Beck on Best-of Charts for 2008

Beck, second generation Scientologist and 2009 Grammy Award nominee for "Best Alternative Music Album", had his album "Modern Guilt" listed on several best-of 2008 charts this month, including the Rolling Stone's Top 50 Albums Of 2008, where he holds the number 8 spot:

MTV News Staff Favorites Of 2008: Sabrina Rojas Weiss’ Top 10

4. Beck, Modern Guilt: I love the retro, melodic sound of this album. Booty-shaking Beck is so much better than experimental or mopey Beck.

Capecodonline: The year's best pop music

8. "Modern Guilt," Beck (Interscope): Lyrically dark, but juiced by the lighthearted touch of producer Danger Mouse, Beck's latest gets off to a great start (the five opening tracks add up to the best first half of any of the year's releases), but fizzles after that. iPod pick: "Chemtrails"

Joan Anderman's top CD picks of 2008

BECK, "Modern Guilt" (Interscope) Maybe we've become a little too accustomed to great Beck records, because the artist's latest - a shimmering and uncharacteristically emotional collection - came out to little fanfare this summer. It's worth a spin or 10, if only for the heady collision of technology and humanity.

USA Today: Our critics' picks of 2008

4. Modern Guilt, Beck. Dizzying Beck-fest of retro pop, folk, electronica and surf rock.

thenewstribune.com: Critic’s picks: Top 10 albums of 2008

1. “Modern Guilt,” Beck: Beck and producer Brian “Dangermouse” Burton team up for a lean 33 minutes that celebrates their love of both ’60s pop and hip-hop. Now middle-age and obviously reflecting on his own mortality, the normally quirky Beckster delivers some of his darkest lyrics to date – darker even than 2002’s melancholy masterpiece “Sea Change.”

He channels new millennial dread on the title track, a bluesy nod to the Doors’ “People Are Strange.” He makes global climatic catastrophe sound like a rowdy go-go party on the infectious “Gamma Ray” and even briefly ponders suicide on weepy album closer “Volcano.”

But the haunting high point is psych-rock epic “Chemtrails,” with Beck donning an eerie falsetto as he sings about seas of humanity “swallowed by evil.” Long-time collaborator Joey Waronker puts on one hell of a drum clinic.

This was a killer walk-off number when Beck headlined at Bumbershoot this year.

The Glide 20: Our Top Albums of 2008

Its been awhile since Beck’s name made it onto any ‘best of’ lists, but his latest, Modern Guilt (co-produced with Danger Mouse) puts him back in the limelight with more solid production, novel beats and interesting lyrics. Traveling down some diverse sound avenues, his latest effort gains low-end strength in the bass heavy rhythms of "Orphans," "Gamma Ray" and "Youthless,” but shifts all the way to ethereal madness in “Chemtrails.” If this was Beck’s debut record, he’d be the wet spot of the blogosphere, but seeing as it’s his eighth, this veteran gem could easily be overlooked.

stuff.co.nz: The Top 25 Albums of 2008

17. Modern Guilt - Beck
At just 10 tracks, Modern Guilt - Beck's tenth album - certainly left listeners wanting more. But with Dangermouse behind him, he came up with some of his most eloquent tunes in years.

Will Amacher: The Ten Best Albums of 2008

6. Beck: Modern Guilt – This alternative renaissance man cannot be caged by any particular genre, and Beck continues to impress with each new venture. That mellow voice, along with the golden touch of producer Danger Mouse, makes for an album that those involved should be proud of.

ADAM KISPERT: Best Albums of the Year

8.) "Modern Guilt" by Beck — Combining with Danger Mouse, Beck finds the perfect hybrid of his previous guises to create something new.

caller.com: 2008's top albums

7) Beck: 'Modern Guilt' (DGC Records)
Long one of rock's most creative songwriters, Beck turns out one of the most tuneful CDs of his career with "Modern Guilt."

Sound Check: Rewinding the musical year

Beck, “Modern Guilt” (DGC): A continuation of the stirring-but-laid-back vibe Beck created with his finest album, “Sea Change.”

NZ Herald Best Of The Year List

30. Beck - Modern guilt "While he's dealt with everything from the big guy in the sky to war, it was never heavy going because of the off-kilter beats, laid-back grooves, and cunning instrumentation"

Update Jan 1, 2009: "Beck: 'Modern Guilt' After nearly a decade of creative sloth, in which Beck seemed to be desperately chasing the ghost of his previous work, he unexpectedly turned out this fantastic set of psychedelic electrofolk. With luminary producer Danger Mouse on board, Beck puts the Scientology self-help lingo and instantly-dated pop culture references aside in favor of an affecting album that still swings. "