And The Top Albums of 2008 are...

A little later than promised-sorry! However, I've built up a decent stash of news to post on here in the coming days, so keep it locked over the next week when I can get back to updating daily.

Unlike the previous list, this list will contain 15 albums. This is solely because 2008 has been nothing but music for me, most of it being old stuff that I had never heard and classics that I had skipped across.

As seems the case with a lot of older albums, they tend to be more consistent as a 'block' of music, as opposed to having one or two blindingly outstanding tracks, this being the reason that I could keep the best songs list down to 10.

The same rules apply to this list as the previous one:

-Albums that you only heard this year, the release date DOES NOT have to be 2008.
-Any genre!

Once again, please get involved, it's always good getting some interesting discussion going on.

It doesn't matter if you have or haven't commented before. You don't need to know me/any of the other regular people who comment to get involved!

Here goes, and again in no particular order:

Quietdrive, Deliverance
Nas, Illmatic
Kid Cudi, A Kid Named Cudi Mixtape
Lil' Wayne, The Leak EP/Mixtape
Lloyd, Lessons In Love
The-Dream, Love Hate
Eric B. and Rakim, Paid In Full
Jay-Z, Reasonable Doubt
Wale, Hate is the New Love Mixtape
N.E.R.D., Seeing Sounds
Sway, The Signature LP
Lloyd, Street Love
Sean Garrett, Turbo 919
Kanye West, 808s and Heartbreak
Fall Out Boy, Folie a Deux

By request, I will be posting up a list of my favourite 'songs to hear in a club' of 2008. If there are any other "top 10/15's" that you would like to see on here, let me know.

So...Best of 2008?

It's been a pretty quiet weekend for music/fashion news and exclusives, a trend that I expect to continue until the end of the week at the least.

So, let's do something that inevitably you will see all over TV: What are your favourite songs of this year (in any category)?

They don't necessarily have to have been released this year. My list contains songs that may have been released before 2008, but I only heard this year.

(In a day or two, I'll put up a similar post asking you for your albums. Save that for then.)

Don't be afraid to get involved. I seem to be getting a lot of visits, but only a tiny percentage of you are commenting!

Without further ado, 10 of my favourites (in no order):

-Kanye West, Welcome to Heartbreak Ft. Kid Cudi

-The-Dream, Falsetto

-Quietdrive, Rush Together

-Wale, W.A.L.E.D.A.N.C.E.

-Sean Garrett, Lay Up Under Me

-The Roots, Criminal Ft. Truck North and Saigon

-Saigon, Believe It Ft. Red 5ive

-GemStones, We On Ft. Lupe Fiasco

-Lil' Wayne, I'm Me

-Mayday Parade-I'd Hate To Be You When People Find Out What This Song Is About

Get involved!

Quietdrive-Deliverance

I would highly recommend you to give this a shot. If you don't like it, you don't like it. At least you broadened your horizons.

(For all of you who are too busy being narrow-minded to try something new, I'm not sure why you're even on here!)

The step from 'When All That's Left Is You' to this album is the biggest positive about this: Quietdrive have evolved and tried something different.

Deliverance is a very difficult album to pigeon-hole into a category, all I can call it is 'alternative rock'. It is both 'harder' and a lot more experimental than the last, but not to the point where they stray too far in one direction-there is still a pop-rock sensibility running straight through the middle of it.

Deliverance sounds like a nice blend of a variety of different styles, it's difficult to pinpoint who they sound like. At times, it sounds like a synergetic combination of U2 and Fall Out Boy and at others there's a sound reminiscient of Blink-182's last, more serious album, highlighted in the fact that Quietdrive have mastered the art of the hook/chorus.

To do justice to this album. it needs to be listened to as a whole. It has a consistency in quality that was lacking on the last album, which had two stand-out tracks which made the rest sound hugely inferior, despite the fact it probably wasn't.

In conclusion, this is probably going to come in as my favourite rock/alternative album of 2008, and probably one of my favourite albums of the year in all categories.

Believe-7.5/10
-The change in their style is shown right from the off: The song explodes in, and begins with a pounding drumbeat.

Deliverance-9/10
-Starts of with a Metro Station/Cobra Starship-esque drum sample, but steps up into a feel-good anthem with a great chorus that blends into the verses nicely.

Daddy's Little Girl-8.5/10
-The title says it all. A mocking, sarcastic chorus surrounded by calm, reflective verses. It all combines into a nice image of a thought process, moving from calm reflection to anger, and back.

Motivation-7.5/10
-A more pop-punk affair, and probably not as lyrically mature as the rest of the album. It is however likeable and highlights the range of styles on the album.

Birthday-8.5/10
-Great lyrics, which are brutally honest and create the impression that this is probably the conversation that was had whilst hungover. Intelligent use of simple, repeated chords in the verses that prevent the song from becoming too serious. Very memorable chorus.

After All-6.5/10
-Least favourite song on the album. The transitition from the bouncy verses to a darker chorus don't quite work, the chorus feels like it should be in a different song. It's also a little disjointed as a song, but it does end quite well, when it becomes introspective and shows a range of emotions from thoughtful, to angry.

Pretend-8/10
-A good song in which the verses probably just outshine the chorus, somewhat of an anomaly for this album. The slow down towards the end builds back into an impressive, Rush Together-esque finish.

Hollywood-9/10
-A great bridge that builds into a very strong chorus. They use a wide variety of styles on this song, with traces of an acoustic guitar in places. This, when combined with the great vocals/backing vocals, good lyrics and slow guitars makes for what is one of the strongest songs on the album.

Kissing Your Lips-7.5/10
-Begins with an almost reggae/pop vibe. Very simple and laid-back, but effective nonetheless. The chorus isn't shooting for overkill, both instrumentally and lyrically, which offers some diversity from the rest of the album.

Take Me Now-7/10
-A good bridge and chorus, which is built up nicely by the verses. A solid track, but nothing outstanding.

Promise Me-8/10
-The opening line draws you into the song, which then builds upon it progessively. It culminates into a big, loud chorus which creeps into the verse. The lyrical (love) content of the verse does prevent this from being as good as it should be, as it doesn't seem to fit properly.

Secret-8/10
-A very likeable song which opens up with haunting vocals, that offer a surprising contrast to the Spanish-style guitars that jump in. It adds together to create another progressive build to the chorus, a chorus which screams Fall Out Boy.

Starbright-9.5/10
-They saved the best for last. A genuinely brilliant song, with really honest lyrics that compliment the fact that this is the softest song on the album, and in turn makes it the most memorable. It feels like an Angels and Airwaves song, but instead of taking a complicated route to getting their message across, they take the idea of appreciation from afar and turn it into an honest track.

Upcoming Reviews

Quietdrive-Deliverance: This album veers away from the pop-punk nature of the last one and heads in a slightly heavier, and at times a more experimental direction.

Songs to download from their previous album (When All That's Left Is You) : Rush Together and Time After Time.

Take a chance! If you don't like them, delete them. If you do, congrats!

Common-Universal Mind Control: Another album where an artist changes direction and tries something different, this time moving from conscious, neo-soul rap to a more electro-tinged offering.

According to a recent interview, Common was 'sick of hearing the DJ play all these great party jams but not being able to play anything of mine.'

Songs to download from previous albums: U, Black Maybe (from Finding Forever), Testify (from Be), Breaker 1/9 (from Can I Borrow A Dollar?).

I'm also trying to get hold of Donavon Frankenreiter's newest album. It's highly unlikely, but if anyone has it, send it my way so I can fulfill a review request!