AUGUSTA, GA - Folks, 2008 has been a banner freaking year in the music world.

Despite the oppressively conspicuous cold sore that is “Chinese Democracy” oozing its over-hyped pus all over iTunes and the gravitational pull of Axl Rose’s ego threatening to suck the entire universe into a massive black hole of indifference, the past 12 months have seen extraordinary releases from the likes of Fleet Foxes, Torche, Boris and even a London-born, Sri-Lankan female rapper, of all things.

The fact that few, if any, of the aforementioned bands have made our lists is a testament to the amount of awesomeness with which this year in music has been saturated — either that, or we haven’t a clue as to what we’re talking about.

With that in mind, the music writers of the Metro Spirit now present you our extremely learned, bloated and unashamedly biased Top 10 lists.
 

Josh Ruffin
1. “A Picture of the Three of Us at the Gate to the Garden of Eden,” These United States: Jesse Elliot (with David Strackany along for the ride) takes a stream-of-conscious road trip through back alleys and baptism pools… all without leaving the front porch. The result: romance in perpetual motion, soaked with the sweat of Americana and nothing short of brilliant.
2. “Life Songs in a Land of Death,” Plague Bringer: Don’t let the power metal solo in “Focused Regression” fool you. Plague Bringer lays down a serious hurting on their second album, crafting the most spastic digi-grind this side of Agoraphobic Nosebleed.
3. “Distance Is Oval,” Microtia: Monolithic guitar pop in the vein of Muse, but with a genuinely encyclopedic knowledge of the riff. Thunderous and flawless.
4. “Doomsayer’s Holiday,” Grails: Had Led Zeppelin ditched Robert Plant at their creative apex and gone all Sgt. Pepper on our asses, it might have gotten them within spitting distance of Grails’ finest hour to date. East Indian modalities and Malian blues never sounded so apocalyptic.
5. “Sweet Love for Planet Earth,” Fuck Buttons: The soundtrack to an angel’s snuff film. Oceans of feedback give way to delicate melodies, wind chimes echo over lakes of bubbling tar, and feral screams cut through a twilight mist made of a banshee’s bone marrow. You’ve been warned.
6. “Hirror Enniffer,” Mamiffer: It’s not often that an album almost entirely bereft of vocals distinguishes itself as the year’s most poetic, but Faith Coloccia’s somber, doom-march piano suites possess a minimalist elegance rarely conceived, and even more rarely achieved.
7. “Conqueror,” Gates of Slumber: Hell. Yes. Sabbath imitations are par for the course nowadays, but this burly, greezy beast of a trio actually beat the old dogs at their own game. Truly sinister sludge with more hooks than a giant squid’s tentacle.

8. “Oak City,” Teith: This band is under your bed. Though a four-song EP is thus far the Chicago-based collective’s sole offering, that doesn’t stop it from being a completely satisfying and unsettling free-noise drone-scape.
9. “Strega,” Subrosa: If St. Vitus got Jenny Lewis to front them and recorded an album in the middle of the Black Forest during a rainstorm while a nearby group of trolls stirred a steaming cauldron of acid punch, it would sound like this. And it would be almost as good.
10. “Red of Tooth and Claw,” Murder by Death: Adam Turla’s bourbon-marinated lounge singer’s croon is the perfect vessel for the kind of dust-caked gutter poetry and high-octane saloon rock that he and his band crank out. Now this is the West.

Frazia Lee (No particular order)
1. “Hiding Place,” Copper Sails: The album was a fresh revival of sound, summoning groups such as U2 and INXS, with a contemporary feel. Old-school fresh.
2. “Self-Portrait,” Lalah Hathaway: Hathaway presented a beautifully sung autobiography in relatable prose against a mix of neo-soul and jazz. Purely soothing.
3. “The Odd Couple,” Gnarls Barkley: With Gnarls Barkley’s second go-round, you found yourself dancing like mad to dark and depressing songs set to a weird mix of funk, soul and electronic music.

4. “Jukebox,” Cat Power: Her bluesy, raw sound stuck to your ears like maple-praline syrup.
5. “N,” Nas: The powers wouldn’t let him be, so, lyrically, he gave them the middle finger in the name of hip-hop.
6. “19,” Adele: The Londoner was influenced by Etta James and Björk and mixed it all up with a heavy dose of R&B and soul.
7. “The Way I See It,” Raphael Saadiq: He summoned Motown and didn’t let you forget one of the true birthplaces of soul this year.
8. “The Formula,” 9th Wonder & Buckshot: Stop sleeping on underground hip-hop. One of the best producers from the South and one of the long-standing MCs from the east meshed exceptionally well.
9. “Esperanza,” Esperanza: This musical prodigy churned out an impressive jazzy compilation that showcased her true talent. For proof, listen to “Ponta De Areia,” and “I Know You Know.”
10. “Purpose,” Algebra: A favorite from Atlanta’s underground music scene, she splattered her charisma and personality all over this neo-soul nugget.

Dino Lull
1. “Expensive Vomit In A Cheap Hotel,” Sleeping In The Aviary: Emotional indie rock. Every single song is great.
2. “Censored Colors,” Portugal. The Man: A diverse and extremely talented band. A lot like the Beatles.

3. “Lunglight,” The Shaky Hands: Awesome indie rock. Lead singer has a unique voice.
4. “Repo! The Genetic Opera” Soundtrack: Just a really crazy album. All kinds of odd music.
5. “Voyager,” Walter Meego: Really good electronic dance music.
6. “In Stereo,” Catfight: Electronic, catchy new-wave style indie rock.
7. “Ship of Fools,” American Speedway: Fast, stripped-down, Motorhead-inspired punk rock.
8. “Casualty Menagerie,” Walter Sickert and the Army of Broken Toys: Dark, experimental and strange, but great.
9. “Nyctalopia,” Dem Imonde: Local band who sounds a little like early Siouxsie and the Banshees.
10. “Disaster Casual,” Her Next Friend: Weird indie rock. Really grows on you.

Tom Grant
1.“mkULTRA,” Marykate O’Neil: Her light voice and poetic lyrics made this EP the surprise find of the year. Then she added to it with the CD “Underground.”
2. “Conchita’s Collective,” Conchita Campos: Light and easy pop that seems so familiar I think I’ve been listening to it for years.
3. “Falcon,” Falcon: This rock music is all based on a series of cassettes recorded by Jared Falcon, a young man who died of spinal meningitis 20 years ago.
4. “Rockferry,” Duffy: The soulful “Mercy” is my song of the year, but sets too high a standard for the rest of the album.
5. “Hope for the Hopeless,” Brett Dennon: The rich lyrics remind me of Elliott Smith without the death wish.
6. “Beautiful Distraction,” Marianne Keith: A little bit pop, a little bit country, with some Edie Brickell thrown in for meaning.
7. “The Revisionists,” The Revisionists: Classic rock and grunge influences and lyrics that use the word “cesspool” make this stand out.
8. “Attack! Attack!,” Attack! Attack!: “Honesty didn’t get me anywhere. I know because I read it in your diary.” And they sound like the Ataris.
9. “Censored Colors,” Portugal. The Man: These indie rockers are the best thing to ever come out of Wasilla, Alaska.
10. “Albertine,” Brooke Fraser: A phenomenon in New Zealand and Australia, her voice is stunning.
 

Ed Turner
1. “Evil Urges,” My Morning Jacket: Where would they be without all that reverb?

2. “Little Honey,” Lucinda Williams: One of our truly great artists today. Wouldn’t it be great to see her at the Imperial?
3. “Cardinology,” Ryan Adams: He’s the Curt Flood of rock. Recording keeps him out of trouble.
4. “Modern Guilt,” Beck: Mr. H. demonstrates the difference between an artist and an entertainer, though he’s fine at both.
5. “Only by the Night,” Kings of Leon: Nashville cats get it right... again.
6. “Fleet Foxes,” (self-titled): Irresistible and catchier than a December cold.
7. “The Hits” (box set), George Jones: “She Thinks I Still Care?” Yes, I do about this wonderful set, but not about her.
8. “Murmur” (25th anniversary set), R.E.M: Those were the days, my friends, but they ended.
9. “Sugar Mountain” (Neil Young Live 1968): Buffalo Springfield and early solo songs in a solo set are incredible.
10. “Pacific Ocean Blue” (reissue), Dennis Wilson: Brian’s baby brother had more talent than he realized. Awesome production.

Coco Rubio (no particular order)
1. “Volume One,” She & Him: This album is a collaboration between M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel and it sounds like a cross between some 1970s smooth rock and country.
2. “Evil Urges,” My Morning Jacket: A few duds on this album… but a few classics, too.
3. “808s and Heartbreak,” Kanye West: Sounding like The Cure, New Order and Radiohead… is this post-modern hip-hop?

4. “Universal Mind Control,” Common: I love the single with Afrika Bambaataa… and the rest of the album… and I saw him eating at Cafe 209 last month!
5. “The Stand Ins,” Okkervil River: This Austin, Texas, band sounded like Morrissey was singing… and I love that.
6. “Narrow Stairs,” Death Cab for Cutie: The production and songs simply stand out on this album.
7. “Dear Science,” TV on the Radio: Simply put, nothing sounds like these modern rockers from Brooklyn.
8. “The Renaissance,” Q-Tip: His best songs since A Tribe Called Quest… and it’s about time.
9. “Wrecking Ball,” Dead Confederate: This slow burner from local boys done good is heavy and loud… just like their shows.
10. “12 Bands of Christmas,” 2008: Every year I get this local holiday compilation stuck in my CD player. Another classic.