Best Albums of the Year

According to Digital Music Report 2008 of IFPI, an international music industry association, digital music accounted for 15% of music sales in 2007. This new business has been growing rapidly, up by 40% from the previous year. Well, yes, downloading music is easy, instant and convenient. Upon watching MTV or listening to radio, one can buy a song at any time, even at midnight. No one will be lost in a huge HMV.

Yet, CDs (not credit-default swaps!) could be an insurance. With my computer frozen, I lost hundreds of music files several times, and had to upload them. While it's economical to buy a specific, favorite song at iTunes Store, some CDs like listed below are worth buying.

"The DEY Has Come" (the DEY)
A good news for those devastated with the Fugees' breakup and patiently waiting for a new album of Black Eyed Peas. !Muchas Gracious! Can't name favorite tracks 'cause almost all the songs are grrreat!! But, "I Need You" (M3) and "And I Miss You" (M4) make me cry.

"Seeing Sounds" (N.E.R.D.)
Speechless. This is the state-of-the-art music. Don't know which genre it belongs to. Rock? HipHop? Whatever. The best is the best. "You Know What" (M11) is my most favorite track.

"Hard Candy" (Madonna)
This is the first Madonna album I've ever purchased in my life. Well, she's a great performer, but it's Pharrell and Kanye who are doin' a fantastic job!!


If the credit crunch somehow had an impact on your budget this year, here are some songs you should check out at iTunes or any other online music stores.

"Live Your Life" (by T.I. feat. Rihanna): O-Zone's "Dragostea Din Tei" ("Words Of Love" or "恋のマイアヒ") was reborn.

"Change" (by T-Pain feat. Akon & Diddy): This year's keyword! Eric Clapton wrote "Change the World", the original song, in 1999, but did he expect somebody would "change" (i.e. arrange) his song?

"We Made It" (by Busta Rhymes feat. Linkin Park): My anthem of this year.

Bonus track:
You can check this "激ヤバ (Dangerous)" mashup at YouTube.
吉幾三×Capsule×DaftPunk×BeastieBoys　StarrySky - IKZOLOGIC Remix