How many good albums were there?

Had I KNOWN that this was saved in the edit file, it would've run a month ago. (See two posts ago.) I still say you people suck. Not you, the one over there. Everyone else.


A few months ago, I attempted to come up with a Top 10 albums of the year list for Blurt. But I ended up copping out because I could only come up with five things that I really knew for the year and really liked. Oh, I searched around awhile, looking at the list of albums I reviewed during the past year, hunting down my list of albums I purchased for the year, to no avail. Last year I swore that I'd stay on top of all of it. My goal was to get my rock chops up to snuff so that somehow I'd be able to justify a trip to SXSW to hang with the Harp crew. Or was it IAJE I wanted to go to? ("International Association of Jazz Educators" that is.) Both of the above, really.
But as fate would have it, Harp had the plug pulled on it, and IAJE dissolved after this year's convention amidst controversy. Blurt will be a noticeably presence at SXSW but at this point their one wise-ass CD reviewer won't be there.

Which reminds me I ought to go check out their website. The holidays took me away from that.
But in case anyone wonders how my list for 2008 would've started, here is the unfinished collection:

TV on the Radio - Dear Science (Interscope)
Ida – Lovers Prayers (Polyvinyl)
The Hold Steady - Stay Positive (Vagrant)
Mates of State – Re-Arrange Us (Barsuk)
Fiery Furnaces – Remember (Thrill Jockey)

In other news, 2008 has already had its first rock death - Ron Asheton of the Stooges was found dead at his home. RIP, Ron.