 | Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!! by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Buy new: $13.99 / Used from: $7.95 Dark, literate lyrics that reference everything from the New Testament to the Odyssey - rocking story-songs from the Aussie master. The title track is my favorite song of 2008.
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 | Electric Arguments by The Fireman and Youth Paul McCartney
Buy new: $10.99 / Used from: $6.36 Third collaboration from Paul McCartney and Youth, and by far their best - sounds more like a classic McCartney album, with healthy doses of experimentalism. Sir Paul's best effort in years.
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 | Dear Science by TV on the Radio
Buy new: $12.99 / Used from: $7.77 More accessible, even funkier and more danceable, than its lauded predecessor, "Return to Cookie Mountain", but the band still takes rock in unexpected and original directions.
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 | Everything That Happens Will Happen Today by David Byrne
Buy new: $13.99 / Used from: $7.48 Long-awaited reunion of two idiosyncratic legends of pop - a fine, if subdued, set of songs, especially "Strange Overtones".
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 | For Emma, Forever Ago by Bon Iver
Buy new: $12.99 / Used from: $13.68 You'd almost expect this kind of music from a guy who holed up alone in a cabin in the north woods for a whole winter. Haunting, plaintive, and gorgeous stuff, like the frosty-window view on the cover.
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 | Carried to Dust by Calexico
Buy new: $13.99 / Used from: $10.15 Another strong and mellow collection from this duo, who run the musical gamut from mariachi to alt-country. Check out the beautiful track "Slowness".
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 | Jukebox - Deluxe Edition by Cat Power
Buy new: $14.99 / Used from: $8.76 Chan Marshall's second collection of cover songs is even stronger than the first. She sings with a spirited conviction that you don't always find in her original work. One of the best of a number of cover-song releases of 2008.
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 | Asking for Flowers by Kathleen Edwards
Buy new: $13.99 / Used from: $8.75 Canadian Edwards has moved to the forefront of singer-songwriters with this collection. Some really memorable songs here, especially "The Cheapest Key" and "I Make the Dough, You Get the Glory".
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 | Trouble in Mind by Hayes Carll
Buy new: $8.99 / Used from: $3.68 This alt-country maverick shows a lot of promise as a singer-songwriter. Best tracks: "Bad Liver and Broken Heart" and the irreverent but very funny "She Left Me for Jesus".
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 | Some Racing, Some Stopping by Headlights
Buy new: $11.98 / Used from: $2.49 A change of direction for this Illinois band from indie-rock to lighter indie-pop. These songs won't knock your socks off, but they're so catchy they'll just charm the heck out of you.
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