The 50 Best Albums of 2008

10

Vampire Weekend VAMPIRE WEEKEND XL

This African-inflected Ivy League success story nailed the zeitgeist this election year, but it'll sound good in 2018 because it has great songs. Chalk it up to the simple melodies and lean, midrange rhythms. The falsetto-and-expletive singsong of "Oxford Comma" and the antsy mouse-click ska of "A-Punk" are immediate, hook-filled pleasures; "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa," with its dry, sparkly guitar lines and hand drums, sounded utterly fresh alongside indie rock's parade of New Wave revivalism. Casual as a cardigan, willfully optimistic, ultratuneful and surprisingly danceable, Vampire Weekend is built to last.

• View List: The 50 Best Albums of 2008
• View List: Readers' Top 30 Albums of 2008