BEST MUSIC BLOGS

Nah Right: The definitive source for hip-hop — even Kanye reads it. Nah Right debuts new jams by everyone from Lupe Fiasco to Ghostface, and labels often leak audio and video clips directly to the site.

The Take-Away Shows: This French Webcast (an offshoot from blogotheque.net) features exclusive clips of bands performing bare-bones sets in unlikely settings: Arcade Fire do "Neon Bible" in a freight elevator, Yeasayer harmonize a cappella on the Paris metro and R.E.M. play on a wooden bridge in Georgia.

Gorilla Vs. Bear: You know an MP3 blog is good when all the other sites re-post the same songs it highlights. GVB was among the first to get behind buzzed-about artists like White Denim and Santogold, and its year-end best lists feel like guides to next year's artists to watch.

Benn Loxo Du Daccu: Vampire Weekend's indie-rock interpretation of Afro-pop was influenced by reading Benn Loxo Du Taccu, a critical guide to Senegalese dance music, Nigerian funk tunes and other types of African music. In turn, BLDT was the first blog to sing the New York band's praises, before indie stalwarts like Pitchfork caught on.

Aquarium Drunkard: Named for a line in a Wilco song, Aquarium Drunkard specializes in alt-country, indie-rock and classic-rock gems, running the gamut from live Buffalo Springfield tracks to M. Ward's SXSW set. Blogger Justin Gage also gives non-wonky history lessons on niche genres such as krautrock — check out his entry on Neu!

Soul Sides: West Coast music critic, college professor and vinyl hound Oliver Wang posts sharp minitutorials about all the groovecentric esoterica you didn't know you needed to hear. Recent picks: Greek film composer Mikis Theodorakis, the Sixties Latin boogaloo fad and the Great White Cane, Rick James' pre-"Super Freak" band.

Check out everything ruling the rock universe in 2008