To List Or Not To List - That Is The Question...

There seems to be a glut of discussion on openingbands.com about the validity or usefulness of year-end best-of lists. To me, they are useful in the capacity of reminding me of artists and albums that may have slipped my mind or past my radar completely. I honestly could care less that Sufjan Stevens was #1 on Pitchfork, because I had already decided that I liked it by listening to it myself. Hell, I think that more than half the time Pitchfork is simply an operating arm of The Onion website. I do, however, enjoy reading the yarns writers spin about a record I've bought simply to compare and contrast opinions. For every Sufjan record, there are thousands of others that no one has heard that are incredible, as well. I don't need someone to tell me what I like. For example, I think the new Wolf Parade record is very mediocre at best, and I'm not going to buy it. However, I think Ryan Adam's album, Cold Roses is the bee's knees, but it shows up nowhere on the big Pitchfork year end list. Who cares? I don't. That being said...

Here are some of my favorite records from this year:

Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - Cold Roses & Jacksonville City Nights
Broken Social Scene - Broken Social Scene
My Morning Jacket - Z
Sufjan Stevens - Illinois
American Minor - American Minor
Idlewild - Warnings/Promises
Kanye West - Late Registration
White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan
Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
Art Brut - Bang Bang Rock & Roll
Martha Wainwright - Martha Wainwright
The Living Blue - Fire, Blood, Water
The Coral - The Invisible Invasion
Beck - Guero
BRMC - Howl
Block Party - Silent Alarm
Kaiser Chiefs - Employment