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Every media outlet from Rolling Stone to NPR's All Things Considered to the wee-est music blogger in Kenosha, Wisconsin (made that up, but I am certain there is one) has recently issued their "Best of 2008 So Far" list. Even The Soup offered up a steaming bowl of "Half-year Clipdown" this weekend. I think a lot of it has to do with bloggers, producers, editors, and hosts going on extravagant July 4th vacations. Regardless, this hyper-timely self-reflection is perhaps most mind-blowingly displayed in the new installation of VH1's "I Love the..." series: I Love the New Millennium. Watching a retrospective of 2006, including things like Luis Guzman commenting on waiting in line for an iPhone, is unnerving, at best, and a ridiculous waste of time, at worst. And I love wasting time, so let me waste some of yours with my list of the best songs of 2008...so far. There are some surprises, I hope, and some obvious choices. But good is good, so heeeeere we go (say last three words like Slick Rick, for fun). 1. "Honey" - Erykah Badu As a friend of mine said back in February of her newly-released New Amerykah Part One (4th World War): it starts off crazy, then you're like "oooh yeeah." This song is like a microcosm of that erudite assessment, and of Ms. Badu herself. 2. "Vid spilum endalaust" - Sigur Ros Ain't nothing wrong with an Icelandic Radiohead. This song title translates to "We play endlessly." 3. "Oxford Comma" - Vampire Weekend Like listening to four guys who met in England whilst on Fulbrights. Or something. 4. "Rich Girls" - The Virgins These dance-tastic smarty-pantses caught the attention of the soundtrack folks at Gossip Girl. I hate that that's ok with me. Hey, if Leighton Meester and Blake Lively can get down to the Virgins, so can't we all. We are all rich girls at heart. 5. "Time to Pretend" - MGMT I love this song, I hate this song, I love this song, I hate this song. Me + MGMT = watching the entire run of Cheers. I'm Diane and MGMT is Sam, so charming, yet so untrustworthy, and kind of dumb. But he's so cute. 6. "L.E.S. Artistes" - Santogold The little Brooklyn indie-reggae chanteuse that could. Think M.I.A., but born and raised in the USA. 7. "Top Yourself" - The Raconteurs Jack, Brendan, and the other two guys fulfill my dreams of a second Raconteurs album with little fanfare, just solid, slide-y, new American rock music. 8. "Black Mags" - The Cool Kids Um, the Cool Kids are the straight-finger-licking bomb. Nothing can contradict the power of a squishy-splat beat, some bored-ass inner-city breakdancing-on-cardboard raps, and a Spike Lee Nike commercial-esque vid featuring hoodie-rat girls from the block boredly lip-synching from the back of the Cool Kids' BMXs. 9. "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived (Variation on a Shaker Hymn)" - Weezer Rivers Cuomo is becoming a verb. As in the following imagined dialogue: Overeducated Musician Dude: "Hey, I have this idea for taking a Shaker hymn and turning it into a middle-aged-white-dude ironic rap over some heavy guitar licks, kind of like Beck, but not as flashy, more hardcore, then opening up the song into a screamy power-pop chorus, then maybe a little Beach Boys part." Overeducated Musician Dude's Friend: "That would be fresh. Rivers Cuomo the shit out of that hymn." 10. "Dita Dimone" - Pop Levi Why is Pop sounding like Justin Timberlake? Does this song have anything to do with Dita Von Teese? Does anyone else in the world besides me like Pop Levi? 11. "No Air" - Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown A perfect R&B-pop entwined vocal duet that actually works: their tones, their ranges, their ages, their relevance (unlike, say, the unwise and unlistenable 2001 pairing of Ja Rule and J.Lo, "I'm Real"). With this mega-hit, Chris Brown takes Jordin's wobbly American Idol-approved star and places it in his comet trail. 12. "Mercy" - Duffy Ooh! A Dusty Springfield/Amy Winehouse/Robyn hybrid! And she's lucky enough to have a name that is nearly eponymous with an early '90s MTV VJ, a fictional brand of beer, and the bassist for Guns N' Roses and Velvet Revolver. She does them all proud. 13. "Cheap and Cheerful" - The Kills This song and the Kills in general make me love the new millennium. 14. "Touch Me I'm Going to Scream Part 1" - My Morning Jacket I tried to resist the hype on this album, but it beat me down and so fine, it's great, and every song's different, and these peeps are headed for the big time. 15. "Take Your Time" - Al Green (featuring Corinne Bailey Rae) This is the only song on Pastor Al's new record that doesn't sound exactly like one of his old hits. Thanks to the yummy, quirky Corinne Bailey Rae, it only sounds partially exactly like one of his old hits. Confession: I can't get on board with some of the "Best of 2008 So Far" chart-makers, namely, the hipster-approved new Donna Summer single (just because it's not bad doesn't make it one of the best), or Death Cab for Cutie's new record, which pales in comparison to their I'm now wishing one-and-only masterpiece, 2005's Transatlantacism. There's something to be said for knowing when to hold 'em. Not to mention that insufferable Chris Martin and his band of whiny Brits. Or Mrs. Nick Cannon and her too-small outfits and quiet air of cheerful desperation. And though I love love love me some Mates of State, their new record is just, well, more of the same, which is always welcome, but just not best-y enough to make the mix.