George Jones once called 1970 "a good year for the roses," and though the fellow who made my very favorite album this year accurately suggested that his records be alphabetically filed "somewhere between Jennings and Jones," he apparently thought 2008 was a good year for mowin' down his ex-wife's roses with a tractor instead. Another hint is that, though legend has it he created his highly introspective current album in quiet seclusion after a life-changing breakup while letting his beard grow, he is amazingly not Bon Iver! Also, he and the fellow who made my second-favorite album of the year both have the same last name! Which last name somehow appears nowhere among my 51st-to-100th or 101st-to-150th favorite albums of 2008! Guess I've just got a thing for Johnsons. Not to mention grumpy old white guys who mess up their lives a lot. Psychoanalyze that how you will. And Happy New Year!
1. Jamey Johnson - That Lonesome Song (Mercury) reviewed here
2. Ross Johnson - Make It Stop! The Most Of Ross Johnson (Goner) reviewed here
3. Rose Tattoo - Blood Brothers (SPV/ Wacken)
4. Rick Springfield - Venus In Overdrive (New Door/UME) reviewed here
5. Woodbox Gang - Drunk As Dragons (Alternative Tentacles) reviewed here
6. The Tonic Rays - The Tonic Rays (thetonicrays.com)
7. The Knux - Remind Me In 3 Days… (Interscope) reviewed here
8. Carter’s Chord - Carter’s Chord (Show Dog Nashville) reviewed here
9. Phil Vassar - Prayer Of A Common Man (Universal) reviewed here
10. New Bloods - The Secret Life (Kill Rock Stars)
11. Toby Keith - 35 Biggest Hits (Universal) reviewed here
12. Donnie Iris - Back On The Streets/King Cool (American Beat)
13. (Various) - More Dirty Laundry: The Soul Of Black Country (Trikont)
14. Ashlee Simpson - Bittersweet World (Geffen) reviewed here
15. (Various) - Disco Not Disco: Post Punk, Electro, and Left Field Disco Classics 1974-1986 (Strut)
16. The Individuals - Fields/Aquamarine (Bar None) reviewed here
17. Kid Creole - Going Places: The August Darnell Years 1974-1983 (Strut)
18. Kenny Garrett - Sketches of MD: Live At the Iridium Featuring Pharoah Sanders (Mack Avenue)
19. Banastre Tarleton Band - Huzzah! Greatest Hits (Green Horse) reviewed here
20. Scooter - Jumping All Over The World (
Sheffield Lab) reviewed here
21. Home Blitz - Home Blitz (Gulcher) reviewed here
22. Morel - The Death Of The Paperboy (Outsider Music)
23. One More Grain - Isle of Grain (White Heat)
24. The Road Hammers - Blood Sweat & Steel (Montage Music Group) reviewed here
25. The Lizards - är-ch?-ol’-?-gy (Hyperspace)
26. The A’s - The Best Of The A’s (Young Philadelphians Music) reviewed here
27. Lazy Magnet - Is Music Even Good? (Corleone)
28. Steinski - What Does It All Mean?: 1983-2006 Retrospective (Illegal Art) reviewed here
29. Prisonshake - Dirty Moons (Scat)
30. Charlie Pickett — Bar Band Americanus: The Best Of (Bloodshot)
31. Final Solutions - Songs By Solutions (Goner EP) reviewed here
32. Skafish - What’s This?: 1976-1979 (289)
33. The Rapture - Tapes (!K7 mix album) reviewed here
34. Buraka Som Sistema - Black Diamond (Fabric)
35. Died Pretty - Free Dirt (Aztec Music)
36. Ne-Yo - Year Of The Gentleman (Def Jam)
37. James McMurtry - Just Us Kids (Lightning Rod) reviewed here
38. Santogold - Santogold (Downtown) reviewed here
39. Taylor Swift - Fearless (Big Machine)
40. Finn and the Sharks - Breakfast Special (UpSouth)
41. Sugarland - Love On The Inside (Mercury) reviewed here
42. Amanda Shaw - Pretty Runs Out (Rounder) reviewed here
43. Beat Union - Disconnected (Science) reviewed here
44. K’Naan - The Dusty Foot Philosopher (Independent Media)
45. The Chap - Mega Breakfast (Ghostly International) reviewed here
46. Fotheringay - 2 (Fledgling)
47. Dierks Bentley - Greatest Hits / Every Mile A Memory 2003-2008 (Capitol) reviewed here
48. Montgomery Gentry - Back When I Knew It All (
Columbia) reviewed here
49. Dick Gaughan - Gaughan Live! At The Trades Club (Greentrax)
50. Heidi Newfield - What Am I Waiting For (Curb/Asylum) reviewed here
- Portions of Album Content Provided by All Music Guide © 2008 All Media Guide, LLC.
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