Year in Revue

Looking back on the past year, a few themes stood out: this was definitly an amazing year for collecting uncovered gems from around the world (see Shadow Music of Thailand, African Scream Contest, Nigeria Special series, Nigeria 70 series, Calypsoul 70, etc.); the further legitimization of the mixtape format (see Santogold, Esau Mwamwaya, Wale, Paper Route Recordz, Clipse, even Lil Wayne selling a milli, etc.); and animatronic puppets can be mindblowing.

As with last year's list, each selection is entirely subjective to my own enjoyment. However, I and I did attempt to put everything in a ranked order for the very first time. So, without further ado:

Top 10 Albums Released in 2008:
1. Erykah Badu New Amerykah, Part One: 4th World War
2. TV on the Radio Dear Science
3. Various Artists Nigeria Special: Modern Highlife, Afro-Sounds & Nigerian Blues
4. Girl Talk Feed the Animals
5. Various Artists Nigeria 70: Lagos Jump
6. Santogold Top Ranking: A Diplo Dub
7. John Zorn The Dreamers
8. Flying Lotus Los Angeles
9. Young Jeezy The Recession
10. Various Artists Calypsoul 70: Caribbean Soul & Calypso Crossover 1969-1979

Top 10 Albums Not Released in 2008:
1. Diplo AEIOU Vol. 2 (2004)
2. Lil Wayne Da Drought 3 (2007)
3. Jonny Greenwood Jonny Greenwood is the Controller (2007)
4. Clipse We Got It 4 Cheap, Vol. 2 (2005)
5. James Brown The Payback (1973)
6. UGK Ridin' Dirty (1996)
7. Dizzee Rascal Maths + English (2007)
8. Pinch Underwater Dancehall (2007)
9. Michael Jackson Thriller (1982)
10. Hollertronix Never Scared (2003)

Top 10 Films:
1. There Will Be Blood (2007)
2. Oldboy (2003)
3. Paprika (2007)
4. The Dark Knight (2008)
5. Tropic Thunder (2008)
6. WALL-E (2008)
7. The Squid and the Whale (2005)
8. Planet B-Boy (2008)
9. Trekkies 2 (2004)
10. Encounters at the End of the World (2008)

Top 5 TV Series:
1. The Wire: Season 4 (2006)
2. Summer Heights High: 8-part series (2007)
3. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Season 3 (2007)
4. Light Fantastic: 4-part series (2006)

5. Extras: Season 2 (2006)