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If last year was big, this year was more medium-ish, musically speaking.  Several of my favorite rock acts didn’t release anything bigger than the odd digital-only track or three (Springsteen, Switchfoot, Fountains Of Wayne, Ian Hunter, Chris Cubeta) and the prog scene was relatively quiet, other than well-received solo albums from David Gilmour and Billy Sherwood, and rumors of a Yes/ELP/Asia package tour in 2009.  Where that left me personally was focusing yet more attention on the ever-growing ranks of super-talented independent acts out there.  So this year for the first time, I’m offering five awards to label-backed releases and…

 10.  The Dears -- MissilesSome fans have described Montreal’s The Dears in concert as “the sonic equivalent of seeing the face of God.” As outlandish a claim as that may be, listening to a Dears record, you at least get a sense of just what said fans are talking about. Missiles is a magnificent display of melancholy indie-pop where front man and chief songwriter Murray Lightburn flexes his muscles as a mope-rock visionary. Having rescued the writing from what on previous Dears albums was an overt and seemingly unapologetic tipping-of-the-hat to The Smiths, the songs on Missiles are concise and…

 10.  Sneaky Sound System -- 2The Aussie dance-pop trio had a big job ahead of themselves in following up a mega-selling debut, but they pulled it off with ease.  An explosion of finely-crafted pop songs, pumping bass/electronica arrangements, and Miss Connie’s powerful vocals all make for the year’s best pop release.9.  Whitesnake -- Good To Be BadYou either love or hate the Snake, and I really do love them.  Coverdale and his current line-up turned out a loud, heavy, and bombastic assault on the senses.  Overblown at times, it’s still classic Whitesnake and easily the band’s best album since 1987.8.…

Like a lot of people, I barely had enough CDs in my collection to come up with a “best of” list this year. There was a lot of stuff going on in peoples’ lives in 2008, stuff where music could easily take a back seat. Folks who were busy obsessing over the presidential election might not have noticed that Lucinda Williams came out with a new album. Other folks would have liked to pick up those two covers albums by Cat Power, but were a bit busy reformatting and sending out their resumes because they feared for their job. And…

Turns out, I didn’t listen to a lot this year (which is probably terrible for a music reviewer to admit); but I tended mostly to fall for albums -- head-over-heels, hard, and wholly. Which is why Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago hasn’t left my stereo in approximately three months and I know every lyric to Viva La Vida backwards and forwards. It’s also why people around me either get converted to loving said overplayed albums…or ban me from playing them entirely. But most of this year’s heavy-hitters and indie sensations have gone right over my head, my old habit…

When I first joined the Daily Vault staff many moons ago, I was charged with the creation of my first “Best Of” list when December rolled around. After one attempt at it, I came to find the idea of ranking my top ten albums to be terribly unappealing. Since that point, I have taken a much more general approach to these yearly retrospectives, making up categories as I go along. Yet even that has grown stale. This year, I offer up a pseudo-commentary on the music of 2008. These albums may have been personal favorites, works that I felt were…