, Killers, Kings of Leon). Having said that, any year that brings me the divese likes of Bon Iver, Laura Marling, White Denim and the Fleet Foxes can't be all bad. Besides, it was also the year that I went retro and (re-)discovered the delights to be found in the back catalogues of AC/DC and the Clash, and you really can't argue with a bit of classic rock turned up to 11, can you?

I'll finally put 2008 (and all this pointless cataloguing) to bed with the Earworms of the Year post tomorrow......

Here's to a great musical 2009! May all your earworms for the coming year be enjoyable ones.