CD-Charts Position 1
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Fleet Foxes

by: Fleet Foxes

Release Date June 16, 2008
HELLO? HI, THIS IS A GOOD ALBUM, THE SONGS ARE GOOD, IT MAKES YOU FEEL GOOD, IT MAKES YOU THINK.

CD-Charts Position 2
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For Emma Forever Ago

by: Bon Iver

Release Date March 24, 2008
For Emma just creeps up on you and invades your existence but in the most wondrous way. Had an awful long drive home one evening in the pitch darkness and listened to it properly. It's like having your best in friend in the car with you. When it finished I just put it back on again. Very wintry, isolated, atmospheric and lovely. Creature Fear and Lump Sum are brilliant. Lets not mess about all the songs are superb. And then of course there is "Re. Stacks" - the song of the year. Quite where Justin Vernon goes next I don't know but I do care a lot.

CD-Charts Position 3
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Sun Giant

by: Fleet Foxes

Release Date April 08, 2008
Ever had that experience when, while everyone else is rolling about laughing, you're standing there thinking: "that's just not funny". I read the hype, I get the CD, I listened, I listened again - then I went back to the real deal - all that late 60s and early 70s stuff. After that I stopped caring that I just don't get this record.

CD-Charts Position 4
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That Lucky Old Sun (CD/DVD)

by: Brian Wilson

Release Date September 01, 2008
I can not believe that Brian and his marvellous band can produce another masterpiece. I was priviledged to witness this live at Royal Festival Hall in London last September and like the whole audience was gobsmacked. Please Brian keep recording, the music industry needs you.

CD-Charts Position 5
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All I Intended to Be

by: Emmylou Harris

Release Date June 09, 2008
I liked this album a lot. It starts off strong and gets better through to the two songs at the end, which for me were the highlights. Beautiful lyrics, beautiful voice, beautiful music, beautifully produced. A melancholy album pretty much through and through I felt, and that would be my only criticism. Nothing pacey and upbeat to help mix it up a bit. Four stars from me.

CD-Charts Position 6
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Stay Positive (Limited Edition Special Package)

by: The Hold Steady

Release Date July 14, 2008
The title 'Stay Positive' is a bit of a risky one - what is conceived as a rallying call could end up sounding like a desperate plea if the album falls flat - and this release has a lot to live up to. 'Boys & Girls' was a fun listen and carved out a niche for the band as the feel good rockers who boasted untypically clever lyrics.

The band appear very much aware of this on the opening two tracks which follow the blueprint established on 'Boys & Girls' a little too closely. The next two songs throw a lot of new ideas in the mix but aren't 100% successful. At this point on my first listen I was a little worried - not one of these songs is a patch on the first 4 songs that opened the last album. 'Lord I'm Discouraged' marks the breakthrough - it ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 7
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Sunday At Devil Dirt

by: Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan

Release Date May 12, 2008
After reading some mediocre reviews of this album I was shocked when I finally heard it and it turned out that I really enjoyed listening to it. It's clearly a step away from the first album, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. This album has much more of blues, kind of Nashville Skyline-era Bob Dylan, feel to it, and I personally think that their vocals work much better together here, whereas the first album often felt like one or other of the vocal tracks had simply been 'tagged on'.

All of the tracks on this album seem to gel together very well, and although there aren't really any stand-out 'single' type tracks, I do not think that this is a bad thing at all.

It might take a few listens to really get into it, but this is well worth a ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 8
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Tell Tale Signs: the Bootleg Series Vol.8/Rare and Unreleased 1989-2006

by: Bob Dylan

Release Date October 06, 2008
How this is averaging so low is beyond me - it's the best album I've heard all year by a country mile. The alternative take of Can't Wait - magestic, unsettling, and superior to the original release in every way - would alone make this unmissable. Add to that the alternative takes of Mississippi - his greatest song of the last decade - and the wonderful unheard track, Girl from the Red River Shore, and this is absolutely essantial. Don't listen to the naysayers - this is a great record.

CD-Charts Position 9
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Harps and Angels

by: Randy Newman

Release Date August 04, 2008
You can't dance to it, it isn't remotely cool and it's by a man in his sixties with a strained, nasally voice. And it's great.

After four decades of writing and releasing music - albeit with some extended intervals - this new album stands to be compared favourably with the best Newman has ever produced.

In songwriting terms, "genius" is a much overused and devalued expression, regularly applied these days to anyone who can muster three basic chords along with a grasp of kindergarten English. In reality, few songwriters can match Newman's genius: Bob Dylan and Tom Waits come to mind; beyond that you're already struggling.

If there's a criticism, it's that at 35 minutes it's far too short when he's clearly on such fine form. But somehow ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 10
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Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust

by: Sigur Ros

Release Date June 23, 2008
This, the fourth album proper from the band, starts well with two songs that sound fresh, lively and a little different before normal service is resumed with mixed results. I wish they'd continued with the sunnier upbeat vibe of those opening tracks and made this their summer album (I already see 'Agaetis' as their wet behind the ears Spring album and '( )' their chilly winter disc). When compared to the previous three albums you'd have to conclude that this is the weakest but it is still an enjoyable listen.

The next album will be the real test for the band as more of the same might not be enough to keep everyone interested.