Top Ten Best-of-2008 Lists

Happy Holidays, folks. Wow, it’s been way too long. I’ve been amassing lists for the past week or so and writing some of my own. My Top Ten Albums of 2008 is almost done- that one always takes a while to sculpt, and is one of those annual labors of love. For now, here’s what everyone else had to say about 2008!

1. Matt Dentler’s Top 30 Albums

Matt Dentler writes my favorite blog. Every time I’m on my computer for more than two seconds, the bookmark to his blog magnetizes my mouse and I’m helpless to check obsessively. Though I’m decently web savvy, I get an embarrassing amount of my news from Dentler. Plus, he’s always writing about what he’s listening to, and the guy must drop a lot of cash on albums, because he’s heard them all. He’s definitely saved me tons of time and money weeding through the best music for me. His Top 30 Albums of 2008:

TOP 30 ALBUMS OF 2008

1. TV on the Radio, Dear Science
2. Liam Finn, I’ll Be Lightning
3. Lil Wayne, Tha Carter III
4. Friendly Fires, Friendly Fires
5. M83, Saturdays=Youth
6. The Fireman, Electric Arguments
7. Girl Talk, Feed the Animals
8. Snow Patrol, A Hundred Million Suns
9. Santogold, Santogold
10. My Morning Jacket, Evil Urges

11. UNKLE, End Titles… Stories for Film
12. The Hold Steady, Stay Positive
13. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!
14. Vampire Weekend, Vampire Weekend
15. Arthur Russell, Love is Overtaking Me
16. Department of Eagles, In Ear Park
17. David Byrne and Brian Eno, Everything That Happens Will Happen Today
18. The Walkmen, You & Me
19. Hercules and Love Affair, Hercules and Love Affair
20. Sigur Ros, Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust

21. Nada Surf, Lucky
22. The Ting Tings, We Started Nothing
23. Elbow, The Seldom Seen Kid
24. Moby, Last Night
25. The Dodos, Visiter
26. PPT, Denglish
27. Shearwater, Rook
28. Beck, Modern Guilt
29. Fleet Foxes, Fleet Foxes
30. Gnarks Barkley, The Odd Couple

Here’s the link to his blog.

2. Ain’t It Cool News Best Documentaries of 2008

This is the first year I’ve really kept up with all the new docs coming out, mostly because we were hitting the festival circuit hard with Second Skin. Capone’s list is pretty damn great (though Man On Wire tops mine) and I’m blushing from his #4 pick! His list here.

1. DEAR ZACHARY
2. MAN ON WIRE
3. BODY OF WAR
4. SECOND SKIN
5. SONG SUNG BLUE
6. AMERICAN TEEN
7. THEY KILLED SISTER DOROTHY
8. THE BUSINESS OF BEING BORN
9. ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD
10. TROUBLE THE WATER

11. BOOGIE MAN: THE LEE ATWATER STORY
12. FULL BATTLE RATTLE
13. UP THE YANGTZE
14. BIGGER, STRONGER, FASTER
15. ROMAN POLANSKI: WANTED AND DESIRED
16. RELIGULOUS
17. YOUNG@HEART
18. SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED
19. SURFWISE
20. MOVING MIDWAY

3. Kotaku’s Best Game of 2008

Many of us PopTen people are huge Kotaku junkies (with MacGuyver and I probably needing to hit rehab soon). Here are their nominations for the Best Video Game of 2008.

Game of the Year:
Brian Crecente: Gears of War 2, LittleBigPlanet, Grand Theft Auto IV

Brian Ashcraft: Do-Don-Pachi Dai-Fukkatsu ver 1.5, Bangai-O Spirits, Grand Theft Auto IV

Mike McWhertor: Grand Theft Auto IV, Braid, Left 4 Dead

Mike Fahey: Fallout 3, Fable 2, Grand Theft Auto IV

Luke Plunkett: Gears of War 2, Grand Theft Auto IV, Far Cry 2 (PC)

Owen Good: Fallout 3, Gears of War 2, Grand Theft Auto IV

AJ Glasser: LittleBigPlanet, Valkyria Chronicles, Fallout 3

4. Lifehacker’s Most Popular Top Ten Lists

People have a scary, rabid, concubine-esque love for Lifehacker, and I think its completely deserved. Here’s a fantastic list of lists, making my list officially a list of lists of lists. Delightful. The post is here.

1. Top 10 Obscure Google Search Tricks
   “Dozens of Google search guides detail the tips you already know, but today we’re skipping the obvious and highlighting our favorite obscure Google web search tricks.”
2. Top 10 Harmless Geek Pranks
   “Since the dawn of time, geeks have been playing harmless pranks on their beloved (but unsuspecting) associates, and it’s up to all of us to carry the torch forward.”
3. Top 10 Ways to Stay Energized
   “You can overcome a late night of net surfing, a rough morning, or just the post-lunch stupor without becoming an over-wired mess.”
4. Top 10 Software Easter Eggs
   “The best easter eggs aren’t painted pink and stuffed with jelly beans—they’re the undocumented and unexpected fun features hidden deep inside various software apps.”
5. Top 10 BitTorrent Tools and Tricks
   “BitTorrent is the go-to resource for downloading everything from music and movies to software and operating systems, but as its popularity continues to grow, so do the number of tools available for making the most of it.”
6. Top 10 Firefox 3 Features
   “The newest version of our favorite open source web browser, Mozilla Firefox 3, offers dozens of new features and fixes, but only a handful will make the most dramatic difference in your everyday browsing.”
7. Top 10 How To Videos
   “Your crafty older relatives used to have to mail-order their video tutorials or wait for “This Old House” reruns to get their DIY on, but the age of streaming video has been good to those who like to tinker and try out neat tricks.”
8. Top 10 Things You Forgot Your Mac Can Do
   “From pure eye candy to outright productivity-boosters, read on to get reminded of some of the more obscure things you can do with your Mac, fresh out of the box.”
9. Top 10 Telephone Tricks
   “When getting things done involves making phone calls, you want to spend the least amount of time and money on the horn as possible—and several tricks and services can help you do just that.”
10. Top 10 Computer Annoyances and How to Fix Them
    “Computers are supposed to make our lives easier, but too much of the time they can be frustrating, time-wasting, stubborn machines.”
11. Top 10 Ways to Get Cables Under Control
    “When you finally decide it’s time to do something about that rat’s nest of cables that’s spreading like kudzu, you don’t have to spend a lot of time and money to get it under control.”
12. Top 10 Modern Life Survival Skills
    “Avoid everyday problems and modern mini-calamities by arming yourself with the right know-how before you head out into the world.”
13. Top 10 Ways to Trick Out Your Desktop
    “For something that you look at every day of your working life, your computer desktop doesn’t get as much attention as it deserves.”
14. Top 10 Conversation Hacks
    “A whole lot more than just words passes between people who are talking, so a few simple conversational skills can help you recognize what’s really being said and help you lead the discussion your way.”
15. Top 10 YouTube Hacks
    “Summer’s ending, and with it goes a certain sense of taking it easier, relaxing a bit at the office—you know, caching up on all that YouTube browsing you skip when there’s real work to be done.”
16. Top 10 Office Supply Hacks
    “Given some spare time and a few neglected items in the office supply closet, anyone can make their workspace more functional, create a cool tools for their home and office, and even rescue seemingly ruined stuff.”
17. Top 10 Easy Ways to Look Sharp
    “In a perfect world, it wouldn’t matter what a genius JavaScript programmer or top-flight professional looked like. In this world, though, coming across as an unkempt schlub won’t do anything good for your career, your social life, or your luck with that cute guy or gal from marketing.”
18. Top 10 Apps Worth Installing Adobe AIR For
    “While many of them are simply desktop translations of web interfaces that were easy to use already, a handful of AIR apps truly make work and play easier, or just more interesting.”
19. Top 10 Underhyped Webapps
    “Even in this golden age of Big Internet Companies Acquiring Everything In Sight, there are still a few independent, small webapps out there that don’t get the attention they should for their useful functionality.”
20. Top 10 Things to Look Forward to in Windows 7
    “While the next iteration of the ubiquitous Microsoft desktop operating system, Windows 7, isn’t a dramatic overhaul of its predecessor Windows Vista, it does fix several sore spots and add a few welcome features.”

5. Swan Fungus’s Top Ten Female Idiosyncracies He Finds Attractive

I stumbled on this in searching for Top Ten Lists, and I ROFLed all over my room until the mirror fell on me, and I kept ROFLing on broken glass for twenty minutes. Completely worth it.

The views of Swan Fungus do not reflect those of PopTen or its subsidiaries.

6. Asylum’s Most Wonderfully Geeky Moments of 2008

Because geek is so chic this year it makes us geeks want to vomit.

Still, great photo of Megan Fox….

7. Huffington Post’sTop Ten YouTube Videos

So many gems… not sure whether I like the Star Wars Toddler Redux of Lonely Island best…

Here.

8. Time’s Top Ten of Everything

Always a good time checking out this set of lists. Probably the most entertaining each year is the Top Ten Viral Videos, which is here.

9. NY Times Top Ten Top Ten Book Lists Site Book Blog Site WTF

The Top Nine list of Top Ten 2008 Sites for Books. Jesus, my head is spinning. Just read the list…

10. Spin Top 40 Albums

I used to get extremely excited about Spin’s End of Year list. I wouldn’t be exaggerating to say that it had a pretty big impact on my life every year of high school and college. Hell, I can recite their Top Albums of the 90s from memory. I’m not as big a fan anymore- not too impressed with them lately- but this list is a pretty good overview, though not in the right order necessarily. They got the #1 choice right (as Dentler did), though their #3 choice is abysmal. (And I was a HUGE Portishead fan.)

The full list here. Top Ten below.

1. Dear Science – TV On the Radio
2. Tha Carter III – Lil Wayne
3. Third – Portishead
4. The Chemistry of Common Life – Fucked Up
5. Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes
6. Santogold – Santogold
7. Microcastle – Deerhunter
8. Made In the Dark – Hot Chip
9. Viva la Vida – Coldplay
10. Oracular Spectacular – MGMT