As Donna Pointkouski said so well, over at What’s Past is Prologue:

This time of year you can’t read the paper, watch television, listen to the radio, or peruse the internet without tripping over a “Top Ten” or “Best of” list. It’s fun to hear other people’s views on the best and the worst and argue with friends on your personal lists. I always enjoy New Year’s Eve as a time to not only look forward to the new year, but also look back on the one that has just past before the door slams shut forever.

In that same vein, while listening to some music last night, I decided to write a post today about my favorite songs of 2008. Now… take this with a grain of salt though, because while a lot of these songs came out in 2008, some of them did not. I just discovered them in 2008.

In no particular order:

Songs by 30 Seconds To Mars. This band was, by far, my favorite band of the year. I was borderline obsessed with them at one point. My husband would say it was more than borderline. I love all the songs on their “A Beautiful Lie” CD, but my top five favorite songs by them would be “The Kill” (acoustic version), “The Story,” “R-Evolve,” “Hunter,” and an instrumental song “Time to Wake Up” that I found on the internet.

Two other bands I discovered in 2008 were Boys Like Girls and My Chemical Romance. I found them because they were listed under artists similar to 30 Seconds To Mars, although I really don’t think they are very similar. My favorite songs by Boys Like Girls are “Hero/Heroine,” “Thunder,” and “Up Against The Wall.”  I have to say that I don’t particularly care for many of the songs done by My Chemical Romance, but I love their song “I Don’t Love You”. That song was what initially inspired my 2008 NaNoWriMo novel idea. I remember having it playing on repeat for about an hour straight while I outlined my novel.

“Viva La Vida” by Coldplay. Every time I hear a song by Coldplay for the first time, I think of U2, which is one of my all time favorite bands. I don’t know exactly what it is about the lead singer’s voice, but I think of Bono every time.  I think it’s more than their accents, but regardless, they get an immediate plus from me. This song, by the way, is also my daughter’s current favorite song.  She’s only two and a half, but she knows many of the words to it.

OneRepublic’s “Apologize.” I heard Timbaland’s mix of “Apologize” on the radio and absolutely loved it. I could barely wait until OneRepublic released their own album and I got it as soon as I could. I really like their sound.

“Shattered (Turn the Car Around)” by O.A.R. I liked this song when I first heard it, but didn’t quite appreciate it like it deserved until I really listened to it. Now it’s definitely a favorite of mine, likely because it was also an inspiration for my 2008 NaNoWriMo novel.

“Love Remains The Same” by Gavin Rossdale. The first time I heard this I recognized Gavin’s voice immediately, which I love. The song is completely different from his older (Bush) stuff, but I love it. If I had to pick one song to describe my 2008 NaNoWriMo novel this would be it, despite all the other inspiration I got from other songs, this one tops them all.  It might just be the favorite of my favorites.

Other favorites are these, however, they don’t rank as high on my list as those I’ve already mentioned.  Many of them were also key inspiration to my NaNo novel, which, again, is probably why they have stayed favorites:

“Forever” and “With You” by Chris Brown

“No Air” by Jordin Sparks w/ Chris Brown

“Leavin’” by Jesse McCartney

“Bleeding Love” and “Better in Time” by Leona Lewis

“Say” by John Mayer

“Stop and Stare” and “Say (All I Need)” by OneRepublic

And there you have it…  my favorite songs of 2008.

I was just writing a draft for another blog post, listening to last.fm, and a particular song came on. Despite having an idea in my head that I really wanted to get down before I forgot, I had to stop everything to listen to it. And the thing is, it isn’t that great of a song, I just LOVE the guy’s voice. Few singers can effect me like that. I was actually thinking of this earlier today when listening to John Mayer. He is currently one of my favorite artists but I’m not sure that after a few years he will be someone I continue to come back to. He has unbelievably great songs, but he doesn’t have the voice that I look (listen?) for in a singer. What exactly is it that I like in a voice? I’m not sure how to describe it, maybe ‘raw’ or ’scratchy,’ but that makes me think of Bob Dylan and he is NOT one of the people I like. I also like voices with a haunting quality to them. I know that the accompanying music has a lot to do with how much I like a song, but it’s not always needed. Like I said above, the music or lyrics may not be that great, but if the voice is right it doesn’t matter.

Here is my list of great voices (with a good example(s) of why I like them so much):

Kurt Cobain (Nirvana) – “You Know You’re Right”

Bono (U2) – “Bullet the Blue Sky”

Gavin Rossdale (Bush) – “Glycerine”

Jared Leto (30 Seconds to Mars) – “Hunter” and “The Kill – acoustic”

On another note, I think my all time favorite song is “If You Leave” by OMD. I can’t say the lead singer has a great voice, but there is something about it that effects me. It could be the English accent (I have a thing for accents), but I have a feeling it’s more of a nostalga thing more than anything.

Who do you think has an amazing voice?