NME Albums and Tracks of the Year, 2008
The NME Album of the Year and Single Of The Year were announced on 11 December 2008. It was the 37th countdown of the most popular albums and tracks of the year, as chosen by music reviewers and independent journalists who work for the magazine and for NME.com.
Albums
- Bold: Album contains Song of the Year
| # | Album | Artist | Country of origin |
| 1 | Oracular Spectacular | MGMT | USA |
| 2 | Dear Science | TV on the Radio | USA |
| 3 | Glasvegas | Glasvegas | UK |
| 4 | Vampire Weekend | Vampire Weekend | USA |
| 5 | Antidotes | Foals | UK |
| 6 | Nights Out | Metronomy | UK |
| 7 | Santogold | Santogold | USA |
| 8 | Twenty One | Mystery Jets | UK |
| 9 | Only by the Night | Kings of Leon | USA |
| 10 | Friendly Fires | Friendly Fires | UK |
| 11 | Stainless Style | Neon Neon | UK / USA |
| 12 | Crystal Castles | Crystal Castles | CAN |
| 13 | Fleet Foxes | Fleet Foxes | USA |
| 14 | Alas, I Cannot Swim | Laura Marling | UK |
| 15 | The Age of the Understatement | The Last Shadow Puppets | UK |
| 16 | Ladyhawke | Ladyhawke | NZ |
| 17 | The Seldom Seen Kid | Elbow | UK |
| 18 | Fantasy Black Channel | Late of the Pier | UK |
| 19 | The Chemistry of Common Life | Fucked Up | CAN |
| 20 | Songs in A&E | Spiritualized | UK |
| 21 | Falling Off the Lavender Bridge | Lightspeed Champion | UK |
| 22 | Dig Out Your Soul | Oasis | UK |
| 23 | Anywhere I Lay My Head | Scarlett Johansson | USA |
| 24 | For Emma, Forever Ago | Bon Iver | USA |
| 25 | Third | Portishead | UK |
| 26 | Forth | The Verve | UK |
| 27 | Hercules and Love Affair | Hercules and Love Affair | USA |
| 28 | Do You Like Rock Music? | British Sea Power | UK |
| 29 | Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! | Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds | AUS |
| 30 | Made in the Dark | Hot Chip | UK |
| 31 | Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends | Coldplay | UK |
| 32 | The Hawk is Howling | Mogwai | UK |
| 33 | Microcastle | Deerhunter | USA |
| 34 | We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed | Los Campesinos! | UK |
| 35 | Dropping the Writ | Cass McCombs | USA |
| 36 | The Midnight Organ Fight | Frightened Rabbit | UK |
| 37 | Beautiful Future | Primal Scream | UK |
| 38 | Modern Guilt | Beck | USA |
| 39 | Does You Inspire You | Chairlift | USA |
| 40 | Midnight Boom | The Kills | UK / USA |
| 41 | Beat Pyramid | These New Puritans | UK |
| 42 | Alpinisms | School of Seven Bells | USA |
| 43 | Partie Traumatic | Black Kids | USA |
| 44 | Youth Novels | Lykke Li | SWE |
| 45 | Attack & Release | The Black Keys | USA |
| 46 | Box of Secrets | Blood Red Shoes | UK |
| 47 | The '59 Sound | The Gaslight Anthem | USA |
| 48 | Fortress Round My Heart | Ida Maria | NOR |
| 49 | Intimacy | Bloc Party | UK |
| 50 | Lies | Heartbreak | ARG |
Countries represented
- = 26
- = 19
- = 2
- = 1
- = 1
- = 1
- = 1
- = 1
Singles
| # | Track | Artist | Country of origin |
| 1 | "Kids" | MGMT | USA |
| 2 | "Geraldine" | Glasvegas | UK |
| 3 | "Two Doors Down" | Mystery Jets | UK |
| 4 | "Time to Pretend" | MGMT | USA |
| 5 | "Electric Feel" | MGMT | USA |
| 6 | "Heartbreaker" | Metronomy | UK |
| 7 | "Paris" | Friendly Fires | UK |
| 8 | "Paper Planes" | M.I.A. | UK |
| 9 | "Sex on Fire" | Kings of Leon | USA |
| 10 | "A-Punk" | Vampire Weekend | USA |
| 11 | "Love Is Noise" | The Verve | UK |
| 12 | "Ready for the Floor" | Hot Chip | UK |
| 13 | "One Day like This" | Elbow | UK |
| 14 | "Kiss with a Fist" | Florence and the Machine | UK |
| 15 | "Paris Is Burning" | Ladyhawke | NZ |
| 16 | "The Shock of the Lightning" | Oasis | UK |
| 17 | "Soul on Fire" | Spiritualized | UK |
| 18 | "Blind" | Hercules and Love Affair | USA |
| 19 | "I'm Outta Time" | Oasis | UK |
| 20 | "Bruises" | Chairlift | USA |
| 21 | "Golden Age" | TV on the Radio | USA |
| 22 | "Standing Next to Me" | The Last Shadow Puppets | UK |
| 23 | "Year of the Pig" | Fucked Up | CAN |
| 24 | "L.E.S. Artistes" | Santogold | USA |
| 25 | "Young Love" | Mystery Jets featuring Laura Marling | UK |
| 26 | "Headdress" | Amazing Baby | USA |
| 27 | "The Age of the Understatement" | The Last Shadow Puppets | UK |
| 28 | "Grounds for Divorce" | Elbow | UK |
| 29 | "Township Funk" | DJ Mujava | RSA |
| 30 | "Dog Days Are Over" | Florence and the Machine | UK |
| 31 | "Ghosts" | Laura Marling | UK |
| 32 | "I'm Not Going To Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You" | Black Kids | USA |
| 33 | "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" | Vampire Weekend | USA |
| 34 | "Space and the Woods" | Late of the Pier | UK |
| 35 | "Back of the Van" | Ladyhawke | NZ |
| 36 | "Stuck on Repeat" | Little Boots | UK |
| 37 | "Wearing My Rolex" | Wiley | UK |
| 38 | "Black and Gold" | Sam Sparro | AUS |
| 39 | "Oxford Comma" | Vampire Weekend | USA |
| 40 | "We're Back" | Heartbreak | ARG |
| 41 | "Dance wiv Me" | Dizzee Rascal featuring Calvin Harris & Chrome | UK |
| 42 | "Focker" | Late of the Pier | UK |
| 43 | "It's My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry" | Glasvegas | UK |
| 44 | "Courtship Dating" | Crystal Castles | CAN |
| 45 | "Crimewave" | Crystal Castles vs. Health | CAN / USA |
| 46 | "Batcat" | Mogwai | UK |
| 47 | "Machine Gun" | Portishead | UK |
| 48 | "Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!" | Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds | AUS |
| 49 | "Flowers & Football Tops" | Glasvegas | UK |
| 50 | "Oh My God" | Ida Maria | NOR |
Artists with multiple entries
3 Entries- MGMT
- Vampire Weekend
- Glasvegas
- Mystery Jets
- The Last Shadow Puppets
- Elbow
- Florence and the Machine
- Ladyhawke
- Late of the Pier
- Laura Marling
- Crystal Castles
Countries represented
- = 27
- = 14
- = 3
- = 2
- = 2
- = 1
- = 1
- = 1