Best & Worst 2008: Ann Powers pop music list

In pop music, undefinable moments

The genre got further fragmented, but there were standouts nonetheless.

By Ann Powers

VIDEO: Ann Powers on the year in music

Putting together this list, I pinged friends to ask what albums I absolutely should not have missed this year. Sixty replies quickly poured in. Only one release -- the big rock mountain "Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!" by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds -- was mentioned twice. Some picks were already in my best-of pile; many haunted my get-to-it list. Others I hadn't heard, or even realized existed.

The fragmentation of pop is getting to be an old story. As personal and music-industry budgets shrink, it's less likely than ever that we'll all end up purchasing the same music and sharing a conversation about it. For variety addicts, that's great; for believers in the dream of a common language, it's depressing. For a critic, it seems like a mandate to rethink one's entire enterprise. In the meantime, here are a few trends and individual efforts that made me happy this year.

Related: Complete year-end music coverage on Pop & Hiss.

Related: The 39 most memorable pop music moments of 2008

Related: Pop top-10 lists, and 2008's recommended albums

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