From TV on the Radio to Lil' Wayne, from Deerhunter to Portishead, 2008 saw a wide range of artists score big with some of their best-ever efforts. At the dawn of 2009, the Daily Music Staff takes a look back with its picks for the best albums of the year.

#1: TV on the Radio – Dear Science

TV on the Radio, buzz band no more. With the release of Dear Science, TVOTR has entered into a rare and hard to define realm within the music world – part of a breed of bands that are respected by all, challenged by few and envied by their less-talented peers. Radiohead is in this category; so was Pavement.

Dear Science is an album with no unnecessary flourishes, no out-of-place instrumentation and no moments that sound even remotely close to contrived. Every single note on the album is essential, like each individual brushstroke in a masterpiece painting. From the claps on “Dancing Choose” to the breezy synth swells on “DLZ” to Tunde Adebimpe’s sweet falsetto “cry-i-i-i-ing,” TVOTR has crafted 2008’s best album, a brilliant work coming from a band in the infancy of its career. It's staggering to even think what’s to come. – Jeff Sanford

#2: Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes

The Fleet Foxes things-to-do list for 2008 might look something like this: release Sun Giant EP in January; tour relentlessly in a run-down van through the spring, garnering much hype for the June release of the self-titled debut album along the way; win over audiences and critics nationwide with pastoral harmonies and deceptively simple folk-pop arrangements; get tapped by Wilco to open for a leg of the summer tour, circulating a spirited live collaboration of Bob Dylan’s “I Shall Be Released” around the Web to show for it; appear on every late night program on network television; wind up near the top of nearly every year-end list known to humanity; and somehow manage to do all this in less than 12 months.

Fleet Foxes’ quick rise to fame outside of the Pitchfork inner circle is as much a rags-to-riches story as any, but the cult of the Foxes stems largely from the group's ability to turn any passerby into a believer. Needless to say, the Foxes can now afford to fix up their van. - Mike Kuntz

#3: MGMT-Oracular Spectacular

From the haunting bubbles on the intro of “Time to Pretend” to the creepy children counting down on “Kids,” MGMT’s debut was not to be overlooked. It combines just the right amounts of creepy and cool to make for great electropop. Equally suited to the club and to the car, Oracular Spectacular is full of anthems you can sing and dance to — so pick your poison. Maybe that’s why the band broke its way into so many hearts (and parties) this year. Then again, maybe it’s just the energy-intensive retro sound and incomprehensible lyrics that make MGMT so awkwardly lovable. – Sarah Chavey

#4: Portishead - Third

After an 11-year hibernation, former trip-hop trailblazer Portishead has delivered something much greater than a serviceable "comeback album." Third is a rare instance of a band truly redefining itself. Portishead scraps its creepy/sexy formula of yore for something closer to creepy/ugly. As Beth Gibbons moans her trademark confessional lyrics over jarringly glitchy dreamscapes, the band achieves such hauntingly voyeuristic pathos that, at times, the album is almost uncomfortable to listen to. For a hint at the album's gutting abrasiveness, the lead single is aptly titled "Machine Gun." With Third, Portishead has birthed what could easily be the most innovative album of the year. And while it may not be pretty, it's anything but a misfire. – Josh Bayer

#5. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend

2008’s dubious “buzz-band” award goes to none other than (drum roll please) New York prep-rockers Vampire Weekend.