Top Ten Albums of 2008: Rhythm & Muse Style!

So we're Rhythm & Muse, you know? We don't like to play favorites, see? We're more the "A for Effort!" kind of people around here. So coming up with a top ten list kinda goes against the grain. You know?

Plus we all have pretty Type A personalities, and putting together a top ten list quickly became a Quest. Yes, a Great Quest to create The Perfect List. Much debating could be heard behind the register: "Yes, the Calexico album was good, definitely. But was it really the best example of what was new and innovative in the music world this past year?" "Can we really count the new Dylan as a best album when most of these songs were recorded pre-2008?" "Dylan? Are you seriously considering Dylan? Ah. You're serious. Ok, then."

And then someone thought to ask: "Hey, haven't we, like, completely forgotten about jazz?"

Obviously, this was all far too overwhelming. 

Therefore, without further ado and in no particular order, here is our list of ten albums from the past year that surprised us, inspired us, offered us something new, or simply got our toes tapping. We loved them and we think you should too:

1. Radiohead, "In Rainbows"

2. The Kills "Midnight Boom"

3. David Byrne and Brian Eno, "Everything That Happens Will Happen Today"

4. TV on the Radio, "Dear Science"

5. Ray LaMontagne, "Gossip in the Grain"

6. Silver Jews, "Lookout Mountain"

7. Mountain Goats, "Heretic Pride"

8. Calexico, "Carried to Dust"

9. Fleet Foxes, "Fleet Foxes"

10. Jenny Lewis, "Acid Tongue"

What were your favorite albums from the past year? (See! It's hard, right?!)

New to Me: The Kills - Midnight Boom

With much debate and a fair amount of waffling, we're attempting to put together our Top Ten (or so...) CDs of 2008. David had this one on his list and when I admitted that I hadn't heard it, he immediately elbowed me aside and put it on the store player.

And I'm glad he did! This is a fun, funky album. In these days of girl bands and boy bands, it's also really refreshing to hear a rock album that combines female and male voices to such great affect. Hmm....maybe this is kinda what I was looking for from that Isobel Campbell and Mark Campbell album...

The challenge with making a Top Ten list is not just defaulting to what has come out recently. This Kills album came out last March and it would have completely passed under my radar if David hadn't pulled it out.

Give us a hand! - what was your favorite album to come out in the first half of this year?