Fleet Foxes

In 2008, the band's self-titled debut won massive critical acclaim. Fleet Foxes' members blend layers of harmonized vocals with shuffling drums and finger-picked guitars, and their song titles are in sync with the vision of pastoral mammals their name conjures.

Half a century after it was founded, the Newport Folk Festival is celebrating its 50th birthday with an eclectic mix of artists, from towering figures like Pete Seeger and Joan Baez to Neko Case, The Decemberists and Mavis Staples. NPR Music will be there to webcast and broadcast the full slate of concerts, with dozens of live performances starting at noon ET on Saturday. All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen recently spoke with festival producer Jay Sweet about what's in store for the weekend celebration.

The members of Fleet Foxes like to say they're not much of a rock band, but they are one of the year's breakout acts. The group's self-titled debut, released earlier this year on the Sub Pop label, has earned universal acclaim for its timeless mix of folk, choral and rock. Hear Fleet Foxes recorded live in concert from Washington, D.C.'s Black Cat.

Fleet Foxes' members join host David Dye for the latest in World Cafe's Lillywhite Sessions series from Avatar Recording Studios in New York City. The quintet draws from the baroque psychedelic pop of the '60s, sacred harp singing, gospel and folk music.

For the past few weeks, listeners have been voting for the best albums of 2008 in the All Songs Considered online poll. Bob Boilen talks about the year in music and the poll's final results, singling out music from Bob Dylan, She & Him, Girl Talk and this year's top album from Fleet Foxes.

Half a century after it was founded, the Newport Folk Festival is celebrating its 50th birthday with an eclectic mix of artists, from towering figures like Pete Seeger and Joan Baez to Neko Case, The Decemberists and Mavis Staples. NPR Music will be there to webcast and broadcast the full slate of concerts, with dozens of live performances starting at noon ET on Saturday. All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen recently spoke with festival producer Jay Sweet about what's in store for the weekend celebration.

Naturally, no year-end music list can be definitive, just as it's impossible to rate a year in music using purely objective measures of quality. So here are the 10 albums that Song of the Day editor Stephen Thompson treasured the most in 2008.

When the votes started pouring in from NPR listeners for the year's best albums, two things became clear immediately: It was going to be tight, and many of the top spots would go to new, smaller bands and their debut albums. Bigger, more established acts (Coldplay, My Morning Jacket) were well represented, but listeners seemed more inspired by the year's quieter, more intimate albums.

For the past few weeks, listeners have been voting for the best albums of 2008 in the All Songs Considered online poll. Bob Boilen talks about the year in music and the poll's final results, singling out music from Bob Dylan, She & Him, Girl Talk and this year's top album from Fleet Foxes.

It's been a great year for the quiet and the subtle: The harmonies of Fleet Foxes, the fiery gentleness of Bon Iver and the African kora of Toumani Diabate were all calming company. We all need and want different things from music at different times, and gentility won out this year.

On this edition of All Songs Considered, host Bob Boilen talks with Carrie Brownstein (Monitor Mix blogger), Stephen Thompson (editor for Song of the Day), and Robin Hilton (All Songs producer and host of Second Stage) about the year in music. What were the biggest surprises of 2008? What were the best new bands, or the best songs? Listen and let us know what you think by joining the NPR online community.

Not to be outdone by its fellow Top 10 listmakers, KEXP presents its Top 11 debut albums of the year. Seattle's Fleet Foxes headlines a deep class of great rock, pop, disco, hip-hop, folk and electro-dance records.

Last year, Mark Wheat of The Current proclaimed the album dead. So instead of creating a list of top 10 full-length records, he's documenting the year in music with the perfect 10-song mixtape playlist.

It wasn't the best year for music, but 2008 sure churned out a lot of it: In a marketplace flooded with more music than ever, there's rarely been less of a consensus. Your neighbor's iPod was most likely playing a different tune than yours was. Still, David Dye was able to pinpoint the 10 albums that best kept him interested through multiple listens.

Though Fleet Foxes' music often gets drenched in rich harmonies, "Tiger Mountain Peasant Song" shows how much sonic and thematic ground the group can cover with one pure vocal and a couple of acoustic guitars.

Music reviewers generally wait until November and December to assess the year in music. But 2008's halfway point seems like a good place to stop and look back at six busy months full of critics' darlings, Internet sensations and even, in a grim commercial climate, commercial hits.

Fleet Foxes' members grew up on the music of their parents: The Beach Boys, Simon & Garfunkel, The Zombies, Love, and Crosby Stills & Nash. It's an enviable environment that the five-piece clearly relishes.

Hear a sneak preview of CDs due out this spring, including new music from My Morning Jacket, Shearwater, Elbow, Wolf Parade, and more. All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen talks with Stephen Thompson, curator for NPR's Song of the Day, KEXP DJ Cheryl Waters, and The Current DJ Mark Wheat about the releases they're most looking forward to in the coming weeks.

Naturally, no year-end music list can be definitive, just as it's impossible to rate a year in music using purely objective measures of quality. So here are the 10 albums that Song of the Day editor Stephen Thompson treasured the most in 2008.

When the votes started pouring in from NPR listeners for the year's best albums, two things became clear immediately: It was going to be tight, and many of the top spots would go to new, smaller bands and their debut albums. Bigger, more established acts (Coldplay, My Morning Jacket) were well represented, but listeners seemed more inspired by the year's quieter, more intimate albums.

On this edition of All Songs Considered, host Bob Boilen talks with Carrie Brownstein (Monitor Mix blogger), Stephen Thompson (editor for Song of the Day), and Robin Hilton (All Songs producer and host of Second Stage) about the year in music. What were the biggest surprises of 2008? What were the best new bands, or the best songs? Listen and let us know what you think by joining the NPR online community.

Though Fleet Foxes' music often gets drenched in rich harmonies, "Tiger Mountain Peasant Song" shows how much sonic and thematic ground the group can cover with one pure vocal and a couple of acoustic guitars.

Music reviewers generally wait until November and December to assess the year in music. But 2008's halfway point seems like a good place to stop and look back at six busy months full of critics' darlings, Internet sensations and even, in a grim commercial climate, commercial hits.

Fleet Foxes' members grew up on the music of their parents: The Beach Boys, Simon & Garfunkel, The Zombies, Love, and Crosby Stills & Nash. It's an enviable environment that the five-piece clearly relishes.

Hear a sneak preview of CDs due out this spring, including new music from My Morning Jacket, Shearwater, Elbow, Wolf Parade, and more. All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen talks with Stephen Thompson, curator for NPR's Song of the Day, KEXP DJ Cheryl Waters, and The Current DJ Mark Wheat about the releases they're most looking forward to in the coming weeks.

Now that the MP3 is king, vinyl has become something of an underground revolution. More and more artists have begun to insist on releasing their new albums on vinyl, and music fans who jettisoned their collections in favor of "clear, perfect digital sound CDs" are raiding garage sales and rediscovering analog music all over again. Here are 10 releases from 2008 that are worth the extra effort of vinyl.