No, Diamond Dave is not on this list.

Making lists is cathartic for me. Organizing everything into neat groups that I can then sort into subgroups and then into subsubgroups gives me a chance to digest everything in front of me and make sense of it all. this is the real reason why people love march madness. well, besides taking long lunches.

Lists are exactly why so many people love the end of the year — everything that happened during the previous 11 months is compiled, sorted, divided, and divided again into neat little compartments that attempt to make sense of the giant mess of media that hit all of our senses. 2008 is definitely a year full of sensory overload.

So, in order to really assess what I liked most about the music scene this year, I had to sit down, sort through iTunes, and churn out a list of my favorite albums and songs. What started as a list of 30 albums got whittled down to 10 that I am (mostly) sure I liked the most.

The voting system started out with quantifiable indicators: 1.) how many times songs on the albums have been played, 2.) how recently, and 3.) how often I find myself bringing up the albums to the people around me. Then there is the “intangibles” element, which just means it’s the part where I go with my gut — which album, really, do I like the most? (this comes into play when looking at something more indie friendly vs. mainstream, also known as the “coldplay” factor which will be discussed in further detail tomorrow).

The result of this mostly arbitrary system is below:

10. Crystal Castles, “Crystal Castles” — there was a lot of talk about how Crystal Castles has ripped off other music for this album and took credit anyway. This may or may not be true, but let us not forget this subgenre electronic music, with its bleeps and boops, would not exist without the Atari 2600 and the NES…so, in essence, everyone copies, people! who cares? this is an awesome debut.

9. Deastro, “Keeper’s” — the best thing to come out of detroit since…a profitable car company? is this too soon? it’s another stong electronic debut from a born songwriter. “the shaded forests” is incredible.

8. Santogold, “Santogold” — she was the best thing to happen to the Coldplay show here in DC over the summer. santogold had a mature stage presence for a brand new artist (seeing a trend here with this list? so many new faces), but the DC crowd was not into her at all. they might have been a few years too young or too old to appreciate her style, but you know what? she’s legit (and her music can be heard on like 12,000 commercials, so i’m not alone here. she’s the 2008 moby).

7. Bon Iver, “For Emma, Forever Ago” — i need to quit naming debut artists. yes, i know the album technically came out in 2007, but I didn’t get the disc until 2008 (when it was widely distributed), so it counts. besides, after listening to “lump sum” a few times and you’ll be hooked regardless of what i write here. while the live show left something to be desired (the backup band sort of sucked), the debut disc is my favorite debut of the year, hands down.

6. My Morning Jacket, “Evil Urges” — i concede that this is somewhat of a weird choice. two of my least favorite MMJ songs ever are on here (“Sec Walkin” and “Librarian”), and seriously? those songs are pretty terrible. however, to offset those, my favorite song of the year is on there (this list will be released tomorrow, so please stay tuned), and the rest of the album is very strong. that Sec Walkin, though. wow. i had to delete it from my ipod because i got pissed off every time i heard it. it makes me cringe.

5. M83, “Saturdays = Youth” — the best electronic album this year. i am obviously biased since m83 has been one of my favorite acts for the last five years or so, but this album is a noticeable and welcome departure from past albums and delivers a pitch perfect homage to the 1980s while maintaining the trademark lush m83 sound. i’d like to see someone use a few m83 tracks to remix the famous ski contest in “better off dead.” any takers?

4. Frightened Rabbit, “The Midnight Organ Fight” — i am still kicking myself for missing their show at the black cat this summer. long story, but i regret missing this show for a number of reasons. i love these guys, and even though their lyrics veer toward thinly veiled sexual innuendo on every track, it doesn’t matter. the sweeping crescendos and harmonies get me every time. they will be big, i tell you. huge. jump on that bandwagon right now.

3. Ra Ra Riot, “The Rhumb Line”  — my lady friend told me recently that “suspended in gaffa” is a kate bush cover. neither one of us knew that, and while i can’t speak for her, what i can say is that learning this made me like the album even more. “suspended in gaffa” is the weakest song on the album, by far. what this means, of course, is that the songwriting is better than i thought, and every other song is strong. ra ra riot is certainly more understated than the next band in this list, but “the rhumb line” has its own way of pulling you in and lulling you to sleep. “too too too fast” is too too too catchy. ugh, that was obviously terrible but i couldn’t resist.

2. The Hold Steady, “Stay Positive” — their second-best album happens to be my second favorite this year, too. seeing them live this year made me love them even more because, as talented as they are, they’re still everybody’s favorite bar band, and they embrace it. this is one band where i can say it’s blindingly clear to see how much they love just being on stage and playing music. “stay positive” is a strong effort throughout the entire album, and it was really tough to pick a favorite song among several instant favorites (the least favorite was easier…”both crosses” takes catholic imagery a little too far, even by their standards, and its also he most dull by far). basically, the album is just a notch or two below “boys and girls in america,” and that is a hell of a compliment, seeing as how its the most played album on my itunes. so, why wasn’t it #1, you ask?

1. Vampire Weekend, “Vampire Weekend”  — ok, ok. i get it. they aren’t a great band, or even a really good band. but every single track is catchy. so catchy, in fact, that i couldn’t get them out of my head for weeks. “vampire weekend” is the ideal summer album: short, fun, and an instant crowd favorite at any summer bbq. i played it constantly for about three months, and as bad as they are live (please see my previous blog post), it doesn’t change the fact that this is by far the catchiest album i can remember picking up. and, to bring it full circle, so what if people complain that they ripped off paul simon? you think he came up with the “graceland” sound on his own? no way.

so, there you have it. my top 10 favorite albums of the year. what does your list look like? did i miss the boat on any of these? any good recommendations?