It’s that time of year again — the turkey leftovers are long gone and we’re hearing Christmas music in every store in town, so it must be time for best-albums-of-year lists.

After screaming matches, insults and a fist fight or two, the dust has settled and the Stranger Dance staff stands before you united with our humble list of the Top 15 Albums of 2008. We’ve also listed our personal top ten lists below.

As always, please let us know how foolish we were (both collectively and individually) for leaving your favorite band’s album off in favor of our dreck.

For fun, you can also check out our favorite albums of 2007 and see how they hold up a year later.

Without further ado, here are our final picks for the finest records of the year. (Drum roll, please…)

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One of the things that I love most about music (and art in general, I guess) is that everyone appreciates it in their own way. Ten people can have the same favorite song, album or band and love them for completely different reasons. Be it lyrics, rhythm, melody, harmony, style or something else, people are drawn to different elements.

I realized long ago that harmony is king for me. As much as I love all of the other elements that go into music, great harmony (vocal or instrumental) is like nothing else.

One of the highlights of the 2008 concert season was catching Fleet Foxes play at the Treasure Island Festival. They took the side stage halfway through the second day and, with heavy wind from the bay at their backs, dove into flawless four-part a capella harmony. Not only were these guys performing a capella to thousands of San Francisco hipsters, but they made it look both easy and cool.

Fleet Foxes’ performance inspired me to put together a mix that put great (vocal) harmony on display. I tried to represent harmony in a lot of different ways, from the obvious to less known, from folk to bluegrass to rock, and from new to old. In doing so, I was forced to leave out some that I would have liked to include (Beatles, Big Star, Paul Simon, etc.), but I think it makes for an enjoyable listen - hope you do too.

All Together Now (A Harmony Mix)

1. Fleet Foxes - “Sun Giant”
2. The Zombies - “Time of the Season”
3. Dennis Wilson - “River Song”
4. My Morning Jacket - “Golden”
5. Elliott Smith - “Because”
6. Bon Iver - “Flume”
7. Jenny Lewis - “Acid Tongue”
8. Band of Horses - “Plans”
9. The Eagles - “Seven Bridges Road” [Live]
10. The Mamas and the Papas - “California Dreamin’ “
11. Martha Reeves & The Vandellas - “Dancing in the Street”
12. The Beach Boys - “Wouldn’t It Be Nice”
13. The Thrills - “Big Sur”
14. Belle & Sebastian - “Step Into My Office, Baby”
15. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - “Helplessly Hoping”
16. Sufjan Stevens - “The Avalanche”
17. Matthew Sweet - “Girlfriend”
18. Steve Miller Band - “Jet Airliner”
19. Queen - “Somebody to Love”
20. The Byrds - “Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There is a Season)”
21. Bluegrass Album Band - “The Model Church”
22. David Grisman - “So Long”

You can also download the whole mix as zip file: All Together Now - A Harmony Mix. To import the songs as an ordered playlist, go to iTunes, click on File > Library > Import Playlist… and select the .txt file in the mix folder.

Last year’s Treasure Island Music Festival was somewhere between meh and ehh. While the lineup was decent (Built to Spill, Spoon, Modest Mouse, etc.) something wasn’t clicking for me. Was it the bus ride? The windy nights? No. It was something else. Something much more offensive than the Clap Your Hands Say Yeah live set (love the album, but the live experience was seriously lacking).

It was those damn smug jerks in the VIP area.

You and your private bar, ATM machine and port-a-potties. Who do you think you are dancing with your own troupe of costumed monsters? Black leather couches? Martinis?

No, you’d never catch me sitting in the VIP section. I’m a man of the people, one who knows the importance of standing shoulder to shoulder with other rabid fans as you piss your pants because you don’t want to give up your spot. I would never, never, ever…

Ok, fine. I admit it. This year Stranger Dance scored VIP tickets and I was there. Don’t hate – I’m weak and fragile. I wear earplugs. Mass gatherings of people frighten me. Can you forgive me? I mean come on people – massage tables! Chicken tenders! Free USB keychains! Et tu Brute? I mean it can only make my review that much better. God, what have I done!?

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The cat references are getting better every week. This mix features some great new music from the Fleet Foxes and Plants and Animals, as well as my favorite song off of the Rushmore soundtrack (The Who).

I also have a special treat for those readers who fancy themselves lyricists - I’ve been working on Hula Hands for a while but am frustrated by the lack of vocals. Feel free to download, sample and lay down a vocal track. I’ll feature it in a post if you send me back your version.

MP3s: