The Top 20 Dallas Releases of 2008

It's been a year, hasn't it? Maybe not the greatest year in DFWd music history—but not certainly a bad one, either. At the very least, this year's crop was a deep, quality one.

So, on that note, here are my picks for the best 20 albums from our region in 2008. To see deeper analysis on these picks, to listen to our year-end podcast and to see our staff's picks for best national releases of the year, head on over to our music blog, DC-9 at Night (blogs.dallasobserver.com/dc9), where we've basically been hitting you over the head with year-end coverage for the past couple weeks. It never ends, does it?

20. Collin Herring, Past Life Crashing

19. Stumptone, Gravity Suddenly Released

18. Dove Hunter, The Southern Unknown

17. Febrifuge, A Short Instance of Separation

16. Jonathan Tyler and The Northern Lights, Hot Trottin'

15. Toadies, No Deliverance

14. Record Hop, Record Hop

13. The New Frontiers, Mending

12. Fight Bite, Emerald Eyes

11. Lil Wil, Dolla$, TX

10. Dem Southernfolkz, The Message

9. True Widow, True Widow

8. The Theater Fire, Matter and Light

7. Centro-Matic/South San Gabriel, Dual Hawks

6. Sarah Jaffe, Even Born Again EP

5. Mount Righteous, When the Music Starts

4. Calhoun, Falter.Waver.Cultivate

3. Erykah Badu, New Amerykah Pt. 1: 4th World War

2. Matthew and the Arrogant Sea, Family Family Family Meets the Magic Christian

1. The New Year, The New Year