Blender Magazine recently released their top 33 albums of 2008.  Although it’s by no means close to what my top 33 albums would be, I gotta give them credit for coming up with a pretty eclectic mix.  I mean, they cover it all from Erykah Badu, to Katy Perry to Girl Talk.  It is the latter’s presence on the list that gives us some comfort knowing they didn’t just focus on albums released on major labels.  And the presence of artists like Bon Iver and Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks confirms that they didn’t just focus on mainstream artists.  Even old folks like Randy Newman and Al Green made the cut!  But let’s take a deeper look at the magazine’s choices:   Â
GOOD: Girl Talk is #2! And really, who doesn’t enjoy that album? Even though I liked Feed the Animals way more than I did Carter 3, I gotta hand it to Lil Weezy for making such a major comeback and being #1 album of the year.  I still remember when he was a little twerp running around with the Cash Money Millionaires back in the ’90s.
Although Lykke Li is my Swedish pop star of choice, it was cool to see Robyn beat Katy Perry and Mariah Carey at #6.  I don’t want to hate, but Mariah needs to give up already.  Daydream was a great album, but that was a long time ago.       Â
BAD: This list just might be a little too eclectic.  The variety makes you wonder if Blender sat down and grouped 2008 releases into different genres and categories, and then tried to pick at least one from each.  I’m definitely puzzled at Fall Out Boy’s appearance on the top 10.  I mean, people still like them?  Not only that but they beat Bon Iver and My Morning Jacket.  And what is with the Roots actually making it as #24? Don’t get me wrong, I love them, but Rising Down was pretty disappointing and there are definitely better hip hop albums released this year (i.e. Atmosphere, Murs, Common Market).     Â
OMGWTF: Mettalica is back!? Just kidding. I’m not sure if they deserve to be the 4th best album of 2008, though. What’s really shocking is they didn’t completely suck! That and they beat Hot Chip’s Made in the Dark! Even more shocking is that country music actually made the list. Way to go Hayes Carll & Taylor Swift for filling the last two spots on the list.   I’m betting it’s Taylor’s good looks that got her on the list in the first place.  Â
How does Ponytail make it on here as #18, or even Usher as #26, but MGMT is nowhere to be found?! I mean, C’MON!! I thought everyone loved MGMT.  And Coldplay didn’t even make top 20. Instead they got #22 behind Erykah Badu, Wale and Katy Perry.
Kasabian
