The Year in Music

[RandomCheese]

Rolling Stone recently released the best 50 albums and 100 singles of 2008. What's your opinion about this year's music? Do you agree/disagree with Rolling Stone's choices?

I'll add my full thoughts eventually, but for now, all I'll say is that Flight of the Conchords should have been on that list.

[Hakaryu]

No surprise that Coldplay is in the top 10. Their newest album was very well done.

[tak197]

For singles, I'm not even out of the top 40, and I already can say they got a lot of it wrong. I mean I was looking for certain songs, and the highest one up, Disturbia by Rihanna, wasn't even top 10. I never even heard of "Single Ladies" by Beyonce, so I clearly disagree. Also, number 30 is Pork and Beans, by Weezer and I loved that song.

For albums, Guns N Roses did release Chinese Democracy, which though it's number 12, it get's number one for best album title. Personally, I'm more of a fan of pop rock, so the only CD I would listent to is Rockferry by Duffy, at number 30. Though I think Katy Perry's "One of the Boys" is a pretty good album, in my opinion, and it wasn't even on the top 50.

[masamune]

rolling stone magazine blows.

[korri]

I think I know about 4 songs on that list, and "Single Ladies" is one of them... but thats just because I watch more MTV 2 then is actually healthy...

What is the criteria they judge the songs from? Album sales? Actual quality of the songs? I was just wondering

[jtaylor]

Albums:
Who Killed Amanda Palmer
No, Virginia...
EPs:
Looking Glass
Songs:
Too many to list
Music Videos:
Leeds United (I know some of the people in it)
Looking Glass (a friend of mine is in it)
American Wedding
Oasis

[Metcarfre]

The Greatest Man That Ever Lived (Variations on a Shaker Hymn) by Weezer, from the Red Album, continues to (for me) be the best, most innovative and fresh song of 2008. Of course, it was never released as a single, and so I can't fault Rolling Stone for not picking it. Regardless, everyone should check it out.

[JesterJ.]

rolling stone magazine blows.

This.
I got this issue of Rolling Stone for Christmas (couldn't tell you why) and looking through it, I agree with hardly any of the choices. I'm not really into the "popular" music that sells the most, and that's what this list is of, so I'm not really surprised, I just disagree with it.

I've never heard of that Beyonce song either.

[masamune]

rolling stone magazine blows.

This.
I got this issue of Rolling Stone for Christmas (couldn't tell you why) and looking through it, I agree with hardly any of the choices. I'm not really into the "popular" music that sells the most, and that's what this list is of, so I'm not really surprised, I just disagree with it.

I've never heard of that Beyonce song either.

is it the one where she's all "if you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it"?
'cause that song is designed to be extremely catchy, much like all the over-produced crap we're forced to listen to these days. also the clip is hypnotic. not because i'm attracted to booty in leotards, but the dancing is pretty crazy.

[Tensen01]

I think Bushwalla needs to be on that list....

[Kara]

Well, at least my favourite album of the year was on the list. That being MGMT's Oracular Spectacular.

Though I don't really give a shit what Rolling Stone thinks regardless. =P

[Cake]

There was no good music released this year. Especially by bands called 3oh3! and Flobots. I do like the new single by The Fray, but the album doesn't come out till February, so yeah....

[Jillers]

I only follow indie music.... by which I mean indie bands I like,no, like, following indie music as a whole... and don't really listen to the radio to listen to what kids these days are into.... so most of what's written there is alien to me.

[tak197]

There was no good music released this year. Especially by bands called 3oh3! and Flobots. I do like the new single by The Fray, but the album doesn't come out till February, so yeah....

So it's technically the best single of 09...

[Evil Jim]

I pay no attention to that silly magazine.

It's just how I roll.

[masamune]

There was no good music released this year. Especially by bands called 3oh3! and Flobots. I do like the new single by The Fray, but the album doesn't come out till February, so yeah....

i can think of a few, but we may get into a music debate, and that's never good.

[Master Gunner]

....yeah, I don't know anything about music, nor do I care to. I just listen to random stuff that I find, and if I really don't like it, I toss it, otherwise it goes in my playlist. As a result, I have all of Weird Al, 3 Doors Down, Barenaked Ladies, The Beatles, Sinatra, Green Day, Bob Dylan JoCo, Muse, Metallica, Queens of the Stone Age, Silverchair, Pink Floyd and System of a Down on my computer, in the same playlist. Not to mention samples from literally hundred of other random guys in there. And I'm in the process of rapid expansion.


....So back to my point, my tastes in music are so random and undetermined that it's useless for me to follow anything. If somebody I like tells me that a certain band/song/album is good, I'll listen to it, and so long as I don't absolutely hate it, I'll keep it in my playlist. If I find myself switching to it often enough, I'll find more of it.

[spartanhelmet]

i can think of a few, but we may get into a debate musical, and that's never good.

'Cause you know that collecting all the court scenes from Erin Brockovich and making a musical from them would be terrible.

I'm not really into much music, so for me to notice a decline means it's true. Masa's right about it being engineered... I think the songs this year sucked beyond being catchy. Katy Perry... *shudders*

Dare I risk the label of racist in pointing out there being too many black guys making albums about nothing at all (ok, some are about moneylust at least)? Woops, too late... I just did.

[Evil Jim]

I'm fairly certain even before looking that I won't be familiar with most if not all the albums on that list. I really don't keep track of new music unless there's a specific band I'm into. I'm still too busy tracking down music I like from the past 100 years of the recording industry.

This year was a good year for that. I recently rediscovered my love for the music of Jean-Luc Ponty & now I'm currently calculating how much it would cost to purchase his entire catalog.

Edit:
Ok, I have heard of exactly two albums on that list. Now I needs me some Cosmic Messenger.

[Bartley Butsford]

I never paid much attention to the magazines and whatnot. I just try to find bands I like and stick with them.

My year in music:
Ayreon-01011001
Meshuggah-ObZen
Arsis-We Are the Nightmare
Moonsorrow-Tulimyrsky
Ihsahn-angL
Opeth-Watershed
Keep of Kalessin-Kolossus
Gojira-The Way of All Flesh

Still need to pick up the new Metallica, Steven Wilson, and Mogwai albums...huh, this was a better year for me than I thought (even if I am starting to slack on the prog rock stuff )

[Jangles]

Since I don't give a shit about Rolling Stone, I'm going to give you my opinion on my favorite CDs of this year, and no, not in chronological order, and some of these werent released in 2008 it's just when I discovered them.

Johnny Vicious - Ultra Trance 3
The Offspring - Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace
Quietdrive - Fall from the ceiling
Rides Again - Into Existence
Saves the Day - Sound the alarm
Bloc Party - Silent Alarm
Spitalfield - Better than knowing where you are
Thrice - Vheissu
Greg Graffin - American Lesion
Fair to Midland - Fables From a Mayfly: What I Tell You Three Times is True
Damien Marley - Welcome to Jamrock
Classified - Boy-cot-in the industry

[Zombaholic]

Edit:
Ok, I have heard of exactly two albums on that list. Now I needs me some Cosmic Messenger.

Your cosmic message: Booga Booga

Well I'm not really a fan of most of those albums and I really only listened to two of them anyhow. I find music more subjective to each persons personality. You cannot rate music, for different folks find it different in their own heads.

[ExtraSensory]

Call me a pansy, but I'm glad Conor Oberst and MGMT were on there.
Kanye kind of got left out, and I really don't think Lil Wayne has any talent at all, I can talk with the bottom of my mouth too. I just choose not to, and maybe that's my downfall.

[DicyDax]

I lost respect for Rolling Stone after they made the top 100 best guitarists list, and put Johnny Ramone and Kurt Cobain on it and not Rory Gallagher.

[CygnusX1]

First off I would like to say that Rolling Stone is the biggest piece of crap magazine I have ever seen in my life. They are extremly biased and will not promote any music they don't like regardless of an artists success.

Opeth-Watershed

This album is made of win.

Also you definatly want to pick up a copy of Steven Wilson's solo album its a gem.

Prog.