The purpose of this feature is to give you an unbiased and diverse look at what the StonerRock.com Community thought were the best albums released in the year 2008. Well, as diverse as possible considering that we`re mostly die-hard heavy rock fans! We`ve provided a total of 3 lists to ensure as much diversity as possible. The first list was compiled from a poll (via our Top 28 Albums of 2008 contest) conducted among the general members of the StonerRock.com Community, the next list is from an individual StonerRock.com Community Member (the winner of the Top 28 Albums of 2008 contest), and the final list was compiled by the Editor-in-Chief here at StonerRock.com, John Pegoraro (aka Arzgarth). We hope these lists provide new fans with ideas for which albums they should pick up first and the die-hard fans with a list of great albums that they`re missing out on.
A great many of the albums listed below are available for purchase in our All That is Heavy store. Those that are available will be linked directly to that album in the store or you can just click here to go to the main page of the store. Sorry for the shameless self promotion but it`s the sales from the store that keep StonerRock.com online - if it weren`t for those sales we wouldn`t be able to bring you this feature. Please support StonerRock.com by doing some of your record shopping with us.
And now onto the feature, starting with the StonerRock.com Community Top 28 Albums of 2008.
StonerRock.com Community Top 28 Albums of 2008
Between January 1st and 31st, 2008 we ran a competition on StonerRock.com that our community members could enter by submitting their "Top 28 Albums of 2008" lists. This was run like a poll with very strict rules. There were hundreds of lists submitted this year and we painstakingly went through every list and compiled a master list and then alloted points based on a strict and fair criteria. We won`t reveal our system for determining the points because we don`t want people to cheat the next time we run a poll/competition like this but we will guarantee that this list is very accurate and gives you an almost perfect representation of what albums the StonerRock.com Community favors.
- Melvins - Nude with Boots (6670 Pts)
- Torche - Meanderthal (6285 Pts)
- Earth - The Bees Made Honey in the Lion`s Skull (6080 Pts)
- The Sword - Gods of the Earth (5965 Pts)
- Brant Bjork - Punk Rock Guilt (5520 Pts)
- Black Mountain - In the Future (5435 Pts)
- Colour Haze - All (5420 Pts)
- Boris - Smile (4700 Pts)
- Dozer - Beyond Colossal (4300 Pts)
- Ufomammut - Idolum (4135 Pts)
- Graveyard - Graveyard (3025 Pts)
- Grand Magus - Iron Will (2805 Pts)
- Harvey Milk - Life... The Best Game in Town (2430 Pts)
- Metallica - Death Magnetic (2365 Pts)
- Dead Meadow - Old Growth (2275 Pts)
- Blood Ceremony - Blood Ceremony (2190 Pts)
- Farflung - A Wound In Eternity (2075 Pts)
- Earthless - Live at Roadburn (2055 Pts)
- Eagles Of Death Metal - Heart On (2045 Pts)
- Opeth - Watershed (1860 Pts)
- Clutch - Full Fathom Five (1845 Pts)
- The Atomic Bitchwax - 4 (1820 Pts)
- 5ive - Hesperus (1760 Pts)
- The Gates of Slumber – Conqueror (1680 Pts)
- Witch - Paralyzed (1610 Pts)
- Ancestors - Neptune with Fire (1370 Pts)
- Nachtmystium - Assassins: Black Meddle Part 1 (1350 Pts)
- Coffins - Buried Death (1340 Pts)
Click here to view the Community Top Albums Master List - Contains all albums that were voted for by StonerRock.com Community Members in the "Top 28 Albums of 2008" contest....
Click here to view the Community Top 28 Albums of 2008 - Contains all of the individual entries submitted to our Top 28 Albums of 2008 contest!
Contest Winner`s Top Albums of 2008 List
In a random drawing Tim Hoefer of Germany was selected as the lucky winner of our "Top 28 Albums of 2008" contest. Tim is known as "norald" on the StonerRock.com discussion forums and is a member of the band "Ugh!". As part of his prize (which also included his choice of $280 worth of stuff from our All That is Heavy store) his "Top 10 Albums of 2008" list that he submitted is being included as part of this feature so here it is:
Tim Hoefer`s Top 10 Albums of 2008
(Top 28 Albums of 2008 Contest Winner)
The last time I won something that big I was five years old and got a teddy bear that was bigger than myself at a lottery on the Oktoberfest in Munich. I still can`t believe it.
The list below is a snapshot of my top 28. It would look different if I had to write a new one today. If you look at it you might be under the impression that I am biased in favour of Elektrohasch Records. I have to admit that I am (a bit) as I have easy access to all releases and these are all of high quality. Then again that doesn`t make me deaf to albums on other labels...
- Colour Haze - All
- My Sleeping Karma - Satya
- Los Natas - Ciudad de Brahman (Vinyl Re-issue)
- Josiah - Self Titled (Re-issue)
- Josiah - Into the Outside (Re-issue)
- The Kings of Frog Island - II
- Melvins - Nude with Boots
- Causa Sui - Summer Sessions Vol. 1
- Rotor - 3
- Dozer - Beyond Colossal
Arzgarth`s Top 10 Albums of 2008
(Arzgarth is the Editor-in-Chief of StonerRock.com)
Frankly, top ten lists bore the piss out of me.
I mean, the results are usually pretty much exactly what you expected. Take this year`s list. The Melvins as the number one pick, followed by Torche, Earth, and The Sword? Golly. Who would`ve thought that bands that have diverse audiences and a whole shit ton of press would`ve garnered the most votes?
Don`t mistake this for all-out cynicism. I`m glad that Brant Bjork, Black Mountain, Colour Haze, and Dozer cracked the Top Ten and I`m happy that so many (around 850) people entered this year. I think overall the list shows the collective diversity of this site`s regulars and lurkers (and their desire to vote on vinyl reissues).
But from my perspective, it gets interesting once you get past the more or less expected bands and albums. For years, I`ve been championing Harvey Milk, and people have finally - finally! - caught up (ranking at #14, no less). Seattle`s Grey and Portland, Maine`s Ogre edged ahead of the likes of Unearthly Trance and Lair of the Minotaur, both of which are on labels with higher visibility and reach.
Sure, there were some disappointments (Hackman and RPG both should`ve ranked much higher) but overall this turned out to be a pretty good list for a damn good year of music.
- RPG – Worth the Weight
- Hackman - Enterprises
- Harvey Milk - Life... The Best Game in Town
- Black Mountain - In the Future
- Red Fang - Tour EP
- Bible of the Devil - Freedom Metal
- Iota - Tales
- Ogre - Plague of the Planet
- Ufomammut - Idolum
- Earthless - Live at Roadburn
Dan & Melanie`s Top 28 Albums of 2008
(aka El Danno & Hellmistress. Dan and Melanie are the owners of StonerRock.com)
Due to the fact that we now own our own record label we will no longer be compiling our own Top Albums of the Year lists.
