the SEVENTEEN albums of 2008.

I know last year I went for only ten, but this year I have that plus five honorable mentions, and two others that would lower my cred if it went in my actual list. Just kidding...kind of. So here we go, in order (although I'm going to be tempted to rearrange these over and over)! Not the newspaper's favorite albums of the year, but legitimately mine this time.

THE TOP TEN:
Vampire Weekend-Vampire Weekend. I feel like this album came out years ago, probably because I heard most of this album just as 2008 was sprouting its tiny legs. But no matter how many times I play "Oxford Comma" over and over, these songs honestly never get old. All the African, French classical, whatever influences this band has, I love it all. Vampire Weekend, please bestow a new album for us all during 2009. If it's anything at all like "Ottoman" I will love you for life. Not that I don't already...how could I not love a band that has its lead singer don a Ralph Lauren dog-embroidered sweater?

Of Montreal-Skeletal Lamping. Haters to the left. I've been stuck in this sex-crazed wild party that Kevin Barnes is hosting ever since I got this album. So many of the lyrics are clever, or random, or just plain insane, which I totally dig. Songs like "For Our Elegant Caste" get stuck in my head, but I can't exactly go around singing "we can do it softcore if you want" without getting strange looks. No big deal, I'll just privately dance in my car like I usually do. Just know this, Of Montreal: I can't help if it's true, I just want to play with you.

Fleet Foxes-Fleet Foxes. If I wanted to be completely uncreative and lazy, I could just copy what I wrote for the paper, but I won't since Fleet Foxes is that worth it. I feel like I uncovered my Band of Horses of 2008, although they do have their differences. I want to hear this album forever while I'm out in the woods, toasting marshmallows around a campfire. "White Water Hymnal" makes me drool every time I play it because of its fabulous harmonies.

M83-Saturdays=Youth. I feel like a cheater to put this on my list, because I only got this album last week or so. But seriously, I've been playing it so many times and the songs are so legit. They're dreamy, they're ethereal, they're super synthesized, whatever--I totally understand why this album is on every blog's top 10. It's going to be one of those things that when I look back to this post next April, I'll say "Wow! I totally would've put that at #1 since I love it even more now." Here's to M83.

Lady Gaga-The Fame. Lady Gaga is so easy to write about, since this album seriously was the soundtrack of my summer. Some songs are not super amazing, but the latter half makes up for all of it tenfold. You may only know "Just Dance" and "Poker Face," or maybe a couple more thanks to Gossip Girl, but it's straight up fact that 1) Lady Gaga dresses weirder than Bjork and 2) her dance songs are amazing. Fuck Britney Spears: she may have one or two good singles, but Lady Gaga wrote them. Take that.

Jack's Mannequin-The Glass Passenger. Oh, Andrew McMahon. We all waited and waited for your sophomore album, and you delivered not only that, but some spectacular EPs to go with it. And wow, your album is amazing. People might think you're overrated but as a huge SoCo fan, I will never get over you. I can't even list songs because I really dig all of them (okay, I really really like "Orphans" and "Caves.") Please, Andrew, can you marry your piano? The two of you are so fierce.

Anthony Green-Avalon. Circa Survive is bomb. So is The Sounds of Animals Fighting. But Anthony Green is at his prime when he's all alone, singing these acoustic songs that are catchy as hell. I loved "Drugdealer" ever since he sang it at SXSW last year, and it's even better polished and produced. And how could this album be even better? Colin Frangicetto of Circa Survive remixed the whole damn thing! God loves me so.

Santogold-Santogold. I stumbled upon Santogold totally by chance. Browsing my usual downloading website of choice, here flashed a trippy two-song EP cover advertising Santogold, saying I'd love her if I dug M.I.A. The huge Arular fan that I am, I downloaded it and man, I loved it. Hearing more random songs, especially the "You'll Find A Way (Switch and Graeme Sinden Remix)" solidified my love. By the time the rest of the blogosphere caught on, I kind of forgot all about Santogold but revisiting 2008 albums, of course, I could never forget the craziness that is this album.

Lil' Wayne-Tha Carter III. Wow. In the misogynistic, radio hit land of hip-hop and rap, it was for sure Lil' Wayne's year. I can't even count how many "call me so I can make it juicy for ya" or "bitch, I'm the bomb like tick tick" bumper stickers I got. Or that one time I was waiting in line at Six Flags and these 30-year-olds were dancing to Lil' Wayne creeping out of their phone. This man simply cannot be escaped and honestly, I wouldn't want to be. Now excuse me while I listen to "Mr. Carter" for the 10th time today.

Lykke Li-Youth Novels. Lykke Li's face sort of bothers me, but regardless of that I LOVE this album. Her distinctive Swedish voice and sweet electropop will entice anyone (or at least girls) into her charm. The music video for "I'm Good, I'm Gone" is hypnotic and one of my favorites this year (maybe because it was free on iTunes, so it permanently lives in my iPod), as is the song itself. 3OH!3's remix and Friendly Fires' cover of the same song are just as amusing and fascinating.

THE HONORABLE MENTIONS:
MGMT-Oracular Spectacular. I know you're all wondering, "How in the world could she possibly put MGMT in the honorable mentions?!" Because, simply put, I only reallllly love the first five songs and all the rest kind of fade to the back of my mind, never to be recalled again. Of course "Electric Feel" is amazing and catchy as shit. Of course I know all the words to "Kids"; of course "Time To Pretend" is my jam. Of course I fucking love MGMT. Now stop questioning me.

The Academy Is...-Fast Times At Barrington High. Like the judgmental fans we are, not many TAI fans liked Santi. It wasn't the Almost Here we were all used to and in love with. So for their third endeavor, William Beckett threw a big pop-punk gem in our faces. Okay, got the picture. At first this album was also a bit disappointing, especially "His Girl Friday" which was as cliche and stupid as cookie-cutter songs come. But looking at my iTunes, I've played this album an inexplicable number of times, and I really really like every other song. Congratulations, TAI, you pleased me.

Lenka-Lenka. I won't lie, Teen Vogue has been introducing me to some killer bands this year, like Chester French and yours truly, Lenka. Okay, so her music not be that off-kilter or original, but something about "Skipalong" and "The Show" made me have a aural epiphany and go to heaven. Plus, if you're the type of person who would like Lenka in the first place, the entire album is pretty much in the same vein, i.e. spectacular.

She & Him-Volume One. Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward. Could they be any more well-paired? This album is kitschy, a throwback to the 40s or 50s or whatever era. "Change Is Hard" is hands down one of the best songs, ever, and I adore the banjo that Zooey plays throughout the album. Seriously, my girl crush for this woman is growing by the second. Anxiously waiting for Volume Two...

Girl Talk-Feed The Animals. This album was free. Legally, totally free. Thanks Greg Gillis, you're the bomb. This album was also fabulous, with more of the same seamless mash-ups, stuffing Kanye West, Radiohead, and Ben Folds Five in less than a minute. So yes, I should've totally loved this album. It should've been in the top 10. But all I could think whenever I listened to it was "Night Ripper was better, catchier, more amazing." So there it goes...

WHAT I WOULD CALL GUILTY PLEASURES, IF I BELIEVED IN THEM:
Taylor Swift-Fearless. It scares me how much I love this album. As a standard Jonas Brothers fan I used to love to hate Taylor Swift, but honestly screw the Jonas Brothers and bring on the Taylor love. I don't care if the lyrics are childish or talk about Romeo and Juliet, or if she is labelled country. In fact, I'm not even hearing your digs at Taylor Swift since I'm too busy blasting "Hey Stephen." I guess some part everyone's criticism is well-deserved, though, because I know if I didn't care this album would be number 3...which is kind of pathetic, even on my part.

Akon-Freedom. This time last year I would have thought that T-Pain would be in this category, or somewhere on this list. But Thr33 Ringz was horrible (and horribly spelled...are we trying to resurrect some "Sk8er Boi" spelling or some shit?) and Freedom stole my hip-hop heart. "Beautiful" makes me excited whenever I hear it on the radio, and "Keep You Much Longer" is fucking great. Thanks, Akon, for being the runaway hit of radio hits (which doesn't mean much to me, but matters to those millions of top 40 listeners).

So that completes 2008...a decent music year, I must say. Here's to hoping that 2009 is even better...