Artists Pick the Best Albums and Singles of 2008

MY FAVORITE ALBUM
BY TAYLOR SWIFT

One of the Boys by Katy Perry

Sometimes an album doesn't need some weird thing to make you love it — sometimes it's just a big hit. And if you fall in love with it before it becomes a hit, you take ownership of it. That's what happened to me with One of the Boys. Katy Perry has so much charisma, as soon as I heard "Hot N Cold," I fell in love. I said, "This is gonna be big." And it was.

MY FAVORITE SONG

"If I Were a Boy" by Beyoncé

It makes you think. It's not a song you fully understand the first time you listen, and it makes you want to listen again. The video blew my mind. It starts out showing this girl who's career-oriented and living with this guy who caters to her every need, and she's going out and flirting with all these other guys. You feel so bad for that guy. Then it switches halfway through the song — you realize she's the one who's committed to him, and he's out there playing the field. And it makes you mad! I really identify with [the song]. It says how I feel better than I ever could.

Photo: Getty