10. 
Search the City – A Fire So Big the Heavens Can See It 
good, uppity, pop punk album. one of the best bands you’ve never heard of – Christian, too.
this album doesn’t really approach their last, but they’re a great band and it’s still one of the best of the year.
one of the most emo artists I listen to, similar to Dashboard Confessional. apparently this guy is getting pretty good, and I’m glad to hear it.
07. 
Ivoryline – There Came a Lion
another solid pop punk record, by another solid group. this band came out of nowhere and I can’t remember how I found them, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that a friend of mine likes them too. oh hey, the band members are all Christians too (but they’re not a “Christian” band).
06. 
Anberlin – New Surrender
this album rounds out the trio of solid Christian music for the year. Anberlin is just a good band, I don’t have to explain anything here.
this band was recommended to me and boy are they great. another awesome artist that came out of nowhere. they also offer the album for free here. I expect their next release to hit the charts.
another band that was recommended to me. I’ve only started listening to this album in the past week but it is clearly a best-of-2008 favorite. listen to it.
03. 
Augustana – Can’t Love, Can’t Hurt
I checked out this album figuring it would be another easily forgotten pop record, but wow was I surprised. I listened to this, basically on repeat, for weeks. Augustana has cemented their place as a favorite band for me.
the old Something Corporate leader did it again. this is Andrew McMahon’s second solid solo side-project sing-along. if you haven’t heard of it yet you’ve been hiding under a rock.
any year that my favorite band releases something proper, they will probably win the top spot by default. however, this really is a good release (even though it’s a 3-song EP) so you should check it out.
.
and 10 honorable mentions:
- Punk Goes Crunk
- Alesana – Where Myth Fades to Legend
- Allison Crowe – Little Light
- Archie Star – Carry Me Home
- Bayside – Shudder
- The Flobots – Fight with Tools
- Jack Johnson – Sleep Through the Static
- Margot & the Nuclear So and So’s – Not Animal
- Rise Against – Appeal to Reason
- Senses Fail – Life Is Not a Waiting Room
I would love to include the new Funeral for a Friend album, Memory and Humanity, but it really wasn’t up to par. same for Copeland’s newest, You Are My Sunshine. and to be fair, I haven’t given Death Cab For Cutie’s new album Narrow Stairs a proper listen yet (in fact, I just realized I didn’t have it, so I’m in the midst of fixing that).
I’ve heard a lot of “2008 was a bad year for music”, but I would have to disagree. either way, hopefully 2009 will be full of fantastic auditory surprises!
