More Best of '08

6. Blonde Redhead – 23

Their lush sound is calmed down a little bit, but jangly guitars and some subtle electronic influences create a really cool vibe. This is a great disc with brooding lyrics and some diverse musical styles. Fans of The Arcade Fire will dig this as well.

5. Iron and Wine The Shepherds’ Dog

Yes, I kind of miss the stripped down sounds of early Iron and Wine CDs. But, yes, this is still cool and great. There are some artsy escapes here that may be somewhat unnecessary, but Sam Beam gets a bunch of musicians to fill out their sound with great results. This does solidify Iron and Wine's place in the indie-folk world and I imagine they will be there for a long, long time.

More Top Ten Music

8. These Friends of Mine by Rosie Thomas

Rosie's latest album includes help from greats like Damien Jurado, T.W. Walsh, Sufjan Stevens and Denison Witmer. This is a quiet, thoughtful album from Thomas that proves to be quite interesting especially on the REM cover, The One I Love.







7. In the Bedroom After the War by Stars


While this is less of an Indie-Rock/Pop album than Set Yourself on Fire, In the Bedroom After the War is a theatrical take on relationships. This album is not as good as the previous one, but it is still one of the best of '08. Which really shows how good this band is. Stars creates an awesome, layered and laid-back sound and are good storytellers as well.