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Music Blog Zeitgeist 2008

Top 50 Albums of 2008 Top 50 Albums of 2008
TOP 50 ALBUMS

The Hype Machine & Blog Fresh Radio have teamed up to present each set of 10 albums as a radio show featuring songs from the albums & interviews with key music bloggers.

Explore The Top 50 Albums of 2008

Click on the album cover to stream each album in its entirety or browse through reviews by music blogs on the right!


  1. 50Mates of State • Re-Arrange Us

    Mates of State - Re-Arrange Us

    Each track is beautifully crafted and I love how this duo has taken the time to let each song linger on for just the right amount of time. READ POST »

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  2. 49The Kills • Midnight Boom

    The Kills - Midnight Boom

    Post-Strokes New York punk rock. Midnight Boom will please any skinny jean, leather-jacket wearing indie rocker READ POST »

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  3. 48Glasvegas • Glasvegas

    Glasvegas - Glasvegas

    solid, more accessible british sea power, for fans of U2 and coldplay, but not outstanding READ POST »

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  4. 47Drive By Truckers • Brighter Than Creation's Dark

    Drive By Truckers - Brighter Than Creation's Dark

    Each song tells a story of a person’s troubles, but without being a classic tale of woe. READ POST »

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  5. 46Shearwater • Rook

    Shearwater - Rook

    The shear gorgeousness of the music often masks a strong undercurrent of anger and frustration. READ POST »

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  6. 45R.E.M. • Accelerate

    R.E.M. - Accelerate

    I can't emphasize enough how pleasantly surprised I am by this album, even shocked. READ POST »

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  7. 44Flying Lotus • Los Angeles

    Flying Lotus - Los Angeles

    Deep within the layers theres something scary. Its noise; Its a heartbeat; Its something to shake an ass to. READ POST »

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  8. 43Ra Ra Riot • The Rhumb Line

    Ra Ra Riot - The Rhumb Line

    The Rhumb Line so engaging is that it's ultimately life-affirming: It's a tribute to the ones who stuck around through the worst times. READ POST »

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  9. 42sun kil moon • april

    sun kil moon - april

    April could be the soundtrack to an early morning drive down a country road. READ POST »

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  10. 41Jenny Lewis • Acid Tongue

    Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue

    Rilo Kiley songstress' second solo effort less instant than the last. Songs get into your brain after a few listens. Costello guests. READ POST »

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  11. 40Beck • Modern Guilt

    Beck - Modern Guilt

    Combines the folky and somber elements of an album like Sea Change with the addictive pop hooks of albums like Guero and Midnight Vultures. READ POST »

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  12. 39Of Montreal • Skeletal Lamping

    Of Montreal - Skeletal Lamping

    Skeletal Lamping is an audio feast and worth every cent. READ POST »

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  13. 38Blitzen Trapper • Furr

    Blitzen Trapper - Furr

    A little like if you let The Beatles, The Who and CSNY co-record an album. READ POST »

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  14. 37The Gaslight Anthem • The '59 Sound

    The Gaslight Anthem - The '59 Sound

    who’d have thought the classic “american” rock album would be reinvented by a new jersey punk band rocking out the basement circuit? READ POST »

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  15. 36Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds • Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!

    Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!

    The record delivers with no waste, perfectly identifying the strengths of the band without reaching extravagantly far. READ POST »

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  16. 35Lykke Li • Youth Novels

    Lykke Li - Youth Novels

    Youth Novels is one of the year’s most fun albums, if not one of the best. READ POST »

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  17. 34Death Cab for Cutie • Narrow Stairs

    Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs

    A dark, strangely compelling record that trades the group's bright melancholy for something nearer to despair. READ POST »

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  18. 33The Black Keys • Attack and Release

    The Black Keys - Attack and Release

    It is more ferocious than all of their previous records put together and seals their fate as a classic blues rock band suitable. READ POST »

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  19. 31Wolf Parade • At Mount Zoomer

    Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer

    This is Krug and Boeckner's fully realized musical vision and it's literally blowing my mind. READ POST »

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  20. 30Why? • Alopecia

    Why? - Alopecia

    My album of the year. A self-contained universe of found sounds and marble-mouthed rhymes that trip off the tongue like lyrical hairballs. READ POST »

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  21. 29Hot Chip • Made In the Dark

    Hot Chip - Made In the Dark

    The major off-putting thing about this album is the disturbing repetition of the vocals on some songs. Other than that, a solid dance album. READ POST »

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  22. 28Department of Eagles • In Ear Park

    Department of Eagles - In Ear Park

    An album beamed in from an alternate history of pop music, existing in its own era (even if it does sound a bit like Grizzly Bear). READ POST »

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  23. 27Beach House • Devotion

    Beach House - Devotion

    It's dark, a little creepy, and if it happens to be raining where you are, it'll provide the perfect soundtrack. READ POST »

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  24. 25Kanye West • 808s & Heartbreak

    Kanye West - 808s & Heartbreak

    Kanye=rapper, producer, and, now, song-writer. This is a love it or hate it album. I, for one, love it. READ POST »

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  25. 24Okkervil River • The Stand Ins

    Okkervil River - The Stand Ins

    Music about musicians, while slightly masturbatory, works out for the better on this finely wrought, lyrically superb concept record. READ POST »

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  26. 23Kings of Leon • Only By the Night

    Kings of Leon - Only By the Night

    Every song bests the previous. Fun to rock out on full blast. READ POST »

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  27. 22Lil Wayne • Tha Carter III

    Lil Wayne - Tha Carter III

    OK, it’s true: he really is the best rapper alive. READ POST »

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  28. 21She & Him • Volume One

    She & Him - Volume One

    Their acoustic vibe conjures up a time-travel fantasy of key parties, hot tubs and Chablis-crazed groping behind the spider plants. READ POST »

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  29. 20The Dodos • Visiter

    The Dodos - Visiter

    And speaking of nervous systems, if Visiter doesn't make you tap, nod, shake, or just plain move, then you don't have one. READ POST »

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  30. 19No Age • Nouns

    No Age - Nouns

    The album is a fine, fun piece of work. Nouns will leave you wanting more. READ POST »

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  31. 18Elbow • The Seldom Seen Kid

    Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid

    Very inventive, textured record layered w/ acoustic gtrs, piano, percussion. Guy Garvey's voice is alternately haunting and uplifting. READ POST »

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  32. 17Crystal Castles • Crystal Castles

    Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles

    A NES stuffed with ecstasy and not even dust blown first! Staring at the resulting fuzz for days on end because it's all that's left to do. READ POST »

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  33. 16The Walkmen • You & Me

    The Walkmen - You & Me

    We needed this. The Walkmen needed it, sure, but so did our collective timelines. So did the year 2008, if we're talking about indie rock... READ POST »

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  34. 15Coldplay • Viva La Vida

    Coldplay - Viva La Vida

    Their most musically interesting album to date but its political messages are too vague to be heard amid its outsize hooks. READ POST »

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  35. 14Girl Talk • Feed The Animals

    Girl Talk - Feed The Animals

    Worth whatever just to see how many samples you recognize. Consider donating, he'll need the lawyer fee money. READ POST »

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  36. 13Frightened Rabbit • The Midnight Organ Fight

    Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight

    While we were skeptical at first of the clean, crisp sound on this new set, The Midnight Organ Fight is a landmark recording for the band. READ POST »

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  37. 12Santogold • Santogold

    Santogold - Santogold

    There's great hooks aplenty and you'll be humming these songs all summer. READ POST »

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  38. 11Deerhunter • Microcastle

    Deerhunter - Microcastle

    "Deerhunter are either one of the toughest ambient bands or one of the most ambient tough bands you will ever come across." READ POST »

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  39. 10The Hold Steady • Stay Positive

    The Hold Steady - Stay Positive

    Stay Positive’s message is that with each new step there are more and more reasons to love this band. READ POST »

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  40. 9M83 • Saturdays=Youth

    M83 - Saturdays=Youth

    Saturdays... is an album best listened to alone, or at 3am at an open-minded party. READ POST »

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  41. 8Sigur Ros • Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust

    Sigur Ros - Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust

    After 8 listens, the album keeps growing on me. Sigur Ros did it again and make any wait for their music worth every minute. READ POST »

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  42. 7Cut Copy • In Ghost Colours

    Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours

    Luckily I had occasion to listen to the whole thing more closely, and the sleek dance grooves on display wound up winning me over. READ POST »

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  43. 6Portishead • Third

    Portishead - Third

    Third is a remarkably vivid work that sustains the group's legacy and offers an overdue chapter in their subtle musical development. READ POST »

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  44. 5MGMT • Oracular Spectacular

    MGMT - Oracular Spectacular

    I didn't expect it to be this good. This is the first band in a while that truly manage to produce perfect pop & remain effortlessly cool. READ POST »

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  45. 4Bon Iver • For Emma, Forever Ago

    Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago

    It's the musical equivalent of reading someone else's diary. READ POST »

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  46. 3Vampire Weekend • Vampire Weekend

    Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend

    Even without an album Vampire Weekend has made one of the year’s most impressive debuts. READ POST »

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  47. 2TV On The Radio • Dear Science

    TV On The Radio - Dear Science

    A big melting pot of genres all fused together into one innovative sound. READ POST »

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  48. 1Fleet Foxes • Fleet Foxes

    Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes

    It’s like watching the sun rise over distant mountaintops, over and over, familiar and captivating all at once. READ POST »

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