Lists gone wild

I’m part of the silent minority who actually looks forward to the year-end ritual of list making. And while my pal David Cantwell argues that lists without argument are “an exercise not even in trivia but in randomness and arbitrary subjectivity” — and he’s right about that mindless Rolling Stone Greatest Singers of All Time — year end lists can be existential acts, ways of standing-up-for what we love, even if what we love changes all the time.

Coming soon to KDHX.org are Programmer Top Tens of 2008, as well as the top albums as played on 88.1 FM this year. Surprises guaranteed.

Till then, I’ve compiled some 2008 lists from a variety of media sources.

Paste Magazine Top 50 Albums
Blender Top 33 Albums
Mojo Top 50 Albums
Q Magazine 50 Best Albums
Uncut Magazine Top 20 Albums
XLR8 Top 25 Albums
Pitchfork Media 50 Best Albums
RFT Music Lists
Jazzwise Albums of the Year
Textura Top 20 Albums etc.
Filter Mag Top Ten Albums
MusicOMH Top 50
Amazon.com Editors’ Lists
Time Magazine Top Ten Albums
Resident Advisor Top 20 Labels
Idolator Top 80 List
AU Magazine 50 Albums of the Year
EOY Classic Rock Top 50 Albums
NME Top 50 Albums
Wire Top 50 Albums
Rolling Stone Top 50 Albums
Onion AV Club Best Music 2008
Hip Hop Connection Top 40 Albums
Fact Magazine Top 100 Tracks
Gigwise Top Ten Albums
Drowned In Sound Top 50 Albums
Guardian Music Critic’s Poll
Billboard Critic Choices
Said the Gramophone Top 50 Songs
Pop Matters Best Metal Albums
Culture Deluxe Top 50 Albums
Album Vote Combined List of Lists
Blurt Top 20 Albums
Robert Christgau’s Lists from Slate.com
And even more from Largehearted Boy

  • email
  • Digg
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • del.icio.us
  • Technorati
  • StumbleUpon
  • NewsVine
  • Propeller
  • MisterWong
  • Yahoo! Buzz
Posted by Roy Kasten | December 19, 2008 | Music | 3 Comments 

Comments

3 Responses to “Lists gone wild”

  1. Steve Pick on December 19th, 2008 6:53 pm

    I’m puzzled as all get out. TV on the Radio made a fine record this year, a very listenable, enjoyable piece of entertainment which flushed right through my system every time I heard it. And somehow, there’s not a single major year-end list that doesn’t think it’s one of the five or so best albums of 2008.

    I have a list of 60 better albums which I will put up any day now.

  2. Grace on December 19th, 2008 10:14 pm

    I agree with Steve. The song “Lovers’ Day” is nice, but I don’t quite see Dear Science as reflective of “America in 2008,” as Rolling Stone claims–and this is coming from someone who considers herself to be a big TVOTR fan.

  3. Roy Kasten on December 22nd, 2008 9:57 pm

    Check out the KDHX Programmer Top Tens here.

Leave a Reply