Since most of you have hopefully voted in one poll today, it is time to start thinking about the more important one that is coming up: the SOMB End of Year Polls. I'm going to open the actual polls up right after Thanksgiving, but let's use this thread to start brainstorming.

Use this thread to recommend singles and albums that may have gone under the radar for other boarders. For singles especially, I would recommend including links or videos (although if you do post a youtube video, make sure that you label what it is because there are probably a decent amount of people who won't bother if they don't know what it is).

The point system is going to be the same as last year. Same with the eligibility rules:

-2008 Albums include:
1. LPs of all-new material
2. Live albums (not ones being re-issued or of all old material)
3. Label compilations (of recent stuff)
4. Artist remix/b-sides/unreleased compilations of all of mostly 2008 material

-2008 Singles include:
1. Songs with released CD single, 7 or 12", or clearly identified digital single release) singles bearing their name
2. EPs of both 5 songs and 22 minutes less (if either is greater, than it is eligible for the albums list)
3. Songs with a video (assuming not live, and assuming the artist didn't make one for every song on the album)
4. Songs that have charted on any major US or UK chart (except for download)

2007 vs. 2008 eligibility is broken down as follows--if you can make a case for it being 2008, you can vote for it. So that includes albums/singles released in your country for the first time in 2008, albums that didn't receive wide exposure
until 2008, singles that didn't receive wide exposure or peak on the charts until 2007, or albums/singles that were released in Dec. 2007 and didn't have enough time to sink in before voting last year.

And most importantly, nothing that made the top 100 last year is eligible again, even if they did peak this year (basically meaning I'll probably throw out any vote that includes "Paper Planes" on it. Okay, maybe not that drastic, but seriously, don't vote for stuff that made it last year).





So let's get started. I hope you guys can point out some cool stuff that I might have missed this year. And if you have any questions about 2007 vs. 2008 eligibility or if something counts as a single, post them in here and I'll get back to you with an answer.


Here are the top 100s from last year, so you know what not to vote for again.

Albums

100. Dungen – Tio Bitar
99. The Aliens – Astronomy for Dogs
98. UGK – Underground Kingz
97. Melt-Banana – Bambi’s Dilemma
96. Mark Sultan – The Sultanic Verses
95. Freeway – Free at Last
94. Grinderman - Grinderman
93. Bruce Springsteen - Magic
92. Between the Buried and Me - Colors
91. Stars – In Our Bedroom After The War
90. Cloud Cult – The Meaning of 8
89. Neil Young – Chrome Dreams II
88. !!! – Myth Takes
87. The Dillinger Escape Plan – Ire Works
86. Durrty Goodz - Axiom
85. Radical Face - Ghost
84. Bloc Party – A Weekend in the City
83. Bill Callahan – Woke on a Whaleheart
82. Queens of the Stone Age – Era Vulgaris
81. Om - Pilgrimage
80. Black Moth Super Rainbow – Dandelion Gum
79. Pantha Du Prince – This Bliss
78. The Twilight Sad – Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters
77. Neurosis – Given to the Rising
76. PJ Harvey – White Chalk
75. The Fiery Furnaces – Window City
74. Blitzen Trapper – Wild Mountain Nation
73. The Clientele – God Save the Clientele
72. Eluvium - Copia
71. Band of Horses – Cease to Begin
70. Boxcutter - Glyphic
69. Thurston Moore – Trees Outside the Academy
68. White Rainbow – Prism of Eternal Now
67. Jesu - Conqueror
66. Ryan Adams – Easy Tiger
65. Pig Destroyer – Phantom Limb
64. Sally Shapiro – Disco Romance
63. Patrick Wolf – The Magic Position
62. Studio – Yearbook 1
61. Earthless – Rhythms From A Cosmic Sky
60. Jay-Z – American Gangster
59. Kings of Leon – Because of the Times
58. Ween – La Cucaracha
57. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists – Living With The Living
56. Wolves in the Throne Room – Two Hunters
55. Baroness – Red Album
54. Field Music – Tones of Town
53. Witchcraft – The Alchemist
52. High on Fire – Death Is This Communion
51. Beirut – The Flying Club Cup
50. Explosions in the Sky – All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone
49. Art Brut – It’s A Bit Complicated
48. Super Furry Animals – Hey Venus!
47. Deerhoof – Friend Opportunity
46. Justice - †
45. Menomena – Friend and Foe
44. Blonde Redhead - 23
43. Yeasayer – All Hour Cymbals
42. The Apples in Stereo – New Magnetic Wonder
41. Kevin Drew – Spirit If…
40. The Shins – Wincing The Night Away
39. Arctic Monkeys – Favourite Worst Nightmare
38. Alcest – Souvenirs d’un autre monde
37. Okkervil River – The Stage Names
36. The Besnard Lakes – The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse
35. Bright Eyes - Cassadaga
34. Klaxons – Myths of the Near Future
33. Sunset Rubdown – Random Spirit Lover
32. Les Savy Fav – Let’s Stay Friends
31. Liars - Liars
30. Iron & Wine – The Shepherd’s Dog
29. The Good, the Bad & The Queen – The Good, the Bad & The Queen
28. King Khan & His Shrines – What Is?!
27. Andrew Bird – Armchair Apocrypha
26. Josh Ritter – The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter
25. Stars of the Lid – And Their Refinement of the Decline
24. Modest Mouse – We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank
23. Deerhunter - Cryptograms
22. Akron/Family – Love Is Simple
21. The New Pornographers - Challengers
20. The Field – From Here We Go Sublime
19. Dinosaur Jr. - Beyond
18. Wilco – Sky Blue Sky
17. White Stripes – Icky Thump
16. Caribou - Andorra
15. Feist – The Reminder
14. Vampire Weekend – Blue CD-R
13. Battles - Mirrored
12. of Montreal – Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
11. M.I.A. - Kala
10. Burial - Untrue
09. Animal Collective – Strawberry Jam
08. Kanye West - Graduation
07. Jens Lekman – Night Falls Over Kortedala
06. Panda Bear – Person Pitch
05. Arcade Fire – Neon Bible
04. Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
03. The National - Boxer
02. Radiohead – In Rainbows
01. LCD Soundsystem – Sound of Silver

Singles

100. Menomena – Wet and Rusting
99. Tegan & Sara – Back In Your Head
98. Shackleton – Blood On My Hands (Ricardo Villalobos Apocalypso Now Mix) / Blood On My Hands (Ricardo Villalobos Apocalypso Now Mix Part 2)
97. The Hold Steady – Stuck Between Stations
96. Björk – Earth Intruders
95. Dizzee Rascal - Sirens
94. The White Stripes – You Don’t Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You’re Told)
93. Britney Spears – Piece of Me
92. Rich Boy – Throw Some D’s (feat. Polow Da Don) / Throw Some D’s (Remix feat. Andre 3000, Jim Jones, Murphy Lee, The Game) / Kanye West – Throw Some D’s
91. Art Brut – Direct Hit
90. Kylie Minogue – 2 Hearts / 2 Hearts (Alan Braxe Remix) / 2 Hearts (Version By Studio)
89. Young Jeezy – Go Getta (feat. R. Kelly)
88. Blonde Redhead - 23
87. Maxïmo Park – Our Velocity
86. The National – Apartment Story
85. The Cribs – Men’s Needs / Men’s Needs (CSS Remix)
84. Timbaland – The Way I Are (feat. Keri Hilson & D.O.E.)
83. Vampire Weekend – A-Punk / Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa / Oxford Comma
82. Wilco – What Light
81. Amy Winehouse – Rehab / Rehab (Remix feat. Jay-Z)
80. Silversun Pickups – Lazy Eye
79. Liars – Plaster Casts of Everything
78. Róisín Murphy - Overpowered
77. Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip – Thou Shalt Always Kill
76. Mika – Grace Kelly
75. Jens Lekman – The Opposite of Hallelujah
74. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Is Is - EP
73. Fall Out Boy – Thnks Fr Th Mmrs
72. Chromeo – Bonafied Lovin’ (Tough Guys)
71. Rihanna – Shut Up And Drive
70. Dan Deacon – The Crystal Cat
69. Deerhunter – Fluorescent Gray - EP
68. 1990s – See You At The Lights / Super Legal / Diabo
67. Peter Bjorn & John – Object of My Affection
66. Timbaland – Give It To Me (feat. Nelly Furtado & Justin Timberlake)
65. Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova – Falling Slowly
64. Of Montreal – Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse
63. My Chemical Romance – Famous Last Words
62. Soulja Boy – Crank That (Soulja Boy) / Crank That (Travis Barker Remix)
61. The Hives – Tick Tick Boom
60. Aly & AJ – Potential Breakup Song
59. M. Ward – To Go Home - EP
58. Gwen Stefani – The Sweet Escape (feat. Akon)
57. Simian Mobile Disco – I Believe
56. Black Kids – Wizard of Ahhs - EP
55. Those Dancing Days – Those Dancing Days - EP
54. Animal Collective – Peacebone / Peacebone (Pantha du Prince Remix)
53. Gui Boratto – Beautiful Life
52. Bat For Lashes – What’s A Girl To Do / Sarah (Reworked) / Tahiti
51. Jens Lekman – Sipping on the Sweet Nectar
50. Burial – Ghost Hardware - EP
49. Cold War Kids – Hang Me Up To Dry
48. The Shins – Phantom Limb
47. Vampire Weekend – Mansard Roof / Ladies of Cambridge
46. M.I.A. - Boyz
45. Arctic Monkeys – Fluorescent Adolescent / The Bakery / Plastic Tramp / Too Much To Ask
44. Modest Mouse – Missed The Boat
43. Róisín Murphy – Let Me Know
42. Jay Reatard – I Know A Place / Don’t Let Him Come Back
41. Against Me! – Thrash Unreal
40. Feist – My Moon My Man / My Moon My Man (Boyz Noise Remix)
39. Jay-Z – Roc Boys (And the Winner Is…)
38. The Ark – Absolutely No Decorum
37. Kanye West – Can’t Tell Me Nothing / Can’t Tell Me Nothing (Remix feat. Young Jeezy)
36. Patrick Wolf – The Magic Position
35. Yeasayer – 2080 / Sunrise
34. R. Kelly – I’m A Flirt (feat. T-Pain & T.I.) / I’m A Flirt (Klever Remix)
33. M.I.A. - Jimmy
32. Grinderman – No Pussy Blues
31. My Chemical Romance - Teenagers
30. Bright Eyes – Four Winds
29. Caribou – Melody Day
28. Kanye West – Flashing Lights (feat. Dwele)
27. The National – Mistaken For Strangers
26. The New Pornographers – Myriad Harbor
25. Panda Bear – Bros
24. Arcade Fire – Intervention / Calexico – Ocean of Noise
23. The Killers – Read My Mind / Read My Ming (Pet Shop Boys Stars Are Blazing Mix)
22. Justin Timberlake – What Goes Around…/…Comes Around / What Goes Around (Remix feat. Rick Ross, Pitbull & Timbaland) / What Goes Around (Junkie XL Small Room Remix) / What Goes Around (Junkie XL Big Room Remix)
21. Animal Collective - Fireworks
20. Sophi Ellis-Bextor – Catch You
19. Avril Lavigne – Girlfriend / Girlfriend (Remix feat. Lil’ Mama) / Girlfriend (Mandarin version)
18. Los Campesinos! – You! Me! Dancing! / It Started With A Mixx
17. Arcade Fire – Keep The Car Running / Broken Window
16. Kanye West – Good Life (feat. T-Pain)
15. Klaxons – Golden Skans / Golden Skans (Erol’s Ekstra Spektral Remix)
14. The White Stripes – Icky Thump / Rag and Bone
13. LCD Soundsystem – North American Scum / North American Scum (Kris Menace Remix)
12. Arcade Fire – No Cars Go / Surf City Eastern Bloc
11. Modest Mouse - Dashboard
10. Feist – 1, 2, 3, 4 / 1, 2, 3, 4 (Van She Tech Remix)
09. Battles - Atlas
08. Kanye West - Stronger
07. UGK – International Players Anthem (I Choose You) (feat. Outkast)
06. Justice – D.A.N.C.E. / D.A.N.C.E. (Paste Black Remix) / D.A.N.C.E. (Les Rythmes Digitales Remix) / D.A.N.C.E. (Benny Blanco Mix feat. Mos Def and Spank Rock)
05. Spoon – The Underdog
04. LCD Soundsystem – Someone Great
03. Rihanna – Umbrella (feat. Jay-Z) / Umbrella (Vndlsm Remix) / Umbrella (Remix feat. Lil’ Mama)
02. M.I.A. – Paper Planes / Paper Planes (Remix feat. Bun B & Rich Boy)
01. LCD Soundsystem – All My Friends / Franz Ferdinand – All My Friends / John Cale – All My Friends / No Love Lost / All My Friends (Harvey Mix) / Freak Out/Starry Eyes

Since no one has talked about it, can I recommend that every check out The Heavy - Great Vengeance and the Furious Fire. My favorite album of the year still.

actually, i have a 2002 vs. 2008 question.

plush - fed. released to nobody in japan in 2002. released in US in august 2008.

Definitely a silly question, but In Rainbows will go on this year's list correct?

Is The Raveonettes - Lust Lust Lust eligible?

came out in the UK at the end of 2007, but in the US at the start of 2008.

Pimping:

Brian Eno & David Byrne - "Strange Overtones"
Rose "Rosay " Elinor Dougall - "Another Version Of Pop Song!"

What about MGMT "Time To Pretend"

Wiki has this on it:
The track was originally recorded for the Time to Pretend EP (2005). It was re-recorded for the Oracular Spectacular (2008) album.

Incorrect.

If it places on last year's list, it will not be eligible for this year

Reminder and plug

Lupe Fiasco's the Cool came out late December AFTER our polls closed

so remember to vote for it please

thx

It was #2 on the 2007 list so it's not qualified.

Also, "Superstar" was/is a very good single from the same album that came out around the same time and peaked in 08.

Paul -- Where would something along the lines of the BIPPP compilation fall? It collects obscure french synth-wave singles from the 70s and puts them in to one neat, amazing package. I assume this would be elligible for the COMPILATION poll we're doing, no? Are we doing a compilation poll? Tell me some info and facts, plz.

If it didn't chart on our poll in 2005 and was released as a single in 2008 it's totally eligible.

Yes on 2008.




No, like a couple people already said, it made it last year. We had a bit of a discussion last November about the release date where a few people were saying that since the physical release wasn't until 2008, it shouldn't be a 2007 release. But my executive decision was that in this web 2.0 world, the distribution methods have changed and it was a 2007 release.



Since it didn't make our top 100 last year, it is good for 2008.



2008



Yeah, we're still doing a comps. poll, so things like that would go there.

Beautiful.

Thnx Paul. You're the best!

Any word on the old votes for re-released singles?

Anyone want to pull up a link of the end of the year charts last for 2007? I wasn't frequenting this site when they were released. Just curious to see the results. Thank you ahead of time.

2007 Lists along with various other lists all archived here:

http://soundopinions.org/forum/index.php?showforum=7

Also, here is my donation to raise voter awareness.
The album "Rainydayz Remixes" by AmpLive is one of the best of the year. It is 8 songs from "In Rainbows" remixed featuring Del the Funkee Homosapien, Chali 2na, Zion I, Too Short, and others. Since In Rainbows is one of my favorite albums ever, and, being a huge fan of hip-hop, this was an instant classic for me.

Check out the album, the singles, everything.

Here is Videotapez feat. Del

Can I vote for the Annie album?

Is there a link to the 2007 list. No not the thread, the list.

Hey, since it didn't seem to chart last year, and was released in December, this would be eligible, would it not?

Also, this album

was relseased in September of 2007, but didn't peak on the charts until June of '08. Can I vote for this, because it's the best keyboardy pop/rock album I've heard since The Anniversary - Designing A Nervous Breakdown?

I haven't 100% decided yet. When I put up that poll a while ago, about 75% (43 people) voted against it, but I'm still feel like some of that was caused by thinking that all of the single/album's votes from last year would count, instead of just a percentage.

If I do end up counting a percentage of the old votes, it would probably be in the 15% range of the total points from last year. If the numbers on the poll stay the same (singles at least), a single that just missed the top 100 received around ten votes, so this would essentially be like carrying over one of those votes.

After a quick glance at last year's list, I think Lykke Li - "Little Bit" would probably be the closest eligible single to possibly make the top 100 this year (and even then, "I'm Good, I'm Gone" might be the more popular pick). Last year it was #169 with 855 points and 3 votes. Taking 15% of that to carry over would be 128 points, roughly the equivalent of a #3 vote. However, the #100 single last year received 1365 points, so those 128 points carried over from last year might not make any kind of difference.

The other ones that I found on my quick look that might make the top 100 this year are Noah and the Whale's "5 Years Time" and The Ting Tings' "That's Not My Name," both of which were around 40 points last year, so even a bigger percentage of those most likely wouldn't make a difference.

The actual release date got pushed back to 2009, but you know, it's out there, so yeah.



It should be in the first post of the results thread from last year, but in a minute I'll put the album and single lists in the first post of this thread.



It was like #669 last year, but it counts for 2008. It wasn't released in the US until April anyway.



This one falls into the "can make an argument for 2008" so it is eligible.

At least it was actually purposefully released, and therefore a good argument. Plus, I believe it was released on 12/31/07 through most of the world and 1/1/08 in the US. So, obviously extremely close anyway.

however, this "It got stolen and released early" thing is for the birds. If a band is specifically telling you that it's not released until a certain time, I'd say that should be honored.

The decided to push the film THE ROAD back until 2009. I bet it doesn't get nominated for Oscars anyway.

This isn't a new phenomenon, but a couple of the better hip-hop releases of the year have been mixtapes. In this day and age, these should be perfectly eligible to vote for in the albums poll, yes?

Who likes Rhymefest, fun hip-hop, actually-amusing skits on a record and/or Michael Jackson dedications? Here ya go:
Rhymefest - Man in the Mirror Mixtape

The Radiohead album was available to buy as a physical release from the website much earlier than the 31st.

My 2008 singles list is going to be so loaded with Lykke Li, Glasvegas, and Goldfrapp, it'll be ridiculous.

Agree with this, I think that anything over 500 points from last year's taking 10-20% over is fair enough.

Bruce Springsteen - Girls In Their Summer Clothes 1270 1 4
Cut Copy - Hearts On Fire 794 1 5
Glasvegas - Daddy's Gone / Flowers & Football Tops 665 0 3
Lykke Li - Little Bit 855 1 3
Shout Out Louds - Tonight I Have To Leave It 1192 0 10
Snoop Dogg - Sexual Erruption / Sensual Seduction 556 0 6
Sonny Jim - Can't Stop Moving 640 0 5

They the largest ones I think.

This doesn't make sense - it's a 2009 album. We've never allowed leaks in the past.

I guess.

Albums don't usually leak nine months in advance, though.

Then there should be a specific cutoff point for how far in advance an album has to leak before it can be voted out-of-year.

But that happens so rarely I don't think it's really worth bothering with. It seems easier to just wait until 2009.

Hayashibara Megumi - Plenty of Grit
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?ywgg4gnyziz

Massive HI-NRG j-pop anthem, complete bubblegum euphoria. Do you have love in your heart? You'll love this. For those of you who think today's "pop masterpieces" are being written by, say, The Shins or Decemberists, or who like to complain about how "manufactured" Avril or Pink are, steer clear of this.




Shugo Tokomaru - Parachute
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?tytmjmkttam

Just in case you missed the thread or some of the good words thrown towards this guy from Pitchfork, here's the first track from his album Exit. It's got a video too so that makes it a single. Not debatable. This will make you feel really good.





Raphael Saadiq - Love That Girl

Classic R&B, if you liked Amy Winehouse then how could you not love this?





Cheval Sombre - I Sleep

Unfortunately I don't have an mp3 of this, but hopefully this link will work and the blurbs below will whet your appetite.
http://www.last.fm/music/Cheval+Sombre/_/I+Sleep

Oh, we are counting votes from last year to add to this years? (for the non eligible?)
i'm against it, but i dont think it would be that big of a difference from the double votes
oh well

Thanks for this, undo, this is cool.

I keep hearing parallels between HI-NRG and DragonForce...the two sides really should merge. Or like what I saw suggested elsewhere, a DragonForce/Yoko Kanno collab.

I was wondering about mgmt too. i thought oracular spectacular came out in 2007, but the kids single is 2008...

oops nevermind, didn't read far enough.

I haven't even heard this yet. I'm assuming it's worth it?

I like it a lot. The melodies are kind of sickeningly obnoxious, but there are stand-out hooks from start to finish.

EDIT: That second sentence is terrible, wow.

Nobody should ignore Kylie Minogue's monstrously awesome output this year.



Kylie Minogue - Wow: One of my favourite singles of the year.


In My Arms and The One


All I See

Anyone with an ear for the noisier side of music should definitely hear the new Black Elk album, Always a Six, Never a Nine. Also, I repped Deathconsciousness by Have a Nice Life pretty hard earlier in the year, and it's still my favorite album of the year. Krallice have released the best Black Metal album of the year, and it's one that even the non-metalheads might enjoy. Again, those into the noisy/droney thing should definitely check it out. Helms Alee have released a good album of Melvins-indebted sludge metal, that's interspersed from time to time with some lovely ambient/darkly poppy bits. The album's called Night Terror. Sparks continue to impress, and their new album, Exotic Creatures of the Deep really shouldn't be missed. Same goes with NOMO, but their record is more of an Afrobeat/Electro-funk collision - perfect party music. I really like the new Akimbo album, Jersey Shores - a concept record about a bizarre series of shark attacks in New Jersey in the early 20th Century - but it hasn't had much traction, even with the heads I'd assume would like it. And then there's the "weird" punk/drone/garage scene: Blank Dogs have released some of the best singles and album(s) of the year; Factums and Pink Noise have both released really awesome, vinyl-only psyche-punk blasts; Catatonic Youth, Black Moth Super Rainbow, and The Wicked Awesomes! have released some amazing singles.

That's pretty much my (2008 release) listening year in a nutshell. (Add Genghis Tron, Harvey Milk, Weezer, Sun Kil Moon, Fucked Up, Deerhoof, and Portishead to the mix and you have almost the full picture, but I figured most people were well aware of all those.)

Anyway, if anyone needs an upload of anything mentioned, I'll be glad to oblige.

Mutyumu http://myspace.com/mutyumu
Apes and Androids http://myspace.com/apesandandroids

Describe please.

I hope this is eligible. Definitely a top 5 for me.

This is an awesome post, one which quite scarily mirrors my year of listening (minus elctronica releases).

Even on the Helms Alee mention which as far as I'm aware, I have not talked about on the SOMB yet. Brilliant album.

The one thing I would disagree with is the BM release of the year. For some strange reason, I did not enjoy the KRallice album as much as I though I would. First couple of listens were awesome but after that, Nachtmystium took over and I kinda forgot the former. Seems like I need to give that a couple of more tries.


ALbums which I would addd to this are The Mirimar DIasater - Volumes (RIYL: Mastodon), Motorpsycho - Little Lucid Moments (20+ minute rock songs? fuk yeah).

....... bedtime.....

Nachtmystium = solid. Nice one, James. Which 'lectronica stuff have you been into? Being that our tastes tend to gel pretty well, I imagine recs might be my foot in the door to the genre.


Eligibility questions:

(Sorry if these were covered elsewhere, Paul)

1) Boris' Smile [JPN] and Smile [USA] - two separate albums? I have them in two different spots on my tentative list, but I'm willing to merge them.

2) Deerhunter's Microcastle and Weird Era Cont. - two separate albums? This one is harder, I think. They came together as part of one distinct package, but are clearly two different albums. AFAIK, you can't (legally) get the latter w/o also having the former. Anyway, I also have them as two separate albums on my tentative list right now.

Cool songs, thanks man!

I've listened to this Raphael Saadiq song like, four times in a row.

Amazing.





Also amazing.