Chris DeLine

#1) TV on the Radio Dear, Science

If Desperate Youth was good, and Return To Cookie Mountain, better – Dear Science is most definitely best.

#2) Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds Dig, Lazurus, Dig!!!

Last year’s Grinderman album and this year’s Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! prove that Nick Cave shows no signs of slowing down… guess there’s life after 50, after all.

#3) M83 Saturdays = Youth

The entire album feels like a welcoming sunshower, comfortable yet completely refreshing.

#4) The Raconteurs Consolers of the Lonely

It will probably reflect poorly on my perceived taste, but Jack White could take a dump on a snare drum and I’d probably like the sound of it. Come to think of it… he kind of did… and, yeah, I kind of liked it. Jokes aside, Consolers of the Lonely was a magnificent expansion on Broken Boy Soldiers, with White and Brendan Benson to both proving to be in as fine form as ever.

#5) Deerhunter Microcastle

This album is a warm blanket for anyone tired of whatever today’s modern rock is. My suggestion is to wrap yourself in Microcastle, turn on Hype!, and pretend like Hinder never existed.

#6) Portishead Third

On par with fans expecting Chinese Democracy to sound like Appetite For Destruction, many were expecting Third to sound like Dummy. And many were mad when it didn’t. But through that process we were given one of the best listening experiences of 2008.

#7) Black Mountain In The Future

If you were to meld Jefferson Airplane, drone, and the Rocky Mountains – you’d get In The Future. Black Mountain did, and what they got was the best heavy album of 2008.

#8) Sigur Rós Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust

Offering itself as both inspiring and devastating, Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust (try saying that five times fast) is simply the most recent in a long chain of remarkable recordings from the Icelandic group.

#9) Kanye West 808s & Heartbreak

(Hopefully this album doesn’t sound like crap a year from now, but for the time being) 808s & Heartbreak is the most unique album by one of Hip Hop’s most charismatic individuals.

#10) Drive-By Truckers Brighter Than Creation’s Dark

Jason Isbell who? If you haven’t heard “The Righteous Path,” “Daddy Needs a Drink,” Self Destructive Zones,” “Bob,” “Home Field Advantage”… actually, just listen to the whole thing. For anyone who has the smallest bit of country in their heart, Brighter Than Creation’s Dark will tear you apart.

[This post was first published by Culture Bully.]