…And in just under the wire, It’s time for the 3rd annual installment of the Top 10 discs of the year.  As was the case last year, there’s a video presentation of the list complete with my mini-reviews of the discs so click now so it can buffer.  I exercised the video tools on this one for a very rich & colorful overview of my ’08 favorites, complete with audio, images and some video (a fun way to recap the musical year).  Went through about 50GB worth of video renders in the process…and now get to clean up my video drive.

This is the post that takes me a full year to write, and this year, I’ve also added Lala links, wherever possible, for those who would like to sample full songs.

As a quick refresher of the criteria, all discs featured must have been released during the calendar year.  Simple as that.

2008 included releases from perennial favorites including Todd Rundgren, Eric Matthews and Bob Mould, but also included many newcomers like Adrian Bourgeois (I still listen to his dad’s stuff — Bourgeois Tagg).  I must be getting old.

But unlike last year, when only a handful of discs really grabbed me, there were A BUNCH of offerings that grabbed me, but unfortunately this is not a Top 50 list.  I had a really tough time picking these.   Special note for the Runner’s Up list:  the Luke Jackson disc was the last CD I picked up in 2008, and it’s really growing on me.  Had it shown up earlier, it would no doubt have made my Top 10.  It’s very well rounded, with songs in the English punk vein to a few softer Bacharachian/Rundgrenesque, early ’70′s sounding tunes.  The entire CD’s on Lala for those who want to give it a free spin.

Standard disclaimer applies:  these discs were my favorites of 2008.  It’s not based on sales….these are the CD’s that dominated my ipod this year.  Many of these showed up on other powerpop top cd’s sites for 2008 too, so it’s not just me calling these discs great.

For those who don’t have time to watch the video, here’s the list in text form:

Runners Up

5.  Luke Jackson – …And Then Some

4.  The Honeydogs – Can’t Feel the Beating

3.  Pugwash – Eleven Modern Antiquities

2.  Bob Mould – District Line

1.  Justin Levinson – 1175 Boylston Street

And the Top 10

10.  Brent Cash – How Will I Know If I’m Awake

9.  Adrian Whitehead – One Small Stepping Man

8.  Roger Joseph Manning, Jr – Catnip Dynamite

7.  The Major Labels – Aquavia

6.  Adrian Bourgeois – S/T

5.  Bryan Scary & The Shredding Tears – Flight of the Knife

4.  Spiraling – Time Travel Made Easy

3.  Starling Electric – Clouded Staircase

2.  Eric Matthews – The Imagination Stage

1.  Todd Rundgren – Arena

Most Anticipated Discs of 2009

1. Eric Matthews – Too Much World (sounds like it’s almost finished!)
2. Bob Mould – New one due at the end of Q1, early Q2?
3. Halloween Alaska’s _Champaign Downtown_ is finished and due out April 7, 2009
4. The Syn – Francis Dunnery, Tom Brislin (Spiraling), and more

That wraps up my list of favorites for the year.  Time to get started on my 2009 list .