1. Everything That Happens Will Happen Today by David Byrne and Brian Eno.
   By far, this album has gotten the most listens by me this year. Love it. Best of David Byrne since Talking Heads. I’m looking forward to more collaborations with Brian Eno—hope they come.
2. Furr by Blitzen Trapper.
   This was a late entry—it wasn’t until I saw it on All Songs Considered‘s “Best of 2008” that I listened to them. Loving the retro ’70s sound of this band.
3. Viva La Vida by Coldplay.
   I’ve never been a huge Coldplay fan, but this album was blasting in my car stereo a lot this year.
4. Fleet Foxes by Fleet Foxes.
   Haunting folk music. Can’t say that I’m in the mood for this all the time, but when I want some good folk harmonies, I can’t go wrong by the Foxes.
5. Evil Urges by My Morning Jacket.
   About five great tracks on this one. Not nearly as good as “Z”, but My Morning Jacket is always interesting to listen to. I think the creative process for this album was akin to eating ginger at your local sushi-ya—I look for MMJ’s next album to be a bit of a “return to form.” But, who knows? I guess that is what makes them so interesting…
6. For Emma, Forever Ago by Bon Iver.
   I’ll admit it—I’m giving into the crowd on this one (seems like it is on every “Best of” list), but it is a good listen. Not in steady rotation by me, but solid.
7. Vampire Weekend by Vampire Weekend.
   I tend to hate stuff that gets too hyped. This band was definitely hyped, but, by and large, lived up to it. I still prefer my African sounds a la Paul Simon’s Graceland…
   
8. The Symphonies: Dreams Memories and Parties by Emily Wells.
   I saw her, along with a handful of other women singer-songwriters, at a concert in SLC this year. She was a one-woman tour-de-force. I like her blending of hip-hop and classical music.
   

My wife and I saw John Mayer and Sheryl Crow at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado on Monday. John Mayer was the first of the headliners to perform–a fact that meant we’d hear fewer of his songs because he wouldn’t be doing any encore numbers. His set was dominated by popular songs from his first two albums. Personally, I think Mayer’s newest album, Continuum, is his best yet–he’s brought the blues influence of his musical background to the foreground, much to the improvement of his songwriting and musicianship. My wife and I first saw him at Deer Valley in Park City, Utah–pre-Grammy-winning and on the rise as a major musical talent. It’s nice to see that he continues to grow and entertain–he has a long career ahead of him.

Sheryl Crow was terrific. She had a string quintet backing her up along with her regular band. Sheryl did an impersonation of Bob Dylan before she sang Mississippi and made a humorous comment when someone through an Hawaiian lei up on the stage. Sheryl is an amazing talent. It was a tough choice, but we didn’t want to be stuck in the traffic after the event, so we left a few songs before she was done with her set.

As for Red Rocks… it is amazing–the best music venue I’ve ever been to. With the lights of the Denver cityscape in front of us and the 400-foot tall red rocks around us, it was a sight to behold. I look forward to going there again.