Well here it is, our token top 10 list for the end of the year. It was pretty much a unanimous choice at number 1 for all of us, but we certainly had some close choices towards the bottom of the list. Enjoy.

1. Wolf Parade – At Mount Zoomer

Following up on their incredible Apologies to the Queen Mary Wolf Parade dropped this brilliant album earlier this year, and results in a pretty much unanimous pick at number one. Brilliant songs, great band, this album pretty much totally rules. – BVaz

2. Los Campesinos! – Hold On Now, Youngster…

These guys burst onto the scene this year with TWO great albums and a US tour back in May. Both of the albums are brilliant and have a great fresh sound to them and really show how good this band really is. Their live show is pretty fucking tight also and is highly recommended. – BVaz

3. MGMT – Oracular Spectacular

What else is there to say about MGMT that hasn’t been written in the vast amounts of love that the blogosphere has poured over every inch of the brilliant Oracular Spectacular? Instantly accessible, immediately catchy, satisfyingly deep, and simply a real pleasure to listen to, this album has caught everyone’s attention. I have seen crowds hyped up for bands, but the excitement of the crowd was seemingly just to see the band (see: Rage Against the Machine), so it was a real pleasure to see a crowd hyped up for simply the music at the MGMT show at Lollapalooza this summer, and MGMT did not disappoint. One of the best acts I’ve seen this year and one of my favorite albums of the year, Oracular Spectacular definitely deserves to be on this list, and I suspect we will not be the only ones who have put them in their 2008 top 10. – Daigle

4. Lightspeed Champion – Falling Off The Lavender Bridge

Falling Off the Lavender Bridge is a gorgeous record from the very beginning and absolutely sublime throughout. Free of glaring missteps, the often times technical yet catchy guitar is paired with top notch vocals and some nicely paired strings throughout. Dev is really doing some creative and beautiful songwriting and picking any of the tracks at random on Lavender Bridge results will not disappoint. Concealing very little in metaphor, Dev lays out his feelings bare without pulling any punches. I am really hoping that I get to see him soon because I have heard his shows are awesomeness, but for now I can handle just having the pleasure of listening to his latest albums, one of the year’s best. – Daigle

5. Frightened Rabbit – Midnight Organ Fight

Scottish greatness combining pop sensible indie rock with some pretty in your face lyrics that result in some pretty classic songs on this album. Their live show is absolutely awesome as well and is sure to be the most times you have heard an f-bomb dropped at a concert in your entire life. Great stuff. – BVaz

6. Portishead – Third

Portishead came out of retirement earlier this year to bring us Third and it is a pretty incredible album from this band. They have certainly updated their sound a bit from when we last heard from them, with much more of an electronic uptempo feeling with less strings and generally sounding a bit less trippy than back in the 90s. The update sounds awesome though, and it is really tough to beat a song like “The Rip”. Brilliance. – BVaz

7. Black Mountain – In The Future

One of the bands that is really leading the way in the modern hard rock revival is certainly Canada’s Black Mountain. Their album shows a great combination of blistering chunky riffs and epic rock excess (“Bright Lights”). Anytime you have a 19 minute songs you know you aren’t fucking around. This is one of my favorites this year and it just plain rawks. – BVaz

8. British Sea Power – Do You Like Rock Music?

From the powerful opening guitar lick from Lights Out For Darker Skies, it is clear that Do You Like Rock Music? has quite a bit of heft behind it. British Sea Power do rock and roll better than most out there these days, and their third album is no exception. DYLRM’s power tracks rock along, shaking the speakers, and the tracks where they tone it down deliver the perfect offset to the pure gasoline of the rock and roll heart. When I saw them live this year, their show was a slow building wave that crashed over the crowd, and by show’s end had rocked off all of our faces, leaving them smooshed together in one big lump of melted face on the floor. This album is by no means a slow building anything, but a power trip from the beginning and well crafted throughout. Maturity for BSP was the key to making this album and it really shows versus their previous efforts. More grown up yet a great addition to the British Sea Power catalogue. – Daigle

9. Jay Reatard – Matador Singles ‘08

Jay Reatard’s ethos is “Get In, Get Down, Get Out.” I’m always surprised when one of his songs lasts longer than 3 minutes. However, just as the early White Stripes with a guitar and drum set-up, Reatard finds an astonishing array of variations from a seemingly simple forumla. Matador Singles ‘08 collects Reatard’s output from this year, and kicks off with the terrific up-tempo “See Saw.” As the album progresses, the listener discovers that his name belies his creativity; Reatard demonstrates how well he coalesces touchpoints like garage (“Hiding Hole”), punk (“D.O.A.”), indie (“No Time”), and bizzaro-world 50s (“You Mean Nothing To Me”.) If he maintains this high quality, I don’t care if he ever releases a proper album – just keeps the hits coming. – Chuck P

10. Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes

Folky guitars and sweet melodies mesh together brilliantly on this debut full length album from Fleet Foxes. I was maybe initially a little harsher on the album than I should have been in saying it didn’t quite stack up to the EP, but I think as the year has gone along and I have listened more to it, the album continues to grow on me and just sounds better everytime I hear it. Also a great album for the wintertime. – BVaz

Wolf Parade – Fine Young Cannibals – From At Mount Zoomer
Los Campesinos! – Broken Heartbeats Sound Like Breakbeats – From Hold on Now, Youngster…
MGMT – Kids – From Oracular Spectacular
Lightspeed Champion – No Surprise – From Falling Off the Lavender Bridge