Intrigue Rocks Critically Acclaimed's 2008 List

If you haven't been to Acclaimed Music, you need to. Run by 34 year old Swede Henrick Franzon, lists of the top singles and albums from various sites and magazines are compiled to determine the most critically acclaimed music of each year, decade, and all time. Last year, Rihanna and Arcade Fire topped the singles and albums list respectively and without too much surprise (Although LCD Soundsystem's "All My Friends" and Justice's "D.A.N.C.E." has somehow recently overtaken "Umbrella". Not sure I agree with that but I guess additional lists were added to give those tracks the boost they needed.). 2008 however, didn't seem to have as many clear cut winners so the final list is quite a surprise. Here's what we found out.

Critics were Blinded by Hercules and Love Affair

"Blind" got an honorable mention in the 17 Tracks Year End List. It's a catchy indie-dance number, but what kept it from doing any better is the annoying vocals. It ended up at No. 1 on C.A.'s list. Let's be honest, if Antony Hegarty wasn't in Antony & the Johnsons which are already adored by critics, this song wouldn't have scored so high. The only actual list it topped in the United States was Pitchfork. It scored high on every other list, but, with Pitchfork and the massive amount of sway it holds, everyone else is going to feel obligated to put it somewhere on their list.

MGMT Dominated

MGMT landed four singles in the top twenty ("Time To Pretend" at No. 4, "Kids" at No. 5 and "Electric Feel" at No. 12) while Oracular Spectacular was the No. 6 album. Domination.

Kanye West Got Shafted

I knew it when the album first came out and it was reviewed -- 808s and Heartbreak would be a divisive record. People would either proclaim it his masterpiece or loathe it and impatiently await his return to autotuneless rapping. Combine that with its late release date (November 25) and it seemed inevitable that 808s wouldn't get the respect it deserved. That's an understatement. The album didn't even make the list, his first to do so. On the singles list West fared much better. "Love Lockdown" came in at No. 16 and his duet with Estelle, "American Boy" landed at No. 3. That's the biggest shocker of them all. Did people really like "American Boy" that much?

Madonna Is Now So Legendary That She's A Shoe-in Even When People Really Don't Even Like Her Songs Very Much

Madonna is a traditionally strong artist on these lists, combining pop sensibilities with credibility. Even though she made bank in '08, it wasn't her best year with the critics. None of her songs made the top 100, but plenty of publications felt obligated to at least mention that she made music last year. "Beat Goes On", "Give It 2 Me", "4 Minutes", and "She's Not Me" all made it onto the lower reaches of the honorable mentions, managing only a few points a piece. What makes this all the more ridiculous is that only two of those four songs were actually released as singles meaning that a handful of critics didn't like what she released so they picked a random album cut instead.

Top Ten Songs Plus Others of Interest:

1. "Blind" - Hercules and Love Affair

2. "Paper Planes" - M.I.A.

3. "American Boy" - Estelle feat. Kanye West

4. "Time To Pretend" - MGMT

5. "Kids" - MGMT

6. "Machine Gun" - Portishead

7. "A Milli" - Lil Wayne

8. "L.E.S. Artiste" - Santogold

9. "Winter White" - Fleet Foxes

10. "Ready For The Floor" - Hot Chip

11. "Viva La Vida" - Coldplay

12. "Electric Feel" - MGMT

13. "Sex On Fire" - Kings of Leon

15. "Mercy" - Duffy

16. "Love Lockdown" - Kanye West

17. "That's Not My Name" - Ting Tings

18. "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)" - Beyonce

21. "Lollipop" - Lil Wayne

23. "Human" - The Killers

24. "Swagga Like Us" - T.I. feat. Jay-Z, Kanye West, & Lil Wayne

Top Ten Albums:

1. Third - Portishead

2. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes

3. Dear Science - TV On the Radio

4. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend

5. For Emma, Forever - Bon Iver

6. Oracular Spectacular - MGMT

7. Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!! - Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds

8. Microcastle/Weird Era Cont. - Deerhunter

9. Santogold - Santogold

10. The Seldom Seen Kid - Elbow

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Hercules and Love Affair - "Blind":

Ting Tings jam with Estelle at 2009 Brits:

Top 100 Most Critically Acclaimed Singles and Albums of 2007

http://www.acclaimedmusic.net/ is one of the coolest music sites on the net. Henrick Franzon is a 34 year old Swede who calculates the most critically acclaimed singles and albums of each year, decade, and all time after gathering the various lists put out from different sites, critics, and magazines. As Franzon says himself, there is never a "final word" on the best singles and albums in rock history, it's really up to personal tastes and opinions. Even then, this list is the most authoritative you can get. The top 100 of 2007 are finally up and here are the results:

Singles:

1) "Umbrella" - Rihanna f. Jay-Z

2) "D.A.N.C.E." - Justice

3) "All My Friends" - LCD Soundsystem

4) "Rehab" - Amy Winehouse

5) "Atlas" - Battles

6) "Stronger" - Kanye West

7) "Golden Skans" - The Klaxons"

8) "Paper Planes" - M.I.A.

9) "Dashboard" - Modest Mouse

10) "1234"- Feist

Albums:

1) Neon Bible - Arcade Fire

2) In Rainbows - Radiohead

3) Sound Of Silver - LCD Soundsystem

4) Kala - M.I.A.

5) Person Pitch - Panda Bear

6) Boxer - The National

7) Mirrored - Battles

8) Untrue - Burial

9) White Chalk - PJ Harvey

10) Back To Black - Amy Winehouse

No big surprises. I'm sure when the singles list is added to the overall decade list, "Umbrella" is going to place remarkably well. Not quite up there with "Crazy" or "Hey Ya!" but top 10 for sure.

Check out the site; I'm sure it will give you hours of entertainment and leave you arguing the merits of "Superstition" beating out "Hotel California" or any other combination of "outrageous" critical acclaim. Have fun!