The 50 Best Albums of 2008

25

The Magnetic Fields DISTORTION Merge

Tin Pan Alley-style songwriter Stephin Merritt took a left turn into 20th-century noise rock and ended up with one of the best records of his career. Taking his cues from the Jesus and Mary Chain, he wrenched distortion and emotion from guitar, cello and piano, evoking old AM-radio tunes re-mixed by a mad genius.

26

Mudcrutch MUDCRUTCH Reprise

It's the country-rock classic Tom Petty's old band never got to, with a mix of time-tested covers (the Byrds' "Lover of the Bayou," the Burrito Brothers' "Six Days on the Road") and strong originals that deserve to be. But the biggest surprise is the guitar fireworks in the jammed-out epic "Crystal River" and in "Bootleg Flyer."

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