CD-Charts Position 1
Average Rating:

Consolers Of The Lonely

from: Warner Brothers

Release Date March 25, 2008
i love this music! this is truly a great night when i vibrate to this...oh that didn't sound good or did it ;)
anything i am doing this makes a great backdrop ;)
thank you raconteurs!
love, carol

CD-Charts Position 2
Average Rating:

The Odd Couple

by: Gnarls Barkley

Release Date March 21, 2008
So okay, this second effort is not as good as the first one, but solid none the less. Its like the girl who looks really hot at the club and then you get to see her on Wednesday out and about. Without the dark lights she may not look as good but still worth serious consideration. Take this album home and you'll see where I'm coming from.

CD-Charts Position 3
Average Rating:

Evil Urges

by: My Morning Jacket

Release Date June 10, 2008
"Evil Urges" by My Morning Jacket includes "Look At You", "Good Intentions" and "I'm Amazed" and has been acclaimed in some critical circles. The group has become involved in the 2008 Presidential Race - Interestingly, in 2008, Senator Hillary Clinton earned more Votes than any other Presidential Primary candidate in American history (hillaryclintonforum, the denver group)

CD-Charts Position 4
Average Rating:

Modern Guilt

by: Beck

Release Date July 08, 2008
how Beck would sound with Danger Mouse producing. I love (or seem to love) almost anything that Danger Mouse produces - his update on the general sound vibe of the '60's is something that never seems to get old for me (and he always seems to make his albums under 40 minutes or so).

Danger Mouse gets the first mention because Beck's sound is ALWAYS different. There's always something to get into your system upon the first listen or so, there's a good distorto-track ("Walls") with some good lyrics about ego destruction that could operate as the sequel to "Just A Thought" from "St. Elsewhere".

I like it because after "The Information" I dismissed "Guero" as being too light. This one got me to listen to the lyrics as well ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 5
Average Rating:

Accelerate

by: R.E.M.

Release Date April 01, 2008
Though Reveal had some lovely moments, this is the first
example of REM sounding like a "complete" band since Bill Berrys retirement. Power and passion!!! Awesome!!!

CD-Charts Position 6
Average Rating:

Third

by: Portishead

Release Date April 29, 2008
Upon my first listen or two of Third, I didn't think it was that much of a progression from their debut, Dummy, nor their self-titled sophomore album. But I've come to realize I was ever so wrong.

The dark, sexy vibe that Portishead pulled off before is now just, well, dark. Extremely eerie, and very sinister. Their music used to sound like something you'd hear in a smoky and dingy underground club at 3 a.m. with others around smoking, talking, and maybe even dancing. Third sounds like something you'd listen to alone in a dark and musty basement of an abandoned building with one hanging light bulb flickering on and off.

There is definitely a Silver Apples influence here, and it makes me salivate. I love the Silver Apples, but Portishead takes ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 7
Average Rating:

Vampire Weekend

by: Vampire Weekend

Release Date January 29, 2008
I picked this CD because my local independent CD store owner suggested it to me. This is how I choose most of my music and I am rarely dissapointed, however I also rarely fall so completely in love with a band as I have with Vampire Weekend.

Having never heard one of their songs I put the record into my stereo expecting some sort of Emo-garage band sound to come out, heavy on the guitars and depressing lyrics (with a name like Vampire Weekend do you blame me?) and light on the melody. Imagine my joy when a melodic sound is emitted from my poor kia's admittably questionably speakers.

It isn't hard to tell that someone in that band studied composition seriously. And the pure variety in the instruments used, for someone like me who grew up with an opera ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 8
Average Rating:

Narrow Stairs

by: Death Cab for Cutie

Release Date May 13, 2008
I'm not a huge fan of Deathcab but got somewhat hooked on their single "soul meets body" which is a great song hardcore fan or not. I was disappointed listening to "Plans" to find out nothing on the rest of that album was as good as that single or remotely as upbeat. I just thought that it was decidely too melancholy for me. So it came as a sort a shock when i heard the opening songs "Bixby Canyon" and "I will posess your heart". "I will posess your heart" has no lyrics except a couple of lines that the singer repeats like a mantra and it's indulgently long for todays standards. It doesn't matter though because the magic is obvious. The first half of the album is flawless but the rest of the songs almost sound like b-sides in comparison to how good the rest of the album is. ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 9
Average Rating:

Fleet Foxes

by: Fleet Foxes

Release Date June 03, 2008
At first I thought the parts stronger than the sum. In other words, each song had elements that were captivating both lyrically and melodically but the songs as a whole didn't seem to work. Then at some point after repeated listens, everything started to bake into the cake it was meant to be. Now I can't get the damn thing of out the CD player and consequently out of my head. The band is a strange mix of all that has come before it, weather it be CSN, Beach Boys, Appalachia, and even some sort of strange nod to 50's white bread harmonies, a la the Fleetwoods. Whatever it is, it is totally captivating. I love having a favorite CD, and this year it will be Fleet Foxes.

CD-Charts Position 10
Average Rating:

Warpaint

by: The Black Crowes

Release Date March 04, 2008
This album of the venerable BLACK CROWES shows an extremely mature band totally on top of their game. The Black Crowes have always followed the raunchy guitar driven rock mold of the early seventies greats and have done so with more than exciting results. Never have they struck me as so incredibly fearless, so incredibly certain of themselves. This album carries flavors of what are in my humble opinion some of the best records made during my lifetime. There certainly is some of the fearlessness, the almost-sounds-like-a-demo-ness of the Stones Exile on Main Street. Matter of fact, the track God's Got It could have been included in (LP-) side 3 of Exile's original double-LP-set. But I also hear flavors of the first Chris Jagger LP, of Ronnie Woods better solo-work, of the Family.

But ... Read More: