Best rock/pop, R&B and hip-hop CDs of 2008
Sunday’s Post-Dispatch featured my list of 2008’s top CDs. Here, I’m breaking the music down by genre with three lists.
In case you missed it, here’s the overall list, followed by the best in rock/pop, R&B, and hip-hop. Check the Blender Tuesday for my list of the best songs, and Wednesday for the best concerts.
And of course, all of this is just my humble opinion…
Best CDs of 2008
1. Erykah Badu, “New Amerykah Pt. 1: 4th World War”
2. TV on the Radio, “Dear Science”
3. Radiohead, “In Rainbows” (officially released Jan. 1, 2008; digital version released in 2007)
4. Kanye West, “808s & Heartbreak”
5. Portishead, “Third”
6. Q-Tip, “The Renaissance”
7. Beck, “Modern Guilt”
8. Lil Wayne, “Tha Carter III”
9. Ne-Yo, “Year of the Gentleman”
10. Coldplay, “Viva La Vida”
Honorable mentions: John Legend, “Evolver”; Kings of Leon, “Only By the Night”; Moby, “Last Night”; Nas, “Untitled”; Duffy, “Rockferry”
Best Rock/Pop CDs of 2008
1. TV on the Radio, “Dear Science”
2. Radiohead, “In Rainbows”
3. Portishead, “Third”
4. Beck, “Modern Guilt”
5. Coldplay, “Viva La Vida”
6. Kings of Leon, “Only By the Night”
7. Moby, “Last Night”
8. Duffy, “Rockferry”
9. Fleet Foxes, “Fleet Foxes”
10. Death Cab for Cutie, “Narrow Stairs”
Honorable mentions: Nine Inch Nails, “The Slip”; Sheryl Crow, “Detours”; Vampire Weekend, “Vampire Weekend”
Best R&B CDs of 2008
1. Erykah Badu, “New Amerykah Pt. 1: 4th World War”
2. Ne-Yo, “Year of the Gentleman”
3. John Legend, “Evolver
4. Mary J. Blige, “Growing Pains” (released Dec. 18, 2007, too late to make last year’s cut)
5. Beyonce, “I Am…Sasha Fierce”
6. Raphael Saadiq, “The Way I See It”
7. Estelle, “Shine”
8. Raheem DeVaughn, “Love Behind the Melody”
9. Labelle, “Back to Now”
10. Musiq Soulchild, “On My Radio”
Honorable mentions: Lyfe Jennings, “Lyfe Change”; Brandy, “Human”; Solange Knowles, “Sol-Angel & the Hadley St. Dreams”
Best Hip-Hop CDs of 2008
1. Kanye West, “808s & Heartbreak”
2. Q-Tip, “The Renaissance”
3. Lil Wayne, “Tha Carter III”
4. Nas, “Untitled”
5. Lupe Fiasco, “The Cool” (released Dec. 18 2007, too late to make last year’s cut)
6. The Roots, “Rising Down”
7. Snoop Dogg, “Ego Trippin”
8. T.I., “Paper Trail”
9. Common, “Universal Mind Circus”
10. Young Jeezy, “The Recession”
Honorable mentions: Nelly, “Brass Knuckles”; Rick Ross, “Trilla”; Ludacris, “Theater of the Mind”
Kevin C. Johnson has covered the St. Louis' music and nightlife scene for the past decade. 
Radiohead’s In Rainbows # 2 for shame it is better than Tv on the Radio anyday. Did you see Radiohead at Verizon they were amazing!
Dangit I forgot another one
TI–Papertrail
(I just got Kanyes for Christmas so i dont’ know how I will like it. But I will say off tops he had the BEST concert of the year!
Is this personal opinion or based on album sales? Just curious. Linkin Park, Rhianna, Metallica, Keyshia Cole, Jason Mraz, the Raconteurs and the country genre are missing. “Raising Sand” is one of the best releases of the year.
Glenn,
Trust me when I say debating who was tops between TV on the Radio and Radiohead was the toughest part of compiling any of these lists.
And yes, Radiohead concert was amazing. See where I ranked it on Wednesday’s concert list.
Jen,
As I said, this is all just in my humble opinion…and doesn’t reflect album sales. Some of these CDs are reall non-sellers!
Next year, I might look into having our occasional country music writer do a best-of country list.
Metallica and their Death Magnetic has to be in any serious list. Kaiser Chiefs, Off With Their Heads, where are they? I like the man they call KJ here but all of these artists are the squishy critically acclaimed types. Coldplay … KJ, please hand me the barf bag. Moby, Duffy, Brandy, Jeezy, all of these artists with a Y at the end … KJ, hand me the Pepto Bismol. Why are we afraid to send out kudos to artists who have been around a long time and still crank it out like Alice Cooper and AC/DC? Because to hail those artists, KJ might get ejected from Kritics With Eclectic Snobby Tastes (KWEST). Even the name of his group, KWEST, stands for Kanye West. So, I don’t like how this is going.
Where is My Morning Jacket? Deerhunter? Deerhoof?
are you going to do a list of local releases?
‘In Rainbows’ really should not be considered for 2008 whatsoever. I don’t think any major publication is considering it nor are many fans. Physical release or not, it made it’s debut in 2007.
With that said, there are some very good albums within your top ten, but some very overlooked omissions. Consider the following…
The Black Keys ‘Attack and Release’ (the best album produced by Danger Mouse this year)
Wolf Parade ‘At Mount Zoomer’
The Raconteurs ‘Consolers of the Lonely’
Dodos ‘Visiter’
Blitzen Trapper ‘Furr’ (probably your largest oversight)
Santogold ’s/t’
Dr. Dog ‘Fate’
Thao with the Get Down Stay Down ‘We Brave Bee Stings and All’
Eagles of Death Metal ‘Heart On’
No Age ‘Nouns’
Man Man ‘Rabbit Habbits’
King Khan and the Shrines ‘The Supreme Genius of…’
Menahan Street Band ‘Make the Road By Walking’
Al Green ‘Lay It Down’
Jake One ‘White Van Music’
Tokyo Police Club ‘Elephant Shell’
Atmosphere ‘When Life Gives You Lemons…’
Wale ‘The Mixtape About Nothing’
Girl Talk ‘Feed the Animals’
James Hunter ‘The Hard Way’
m83 ‘Saturdays=Youth’
She and Him ‘Volume 1″
Does It Offend You, Yeah? ‘You Have No Idea What You’re Getting Yourself Into’
I’m From Barcelona ‘Who Killed Harry Houdini’
I’m curious as to where some of these would land on your overall list.
And I must admit, in all honesty, ‘Dear Science’ was a bit of a let down especially when compared with a juggernaut like ‘Return to Cookie Mountain’. Suprising the better of the two albums didn’t pick up so much hype at the time.
But not even in the same ballpark as this year’s biggest let down, ‘Evil Urges’. Kings of Leon would have been a let down if they hadn’t continue to make worse albums with each and every release. They need to get back to their ‘Youth and Young Manhood’ roots.