Talk about “taking me by storm”! I had never heard of Kings of Leon before this autumn, and while on vacation, I randomly saw them on Saturday Night Live. I was intrigued by their sound, and when I got back home, I decided to check them out. At the time, they had the number one single on the UK charts with Sex On Fire, and I figured that they were definitely worth downloading. After I downloaded Only by the Night,
The infectious single, Sex On Fire is, well, sexy, and a great almost “classic” rock and roll anthem. While it may not be making as big of a splash here in the States (well, they did get nominated for a few Grammys), Only by the Night
The subtleties and nuances of each song on this album make it stand out amongst the other releases I hear this year. It is almost like they are performing it for you when you listen to the record; you can here the far off sounds and the intricacies that went into crafting each song into an experience. Again, Caleb’s voice really is like a 50lb cherry on the top of the cake; I haven’t heard many voices like his, and it is so entrancing, that it really pulled me into their music more than I was expecting. I will end by saying that I think it is really cool that the band is made up of 3 brothers and a cousin; this family affair has made an amazing rock and roll album, which I am really, really glad that it captured my attention this year.
Sparkle Factor: 
Stand Outs: Use Somebody [audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/fsf_926_kingsofleon-usesomebody.mp3]
Sex on Fire, Closer, Manhattan, I Want You, Crawl, Revelry, Notion.
Let me start this review off by talking about one of the best concerts I saw this year. The show was the amazing Feist, who managed to captivate me in 2007, and ended up at the 
(which I snagged before the concert to get reacquainted with him), and he was down right amazing in concert. As I mentioned, I first heard about him in high school, but I hadn’t really followed him; mostly because he’s a Canadian artist, and much of his work is difficult to get commercially here in the states. Well, I’m glad that this album was more readily available, because it was a huge surprise to me, and his album of aching love songs ended up in my top ten for the year because of how amazing it is. It seems that time has been good to Hayden. 
I know that this is probably going to alienate some of you, but hear me out; this album is magnificent and down right brilliant. I am sure that some of you will hate on Leslie, but that is probably because you are taking yourself far too seriously; 
but all joking aside, she has actually produced an album that is filled with fresh beats, and slick rhymes; all of which she weaves into a web of glamor for your senses. 
Given the fact that it was a little less than three years ago since the last amazing Death Cab For Cutie album was released, news of a new Death Cab earlier this year was literally music to my ears. Death Cab For Cutie is amongst my favorite bands, because they have this amazing musical style that completely captures my attention and emotional state. I can listen to Death Cab For Cutie and literally feel better, as if a warm blanket has been draped over my cold shoulders. Couple that with the fact that the voice of Ben Gibbard is that of the ones that angels use to sing, and the nerd-loving, heart-focused romantic in me longs for him to bat his eye lashes behind those thick rimmed glasses, and sing sweet love songs directly to me. 
almost didn’t even sound like a Death Cab record. This caused some concern, because unlike some fans, I thought their major label debut was an amazing growth in their sound, and was a truly fantastic work of music. Additionally, after finding out that the first single from the album, I Will Possess Your Heart, clocked in at no less than 8:35, I was beginning to worry if one of my favorite bands of all time would continue to be on that list after I heard their new “direction”. Well, after actually hearing I Will Possess your Heart, I was no longer worried; it is brilliant. The use of the extra time in the intro really hammers home the point of the song, and once again, Ben Gibbard has truly mastered the art of song writing and song production (sometimes, repetition really exasperates desperation and longing, as it does in this case). However, the buck doesn’t stop there, every song on Narrow Stairs takes Death Cab For Cutie in a slightly different musical direction (a little heavier and slightly more raw; which is indicative of them recording the album as a band, live, which I must say is awesome), but the Death Cab I have come to love is definitely still in there, living and breathing, as healthy as ever. 
and 
(a little less smitten than 
A fellow 
is so fresh, fun, fluffy, and fabulous that I could not get enough of it in 2008 (oh yeah, you know you loved that alliteration). 
Perhaps this could best be described as preppy indie-pop at its best! I’ll admit 
was a complete surprise for me, because it was one of those bands that I heard one song, and was like, “hmm…”, and then listened to the record and was like, “wow!”. They instantly became a very guilty pleasure after I heard the album. It’s almost like eating too many Jelly Belly’s; you know you should stop, but they are just so damn sweet and good that you can’t! However, unlike ingesting too many Jelly Belly’s, over-listening to the amazing self-titled debut by 
Now, I am sure than more than a few of you were expecting this; so don’t act surprised that Britney (the only other album released this month that did so) made my year end list. I for one, was filled with trepidation about Britney staging another “comeback” so close to last year’s failed attempt, but after hearing Womanizer, I knew that she wasn’t playing around this time. The song, albeit annoying to some, has everything that is necessary to be a pop hit; and it was. In fact, Womanizer was only Britney’s second number one single, after the massive pop classic Baby One More Time, and if that isn’t indicative of a comeback, I don’t know what is. 
I must say that I almost forgot about Blackout; not only is miles above Blackout, but Britney managed to actually sing on this album, and it sounds like she did way more than phone it in (which is what was wrong with much of Blackout, and why it didn’t really serve as a real comeback). She picked top producers, like she always does, but this time, they gave her hit after hit to fill her record to the brim with radio-ready pop singles. Seriously, this may be the most single-heavy album of her career; this record is put together with the style and swagger of a greatest hits record. 
I don’t know why, but initially, I didn’t get into this album. I listened to it once, even liked it, but I moved on; which I think may have been partly because of all the hype that I saw about it. For a while, you couldn’t go in a Starbucks without seeing something about Sia’s album, 
plastered about, which I think put me off of it for some stupid reason. Months passed, and one day, I decided it was time to give the album another go (after all, I DID like it). After ONE listen, I almost kicked myself; I had been ignoring one of the best records of the year all this time… for no reason! The soul, the emotion, the deep sentiment, the aching melodies; all of it captured my attention on the second go ’round, and I have since realized that I was a fool for forgoing it initially.
I have to say, that I was completely surprised by this one; I really expected to see at least one fellow girl group, either the Sugababes or Girls Aloud, on my year end chart again this year. Yet, it was the Saturdays, with their stellar debut album, that took the cake this year. From their first single, If This Is Love, they caught my attention with that catchy, oh-so-pop, girl-band sound that I love so much, that again, I usually expect to come from the aforementioned Sugababes and Girls Aloud. However, for whatever reason, neither really delivered with their albums released late this year; and in my opinion, neither one comes close to the bar that was set very high by the Saturday’s surprisingly brilliant debut, 
While I have kind of liked P!nk since she burst onto the scene with her hip hop tracks and trademark pink hair, it wasn’t until her last album until I really considered myself a true fan. One of my favorite things about her, is how she entered the music business as one thing (what they wanted her to be), and she forcefully transformed herself into what she is (which is what she wanted to be in the first place). The shift from hip hop to rock and roll has been an interesting journey, musically, and has given her the chance to try out lots of different things. I will say, that as she has progressed as an artist, I really think P!nk has only grown, and refined her music in the process. Perhaps it is fitting that So What ended up being her first solo number one hit, given that she has really come into her own with her previous album, and even more so with her current release, 