Listmania!
Best Albums of 2008
By an Amazon.com customer
Viva La VidaViva La Vida by Coldplay
Buy new: $9.99 / Used from: $6.91
This one had to grow on me a bit in much the same way their last one, X & Y, had to. However, I find that many of the dual-melody songs to be a departure from your typical album and I'm always left wanting more.
Saturday Nights & Sunday MorningsSaturday Nights & Sunday Mornings by Counting Crows
Buy new: $10.99 / Used from: $5.18
After giving it a chance, I really came to appreciate what it was about. There is actually a small amount of filler on here and while there's no true "classic" song on here that jumps out, there's a nice consistency across all the songs that makes the album worthwhile.
Seventh TreeSeventh Tree by Goldfrapp
Buy new: $14.98 / Used from: $5.21
I tried their other albums and found them to be too much electronica for me. However, this is a really beautiful album, and its mellow tone juxtaposes their previous efforts.
AccelerateAccelerate by R.E.M.
Buy new: $10.99 / Used from: $4.18
I own every REM album, including this one. Most reviews that I have read have been good but I'm frustrated by the implication that REM is back. I think they never lost it. Reveal was a real dud for me, and Monster is also at the bottom end of their catalog for me. However, I actually dug Around the Sun so I didn't see Accelerate as some massive comeback or step up.