What started out as general excitement over their live show turned into a convincing win for album of the year by Seattle's Fleet Foxes. Early on, main crooner Robin Pecknold stopped by this blog to explain his thoughts behind making their self-titled debut, and his intentions felt as pure as the quintet's harmonies. Runners up TV On The Radio are also known for their voices, but Dear Science likely placed so high because it's their most consistently written collection to date and comes closest to what it's like seeing them live. Speaking of voices: Justin Vernon, aka Bon Iver, went from Wisconsin hunter with a magical falsetto to Wisconsin hunter with a magical falsetto and a very popular record. (His For Emma was self-released last year, but hit most folks' radars via Jagjaguwar in February.) Rounding out the top ten: Deerhunter justified what some discounted as empty hype, Portishead confirmed their status as most vital reunion of 2008, and Walkmen made a surprise appearance (You & Me's a great album, for sure, but not one that got as much lip service as its top 10 neighbors). It should be noted that the Killers placed a respectable 177. Others who lodged votes, but not enough to crack the top 50 were Torche, High Places, Fucked Up, Gang Gang Dance, Marnie Stern, Grouper, Crystal Stilts, Fuck Buttons, Stephen Malkmus, Mt. Eerie, and El Guincho. A few people voted for "PHISH."

50

Islands

Arm's Way
(Anti)

49

Born Ruffians

Red, Yellow & Blue
(Warp)

48

Man Man

Rabbit Habits
(Anti)

47

Bloc Party

Intimacy
(Atlantic)

46

Flight Of The Conchords

Flight Of The Conchords
(Sub Pop)

45

Chad VanGaalen

Soft Airplane
(Sub Pop)

44

Gnarls Barkley

The Odd Couple
(Atlantic)

43

Crystal Castles

Crystal Castles
(Last Gang)

42

Hercules And Love Affair

Hercules And Love Affair
(Mute)

41

Kanye West

808s & Heartbreak
(Roc-A-Fella)

40

Hot Chip

Made In The Dark
(Astralwerks)

39

Los Campesinos!

Hold On Now, Youngster...
(Arts & Crafts)

38

The Black Keys

Attack & Release
(Nonesuch)

37

Ryan Adams & The Cardinals

Cardinology
(Lost Highway)

36

Dr. Dog

Fate
(Park The Van)

35

Jenny Lewis

Acid Tongue
(Warner Bros)

34

Blitzen Trapper

Furr
(Sub Pop)

33

The Raconteurs

Consolers Of The Lonely
(Warner Bros)

32

Lykke Li

Youth Novels
(Atlantic)

31

Santogold

Santogold
(Downtown)

30

Kings Of Leon

Only By The Night
(RCA)

29

Conor Oberst

Conor Oberst
(Merge)

28

She & Him

Volume One
(Merge)

27

Beach House

Devotion
(Carpark)

26

Coldplay

Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends
(Capitol)

25

Lil Wayne

Tha Carter III
(Cash Money)

24

M83

Saturdays = Youth
(Mute)

23

The Dodos

Visiter
(French Kiss)

22

My Morning Jacket

Evil Urges
(ATO)

21

Okkervil River

The Stand Ins
(Jagjaguwar)

20

Cut Copy

In Ghost Colours
(Modular)

19

Department Of Eagles

In Ear Park
(4AD)

18

Beck

Modern Guilt
(Interscope)

17

Frightened Rabbit

The Midnight Organ Fight
(Fat Cat)

16

Ra Ra Riot

The Rhumb Line
(Barsuk)

15

No Age

Nouns
(Sub Pop)

14

Death Cab For Cutie

Narrow Stairs
(Atlantic)

13

WHY?

Alopecia
(Anticon)

12

Sigur Rós

Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust
(XL)

11

Wolf Parade

At Mount Zoomer
(Sub Pop)

10

The Walkmen

You & Me
(Gigantic)

9

Girl Talk

Feed The Animals
(Illegal Art)

8

The Hold Steady

Stay Positive
(Vagrant)

7

Portishead

Third
(Mercury)

6

of Montreal

Skeletal Lamping
(Polyvinyl)

5

Deerhunter

Microcastle
(Kranky)

4

Vampire Weekend

Vampire Weekend
(XL)

3

Bon Iver

For Emma, Forever Ago
(Jagjaguwar)

2

TV On The Radio

Dear Science
(Interscope)

1

Fleet Foxes

Fleet Foxes
(Sub Pop)