We at Pitchfork close out the year with our annual review of the year's 50 best albums. A few notes: Bon Iver's For Emma, Forever Ago -- issued in 2008 on Jagjaguwar to well-deserved acclaim-- would have likely placed high on our list, but the self-released version of the record appeared in our 2007 edition. Also, three years after Robyn's self-titled-- and at the time self-released-- album made our year-end countdown it finally got a U.S. release this year. Both of those records were deemed ineligible this time around. Our staffers' individual top 25s can be found here.
Enjoy the holiday season! Daily news, reviews, and features resume Monday, January 5, 2009.