Release date is listed as February 4, 2008. Maybe he played some songs the end of 07 tour though.

Top 11 (just because i have to)

11: Paint it Black New Lexicon
10: The Riot Before Fist Buried in Pockets
9: Bridge & Tunnel East/West
8: Banner Pilot Resignation Day
7: Monikers Wake Up
6: Dillinger Four C I V I L W A R
5: Off With Their Heads From the Bottom
4: Ninja Gun Restless Rubes
3: Lemuria Get Better
2: The Tim Version Decline of the Southern Gentleman
1: The Hold Steady Stay Positive


there's a few releases i need to check out/listen to more and i don't count EPs and collections on these types of lists. i think the top 3 could be pretty interchangeable for me.

Was Tim Version this year? Cuz it's so going on mine if it is.

yeah it came out early in the year. i've been listening to it since Russ gave me a copy at pre-fest '07...i was wondering if anything could've topped it.

Yup, it was on my list too

(I know for sure because those are my live photos on the CD.)

It got released by a few labels though, so it's kind of debatable

"hometown caravan(LP) 2007
sabotage (cd europe) 2008
magic bullet(LP usa) 2007 (cd usa) 2008" that's from his site

Well, I got it in 2008 and so it is on my top 10 of 08 list.

I honestly think the main reason I can't do this list is because I have a hard time telling time and don't know when I bought records

I honestly looked up a lot of their release dates on Amazon.com because I couldn't remember either.

I just copied/pasted this from my myspace:


Top 10 albums of 2008! I’m a nerd!

1. Cadence Weapon - Afterparty Babies
Most definitely my most listened to album of 08. This masterpiece somehow outwits and outperforms Cadence Weapon's previous effort "Breaking Kayfabe" and breaks amazing ground on so many levels. The production is crisp and creative, creating a mixed up, danceable canvas of sound on which Rollie Pemberton (aka - Cadence Weapon) rhymes in a style belonging solely to he. You won't mistake anyone else for having this sound and you won't find an album from this year with lyrics more quick, sincere or poetic than on this bad boy.

2. The Hold Steady - Stay Positive
Another one of those records that I just could not stop playing from start to finish. It truly speaks for itself with the title and where "Boys and Girls of America" was an album that left me romanticizing over the stories told therein, "Stay Positive" speaks more aggressively to the listener and gives much more imagery to digest. It is truly an epic album from one the greatest bands of our lifetime. All hail The Hold Steady!

3. Why? - Alopecia
My first and only album from these guys, but a year-shaping work of art for sure. Really a daydreamer of an album, the kind that you play at extreme volumes while on a long scenic drive, trying to get your thoughts together. Think The Beatles in a psychiatric ward, addicted to black coffee, mixed with the finest underground hip hop you can think of, I think you'd get the general idea of why Why? put forth one of the most intriguing, emotional, and powerful releases of the year.

4. Dillinger Four - C I V I L W A R
Finally! Finally! Finally! The new record from the kings has come and conquered. If you're not familiar with Dillinger Four... wait, just close your browser right now, I'm ashamed of you. Go find out all you can, start with any album. Is your mind blown and your heart palpitating yet? It should be by the time you finish a D4 delight. I mean, who the hell else sees the big picture like these guys? Ready? NO ONE! And "C I V I L W A R" is no exception. This may become my favorite release from these guys. Not only are all the elements here from previous works, but there is a new aggression (no, not punching the floor aggression), a new emotion (no, not hair brushed over the left side of the face emotion), and a new power (no, not T U R T L E power). Obviously, I cannot quite put my finger on it, but I have yet to have a D4 album that disappoints in any sense of the ugly word and "C I V I L W A R" takes me further, holds my hand and tells me I'm not alone in still caring about the finer things in life. Any D4 fan knows what I'm talking about and so should you!

5. Nada Surf - Lucky
Ah. Remember the latter part of the 90's when that quirky music video "Popular" came out? You know, the one with the guy talking swiftly and phacesiously about the strife of popularity, then going into a sing-song chorus about being said "popular." Yeah, that's the one, with the teacher lecturing at the front of the class, the stretching winking football players, and the cheerleaders being stereotypical. You got it. Well, this is and isn't the same band from the 90's that chalked up that familiar Weezer-esque sound. That is all gone. "Lucky" is the fourth full-length from the new Nada Surf. A completely distinct sound from their beginnings and a much more mature take on the issues that hauntingly comprise "Lucky" sets it apart from many of the other releases of the year. There is a strange atmospheric feeling within the five minute opener "See These Bones" and though the sound turns a bit more poppy with more accessible tunes like "Beautiful Beat" and "Weightless" there is no dilapidation of sincerity and emotion. I truly look forward to whatever other directions these guys may go in the future.

6. Bridge and Tunnel - East/West
Man have these guys got it right. There's no way of describing their sound, but I can tell you about their musicianship: it's tight, it's adventurous, and the lyrics and vocal melodies will melt you where you stand. This album is beyond "punk" and beyond "rock". There is a raw sincerity with the vocal crooning and an unbelievable talent displayed with the compositions. I might as well add that their live show is equally as indescribable as the album itself.

7. Murder By Death - Red of Tooth and Claw
Another evolution in the journey of this band's sound, Red of Tooth and Claw continues in the direction of creating a soundtrack and storyboard for a cryptic and existential tale of love, loss, and alcohol. There is no other band doing what these guys are doing. You know them specifically for their sound and "Red of Tooth and Claw" covers even more un-charted territory.

8. Glass & Ashes - S/T
If aggression and melody could meet and have tea, this would be the outcome. The second release from Glass & Ashes is as elegant as it is raw, especially with the vocal work: crisp screams shifting into eerily satiating croons. The whole album is unpredictable and exciting from start to finish.

9. Ninja Gun - Restless Rubes
I'm ever so glad I found out about these guys this year. Having come from a small southern town, I find very seldom a band that can speak about the beauty and ugliness that comprise such places. "Restless Rubes" captures so much of what I want to say about life in the South and does so in such a tear-jerking, foot stomping way that you'd be a fool not to see the greatness these guys have to offer. Musically, these Georgians have done a fine job mixing it up (think Lucero meets Nada Surf) but have built something beautiful with their own hardworking fingers.

10. Able Baker Fox - Voices
I only bought this record a couple weeks ago and holy hellfire! Where have I been? I also missed out on the progression towards this album, having owned not a single Small Brown Bike nor Casket Lottery album (including the split that premised this project), but I do not feel left out of the loop. This album stands completely alone as a masterful work of art, without even having to know of the artists that came together to create it. If I could describe it in one word: POWERFUL. Rockin' from beginning to end, with lyrics so honest and brutal, you can't help but examine life a little bit after hearing them. "Voices" is an '08 release I can honestly kick myself for putting off for so long.

Close-calls:
•Atmosphere - When Life Gives You Lemons You Paint That Shit Gold
•Mouthbreather - Thank You For Your Patience
•Polar Bear Club - Sometimes Things Just Disappear

EP's & 7 inches:
1. Bridge and Tunnel/Young Livers - Split
2. Dirty Tactics - Gangster Stamina
3. OK Pilot - S/T
4. Gatorface - Sick and Stupid
5. Sakes Alive!! - Act I

10. 3 way tie for a couple REISSUES that came out, of albums that i really enjoy...coalesce - revolution in just listening, screeching weasel - my brain hurts, and turmoil - the process of...

9. Arghoslent - Hornets of the Pogrom. if you like death metal, check this out.

8. Good Riddance - Remain in Memory. i love this band. i hate you. go figure.

7. Less Than Jake - GNV FLA. This is awesome!

6. Terror - The Damned, The Shamed. A new terror recored. fuck yeah

5. H20 - Nothing to Prove. A new h20 record. fuck yeah. homeboy learned to sing a little bit better finally.

4. Cold World - Dedicated to Babies Who Were Born Feet First. This band likes hip hop, i don't really. Sweet album

3. Have Heart - Songs to Scream at the Sun. My most anticipated album of 08. I don't like as much as their last one because they seemed to have dropped the more old school vibe, and picked up a more modern sound...kinda subtle.

2. Suicide Note - Empty Rooms. This would have been no 1 if gaslight anthem had come out in 07 or 09. Never dug this band before I heard this. omg ladies, cute lead singer alert omg.

1. Gaslight Anthem the 59 sound. What did you expect? The combination of it being so damn catchy, me listening to it a lot, and my gf just digging the hell out of this album, made for it to be my number 1. besides, errybody else is putting it at no1, why can't I? lol.