MSN Music
How do we gauge 2008's album harvest? Based on the votes cast by MSN writers
and staff, it was a vintage dominated by rock, spiced with multi-cultural
overtones and graced by country notes in its long, teasingly earthy finish.
(Roll it around in your ears for awhile to savor the full bloom.)
Although the year's CDs (and, increasingly, resurrected LPs) included some
sumptuous archival gems (including Bob Dylan's "Tell Tale Signs" and Hank Williams' "The Unreleased Recordings") and spiffy reissues, our short
list hews to new releases.
While consensus played a big part in the top scores, individual tastes
surfaced some equally intriguing alternatives you should peruse on our
panelists' individual ballots. The nominations that didn't bubble up into the
top 10 offer their own singular charms, all honorable and worth mentioning.
Here's our countdown of the year's best. (Credit: Interscope Records/Big
Machine/Cash Money/Capitol) |