2008 ended up being a decent year for music; nothing overwhelmingly special about it, but still plenty of records I ended up enjoying quite a bit and another crop of promising debuts from new bands. That's really all I hope for, apart from the occasional masterwork from the few bands that have the talent or cultural timing and luck to do such a thing. I don't believe the past year had one of those, but that's alright. Without further ado, my favorite records of 2008, summed up in eleven words or less. Click through the top 20 mini descriptions for full reviews and artwork. 
Cheers!

Honorable Mentions, in no particular order:

Girl Talk – Feed The Animals: More dirty, sexual dance pastiche

Supergrass – Diamond Hoo Ha: Straightforward, Brit-rocking return to form

Tobacco – Fucked Up Friends: Heavy, psychedelic elctronic music with a hip hop sensibility

Cadence Weapon – Afterparty Babies: Smart, electronic dance rap

The Black Keys – Attack & Release: Tasteful seventies-style blues rock

White Denim – Workout Holiday: Texas-charged rock & roll

Throw Me The Statue – Moonbeams: Summer-tinged quirky pop about girls

Benoit Pioulard – Temper: Contemplative organic-sounding electronic music with vocals

The Very Sexuals – Post-Apocalyptic Love: Pleasant, instantly accessible indie-pop from Denmark

Top 20:

20: The Soft Pack – The Muslims: Garage rock done well

19: The Cool Kids – The Bake Sale: Big, slow hip-hop beats that sound awesome

18: Eagles Of Death Metal – Heart On: Stones inspired cock-rock with unexpected depth

17: MGMT – Oracular Spectacular: Dancy, hyper-sexual electro-pop goodness

16: Clark – Turning Dragon: Electronic hate-fuck music for robots
15: Portishead – Third: Noir-tinged beats and haunting, vulnerable vocals

14: Deerhoof – Offend Maggie: Catchy, odd, creative art-rock

13: Beck – Modern Guilt: Restless, Groovy melancholy pop music

12: Women – Women: Off-kilter, rhythmic indie rock with group chanting

11: Fucked Up – The Chemistry of Common Life: Celebratory, angry and anthemic long-form
punk

10: Lindstrøm – Where You Go I Go Too: Joyous, experimental club music

9: Vivian Girls – Vivian Girls: Lo-fi, girl-group garage rock mashup

8: Deerhunter – Microcastle: Feel-good indie rock

7: Beach House – Devotion: Dreamy vocals over hazy, pretty organs and guitars

6: No Age – Nouns: Noisy, catchy bursts of guitars, drums and weird sounds

5: The Walkmen – You & Me: Intimate, moody ballads that sound enormous yet quiet
4: Blitzen Trapper – Furr: Successful blend of Dylan-esque folk and seventies-style classic rock

3: She & Him – Volume One: Sugary-sweet, highly addictive ballads about love and heartbreak

2: Arms – Kids Aflame: Quirky, charming, melancholic indie pop

1: Fleet Foxes – Ragged Wood: Old-fashioned sounding folk-pop with big melodies and bigger harmonies

Labels: 2008 Recap