The 50 Best Albums of 2008

35

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds DIG, LAZARUS, DIG!!! Anti-

The gospel according to Nick Cave feels timely: Lazarus gets raised from the dead, only to find himself broke and on drugs. Cave's roots in Lou Reed's dystopian tumult are especially vivid, and the Bad Seeds deliver the best bang and harangue since Cave's garage quartet Grinderman.

36

The Hold Steady STAY POSITIVE Vagrant

Brooklyn's finest bar band delivers an empathetic portrait of midlevel rockers in their 30s, with details so sharp they'd make John Cassavetes weep. All boozy power chords and singalong choruses, it's their most tuneful album. Bonus points for one-liners like "Me and my friends are like the drums on 'Lust for Life.' "

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