 | Attack and Release by The Black Keys
Buy new: $13.99 / Used from: $9.00 Album of the year. Without a doubt. A more diverse group of songs than have been on past Keys' albums where several songs tended to sound the same. Favorite track: "Oceans & Streams"
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 | Third by Portishead
Buy new: $12.99 / Used from: $6.22 2008's best album if not for the lackluster second half of it. This album takes the listener to places that no other record has in quite awhile. A "contact-high" album for sure! Favorite track: "We Carry On"
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 | Modern Guilt by Beck
Buy new: $12.99 / Used from: $4.49 This time around, Beck takes us back to the psychedelic 60's with help from Danger Mouse. A very fun album, with some interesting apocalyptic lyrics. Favorite track: "Replica"
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 | Warpaint by The Black Crowes
Buy new: $13.99 / Used from: $3.40 The Robinson brothers' best since "Amorica" by a long shot. There are a few weak tracks that take away from the album's overall appeal, but it still has that Crowes' vibe that we have all come to love. Favorite track: "Oh Josephine"
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 | The Bedlam in Goliath by The Mars Volta
Buy new: $13.98 / Used from: $4.10 A great album, if not a little top-heavy. Tracks 1-5 are so stellar, and flow into one another so well that the rest of the album is a little dull in comparison. Favorite track: "Goliath"
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 | Narrow Stairs by Death Cab for Cutie
Buy new: $11.97 / Used from: $7.47 I really don't understand the reason for all the hate on this album. I think it's absolutely great, pushing the envelope much more than any of their past efforts. "I Will Possess Your Heart" definitely channels old Jane's Addiction bass lines from a few decades ago. Favorite track: "No Sunlight"
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 | Dig Out Your Soul by Oasis
Buy new: $14.99 / Used from: $5.82 A pleasant surprise after a few less than memorable albums in the past few years. Favorite track: "Bag It Up"
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 | 2 by Darker My Love
Buy new: $13.98 / Used from: $1.75 The best album that you have never heard. Part Smashing Pumpkins buzzsaw guitar, part Brian Wilson-like vocals, it adds up to quite a great piece of work by this little-known L.A. band. Favorite track: "All the Hurry and Wait"
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 | Dear Science by TV on the Radio
Buy new: $12.99 / Used from: $7.99 Definitely not the album of the year as Rolling Stone and Spin have declared, but really good. A good variety of song styles on this one, as well as more than one member of the band chipping in on lead vocals. Favorite track: "Crying"
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 | I'll Be Lightning by Liam Finn
Buy new: $12.99 / Used from: $6.07 I saw Liam open for Eddie Vedder several times in April on his solo tour, a really incredible musician. He plays all of the instruments himself, both in the studio and live! Favorite track: "Wise Man"
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 | Furr by Blitzen Trapper
Buy new: $12.99 / Used from: $6.37 It's really hard to categorize this album...pop at times, freak rock at others. Favorite track: "Fire & Fast Bullets"
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 | Evil Urges by My Morning Jacket
Buy new: $10.99 / Used from: $6.85 Undoubtedly the most polarizing album of MMJ's career. My one complaint is that it is a bit slow in the middle, with several low-tempo songs in a row that takes away from the flow of the album. Some fantastic tracks though, "Librarian" successfully acheives what the Fleet Foxes tried to do this year and failed. Favorite track: "Touch Me I'm Going to Scream Pt. 2"
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 | In Ghost Colours by Cut Copy
Buy new: $8.97 / Used from: $6.49 This year's answer to LCD Soundsystem. A very fun, enjoyable dance-pop record. A tad more trance-influenced with a Dave Gahan/Depeche Mode-like vocal vibe. Favorite track: "Lights And Music"
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 | Accelerate by R.E.M.
Buy new: $10.97 / Used from: $2.00 By far the best album the band's put out in the past decade. Many considered them down for the count after their past few sub-par albums, but this one is really good despite it's brevity. Favorite track: "Horse to Water"
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 | The Odd Couple by Gnarls Barkley
Buy new: $14.99 / Used from: $2.81 This one took me a few spins to get into...I really didn't care for it at first. After a few tries it really shines though, lots of great rhymes like the first album but with some different musical elements as well. Too bad Danger Mouse seems to have used like 1/2 of the samples from this album on Beck's "Modern Guilt". Favorite track: "Surprise"
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 | Mudcrutch by Mudcrutch
Buy new: $14.99 / Used from: $5.51 A glimpse into what Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers might have sounded like if they had never left Gainesville, FL and ditched the country vibe. An interesting collection of songs, but nowhere near the level of classic Petty albums like "Damn The Torpedoes" or "Wildflowers". Favorite track: "Crystal River"
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 | Secret Machines by Secret Machines
Buy new: $14.98 / Used from: $4.68 Quite possibly the greatest undiscovered band to this day. I saw one of their videos on MTV at like 2 in the morning five years ago, and have been into them ever since. This is their third release, and while not as epic as their first record there are still some great tunes on this one. Favorite track: "Last Believer, Drop Dead"
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 | Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!! by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Buy new: $14.99 / Used from: $8.55 I really dig this album, if you like Lou Reed and his spoken word style of singing then check out Nick Cave. Cave seems to have a knack for visual, story-telling style lyrics. Favorite track: "Lie Down Here (& Be My Girl)"
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 | Death Magnetic by Metallica
Buy new: $11.99 / Used from: $4.95 After the gigantic failures that Bob Rock produced ever since the Black Album, the band was backed against the wall and called on Rick Rubin to bring them back to their old-school roots. And it worked. With several songs clocking in at 7, 8 minutes in length, this is truly Metallica back in full form. Favorite track: "All Nightmare Long"
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 | Break Up the Concrete by The Pretenders
Buy new: $14.99 / Used from: $5.25 A good return to form for Chrissie Hynde and her band. What's great about this album is that it sounds real, like she's not trying to make it something it isn't. Favorite track: "Boots of Chinese Plastic"
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 | Vampire Weekend by Vampire Weekend
Buy new: $9.99 / Used from: $9.24 I really don't know what the big deal is about these guys. Just because you rip off Paul Simon's Jamaica-esque vibe from 20 years ago doesn't mean you're original. Favorite track: "A-Punk"
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 | Partie Traumatic by Black Kids
Buy new: $12.98 / Used from: $1.19 Hot Hot Heat called. They want their lead singer back. Favorite track: "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You"
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 | Volume One by She & Him
Buy new: $12.99 / Used from: $11.40 Zooey Deschanel really needs to stick to acting. Some of these songs are so corny sounding she sounds like she's making fun of herself. Favorite track: None
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 | The Airborne Toxic Event by The Airborne Toxic Event
Buy used from: $4.98 So so so overrated. The most unoriginal, derivative album I have ever heard. At least act like you're not blatantly ripping off other bands' riffs! Favorite track: None
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