Best of Music 2008

It was not a great year for music for me. For one, my iPod battery was slowly dying and would last just long enough for me to get to the weights, do a few and then when I was just about to cop out anyways, it would die and I would run back to the Elyptical machine where I could plug in to watch music videos (if I could even find them on TV anymore and if I did, it was always the same 10 videos on repeat). But it was not a great year for Music Videos either. Especially when I remember more about "Single Ladies" from Shane Mercado and Justin Timberlake than the actual video itself.

Now music wasn't terrible this year. I hate when people keep talking about the descending quality in music every year. Uh, there was always crap music every year. But I will admit that I thought there were a lot of good and/or catchy songs this year but very few stood out amongst the rest to become great.

Now I admit, I have very questionable taste in music. I fully admit that I love cheesy sh!t but usually I'll mix in enough "critically acclaimed" stuff with my favorite cheese on my lists and I'll admit that over that past few years, they are leaning towards pop more and more and this year, I had a hard time finding anything that was actually "best", so this list might be better labeled as my Favorite Music of 2008. And what kind of a year is it when Miley F#$ken Cyrus makes it onto my list? Between Miley, The Jonas Brothers and Britney Spears, it's beginning to look a lot like the fricken Mickey Mouse Club. Again.

Also, the album is dead. There was not a single album that I loved as a whole this year. Granted, I didn't give many more than one chance to impress me before I moved on or played back the few songs that stood out. Also, some of the picks below are technically from 2007 but I'm allowing it because they didn't get famous until 2008.

So here's my picks for the Best of Music for 2008 (aka, my favorites for the year) (with videos at the end of the post):

1. "Leavin'" - Jesse McCartney - (Single)

That beat. I can't get that beat out of my head. It's simply an infectiously cool pop song with some odd rhythms and beats that somehow all works. From the moment I first heard it, it was on repeat for me and earned the highest play count on my computer and my iPod (when it was alive) and I instantly turn up the volume of the radio when I hear it being played and I bop along (with full head movements) like an epileptic on crazy pills.

2. "Human" - The Killers - (Single)

This made me love The Killers again with a haunting yet catchy single that felt both intimate and yet bigger than life.

3. "American Boy" - Estelle feat. Kanye West - (Single)

Clever lyrics. Clever rhythm. Estelle's vocals are beautifully pure and Kanye West is self-depreciatingly amusing.

4. David vs. David - David Archuleta vs. David Cook in American Idol and "Crush" and "Angel" vs. "The Time of My Life" and "Light On" - (The battle on Idol and the subsequent Singles battle)

The battle between early favorite kewpie Archuleta and the slow-build "rocker" Cook gave us consistently great song battles and the final bout with their singles produced two surprisingly great (and very catchy) singles. Cheesorama? Definitely, but both are very fun to sing to at the top of your lungs when you're driving in the car. (Yah, that was me).

5. "Beating My Heart", "You Can Never Go Back" - Jon McLaughlin - (Single and song)

If there was one album I liked the most this year, it was OK Now, and I don't even think it should be the BEST album (so there's GOT to be something even better?), but that being said, Jon McLaughlin surprised me this year with an eclectic album that broke away from his mellow tendencies and his ballad specialties with some clever beats that mixed in some old funk with his handsome vocals.

6. "Untouched" - The Veronicas - (Single)

The twin girls have done it again with another super catchy song that has me tapping to their joyously simple single. Hopefully this might actually break them out and get them noticed and they will no longer be untouched. No other band can get away with "la la la la" and make it sound cool and clever.

7. "Chasing Pavements" - Adele - (Single)

A loud belty torchy song sung in a quiet folksy manner which makes it far more interesting. It sounds grand without a lot of extraneous hoopla.

8. "See You Again" - Miley Cyrus - (Singles)

A new dance hall queen might have been born (and who would have thought Billy Ray would have spawned it) with this upbeat and saucy ditty.

9. "Viva la Vida" - Coldplay - (Single)

The orchestra, the beat, the violins, Chris Martin's unflourished singing. It all adds perfectly into a song that gets me excited about life.

10. "Burnin' Up" - The Jonas Brothers - (Single)

Mock all you want but these boys know how to tune up a rockin' good pop song by keeping it simple and to the point.

Songs that benefited from being used on So You Think You Can Dance and/or So You Think You Can Dance Canada:
"Closer" - Ne-yo
"No Air" - Jordan Sparks and Ne-yo
"Forever" - Chris Brown
"Bleeding Love" - Leona Lewis
"Shake It" - Metro Station
"Dangerous" - Kardinal Offishall feat. Akon
"Womanizer" - Britney Spears
"When I Grow Up"—The Pussycat Dolls

Great debuts:
Josh Hoge - Everything She Was
Lady Antebellum - Lady Antebellum
The Midway State - Holes
Nathan Angelo - Through Playing Me
The Ting Tings - We Started Nothing
Same Difference - Pop

Selections that are really continued from my picks from 2008:
Josh Turner's "Another Try" feat. Trisha Yearwood from his album Everything Is Fine which produced last year's pick "Firecracker"
Anything Rihanna touched. "Disturbia", "Rihab", " "If I Never See Your Face Again" with Maroon 5, "Live Your Life" with T.I.

The Best of Music 2008 - In Video Format:

1. "Leavin'" - Jesse McCartney:


2. "Human" - The Killers:


3. "American Boy" - Estelle feat. Kanye West:


4. David vs. David - David Archuleta vs. David Cook in American Idol and "Crush" and "Angel" vs. "The Time of My Life" and "Light On" - (The battle on Idol and the subsequent Singles battle)
David Archuleta:


David Cook:



5. "Beating My Heart", "You Can Never Go Back" - Jon McLaughlin:



6. "Untouched" - The Veronicas:


7. "Chasing Pavements" - Adele:


8. "See You Again" - Miley Cyrus:


9. "Viva la Vida" - Coldplay:


10. "Burnin' Up" - The Jonas Brothers:



Best of 2008 Lists:
Best of Music 2008
Best of Television 2008
Best of Stage 2008
Best of Movies 2008
Best of 2008 (The Final Wrap Up)
Best of Television Fall '07 - Winter '08 List

Previous Best-of Lists:
Best of 2007 Lists:
Best of Music 2007
Best of Television 2007
Best of Movies 2007
Best of Stage 2007
Best of 2007 (The Final Wrap Up)
Best of Television Fall '06 - Winter '07 List

Best of 2006 Lists:
Best of Music 2006
Best of Television 2006
Best of Movies 2006
Best of 2006
Best of Television Fall '05 - Winter '06 List

Best of 2005 Lists:
Best of Television 2005
Best of Movies 2005