FYI...Amazon.com MP3 sale

[Ball of Hate]

50 MP3 albums (top sellers of 2008) for download for $5 each. Only decent ones I thought were The Black Crowes and Metallica, but Beck and Flight of the Conchords are there, too. Otherwise...it seems to be mostly garbage.

[livebackwards]

Those who like barroom rock, I recommend the Old 97's and The Hold Steady. I have that Black Crowes album and it's not one of their best.

Indie folks, get the City and Colour, Portishead, Vampire Weekend, Wolf Parade, Death Cab For Cutie, Gnarls Barkley, Radiohead, Beck, and TV On the Radio. TV On the Radio and Radiohead are probably the best out of these, although that Beck album is really good, too (he did the whole thing with Danger Mouse, so if you like Gnarls Barkley but wish Beck was a member, good news).

Fans of rap, get the Q-Tip album, definitely. I hear the T.I. and Li'l Wayne albums are good, too, but I can't personally vouch.

If you've been through a bad breakup recently, get the Bon Iver album. If the breakup was so bad you're currently fleeing cross-country, get the Calexico album.

And, of course, if you've ever liked Metallica you should definitely get the new album, it rocks.