Top Five Rock and Roll Album Picks of 2008

With so many good rock and roll artists and albums to choose from this year, selecting five for the title of the best of the year is no easy task. From classic rock to today's alternative rock there are many who have produced excellent albums. How do you choose any of them to be titled best of? Some are chosen by their overall time in the charts, others by the speed of their ascent to the top. With that in mind here are my picks for top five rock albums of 2008.

· Kid Rock, Rock and Roll Jesus: With 57 weeks in the Billboard charts this album shows that there is more to Kid Rock than rap, by incorporating a jazz sound into the tracks Roll on and New Orleans and a folksy sound in the ballad Sugar. True to his nature the rock sound is definitely there in the track All Summer Long. Although released in October of 1997 this is still one of the best rock and roll albums of 2008 gaining double platinum status with sales in excess of 2.8 million worldwide.

· Slipknot, All Hope Is Gone: Adorned with new masks for this album Slipknot breathes new life into their sociopolitical ravings. Despite their obvious interpersonal issues All Hope is Gone proves to the rock world that Slipknot has lost none of their power with this heavy dose of rage against the machine. This, their fourth albums proves that time has only made for a better sound, and make no mistake Slipknot has gone from great to awesome with one blistering track after another.

· Metallica, Death Magnetic: Released on September 2008 this is Metallica reborn. This album takes all the polish and conformity of the Black Album and combined it with the raw energy of the early days and given birth to an incredible album form beginning to end. Drawing on the huge cross age popularity of Guitar Hero, Metallica has boosted their relevance to new heights in the rock and roll scene.

· AC/DC, Black Ice: The first new album from AC/DC in eight years released after a terrible accident that kept bassist Cliff Williams from playing for nearly eighteen months. Black Ice proves that even now they can still kick it with the best of them. Perhaps one of their best albums yet, initially released in Wal-Mart stores in the U.S. this album debuted at number one in 29 different counties.

· Underoath, Lost in the Sound Separation: After coming close to disbanding and with only the drummer remaining from the original sextet the newly reformed band brings forth critically acclaimed dark and heavy sounds that will leave you drained and yet pumped up yearning for more. New members mean new direction, but with that in mind this album is mind blowing in its' intensity and will satisfy even the most hardcore fans.

From classic rock artists such as AC/DC to ultra heavy bands like Underoath 2008 has brought us, the listeners a wealth of new music that is pure ear candy for the soul. A year that has seen its' share of injuries, disbandings and reformations in the musical world has certainly ended on a high note.

Sources, Billboard.com, wikipedia.com, metacritics.com.