Is the year over already?

Beck Modern Guilt
In spite of all his lyrical talk of melting icecaps and returning to the womb of the world, I'm not convinced that Beck Hansen is actually saying anything of substance here. On the other hand, he and coproducer Danger Mouse have assembled a kaleidoscopic postmodern collage of psychedelic fragments that add up to one of the coolest-sounding records of 2008.

Blitzen Trapper Furr
A stew of Laurel Canyon folk-rock spiked with an invigorating dose of Pacific Northwest indie-pop weirdness and topped with some fine campfire storytelling.

Fleet Foxes Fleet Foxes
It's all about the harmonies.

M83 Saturdays = Youth
Anthony Gonzalez filters his secondhand nostalgia for the Pretty in Pink '80s through his love of gauzy electro dream pop, and the result is as wistfully beautiful as you could hope for.

Mother Mother O My Heart
Maybe all the quirky vocal phrasing and art-for-art's-sake arrangements are too clever by half, but these local kids are definitely onto something with their bang-on three-part harmonies and their out-of-left-field brand of alt-pop.

Raveonettes Lust Lust Lust
Someday this whole bubblegum-pop-plus-buzz-saw-guitar formula is going to be played out. Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo can thank their lucky stars that today is not that day.

R.E.M. Accelerate
Describing Accelerate as the best thing R.E.M.'s done in 15 years might be damning it with faint praise, but it was certainly nice to hear Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, and Mike Mills find their balls again.

School of Seven Bells Alpinisms
The sunburst-and-snowblind textures created by former Secret Machines guitarist Benjamin Curtis are this Brooklyn nu-gazing trio's most lethal weapon, but the telepathically tight vocal harmonies of twins Alejandra and Claudia Deheza certainly don't hurt.

Sigur Ros Með suð íeyrum við spilum endalaust
Shedding most of its cathedral-rock trappings, Iceland's greatest musical export (sorry, Bjí¶rk fans) crafts a sound that is far earthier, but no less soul-stirringly beautiful, than its more grandiose statements.

Spiritualized Songs in A & E
Jason Pierce returns from the brink of death with what might well be his masterpiece. The usual icing of gospel backing vocals and symphonic strings can't hide the fact that these are Spaceman's most immediate songs yet.