Ladyhawke Paris is Burning review
1. Ladyhawke
Paris is Burning

You could call 2008 a post-Big Bang kind of year – lots of interesting musical elements roaming free, coalescing in chance and unexpected ways. It was a year of much genre hopping, and even individual bands and artists seemed to regard adventurous genre-splicing as their reason d’être. Wonderfully, most of it you could dance to. MGMT, Santigold and Black Kids brought punk, funk, disco, and soul to the party. Vampire Weekend and Those Dancing Days made the most joyful guitar sounds for years, kicking us out of our landfill indie blues.

But there was also darkness and complexity: Foals and Metronomy reduced dancing to a compulsive itch. Hercules and Love Affair danced with tears in their eyes. And just incase we got too loved-up, Fucked Up, Crystal Castles, Portishead and Autechre were there to slap us with some of the most challenging noise of the decade.

It was also a year of nascent scenes: MGMT brought the world’s attention to Brooklyn’s growing hipster community, while the take-no-prisoners noise of No Age emerged from a scene based around LA club The Smell.

A lot to take in – but which sounds rocked your party? We want you to let us know by voting for your favorites and contributing reviews about the stars of your record collection.

Santigold L.E.S. Artistes review
5. Santigold
L.E.S. Artistes
M.I.A. Paper Planes review
6. M.I.A.
Paper Planes
MGMT Time to Pretend review
8. MGMT
Time to Pretend
Black Kids Look at Me (when I rock wichoo) review
9. Black Kids
Look at Me (when I rock wichoo)
Glasvegas Geraldine review
11. Glasvegas
Geraldine
Santigold Creator review
12. Santigold
Creator
Franz Ferdinand Lucid Dreams review
17. Franz Ferdinand
Lucid Dreams
Mystery Jets Two Doors Down review
19. Mystery Jets
Two Doors Down
Beck Chemtrails review
21. Beck
Chemtrails
Black Kids Hurricane Jane review
22. Black Kids
Hurricane Jane
Mystery Jets Young Love review
23. Mystery Jets
Young Love
Foals Cassius review
24. Foals
Cassius
Vampire Weekend A-Punk review
25. Vampire Weekend
A-Punk
Kings of Leon Crawl review
26. Kings of Leon
Crawl
White Denim Let's Talk About it review
27. White Denim
Let's Talk About it
MGMT Electric Feel review
28. MGMT
Electric Feel
TV on the Radio Golden Age review
29. TV on the Radio
Golden Age
Lightspeed Champion Galaxy of the Lost review
31. Lightspeed Champion
Galaxy of the Lost
No Age Eraser review
32. No Age
Eraser
Yeasayer Wait for the Summer review
33. Yeasayer
Wait for the Summer
Metronomy Heartbreaker review
34. Metronomy
Heartbreaker
Glasvegas It's My Own Cheating Heart review
35. Glasvegas
It's My Own Cheating Heart
XX Teens Darlin' review
36. XX Teens
Darlin'
Beck Gamma Ray review
37. Beck
Gamma Ray
Mystery Jets Half in Love With Elizabeth review
38. Mystery Jets
Half in Love With Elizabeth
Foals Olympic Airways review
39. Foals
Olympic Airways
Late of the Pier Heartbeat review
40. Late of the Pier
Heartbeat
Beck Youthless review
41. Beck
Youthless
No Age Teen Creeps review
42. No Age
Teen Creeps
Bloc Party Mercury review
43. Bloc Party
Mercury
Foals Red Socks Pugie review
44. Foals
Red Socks Pugie
Friendly Fires Jump in the Pool review
47. Friendly Fires
Jump in the Pool
Justice DVNO review
48. Justice
DVNO
Black Lips Bad Kids review
49. Black Lips
Bad Kids
Lykke Li Little Bit review
50. Lykke Li
Little Bit
Fucked Up Year of the Pig review
51. Fucked Up
Year of the Pig
Girls Hellhole Ratrace review
53. Girls
Hellhole Ratrace
Hot Chip One Pure Thought review
54. Hot Chip
One Pure Thought
Amazing Baby Headdress review
55. Amazing Baby
Headdress
Los Campesinos! Death to Los Campesinos! review
56. Los Campesinos!
Death to Los Campesinos!
Chairlift Planet Health review
57. Chairlift
Planet Health
The Brute Chorus Chateau review
58. The Brute Chorus
Chateau
Crystal Castles Vanished review
60. Crystal Castles
Vanished
Passion Pit I've Got Your Number review
61. Passion Pit
I've Got Your Number
White Lies Death review
62. White Lies
Death
Hatcham Social So So Happy Making review
63. Hatcham Social
So So Happy Making
A Place to Bury Strangers I Know I'll See You review
64. A Place to Bury Strangers
I Know I'll See You
Kings of Leon Use Somebody review
65. Kings of Leon
Use Somebody
Florence & The Machine Kiss With A Fist review
67. Florence & The Machine
Kiss With A Fist
A Place to Bury Strangers To Fix the Gash in your Head review
68. A Place to Bury Strangers
To Fix the Gash in your Head
Late of the Pier The Bears Are Coming review
69. Late of the Pier
The Bears Are Coming
Cajun Dance Party The Race review
70. Cajun Dance Party
The Race
Metronomy My Heart Rate Rapid review
71. Metronomy
My Heart Rate Rapid
The Big Pink Too Young To Love review
72. The Big Pink
Too Young To Love
Mystery Jets Flakes review
73. Mystery Jets
Flakes
Ponytail Beg Waves review
74. Ponytail
Beg Waves
Santigold, Julian Casablancas & Pharrell My Drive Thru review
75. Santigold, Julian Casablancas & Pharrell
My Drive Thru
Lykke Li I'm Good, I review
77. Lykke Li
I'm Good, I
Jay Reatard Always Wanting More review
79. Jay Reatard
Always Wanting More
Bombay Bicycle Club Evening/Morning review
81. Bombay Bicycle Club
Evening/Morning
Santigold Say Aha review
82. Santigold
Say Aha
Tiny Masters of Today Hologram World review
83. Tiny Masters of Today
Hologram World
Art Brut Pump Up The Volume review
84. Art Brut
Pump Up The Volume
The Wombats Moving to New York review
85. The Wombats
Moving to New York
Dananananaykroyd Pink Sabbath review
86. Dananananaykroyd
Pink Sabbath
Free Blood Grumpy review
87. Free Blood
Grumpy
Underground Railroad Sticks and Stones review
88. Underground Railroad
Sticks and Stones
Holy Fuck Lovely Allen review
89. Holy Fuck
Lovely Allen
BARR Song is The Single review
90. BARR
Song is The Single
Tyvek Air Conditioner review
91. Tyvek
Air Conditioner
Salem BruStreet review
93. Salem
BruStreet
NASA Money review
94. NASA
Money
Atlas Sound River Card review
95. Atlas Sound
River Card
Pivot In the Blood review
96. Pivot
In the Blood
Dead Kids Into the Fire review
97. Dead Kids
Into the Fire
Facing New York Cops On Bikes review
98. Facing New York
Cops On Bikes
Zombie Zombie Driving This Road Until Death Sets You Free review
99. Zombie Zombie
Driving This Road Until Death Sets You Free
The Rapture No Sex For Ben review
100. The Rapture
No Sex For Ben
Why? Fatalist Palmistry review
101. Why?
Fatalist Palmistry
Make Model The LSB review
102. Make Model
The LSB
Radiohead Bodysnatchers review
103. Radiohead
Bodysnatchers
Official Secrets Act So Tomorrow review
105. Official Secrets Act
So Tomorrow
These New Puritans Elvis review
106. These New Puritans
Elvis
Die! Die! Die! Sideways, here we come review
107. Die! Die! Die!
Sideways, here we come
Cats In Paris Loose Tooth Tactile review
108. Cats In Paris
Loose Tooth Tactile
Your Twenties Caught Wheel review
109. Your Twenties
Caught Wheel
White Denim Shake Shake Shake review
110. White Denim
Shake Shake Shake
Les Savy Fav Patty Lee review
111. Les Savy Fav
Patty Lee
The Death Set Negative Thinking review
112. The Death Set
Negative Thinking
Metronomy Holiday review
113. Metronomy
Holiday
An Experiment on a Bird in an Air Pump Lights Out review
114. An Experiment on a Bird in an Air Pump
Lights Out
Psychedelic Horseshit New Wave Hippies review
115. Psychedelic Horseshit
New Wave Hippies
The Cribs I'm a Realist review
116. The Cribs
I'm a Realist
Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip Letter from God to Man review
117. Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip
Letter from God to Man
Let's Wrestle Let's Wrestle review
118. Let's Wrestle
Let's Wrestle
Black Affair It Goes Like This review
119. Black Affair
It Goes Like This
Wooden Shjips Shrinking Moon For You review
120. Wooden Shjips
Shrinking Moon For You
White Lies Unfinished Business review
121. White Lies
Unfinished Business
Stricken City Lost Art review
123. Stricken City
Lost Art
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