Middleclass Haunt's Best Albums of 2008

There was a lot of grumbling all around that this was one of the worst years of the decade, but I don't see that. There were gems released this past year -- they just came from slightly more obscure places than we're all used to seeing. Radiohead, Arcade Fire & M.I.A. all had the year off, so it was up to the young and the hungry to make an impression in 2008. I believe that they did.

The Top 20 Albums of 2008

1. Saturdays = Youth - M83 (Mute)

Listen: "Graveyard Girl" (YouTube), "We Own the Sky" (YouTube)
Read: AV Club
Explore: http://www.ilovem83.com/

2. All Is Well - Sam Amidon (Bedroom Community)

Listen: "Saro" (YouTube), "Wedding Dress" (YouTube)
Read: Lost At Sea
Explore: http://www.samamidon.com/

3. Microcastle - Deerhunter (Kranky)

Listen: "Nothing Ever Happened" (YouTube), "Agoraphobia" (YouTube)
Read: Pitchfork Media
Explore: http://deerhuntertheband.blogspot.com/

4. Dear Science - TV on the Radio (Interscope)

Listen: "Halfway Home" (YouTube), "Crying" (YouTube)
Read: Popmatters
Explore: http://www.tvontheradio.com/

5. The Chemistry of Common Life - Fucked Up (Matador)

Listen: "No Epiphany" (MP3), "Twice Born" (MP3)
Read: Prefix Magazine
Explore: http://lookingforgold.blogspot.com/

6. Uproot - DJ /rupture (The Agriculture)

Listen: "Reef" (YouTube)
Read: Pitchfork Media
Explore: http://www.negrophonic.com/
Download: The Gold Teeth Thief Mix

7. The Mixtape About Nothing - Wale (10 Deep)

Listen: "The Feature Heavy Song (feat. Bun B & Pusha T)" (YouTube), "The Star" (YouTube)
Read: Popmatters
Explore: http://www.walemusic.com/
Download: The Mixtape About Nothing (via 10 Deep)

8. Los Angeles - Flying Lotus (Warp)

Listen: "Riot" (YouTube), "Roberta Flack (feat. Dolly)" (YouTube)
Read: Drowned In Sound
Explore: http://www.flying-lotus.com/destroy/

9. Feed the Animals - Girl Talk (Illegal Art)

Listen: "What It's All About" (YouTube), "Here's The Thing" (YouTube)
Read: Lost At Sea
Explore: http://www.myspace.com/girltalk
Download: Feed the Animals (via Illegal Art)

10. Alopecia - Why? (anticon.)

Listen: "The Hollows" (YouTube), "The Vowels Pt. 2" (YouTube)
Read: Lost At Sea
Explore: http://www.myspace.com/whyanticon

11. Tha Carter III - Lil’ Wayne (Cash Money)

Listen: "Mr. Carter (feat. Jay-Z)" (YouTube), "Got Money (feat. T-Pain)" (YouTube)
Read: Lost At Sea
Explore: http://www.cashmoney-records.com/

12. Adage of Known - JDSY (Ghostly International)

Listen: "Smoke and Mirrors" (YouTube), "Else2" (Moodgadget)
Read: Lost At Sea
Explore: http://ghostly.com/artists/jdsy

13. Fear and Loathing in HuntsVegas - Paper Route Gangstaz (Paper Route Records)

Listen: "Stuntastic" (YouTube), "Wood Grain" (iMEEM)
Read: Pitchfork Media
Explore: http://www.myspace.com/paperrouteenterprise
Download: Fear and Loathing in HuntsVegas (via Mad Decent)

14. The 3rd World - Immortal Technique (Viper)

Listen: "Golpe De Estado (feat. Veneno y Temperamento)" (YouTube), "Mistakes" (YouTube)
Read: Lost At Sea
Explore: http://immortal-technique.com/

15. Songs In A&E - Spiritualized (Spaceman/Fontana)

Listen: "Sweet Talk" (YouTube), "Soul on Fire" (YouTube)
Read: Lost At Sea
Explore: http://www.spiritualized.com/

16. Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel - Atlas Sound (Kranky)

Listen: "Recent Bedroom" (YouTube), "River Card" (YouTube)
Read: Pitchfork Media
Explore: http://deerhuntertheband.blogspot.com/

17. Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust - Sigur Rós (XL)
Listen: "Inní mér syngur vitleysingur" (YouTube), "Ara Batur" (YouTube)
Read: The Music Magazine
Explore: http://www.sigurros.com/

18. Johnson & Jonson - Johnson & Jonson (Tres)

Listen: "Bout It Bout It" (YouTube), "Up All Night" (YouTube)
Read: Prefix Magazine
Explore: http://www.myspace.com/jandjbabyproducts

19. The Hawk Is Howling - Mogwai (Matador)

Listen: "I'm Jim Morrison, I'm Dead" (YouTube), "Batcat" (YouTube)
Read: Lost At Sea
Explore: http://brightlight.youngteam.co.uk/

20. Road To Till The Casket Drops - Clipse (Re-Up Gang Records/Play Coths)
Listen: "S.L.U. (feat. Ab-Liva)" (YouTube), "Addiction" (YouTube)
Read: Pitchfork Media
Explore: http://www.myspace.com/clipse
Download: Road To Till The Casket Drops (via Complex)