The 50 Best Songs Of 2008: 20-11

11. Metallica – The Day That Never Comes
Take away the over-compression, and it’s like the last fifteen unfortunate years of Metallica never happened: A “Fade To Black” opening disintegrates into whiplash metal, all tricky time changes and shredding solos. Welcome back, guys.

Metallica - The Day That Never Comes




12. Adele – Chasing Pavements
Once in a blue moon, the Grammies get it right: This justifiably-acclaimed “Record Of The Year” nominee is the kind of soaring torch song strong enough to wipe away a thousand Amy Winehouse tabloid stories.

Adele - Chasing Pavements




13. Death Cab For Cutie – Cath...
Ben Gibbard is the master of portraits in miniature, but even by his standards, this tale of wedding-day regret ranks as one of his finest. And a decade on, DCFC’s nagging guitar riffs remain as blissfully melodic as ever.

Cath




14. TV On The Radio – Family Tree
Critical darlings since their inception, TVOTR finally drop their guard to deliver the most open, heart-rending moment of their career thus far. The perfect soundtrack for a whole new generation to hold their boomboxes aloft.





15. MGMT – Time To Pretend
What’s more 2008 than two twentysomething indie hipsters writing synthpop anthems about bedding models? Can’t wait ‘til they get their own reality show.

MGMT-TimeToPretend




16. Estelle featuring Kanye West – American Boy
Don’t tell the lemmings running your local radio station, but this year’s summer anthem was not some mind-numbing Skynyrd rehash. Rather, it was this breezy ode to cross-Atlantic seduction, carried aloft by a lovely British newcomer with more than a touch of Lauryn Hill in her vocals.

Estelle - "American Boy" ft. Kanye West





17. Hercules & Love Affair– Blind
By far the weirdest/catchiest combination of the year, “Blind” marries the unique stylings of Antony (of Antony & The Johnsons) to straight-up disco, reimagined for the era of DFA and Goldfrapp. The dance floor has rarely sounded this romantic.





18. Radiohead – Reckoner
How to follow 2007’s Album Of The Year (and two songs in our Top 50 to boot)? If you’re Radiohead, you naturally open up your next single to every remixer on the Net, resulting in a torrent of reinterpretations that only served to make the original sound even more singular.

Radiohead - Reckoner - by Clement Picon





19. Sun Kil Moon – Moorestown
With over ten albums under three different names to his credit, Mark Kozelek still remains a criminally underrated songwriter. “Moorestown” is a languid, gorgeous highlight on an album (April) stuffed with them, finely-sketched nostalgia in 6/8 time.





20. M83 – Graveyard Girl
The perfect soundtrack to the ‘80s movie John Hughes never made, two chords of shimmering, summery, teenage bliss.