Okay. Here's 2007. A little better than 2008, in my opinion.
2007
(1)
Alter Bridge -
Blackbird (Alternative Rock)
- An incredible 2nd album by Alter Bridge. I didn't think they could outdo their first, but they did.
(2)
Operator -
Soulcrusher (Alternative Rock)
- This is an awesome album, just make sure you get the CLEAN version. Interestingly, the singer sounds exactly like Chris Cornell.
(3)
3 -
The End Is Begun (Progressive Rock)
- 3 is a very talented band. The singer/guitarist is a master. Seeing them live is a real treat.
(4)
Fair To Midland -
Fables From A Mayfly (Progressive Rock)
- This band is sorta weird, but in a good way.
(5)
Amorphis -
Silent Waters (Death Metal / Gothic Metal)
- Never been a fan of death vocals, but this band does it quite well. There are clean vox too.
(6)
Megadeth -
United Abominations (Heavy Metal)
- Dave Mustaine has really been putting his all into his new albums, and it shows. Great guitarwork.
(7)
Redemption -
The Origins Of Ruin (Progressive Metal)
- This is a friend's band. Extremely impressive. And he got Ray Alder of Fates Warning to sing!
(8)
Foo Fighters -
Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace (Hard Rock)
- I really like the opening track. The rest of the songs have some value too.
(9)
Helloween -
Gambling With The Devil (Heavy Metal)
- A great comeback disc for Helloween. Very enjoyable.
(10)
Kamelot -
Ghost Opera (Melodic Power Metal)
- Ever since Kamelot got Roy Khan on vox, they've been amazing. Not sure I like the direction they've been going in, but I'm still a fan.
(11)
Primal Fear -
New Religion (Heavy Metal)
- Another really good album by Primal Fear. If you like Judas Priest, you might like these guys.
(12)
Morgana Lefay -
Aberrations Of The Mind (Power Metal)
- I'm a fan. But the vocals might be tough to get used to.
(13)
Leatherwolf -
New World Asylum (Heavy Metal)
- This is a rerelease of their 2006 album with original vocalist Michael Olivieri. A huge improvement!
(14)
Crowded House -
Time On Earth (Rock / New Wave)
- You can't go wrong with Crowded House.
(15)
Destrophy -
The Way Of The World (Hard Rock / Nu-Metal)
- I like these guys. This album is good, but it sorta disappointed me.
(16)
Rush -
Snakes & Arrows (Progressive Rock)
- Rush still sounds great. I like this album; needs more listens though.
(17)
Epica -
The Divine Conspiracy (Symphonic Gothic Metal)
- Simone has an angelic voice. Always a pleasure to hear.
(18)
Lifehouse -
Who We Are (Rock)
- I'm a fan of their music. This album sorta disappointed.
(19)
Karnivool -
Themata (Alternative Rock)
- I like this album, but the vocalist is a little odd. (maybe it's because their from Australia. JK)
(20)
The Shins -
Wincing The Night Away (Indie Rock)
- A very good offering. Always a pleasure to listen to this album.
(21)
The Exies -
A Modern Way Of Living With The Truth (Alternative Rock)
- This needs more listens, but The Exies stand a little separate from the generic alternative rock band for me.
(22)
Paradise Lost -
In Requiem (Gothic Metal)
- Really good band that's been around for a while. You need to be in the mood for this, though.
(23)
Shiny Toy Guns -
We Are Pilots (Pop / Electronic)
- This is normally not my style, and is not a rock album. But I enjoyed listening to it every once in a while last year.
(24)
Sixx: A.M. -
The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack (Alternative Rock)
- Nikki Sixx actually put together a pretty good rock band. (And they sound nothing like Motely Crue)
(25)
Anberlin -
Cities (Rock / Emo)
- I get an emo sort of feeling from this band. I liked a few songs from this album though.
(26)
Iron And Wine -
The Shepherd's Dog (folk)
- I love this band. Super mellow. Very calming. I would've put this album way higher in the list, but I didn't want to renumber everthing.
Edit: Here are some songs from the above albums that are some of my favorites:
[video=youtube;yz_j7nVCJJ0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yz_j7nVCJJ0[/video]
[video=youtube;JM0CkZS5hyU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JM0CkZS5hyU[/video]
[video=youtube;n4AHIIvZOrM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4AHIIvZOrM[/video]
Another EDIT! -- I almost forgot an album that I totally loved from last year. I added Iron And Wine - The Shepherd's Dog in the list above. And check out this awesome tune from the album. "Resurrection Fern".
[video=youtube;cMouvawdbKc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMouvawdbKc&feature=related[/video]
