The top 10 albums of 2008

Oooh a list. On a blog? At the end of the year? With Bon Iver at No1? It's all unheard of, I know, but that's the reality, so deal with it. These are our 10 favourite albums of 2008. The list features Cambodian pop, 8-bit screamo, Balkan folk and electro hair metal but the album of the year is without a doubt, hands-down, number-one-with-a-bullet Bon Iver's For Emma, Forever Ago. It has topped quite a few best-of lists this year (including Rough Trade and Observer Music Monthly), but we've been going on about it all year - we named it best album of the year so far back in July. You can listen to tracks from most of these albums in the player on the right.

1. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
2. TV on the Radio – Dear Science
3. Late of the Pier - Fantasy Black Channel
4. MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
5. Beck - Modern Guilt
6. The Shortwave Set - Replica Sun Machine
7. Headless Heroes - The Silence of Love
8. Devotchka - A Mad and Faithful Telling
9. Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles
10. Dengue Fever - Venus On Earth

Winter Listening

It's cold and dark. You've made your end-of-year lists and you find yourself in a musical vacuum, not one place or another. Alcohol and lack of sleep are making you fuzzy around the edges and you're not quite sure what you feel about anything. So, you need some new stuff to keep you going, to give you directions. Here's a couple of things i've been listening to over the past week that are going down well. The first is taken from Mumford & Sons' recent EP and shows why they're getting the hype they are. The second is Cat Power covering Creedence. Not a lot more you need to say about that. Listen and enjoy.

Mumford & Sons - Little Lion Man Download Buy

Cat Power - Fortunate Son Download