Best Albums of 2008 - Part 2

5. Kings of Leon - Only By The Night

Everybody loves the Kings. Their sold-out Arena tours twice a year proves it. Yes, 'Sex On Fire' was played to death, but I've not let that ruin it for me. KoL have changed massively since Youth & Young Manhood (which is still my favourite of theirs), and their sound has become bigger, more accessible... it is now far closer to the 'stadium rock' of a Coldplay than the dusty garage rock of their debut, but the bluesy influence of their southern roots remains intact. Despite the larger sound, the quality has not suffered and the boys are probably writing the catchiest 'big' rock & roll tunes this side of Arcade Fire.

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4. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend

At the turn of the year, Vampire Weekend were the latest New York band being tipped as "the ones to watch" by those in the know. Here, they've delivered an album full of bouncy, somewhat quirky pop songs with bags of melody, 'smarter-than-you' lyrics and New England references that makes the bands 'preppyness' pretty obvious. Because of their well-to-do social background, The Strokes have become an easy comparison to make for music journos, but Vampire Weekends sound is less retro, less guitary and less spikey. The emphasis here is on light, melodic pop tunes with a bit of Afro-beat thrown in (hence the other easy comparison, Paul Simon). It's a record that doesn't sound like much else out there, and the band seems to be having a good time themselves, which transmits to the listener.

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3. Raphael Saadiq - The Way I See It

The former leader of r&b group Tony! Toni! Tone! (back when he was plain old Raphael Wiggins) has been threatening this album since his days in supergroup Lucy Pearl. This album should really have carried the name of his 2002 debut solo LP 'Instant Vintage'... all the tracks on here sound like genuine 60's soul staples. In his own words: "When I was making the album, I watched videos by Gladys Knight & The Pips, Al Green, The Four Tops... and fused them all together".

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2. Elzhi - The Preface

The ex-Slum Village member emerged from the shadow of his former colleague J Dilla by dropping 2008's best Hip Hop album by a mile. Blessed with the sample-driven aural landscape of Detroit's hottest beatsmith/emcee Black Milk, Elzhi raised his game accordingly and delivered a lyrical masterclass that steered well clear of the tiresome, ignorant thug/money cliches. Proof that real Hip Hop lives.

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1. Glasvegas - Glasvegas

Much-hyped at the end of 2007, but still the best album of the year, in my humble opinion. Thick Scottish accents, a Spectorish 'Wall Of Sound', bags of emotion, songs about having no dad, the murder of a child, alcoholic husbands and of course genuinely catchy indie/pop tunes that sound like old classics. I'm sure this album will stand the test of time. If you haven't got it, get it.

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Honourable mentions for those artists who didn't quite make my (pretty arbitrary) Top 10:

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Q-Tip - The Renaissance

Erykah Badu - New Amerykah Part 1

Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes

Neon Neon - Stainless Style

Santogold - Santogold

Lykke Li - Youth Novels

Black Milk - Tronic

Antony & The Johnsons - Another World EP

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Let's hope for an equally excellent 2009.