These are selections #41 through #50 in our Best Albums of 2008 countdown series.

#41. Rising Down by The Roots (Explicit)

Released: April 29, 2008
Label: Def Jam
Album Charts: #6 The Billboard 200, #14 Top Canadian Albums, #6 Top Internet Albums, #3 Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums

"After so many years the Roots are still standing firm on pure talent. Rising Down finds them comfortable with the house they've built. And although not as perfect as Phrenology, I would have to say this 2008 release is a very close second. Not much has to be said other than that."  

Listen to Rising Down:

   1. The Pow Wow
  
   2. Rising Down
  
   3. Get Busy
  
   4. @ 15
  
   5. 75 Bars
  
   6. Becoming Unwritten
  
   7. Criminal
  
   8. I Will Not Apologize
  
   9. I Can't Help It
  
   10. Singing Man
  
   11. Unwritten

   12. Lost Desire
  
   13. The Show
  
   14. Rising Up
  
   15. Pow Wow 2 

#42. Visiter by The Dodos

Released: March 18, 2008
Label: Frenchkiss
Charts: #31 Top Heatseekers

"Tasteful

These are selections #71 through #80 in our Best Albums of 2008 countdown series.

#71. The Way I See It by Raphael Saadiq

Released: September 16, 2008
Label: Columbia
Album Charts: #19 The Billboard 200, #8 Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums

"The return to tradition can be a very good thing. And what Sharon Jones did for classic soul in 2007, Raphael Saadiq keeps alive in 2008. This warm, classic soul album is a vivid reminder that music was hitting on all cylinders in the 1970s. But more importantly, it's hope for those who are consistently depressed by the Top 40 charts."

Listen to The Way I See It:

   1. Sure Hope You Mean It 
   
   2. 100 Yard Dash 
   
   3. Keep Marchin'
   
   4. Big Easy 
   
   5. Just One Kiss 
   
   6. Love That Girl 
   
   7. Calling 
   
   8. Staying In Love 
   
   9. Oh Girl 
   
   10. Let's Take A Walk 
   
   11. Never Give You Up  

   12. Sometimes 
   
   13. Oh Girl (featuring Jay-Z)  

#72. Dark Developments by Vic Chesnutt, Elf Power, And The Amorphous Strums

Released: October

River imagery has a long tradition in songwriting, it can be a symbol of freedom, continuity, power, danger, barriers or peace. The river's strength as a symbol has resulted in thousands of songs that utilize it as an artistic device. A keyword search for the word "river" in Rhapsody currently returns 22,205 tracks! I have cut this river-centric list down to a little over 2 hours by only selecting high-quality, mellow tracks. This is a great playlist to sit by a river with, and just soak in nature.

What's your favorite low-key river song?

Low-Key River Songs 

   1. River - Joni Mitchell     

   2. River Man - Nick Drake   

   3. Red River Valley - Cassandra Wilson  

   4. River - Red House Painters   

   5. Kern River - Merle Haggard  

   6. The River - The Waifs

   7. River Medley - John Fahey   

   8. River Theme - Bob Dylan

   9. Stone River - Robbie Fulks

   10. Up A Lazy River - Rickie Lee Jones

   11. River - Natalie Merchant

   12. River Of Fools - Los Lobos

   13. River

This past weekend I posted the 14 songs that had the honor of reaching the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2008. As usual, many comments reflected disgust with the state of popular music in America, while others defended what is most popular. Some have made the argument that Billboard is out-of-touch because they weigh airplay too heavily, and that digital distribution is the better way to measure popularity.

Billboard has included digital downloads and streams in their charting model since 2003, but I was interested to see the top downloaded songs without airplay or physical sales in the equation. So I fired up iTunes and clicked on the link to view the top selling songs of the year according to Apple. The list was only slightly different. There was no epiphany to reveal iTunes users as more enlightened. It seems to me that although the Internet does enable viral marketing, which can spawn sales and maybe even a hit now and then, what people buy in stores is what they buy