Great albums of 2008

Financial trouble hit record companies before it hit many other industries. However, thanks to avenues like satellite radio, peer networking sites, hipster TV commercials and self-released albums (a movement spearheaded by names like Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails), 2008 offered greater evidence than ever that artists themselves may not be left in the lurch.

Before looking ahead, I'm looking back on my favorite albums of the year. Don't confuse this with a "best" list - that's a dishonest critic's term which implies one had enough time and interest to hear every new album. Instead, consider these the discs that thrilled me on first listen, called me back throughout the year and never lost their gleam no matter how carefully I unraveled their contents. For those hopeless modernists who don't like whole albums anymore, individual track recommendations follow each entry.

1. Parts & Labor, "Receivers" (Jagjaguwar)

The Brooklyn noise rockers, now a quartet, ease off the throttle and focus on expansive, hummable melodies that seem to echo from a deep, primal place of yearning. As keyboardist Dan Friel and bassist B.J. Warshaw trade vocal duties, they herald humanity among huge, anthemic alt-punk songs, their compelling lyrics defying the modern world's divisive structures. All the while, a sizzling shoegaze haze of otherworldly hisses, buzzes, bleeps, squeals and other sounds (many sent to the band by fans) provide style to support the substantive music. Parts & Labor's hopeful, collaborative appeal to the mind, heart, body and soul launches their imposing euphony beyond cool headphone rock into a nearly spiritual realm.

TRY: "Nowheres Nigh," "The Ceasing Now"

2. Man Man, "Rabbit Habits" (ANTI-)

Philadelphia's falsetto harmonizing, percussion abusing, fun loving loonies rein in and polish their wild n' woolly sound, offering more linear compositions and less messy arrangements on what the unique quintet considers a "pop" album. Its tidiness and simplicity are relative, though, as Man Man is still one of a kind, revealing sonic surprises buried within alternately whimsical and wistful junkyard carnival jams. Aside from boisterous instrumentation, the charm of these addictive songs comes from their bold sincerity. While cryptic oddity often passes for genius in the indie world, Man Man's childlike exuberance never seems calculated or contrived.

TRY: "Big Trouble," "Poor Jackie"

3. Woods of Ypres, "III: The Deepest Roots and Darkest Blues" (Krankenhaus)

The Canadian project led by vocalist/guitarist David Gold is a rare metal act that prefers honest introspection to portentous mythmaking. The long, varied journey here sees an entirely new lineup refining Woods of Ypres' tuneful, European-sounding blend of doom, black and gothic metal. Meanwhile, the lyricist engages in extraordinarily personal songs that mull the struggle between stagnation and progression, directly addressing how the provincial mindsets of music scenes and hometowns can oppress an individual's growth. As befits the gripping music, melancholy and spite run high, yet Gold's emotional exorcisms are most resonant due to his mature conclusion that the best revenge comes from growing up and moving on.

TRY: "Your Ontario Town Is a Burial Ground," "Darkest Blues: The Relief That Nothing Can Be Done"

4. Bloc Party, "Intimacy" (Atlantic)

Perhaps to silence critics who felt last year's "A Weekend in the City" was too soft, Bloc Party kick off their latest with their most abrasive, difficult track to date. As the band members themselves predicted, they take greater influence from electronic music, with a driving dance floor throb seamlessly integrated into the British quartet's emotive, evocative post-punk nuggets. It's fiery stuff, and it sounds like a natural progression, too, not some ironic or stiff indie concession to populism. Bloc Party still makes room for spiky anthems, dreamy post-rock soundscapes, even a poignant music-box lullaby. All that's missing is politics, although thanks to Kele Okereke's silken Britpop crooning, interpersonal dynamics come off nearly as contentious and, somehow, imbued with the promise of harmony.

TRY: "Trojan Horse," "Ion Square"

5. The Coke Dares, "Feelin' Up" (Essay)

Making a strong case against ornamentation and excess, the Indiana trio cranks out 33 brash and infectious songs ranging from four seconds to just over two minutes in length. These guys, members of much mellower bands Magnolia Electric Co. and The Impossible Shapes, can obviously play, but short, sloppy bursts of garage punk energy fit them best. The ramshackle recording (live to two-track tape, supposedly completed in two days because they won the studio time in a contest), fluctuating sound levels, uncommitted melodies and seemingly improvisatory, often juvenile lyrics all contribute to the ephemeral DIY fun. This lovably raw guitar/bass/drums mutt is enough to renew faith in working class, "unimportant" punk, and the cheekily named Coke Dares rarely need more than a minute to do it.

TRY: "Mask Map," "Slo-Mo Catastrophes"

6. Testament, "The Formation of Damnation" (Nuclear Blast)

Not many bands release their definitive album 25 years into their career, but one of the Bay Area's original thrash metal crews - at one time dismissed as a Metallica clone - got four-fifths of their definitive lineup back together and did just that. For us old-timers, Alex Skolnick's fluid solos, Greg Christian's burbling bass and Chuck Billy's dynamic roar embody the sheer personality missing from most American metal ever since grunge scared major labels into throwing honest bands out with the glam trash. But forget nostalgia, as "Formation" expertly blends Testament's nimble, heads-down classic mosh with the eye-popping vitriol preferred by jaded younger listeners. Compared with Metallica's better-selling "return to metal," it becomes clearer who is today's pale imitation.

TRY: "The Formation of Damnation," "Killing Season"

7. Cordero, "De Dónde Eres" (Bloodshot)

Cordero's first album with entirely Spanish lyrics, "De Dónde Eres" ("Where Are You From") transcends all arbitrary borders. Atlanta-bred, New York-based Puerto Rican singer/guitarist Ani Cordero wrote its songs on her mother's nylon string guitar while attending to family crises, making for less psychedelic, more intimate material than the Latin/indie rock band has offered in the past. While the slithering rhythm section holds down the rock flavor on some selections, the quieter numbers pulse with vital momentum thanks to sexy rhythms, spooky atmospheres, plaintive horns and, most of all, Ani's plainly pretty pipes, which don't so much gush emotion as guilelessly evoke ghostly glimpses of it. No matter your primary language or what you're listening to, this well-rounded, entrancing wisp of beauty is an exotic alternative.

TRY: "La Sombra," "Ruleta Rusa"

8. The Cool Kids, "The Bake Sale" (Chocolate Industries)

Chicago hip-hop duo The Cool Kids made good on their blog buzz this year, as Mikey Rocks and Chuck Inglish popped up in Gap TV commercials and released online singles in conjunction with Mountain Dew and the video game "NBA 2K9." Beyond the marketing hype, though, was this sharp EP collecting their prior MySpace and mixtape favorites. Part of the Kids' attraction comes from their accessible old-school values, setting straightforward rhymes about riding bikes and stylish haircuts against solid, simple boom-bap beats. Their personable charisma makes up the rest, as they're the sort of everyman rappers whose joyful boasts can actually make a crowd get behind them. Not gangstas, not backpackers, not really even retro revivalists, this quick, buoyant document proves that The Cool Kids only got so cool by being themselves.

TRY: "88," "A Little Bit Cooler"

9. Opeth, "Watershed" (Roadrunner)

With a new rhythm guitarist and drummer in tow, Mikael Åkerfeldt finally assumes full control of Swedish prog metal giants Opeth. Of course, that unlocks the gates to stylistic shifts and self-indulgence, but the sextet merely opened up their trademark balance of melodic death metal heft and pristine acoustic tenderness to new configurations and made better use of keyboardist Per Wiberg's vintage textures. The result is a once-unique cult act, faced for years with the danger of repeating themselves too many times, reclaiming their exclusivity now that wider fame is within their grasp. Sure, despite the tricky rhythms and Åkerfeldt's intermittent roars, it's a more mainstream listen, what with all the sumptuous '70s prog balladry and classic rock drama on display. "Watershed" is still the metal underground's least compromised olive branch in years.

TRY: "The Lotus Eater," "Hessian Peel"

10. Marnie Stern, "This Is It and I Am It and You Are It and So Is That and He Is It and She Is It and It Is It and That Is That" (Kill Rock Stars)

After announcing herself as a new breed of guitar hero on last year's gonzo masterpiece "In Advance of the Broken Arm," shredder Stern takes a step toward more traditional songcraft. The thirtysomething New Yorker, reteaming with Hella drummer Zach Hill and welcoming a bassist, builds mini-symphonies around torrents of tapped notes, stop-start rhythmic spasms prodding her Morse code solos into unlikely but unforgettable refrains. More repetitive than "Arm" (the outrageous album title is a giveaway), but consequently more tangible, her second album lands somewhere in the vicinity of math rock and no wave. Stern's arrangements and nutty helium vocals make it more excitable and inviting than either art-punk tradition might imply, giddily creative and challenging but never academic.

TRY: "Transformer," "Steely"

Honorable Mentions (in alphabetical order):

Beck, "Modern Guilt" (Interscope)

Equilibrium, "Sagas" (Nuclear Blast)

Foals, "Antidotes" (Sub Pop)

Grails, "Doomsdayer's Holiday" (Temporary Residence)

GZA/Genius, "Pro Tools" (Babygrande)

Hammers of Misfortune, "Fields/Church of Broken Glass" (Profound Lore)

Longwave, "Secrets Are Sinister" (Original Signal)

The Mars Volta, "The Bedlam in Goliath" (Universal)

Nachtmystium, "Assassins: Black Meddle Part 1" (Century Media)

Of Montreal, "Skeletal Lamping" (Polyvinyl)

Benoît Pioulard, "Temper" (Kranky)

Ratatat, "LP3" (XL)

The Stills, "Oceans Will Rise" (Arts & Crafts)

TV on the Radio, "Dear Science" (Interscope)

Týr, "Land" (Napalm)

<p class="factboxheadblack">2*Sweet</p> <p class="News">One of Beep's "local bands to watch" for 2008, 2*Sweet are breaking up after five years of busting their backs around the country. Before the members move on to various projects, catch their metallic pop-punk one last time at this farewell gig. Support comes from Fireworks and This Time Next Year.</p> <p class="News">7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 20, at Subterranean, 2011 W. North Ave., Chicago. $12 advance, $14 day of show. (773) 278-6600 or <a href="http://www.subt.net" target="new">subt.net</a>.</p> <p class="factboxheadblack">Shwayze</p> <p class="News">The year's cheesiest prefab celebrity, laid-back party rapper Shwayze, had his own MTV reality series ("Buzzin'") with greasy, ubiquitous sidekick Cisco Adler. His first single, named after the show, is typical of his Afroman-meets-Sugar Ray vapidity. Catch Shwayze on tour with Adler and DJ Skeet Skeet before he claims his rightful place as an "I Love the '00s" footnote. The Knux and Krista open.</p> <p class="News">8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 20, at The Fuel Room at Austin's Saloon and Eatery, 481 Peterson Road, Libertyville. $18. (847) 549-1972 or <a href="http://www.austinsaloon.com" target="new">austinsaloon.com</a>.</p> <p class="factboxheadblack">Clad in Darkness</p> <p class="News">Burb-based quintet Clad in Darkness places the undulating prog rhythms of Opeth and the pagan textures of Agalloch into a bleakly beautiful black metal framework. Considering their impressive 2006 demo, "Amidst Her Shadows," and their enveloping live shows, it's a crime that these guys aren't signed. Entrancemperium, Novembrance and Eternal Storm also perform.</p> <p class="News">9 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 20, at Ye Olde Town Inn, 18 W. Busse Ave., Mount Prospect. $8. (847) 392-3750 or <a href="http://www.myspace.com/yotibar" target="new">myspace.com/yotibar</a>.</p>