I've had a brewing list of my top ten candidates sitting around for about a month and I finally whittled it down today! 2008 Was not nearly as good music-wise as 2007 — in fact I consider 2007 as the best year of music in my life thus far — but there were still lots of great albums released last year. Here's what I got:

1. Unearth - The March
2. Protest the Hero - Fortress
3. Misery Signals - Controller
4. Kings of Leon - Only By the Night
5. Senses Fail - Life Is Not a Waiting Room
6. Thrice - The Alchemy Index Vol. 3 & 4
7. Nada Surf - Lucky
8. Bayside - Shudder
9. Alkaline Trio - Agony & Irony
10. Jack Johnson - Sleep Through the Static (sorry Phil)
    

Hopefully there's enough variety in there to give you a seizure — after all that's the ultimate goal here.

I also want to throw in some of my favorite discoveries of the year, even though they aren't brand new. Minus the Bear, Planet of Ice is an amazing album and, had I heard it in 2007 when it came out, it would have been at the top of my list. The album still hasn't gotten old for me! I also discovered an awesome jazz album. I try to listen to jazz here and there and usually hate it because it makes me sleepy, but I got a hold of the album Giant Steps by John Coltrane last year and I really love it. I usually rely on insane metal to get me into a raging fury of efficiency at work but this album is a surprisingly fantastic alternative.

Lately I've been in somewhat of a music slump, so let me know if you've discovered anything you think I might be into and/or if you've got your own top ten list!