The intrepid Anna Dobbie gives us the lowdown on the top albums of the year gone by - perfect for filling those gaps in your record shelves. So why not splash out? Just click on a cover and support maddog through our commission based Amazon links!

Artist: Popular Workshop
Album:We're Alive And We're Not Alone
Label: This is Fake DIY

In 2008, angular guitar bands have been popping up all over the place. For me, Popular Workshop do it best.


 Artist: Late of the Pier
Album: The Fantasy Black Channel
Label: Parlophone Records

A bit like the Klaxons, but trippier and surrealer and better. The rave is dead - long live the rave.

Artist: Ladyhawke
Album: Ladyhawke
Label: Universal / Island

Pip's debut combines soul-bearing lyrics with lush 80s pop to create a beautifully vintage album (minus the shoulderpads and hairspray).

 Artist: Crystal Castles
Album: Crystal Castles
Label: Different

Yeah, I know they're a bunch of Madonna-plagiarising scenesters, but as soon as the album reaches it's abrasive chip-tune-tastic conclusion, you can't help but press repeat.  
Artist: Fight Like Apes
Album: Fight Like Apes and the Mystery of the Golden Medallion
Label: Model Citizen Records

80s TV-referencing audio-violence. Check out these irate Irish teenagers for a catchy slice of angst-ridden pop.		 Artist: Amanda Palmer
Album: Who Killed Amanda Palmer?
Label: Roadrunner Records


Amanda leaves the band and teams up with Ben Folds to make a heart-wrenchingly over-indulgent slab of deliciously decadent vaudeville.  
Artist: MGMT
Album: Oracular Spectacular
Label: Columbia Records

If you don't own this album already... why?? Come on, get with the times. Like it or not, they're the band of the year and this album shows why.

Artist: Lightspeed Champion
Album: Falling Off Lavender Bridge
Label: Domino

A Test-Icicle dons a silly hat and does contemporary folk. That'll never work. But it did.
Artist: Be Your Own Pet
Album: Get Awkward
Label: Infinity Cat Recordings

Jemima Pearl screams, snarls and spits like a pre-pubescent cat in a sack and the band rest in pieces.		 Artist: The Presets
Album: Apocalypso
Label: Modular Recordings

Deliciously dirty bass lines and sing-along hooks, a completely underrated masterpiece. Makes you dance uncontrollably from start to finish (blissfully unaware of bewildered staring from passers by).  
  

Please note that every effort has been made to source album cover art from the copyright holder. However some artwork used here is assumed to be in the public domain, and can be removed on request. All artwork is used in good faith to promote the musicians work.