Top 25 Albums of 2008: A Prelude

To pre-empt my posts about the Top 25 albums of this past year (which will start up in December), I've decided to clear the air on which albums were considered for the "honor" of being added to this list.  Below, I'll be listing all of the artists whose albums were heard and evaluated.  Out of these (there were 69 in all), I picked/am in the process of picking the 25 best.  Enjoy this, and please, feel free to recommend anything you feel that I've "missed" (sarcasm, of course).

Anyway, without further ado, here's the massive, alphabetically organized list of artists whose albums you may or may not be reading about as one of the year's best, in about in a week or so.

Arists:

Anathallo, Beck, Black Kids, Blind Pilot, Blitzen Trapper, Bodies of Water, Bon Iver,  Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Brett Dennen, Coldplay, Colour Revolt, Conor Oberst, Crooked Fingers, Death Cab for Cutie, Dear and the Headlights, Deerhunter, Department of Eagles, The Dodos, Fleet Foxes, The Game, Gentleman Jesse and His Men, Girl Talk, Gnarls Barkley, The Hold Steady, Hot Chip, I'm From Barcelona, Kanye West, Keane, The Killers, Kings of Leon, The Kooks, Langhorne Slim, Lightspeed Champion, Lil' Wayne, Lucinda Williams, Ludacris, Mates of State, MGMT, My Morning Jacket, M83, N.E.R.D, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, of Montreal, No Age, Okkervil River, Portishead, Portugal. The Man, Ra Ra Riot, The Raveonettes, Ray LaMontagne, Reefer, R.E.M., Right Away Great Captain!, The Roots, Ryan Adams & The Cardinals, Santogold, She & Him, Sigur Ros, Silver Jews, Sun Kill Moon, The Tallest Man on Earth, T.I., Tokyo Police Club, TV On the Radio, Vampire Weekend, The Walkmen, Weezer, The Welcome Wagon, Young Jeezy 

So there you have it.  This was the best way I could think of displaying it, save a very large, bulleted list, but I think it works.  Anyway- check back in a week, feel free to voice your opinions, and have a good Thanksgiving tomorrow.

-John

What Else Should I Be? All Apologies.

Sooo...it's been awhile.  And by awhile, I mean two months.  First off, I'd like to apologize for the inactivity to anyone who's been checking this.  We've been having some difficulties on this end, and because of those, right now, it's only me writing.  Though I'm disappointed that the collaboration started during the summer was not able to continue as planned, I feel this can still be an interesting place to visit.

Starting in December, I'm going to be posting my personal picks for the Top 25 Albums of the 2008.  Yes, some albums that I have not been able to listen to will be left out, but chances are that if I haven't heard them, they weren't that good anyway.  I'm sure anyone who's read this recently can take a guess already at one album that will NOT be present (hint: rhymes with shmeletal shmamping).  Trust me though- the albums that mattered this year (as far as indie, alternative, and hip hop are concerned; and really what else matters?) will be on there.

Looking forward to seeing you around come December.  'Till then, just sit tight, and perhaps I can muster up some time to get something else to read up here.

Best,

John