Woo... talk about one heck of a fast year. It feels like I just made a personal top ten not long ago, but here we are again. Like last year, this thread is completely open to your own personal top list, and if you really don't listen to that much new music, feel free to post just what you have. The only rule is that it had to have been released in 2008. It could have been produced in 2007, but as long as it was a hit in 2008, it would definitely count.
Because I listen to dance music almost equally as much as anything else, I split my top ten this year into a separate top ten list for albums themselves, and then another top ten for my personal favorite dance tracks of the year. Without further ado...
Top 10 2008 Albums
Disturbed - Indestructible (Alternative Metal, June 2, 2008)
Goldfinger - Hello Destiny (Ska Punk, April 22, 2008)
Hybrid - Soundsystem 01 (Electronica, August 5, 2008)
Metallica - Death Magnetic (Heavy Metal, September 12, 2008)
Nine Inch Nails - The Slip (Industrial Metal, May 5, 2008)
Sevendust - Chapter VII - Hope & Sorrow (Nu-Metal, April 1, 2008)
Slipknot - All Hope Is Gone (Nu-Metal, August 20, 2008)
Taproot - Our Long Road Home (Rock, September 16, 2008)
The Offspring - Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace (Punk Rock, June 11, 2008)
Tiësto - In Search of Sunrise 7: Asia (Trance/Electronica, June 17, 2008)
Top 10 2008 Dance Tracks
Deadmau5 - Not Exactly (Original Mix) - YouTube Link (Progressive House)
H 'two' O - What's It Gonna Be feat. Platnum (Original Mix) - YouTube Link (Dance)
Moby - Disco Lies (Spencer and Hill Remix) - YouTube Link (Electronica)
Rachael Starr - To Forever (Moonbeam Remix) - YouTube Link (Progressive Trance)
Rogue Traders - Better In The Dark (Klaus Hill Remix) - (Electronica)
Tegan and Sara - Back in Your Head (Tiësto Remix) - YouTube Link (Pop/Trance)
The Nightcrawlers - Push The Feeling On (Eric Smax Ultraschall Remix) - YouTube Link (House)
The Presets - My People (DIM Remix) - YouTube Link (Electro)
Three Drives - Feel The Rhythm (Ton TB Dub Mix) - YouTube (Progressive Trance)
Tiësto - Driving to Heaven (Mat Zo Remix) - YouTube Link (Trance)
About My Top 10 2008 Albums
Whew, alright. It was hard picking only ten, but I'm pretty confident in these choices. Without question, this was the year for metal, for me. Disturbed struck back with a stellar fourth album, which was great to see, since I was really skeptical they could follow-up with something that didn't feel rehashed... and they didn't. Then Metallica delivered just what fans were looking for... more hard thrashing and raw lyrics. It's true 'tallica and has been in heavy rotation in my music player. Then there's Slipknot... love them or hate them, their newest album is amazing. It delivers on all bases to fans and I'm doubtful many were upset by what we were given.
Then there's Sevendust... one band I can never seem to get bored of. Each one of their albums have some stellar tracks, and this one was no exception. Powerful metal at its best. Do the Nine Inch Nails need an introduction? "The Slip" is pure NIN, and I'm simply floored that Trent was able to produce an album with such a lack of faults after pushing out Year Zero, Ghosts and Saul William's latest... all in such a short period of time.
Then we have Goldfinger, a great punk band who never strays far from their roots. They keep a similar sound, but their delivery can make anyone sing along. Their latest is one album that's very difficult to get bored of too quickly. The Offspring is the band responsible for getting me into punk music (Smash baby!) and their latest album successfully helped rid all doubt I had in their abilities. When you like a band a lot, any new album can make you feel a little worried. After all, if it doesn't live up to your expectations, it's definitely not a good feeling. No worries here though. Classic Offspring.
The last rock album this year to really impress me was Taproot's latest, which was produced on their own label. It's well-produced, and while it didn't sell that well in the opening weeks, I'm sure it was successful in giving a virtual eff you to Atlantic for dropping them. On the dance/trance side of things. Tiësto's latest ISOS compilation is simply amazing, and was essentially my anthem for the summer. Hybrid was essentially the anthem for the fall... and even after thirty-five+ listens, it still kicks.
About My Top 10 2008 Dance Tracks
Although I'm proud to be Canadian, I'll be the first to admit that it's not often that dance music emerges from our country that simply floors me. This year, two tracks in particular successfully did that. It began with Deadmau5's "Not Exactly", which proves that this relative newbie to the scene will have a long life in our music players. Tegan and Sara didn't exactly remix "Back In Your Head", but Tiësto did a masterful job of sampling it... the result is simply spectacular.
As for other tracks, although it's definitely more of a chick song (I don't care), H 'two' O knew that "What's It Gonna Be" was going to be a hit before it even hit the scene. It's catchy, poppy, and works. Let's just see if they can release a follow-up that's not going to sound exactly like this track (like so many other artists... Cascada, anyone?). And while I'm not normally a huge fan of Moby, "Disco Lies" easily deserves a part of my personal top ten. It's catchy, features a hot girl, and the video shows a chicken killing the Colonel. What's not to like? Oh, right... the song's good too...
Rogue Traders' "Better in the Dark" was a track I discovered on the import version of MoS' Clubbers Guide to 2008, and sadly, there exists no video on the web of this particular remix. Even the original is good enough though, if you're up for some Aussie electro rock/pop, at least. Continuing in the Aussie scheme of things, The Presets "My People" was equally impressive, and re-instilled my reason for liking most any type of dance to come out of Australia.
The Nightcrawlers' "Push the Feeling On" isn't a new track by any means, but it's in my top ten of all time. Why it's here is because Eric Smax's remix is the first of the track that I really liked. It builds on the original track but implements a dancier feel to cater more to the modern club. Following on the success of tracks such as Greece 2000 (another legendary track), Three Drives on a Vinyl released "Feel The Rhythm" this year, and it proves to be of the same caliber as their original hit... at least in my opinion.
Finally, thanks to Tiësto, I was introduced to "To Forever" from Rachael Starr, which happens to precede the latest Three Drives track on ISOS: Asia. Both songs are my personal favs on the entire compilation, so it's cool that both are right after the other. Finally, although "Driving to Heaven" isn't a new track from Tiësto, Mat Zo's remix of "Driving to Heaven" accomplished something that doesn't happen too often... it caused me to like a remix more than the original. It's truly spectacular, and I can understand why it found a place on the Elements of Life Remix album.
Whew, that's all from me. I can really drag out a top ten, can't I? Time for you guys to input your favorites. Just remember to keep it to music released last year, or late 2007. If anyone wants to discuss their top ten of music in general, we could always begin a new thread. Until next year *cheers*.
Because I listen to dance music almost equally as much as anything else, I split my top ten this year into a separate top ten list for albums themselves, and then another top ten for my personal favorite dance tracks of the year. Without further ado...
Top 10 2008 Albums
Disturbed - Indestructible (Alternative Metal, June 2, 2008)
Goldfinger - Hello Destiny (Ska Punk, April 22, 2008)
Hybrid - Soundsystem 01 (Electronica, August 5, 2008)
Metallica - Death Magnetic (Heavy Metal, September 12, 2008)
Nine Inch Nails - The Slip (Industrial Metal, May 5, 2008)
Sevendust - Chapter VII - Hope & Sorrow (Nu-Metal, April 1, 2008)
Slipknot - All Hope Is Gone (Nu-Metal, August 20, 2008)
Taproot - Our Long Road Home (Rock, September 16, 2008)
The Offspring - Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace (Punk Rock, June 11, 2008)
Tiësto - In Search of Sunrise 7: Asia (Trance/Electronica, June 17, 2008)
Top 10 2008 Dance Tracks
Deadmau5 - Not Exactly (Original Mix) - YouTube Link (Progressive House)
H 'two' O - What's It Gonna Be feat. Platnum (Original Mix) - YouTube Link (Dance)
Moby - Disco Lies (Spencer and Hill Remix) - YouTube Link (Electronica)
Rachael Starr - To Forever (Moonbeam Remix) - YouTube Link (Progressive Trance)
Rogue Traders - Better In The Dark (Klaus Hill Remix) - (Electronica)
Tegan and Sara - Back in Your Head (Tiësto Remix) - YouTube Link (Pop/Trance)
The Nightcrawlers - Push The Feeling On (Eric Smax Ultraschall Remix) - YouTube Link (House)
The Presets - My People (DIM Remix) - YouTube Link (Electro)
Three Drives - Feel The Rhythm (Ton TB Dub Mix) - YouTube (Progressive Trance)
Tiësto - Driving to Heaven (Mat Zo Remix) - YouTube Link (Trance)
About My Top 10 2008 Albums
Whew, alright. It was hard picking only ten, but I'm pretty confident in these choices. Without question, this was the year for metal, for me. Disturbed struck back with a stellar fourth album, which was great to see, since I was really skeptical they could follow-up with something that didn't feel rehashed... and they didn't. Then Metallica delivered just what fans were looking for... more hard thrashing and raw lyrics. It's true 'tallica and has been in heavy rotation in my music player. Then there's Slipknot... love them or hate them, their newest album is amazing. It delivers on all bases to fans and I'm doubtful many were upset by what we were given.
Then there's Sevendust... one band I can never seem to get bored of. Each one of their albums have some stellar tracks, and this one was no exception. Powerful metal at its best. Do the Nine Inch Nails need an introduction? "The Slip" is pure NIN, and I'm simply floored that Trent was able to produce an album with such a lack of faults after pushing out Year Zero, Ghosts and Saul William's latest... all in such a short period of time.
Then we have Goldfinger, a great punk band who never strays far from their roots. They keep a similar sound, but their delivery can make anyone sing along. Their latest is one album that's very difficult to get bored of too quickly. The Offspring is the band responsible for getting me into punk music (Smash baby!) and their latest album successfully helped rid all doubt I had in their abilities. When you like a band a lot, any new album can make you feel a little worried. After all, if it doesn't live up to your expectations, it's definitely not a good feeling. No worries here though. Classic Offspring.
The last rock album this year to really impress me was Taproot's latest, which was produced on their own label. It's well-produced, and while it didn't sell that well in the opening weeks, I'm sure it was successful in giving a virtual eff you to Atlantic for dropping them. On the dance/trance side of things. Tiësto's latest ISOS compilation is simply amazing, and was essentially my anthem for the summer. Hybrid was essentially the anthem for the fall... and even after thirty-five+ listens, it still kicks.
About My Top 10 2008 Dance Tracks
Although I'm proud to be Canadian, I'll be the first to admit that it's not often that dance music emerges from our country that simply floors me. This year, two tracks in particular successfully did that. It began with Deadmau5's "Not Exactly", which proves that this relative newbie to the scene will have a long life in our music players. Tegan and Sara didn't exactly remix "Back In Your Head", but Tiësto did a masterful job of sampling it... the result is simply spectacular.
As for other tracks, although it's definitely more of a chick song (I don't care), H 'two' O knew that "What's It Gonna Be" was going to be a hit before it even hit the scene. It's catchy, poppy, and works. Let's just see if they can release a follow-up that's not going to sound exactly like this track (like so many other artists... Cascada, anyone?). And while I'm not normally a huge fan of Moby, "Disco Lies" easily deserves a part of my personal top ten. It's catchy, features a hot girl, and the video shows a chicken killing the Colonel. What's not to like? Oh, right... the song's good too...
Rogue Traders' "Better in the Dark" was a track I discovered on the import version of MoS' Clubbers Guide to 2008, and sadly, there exists no video on the web of this particular remix. Even the original is good enough though, if you're up for some Aussie electro rock/pop, at least. Continuing in the Aussie scheme of things, The Presets "My People" was equally impressive, and re-instilled my reason for liking most any type of dance to come out of Australia.
The Nightcrawlers' "Push the Feeling On" isn't a new track by any means, but it's in my top ten of all time. Why it's here is because Eric Smax's remix is the first of the track that I really liked. It builds on the original track but implements a dancier feel to cater more to the modern club. Following on the success of tracks such as Greece 2000 (another legendary track), Three Drives on a Vinyl released "Feel The Rhythm" this year, and it proves to be of the same caliber as their original hit... at least in my opinion.
Finally, thanks to Tiësto, I was introduced to "To Forever" from Rachael Starr, which happens to precede the latest Three Drives track on ISOS: Asia. Both songs are my personal favs on the entire compilation, so it's cool that both are right after the other. Finally, although "Driving to Heaven" isn't a new track from Tiësto, Mat Zo's remix of "Driving to Heaven" accomplished something that doesn't happen too often... it caused me to like a remix more than the original. It's truly spectacular, and I can understand why it found a place on the Elements of Life Remix album.
Whew, that's all from me. I can really drag out a top ten, can't I? Time for you guys to input your favorites. Just remember to keep it to music released last year, or late 2007. If anyone wants to discuss their top ten of music in general, we could always begin a new thread. Until next year *cheers*.
