I'm always terrible at finishing best-of lists. I have a tendency of being at least half a year behind on albums everyone else loves. In fact, I spent most of 2008 catching up, like Pants Yell's deliciously wonderful 2007 release Alison Statton, and the back catalogs of bands like the Apples in Stereo, Saturday Looks Good to Me, and Beulah. I also spent 2008 cultivating an obsession with 80's jangle pop (ask me and I'll totally make you a mix).

So, all of that didn't leave too much time for fully immersing myself in brand new records, despite having seen tons of amazing shows this year. However, I've been struggling to pick my top 10 albums for weeks now (certainly not due to lack of amazing material, but due to my complete indecisiveness and lack of organization), so here's my cheater top 20 songs list (linked if you can listen to the song on MySpace).

1. Magnetic Fields - "Too Drunk to Dream"
2. Love Is All - "Wishing Well"
3. the Smittens - "One Hundred Roses"
4. BOAT - "Bee Buzz"
5. Death Cab - "You Can Do Better Than Me"
6. the Besties - "Bone Valley Deposit"
7. Cars Can Be Blue - "Sun Blows Up"
8. the Lucksmiths - "Good Light"
9. Afternoon Naps - "Can't Stop the Weather"
10. R.E.M. - "Horse to Water"
11. Old 97s - "The Fool"
12. Of Montreal - "Beware Our Nubile Miscreants"
13. Lake - "Oh, the Places You'll Go"
14. Telekinesis! -  "All of a Sudden"
15. Jordan Michelman - "Love U Baby Don't Go 2 College"
16. Minisnap - "Innocent"
17. Your Heart Breaks - "Torrey Pines"
18. Bubblegum Lemonade - "That Thing You Do!" (yes, I'm aware it's a cover, but it came out this year and their version is amazing)
19. Lemuria - "Pants"
20. Chris Walla - "Geometry &c."

Don't let me fool you into thinking that I didn't like any records this year. There were a lot of amazing albums, especially in the Northwest. Here's my NW list:

1. BOAT - Topps EP (this is actually my favorite thing that came out all year)
2. Your Heart Breaks - Love Is a Long Dark Road (Love Is All You Need)
3. Lake - Oh, the Places You'll Go
4. Telekinesis! - Talouse-Latrec EP
5. Chris Walla - Field Manual
6. All Girl Summer Fun Band - Looking Into It
7. Jordan Michelman - Liberty Avenue
8. Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs
9. Blanket Truth - Indoor Camping
10. Young Sportsmen - If You Want It

Watch out for my bands to watch for post coming soon! (I swear, one of my new year's resolutions is to blog about everything I think to blog about but never get around to.)