Top 10 Albums:
1. Cancer Bats – Hail Destroyer
2. Torche – Meandrathal
3. Thursday / Envy – Split EP
4. Rise Against – Appeal To Reason
5. The Gaslight Anthem – The ‘59 sound
6. Shinedown – The Sound Of Madness
7. In Flames – Sense Of Purpose
8. Slipknot – All Hope Is Gone
9. Metallica – Death Magnetic
10. Foxy Shazam – Introducing

Top 10 Albums
1. The Gaslight Anthem – The ‘59 Sound / Senor And The Queen EP
2. The Loved Ones – Build & Burn
3. Death Cab For Cutie – Narrow Stairs
4. Al Green – Lay It Down
5. Foals – Antidotes
6. Polar Bear Club – Sometimes Things Just Disappear
7. Murder By Death – Red of Tooth & Claw
8. Nada Surf – Lucky
9. M83 – Saturdays = Youth
10. Thursday / Envy – Split EP

Favorite thing in 2008:
One of my favorite things that happened in 2008 was the reunion of the mighty Hot Water Music. In comparison to previous reunions I’ve recently seen (i.e. Texas is the Reason, A Tribe Called Quest), it wasn’t just a one-off performance locally. The first reunion show I caught was at Starland Ballroom in NJ – the trip down was a memorable experience in and of itself – playing DJ with my iPod on a party bus filled with SYN staffers and other NYC music industry folk. The second show, probably my favorite of the three, was with The Gaslight Anthem (my favorite record of the year) and Paint It Black during South by Southwest in Austin, TX. Watching the guy hanging off the rafters was insane! The third show I was able to see was their co-headlining gig with Thursday at Terminal 5 in NYC… two of my favorite bands on one bill. So amazing. My only regret about the reunion? Not catching them in Chicago, IL, as they performed with Lucero. Other Things I Liked: Entourage, Facebook / Twitter, Fringe, Guitar Hero: World Tour, Heroes, Lego Indiana Jones, Markiokart Wii, Obama’s Election!!! , Star Wars: The Clone Wars TV Series, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, and True Blood.

What did you wish you did more of in 2008: Get more sleep. I don’t think I can get enough sleep.

What are you looking forward to in 2009? Now that I think of it, several things:

(1) The release of Thursday’s Common Existence on Epitaph Records. I’ve been listening to this record non-stop… and let me tell you, it’s definitely their best work yet. Can’t wait to start hearing other fans’ reactions to the record!
(2) Jimmy Eat World’s Clarity x 10 tour. Clarity is easily one of my favorite records of all time… and it’s been so long since I’ve heard them perform some of those songs that I’m probably going to lose my mind at the show at Terminal 5.
(3) More reunion tours! With Far playing shows in the UK and on the West Coast, I assume they will be making their way over to the East Coast. Not familiar with Far? Start with Water and Solutions. You’ll thank me for it later. Another tour? The Get Up Kids’ Something to Write Home About 10th anniversary tour. Another favorite all-time record…and if the energy is half as high as their farewell tour, it’s sure to be amazing.

…wow, after re-reading some of the stuff above…I’m so eeeeeem!”

Top 10 Albums
1. Cancer Bats – Hail Destroyer
2. In Flames – A Sense of Purpose
3. Metallica – Death Magnetic
4. Rise Against – Appeal To Reason
5. Saviours – Into Abaddon
6. Shinedown – The Sound Of Madness
7. Slipknot – All Hope Is Gone
8. The King Left – New York Nothing
9. This Time Next Year – The Longest Way Home
10. Thursday / Envy – Split EP

Top 10 Albums:
1. The Gaslight Anthem – The ’59 Sound
2. Verse – Aggression
3. …and you will know us by the Trai Of Dead – Festival Thyme EP
4. Russian Circles – Station
5. Jena Berlin – This Is Yours As Much As It Is Mine
6. Polar Bear Club – Sometimes Things Just Disappear
7. Warship – Supply And Depend
8. These Arms Are Snakes – Tail Swallower And Dove
9. Man Man – Rabbit Habits
10. Woodhands – Heart Attack

The Gaslight Anthem rocked 2008 because:
The ’59 Sound possesses not only truth, but also supreme beauty – a beauty cold and austere, like that of sculpture.

Favorite thing in 2008: The Great Depression II

What you wish you did more of in 2008: I wish I had read more in 2008. Second place: “learned more about Uruguay”, but I read a book about that over the weekend.

What are you looking forward to in 2009? Red Collar LP in 2009.

Top 10 Albums:
1. Frank Turner – Love Ire And Song
2. The Gaslight Anthem – The ‘59 Sound
3. Have Heart – Songs To Scream At The Sun
4. Memorial- The Creative Process/Berlin
5. Justin Townes Earle – The Good Life
6. Tim Barry, Chuck Ragan, Ben Nichols – Revival Road
7. The Loved Ones – Build And Burn
8. Verse – Aggression
9. Killing The Dream – Fractures
10. Reign Supreme – American Violence

Frank Turner rocked 2008 because:
It’s not often that I find a new record that I listen to non-stop every day, research online, sign up for their email list, order their whole discography online, tell all my friends about and check their MySpace page daily for updates. (The Gaslight Anthem, Lucero and Memorial are on that level, but not many other bands.) Not only was I introduced to Frank Turner at the best show of the year, but he writes lyrics that might as well been pulled from my brain. Previous to my new found love of alt-country, the only bands that were able to do that were small straight-edge hardcore bands, and it’s nice to know that Frank Turner is furthering this trend of relatable artists.

Favorite thing of the year: Un-turkey club sandwiches at the General Store and Urban Rustic and React Records for giving me a bunch of new awesome bands to listen to! STAY POSITIVE!

What did you wish you did more of in 2008? Get outdoors more. I did hang out in a cabin in the Poconos, and go hiking a bit, but I want to something on a grander scale, like hike the Appalachian Trail (if I ever have that much free time!) I did read a lot of books about it though, like Into the Wild, The Last American Man, and Deep Survival which is a good starting point!

What are you looking forward to in 2009? All the good stuff Women in Music has coming up!

Top 10 Albums:
1. The Gaslight Anthem – The ‘59 Sound / Senor And The Queen
2. The Hold Steady – Stay Positive
3. The Whigs – Mission Control
4. The Bronx – The Bronx III
5. Spiritualized – Songs In A&E
6. Murder By Death – Red Of Tooth And Claw
7. My Morning Jacket – Evil Urges
8. Tom Gabel – Heart Burns
9. Tokyo Police Club – Elephant Shell
10. Death Cab For Cutie – Narrow Stairs

The Bronx rocked 2008 because:
The Bronx rocked soooo hard in 2008. After leaving a major label, the band went through a bit of a lineup change and focused their efforts in to a sharp audio bitch-slap. From the album’s opener “Knifeman” containing one of the best opening verses of the of the year, hitting many topics of 2008 on the head, “I wanna be original, I wanna be surrounded by art! / But everything is digital, the formulas are falling apart!/ They riot in the streets because there’s not enough money to share / Is the burden of fame just a universal cross we can bare?” as we get a huge, heavy-as-fuck riff dropped on our asses not heard since the band’s debut LP. The Bronx are a stellar band, and with their third LP they managed to remind us just how bombastic they can be while simultaneously leveling the current lineup of neon-wannabe “punk” rockers.

Favorite thing of 2008: It probably sounds cliched at this point but the presidential race of 2008 has to be one of the highs of the year. Beyond political beliefs, it was the first time the young generation collectively figured out that if they got out and flexed their influence they could determine the outcome of any election. Also as someone who’s online constantly, witnessing political candidates fully embrace the power of the internet was pretty amazing.

What did you wish you did more of in 2008? Some people would say “haircuts” but those people would be wrong. The correct answer is “bacon”, it’s always “bacon”.

What are you looking forward to in 2009? Someone wasn’t paying attention to the answer of the last question. But if you need an answer, I’d say becoming a member of the “Dirty 30″ and maybe perhaps trying to save myself a few bucks like they say “responsible” people do. Those are the same people that don’t live and die by TiVo HD, but to each their own.

Top 10 Albums:
1. Murder By Death – Red Of Tooth & Claw
2. This Time Next Year – The Longest Way Home
3. Counting Crows – Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings
4. In Flames – A Sense Of Purpose
5. Less Thank Jake – GNV FLA
6. Alkaline Trio – Agony & Irony
7. Cancer Bats – Hail Destroyer
8. My Morning Jacket – Evil Urges
9. Thursday / Envy – Split EP
10. Rise Against – Appeal To Reason

In Flames rocked 2008 because:
I’m not a big metal fan. I grew up on Billy Joel and when I turned from my parents music I fell into the cheesy pop punk & ska world of Blink 182, Less Than Jake, Weston and many others. Working in music has far broadened my ears and I enjoy metal more now than back then. When I first heard In Flames I liked them right off the bat, it was like this is the metal that I like! I thought A Sense of Purpose just emphasized exactly what I wanted to hear from a metal band. I know it got lots of flack from the metal community…but I love just about every song on the record. It’s aggressive, melodic, fun, and of course best when listened to loud.

Favorite thing of 2008: Halloween! Creating the best Jawa costume EVER!

What did you wish you did more of in 2008: Sleep

What are you looking forward to in 2009: Trying to get more sleep