Better late than never, our 2015 Top Ten Albums are up. Listen to the playlist over at Spotify.

Don Clark / 2015 Top Ten Albums

01. CHVRCHES - Every Open Eye

Best Track: "Never Ending Circles"

02. Leon Bridges - Coming Home

Best Track: "Brown Skin Girl"

03. Adele - 25

Best Track: "Hello"

04. Kendrick Lamar  - How To Pimp A Butterfly

Best Track: "Alright"

05. NERO - Between II Worlds

Best Track: "What Does Love Mean"

06. Mute Math - Vitals

Best Track: "Monument"

07. Kacey Musgraves - Pageant Material

Best Track: "High Time"

08. Skrillex/Diplo - Present Jack Ü

Best Track: "Where Are Ü Now"

09. Lord Huron - Strange Trails

Best Track: "Until The Night Turns"

10. Hurts - Surrender

Best Track: "Rolling Stone"

Ryan Clark / 2015 Top Ten Albums

01. Twin Shadow - Eclipse

Best Track: "Old Love/New Love"

02. CHVRCHES - Every Open Eye

Best Track: "Never Ending Circles"

03. Man Without Country - Maximum Entropy

Best Track: "Entropy"

04. Purity Ring  - Another Eternity

Best Track: "bodyache"

05. NERO - Between II Worlds

Best Track: "Two Minds"

06. Editors - In Dream

Best Track: "Forgiveness"

07. Kate Boy - One

Best Track: "Midnight Sun"

08. Everything Everything - Get To Heaven

Best Track: "Spring/Sun/Winter/Dread"

09. Børns - Dopamine

Best Track: "Electric Love"

10. Tame Impala - Currents

Best Track: "The Less I Know The Better"

Ryan Clark / 2015 Top Five Metal Albums

01. Sevendust - Kill The Flaw

Best Track: "Death Dance"

02. Bring Me The Horizon - That's The Spirit

Best Track: "Avalanche"

03. Solution .45 - Nightmares In The Waking State, Pt. 1

Best Track: "Bleed Heavens Dry"

04. Black Breath - Slaves Beyond Death

Best Track: "Pleasure, Pain, Disease"

05. Soil work - The Ride Majestic

Best Track: "The Ride Majestic"

Josh Cross / 2015 Top Ten Albums

01. CHVRCHES - Every Open Eye

Best Track: "Never Ending Circles"

02. Gunship - Gunship

Best Track: "Revel In Your Time"

03. Ellie Goulding - Delirium

Best Track: "Aftertaste"

04. The Neighborhood - Wiped Out!

Best Track: "Prey"

05. Of Monsters And Men - Beneath The Skin

Best Track: "Crystals"

06. Beach House - Depression Cherry

Best Track: "Space Song"

07. The Wombats - Glitterbug

Best Track: "Headspace"

08. Florence & The Machine - How Big, How Beautiful

Best Track: "What Kind Of Man"

09. Waters - What's Real

Best Track: "I Feel Everything"

10. Passion Pit - Kindred

Best Track: "Lifted Up (1985)"

Almost a year ago to the day, I received an email from my friend Josh Dennis at Crossway. He had a new children's book manuscript (beautifully written by the ridiculously smart Kevin DeYoung) based around the story of the Bible. He asked if I had any recommendations for an illustrator that might be a good fit for the project. After pondering his request for a moment, I thought to myself ... "Hmmm, what if I tried it?"

I began the book in November 2014 and wrapped final art in May of this year. 7 months, 10 chapters and 132 pages later, The Biggest Story is finally available.

There were many reasons why I took on this project, but the main catalyst for attempting this book was that I just didn't see any modern Bible storybooks for children that embodied rich story AND artwork. One that sparked imagination and wonder, one that prompted dialogue between parents and their children, one that treated kids as smart people and didn't talk down to them. Most of all though, one that could live up to Kevin's amazing interpretation.

The art is very conceptual at times, much more straight forward at times, humorous, sad ... but overall extremely hopeful. I poured every ounce of what I had into this book, and if anything leaps off the pages, I hope it's the immense joy that I had in creating it.

I honestly can't thank Josh Dennis and everyone at Crossway enough. Josh was extremely gracious from the very beginning. Not only did he give me complete freedom with the overall direction, but he shared in the enthusiasm and support along the entire process. He had wise feedback and art direction every step of the way, but overall he left me to my own devices and just let me draw - which was a bit scary to be honest. I'm not sure if I have ever been trusted with that much creative freedom before - let alone with, well ... only the most important story in human history.

And of course, thanks to the brilliant Kevin DeYoung for completely trusting Josh and I with our vision for your book. Kevin also gave me creative freedom with every brushstroke - I appreciate his trust in allowing me to bring this story to life in a different way.

You can purchase the book through us, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Westminster Books and everywhere else.

Beautifully animated by Jorge Canedo Estrada and his team - and voiced by my pal Propaganda, the folks at Crossway put together a great trailer for an upcoming animated version of the book.

A peak inside the book ...

Each book purchase from IC comes with a limited signed 'Ascension' mini-print and set of 4 double-sided postcards (below).

We've also had numerous requests for prints, so we are currently offering 10 selected pieces from the book. See them all here.

We're guilty. Guilty of relying on the quick and easy method of using social networking to update folks on what we're up to. You can see the cobwebs on this very site. I don't think we've updated our work section in over a year. But I can feel it in the air ... 2015 will be the return of the blog and long-form reading on the web. No? Well, we're going to attempt that when we can. Personally, I miss it. I miss putting together (and reading) content that you could spend more than 2 seconds staring at. We'll continue to Insta-tweet, but I don't want to rely on that ... To be honest though, we have been busy. Very thankful for that. But, now is a perfect time to wipe the dust off the site and let you guys know what we've been up to for the last 9 months - and we also want to share some new things we've got cooking.

1. Thanks to the VSCO Artist Iniative, our first documentary film about artists (specifically what drives us and connects us all) begins production in July! We will be hitting 6 cities and interviewing numerous artists from many different industries and walks of life. We're excited to tell this story ... more on that here. We'll be documenting and journaling the entire experience on our VSCO Grid.

2. Last fall, we had the opportunity of a lifetime come our way: To re-imagine the historic Cinerama Theatre in Downtown Seattle - our favorite movie destination since we landed here in 2001. We created 2 massive murals that completely altered the corner of 4th Avenue and Lenora Street. The mural art made its way into a re-brand of the theatre, inside and out. We are currently working on our short film, 'Re-Imagining Cinerama' that takes a closer look at Cinerama's grand re-opening last November - and the art that went into it. We'll also have prints of the mural (and more Cinerama art we created) for sale when we launch the film this summer. Photos above by Benjamin Benschnieder.

3. Stack And Scare! is coming to Shanghai in a massive way. The Shanghai Times Square Mall will feature a large Stack And Scare! exhibit next month. Giant sculptures, play areas, toys, posters, etc. Curated by APPortfolio. We are very excited for this - much more info coming soon.

4. Wine Meets Design. We are thrilled to be the inaugural designers partnered up with the talented winemaker Aaron Pott for Bare Bottle's first release. We were first approached for this project a few years back from our friends Katie and Nathan at Eight Hour Day. We've had a blast working with them, Marta & Josh Harding - and Corey Miller, the man who dreamed this extremely cool idea up. A quick bio from their site -

Bare Bottle curates the pairing of winemakers + designers and provides them with a blank canvas through which to create. Each unique collaboration opens a window into our makers' creative processes, their inspirations, and their worlds.

The dedication to craft, quality and presentation comes across so clear with Bare Bottle. If you love wine ... and design ... it's worth every penny. I was floored when I saw the finished shipped piece ...

5. Blast Off! After a 2-year hiatus, we are back with our good friends at Sasquatch! Music Festival. We had the pleasure of creating all of the Festival art, merchandise and even the Lineup Video this year. As per usual, the lineup is amazing (Kendrick!) and happens to be going on THIS weekend. We'll have an in-depth look into all of the assets we created (including another collaboration with Ebbets Field Flannels and Theo Chocolate) soon ...

6. The amazing opportunity to illustrate my first Children's Book came up last September. We had gotten book offers in the past, but nothing quite felt right and some of the projects just plain fizzled out. When our friends at Crossway approached me about a Bible Story by Kevin DeYoung, it was a big decision. In the end, It was a project I wanted to personally see done right ... and one that I wanted to see on the shelves myself. The Biggest Story was the most intense project I've worked on to date, and also the most fulfilling - in ways I could never have imagined. I cannot thank Josh Dennis and Crossway enough for allowing me to run with my vision and aesthetic for Kevin's beautifully-written book. The Biggest Story is hardbound, 10 chapters and 132 pages. Available in August and up for pre-order on Amazon now. Below are a few sample spreads from the first two chapters.

7. Our Odd Galaxy wooden toy line with Uncle Goose is finally in full production mode and will be released in the next few months. There will be 3 products to start: Cosmo Kid, Moon Rover and Lunar Rocket, each sold separately - but of course much more fun when you own all 3. We have some fun OG launch (get it?) projects that will be released around the same time, including a window display at our favorite space store ...

8. Two years ago, we bought a 10-acre ranch, turned a 50-year old barn into our studio and then made a toy out of it. OK, so that's the short version. We'll have a nice process post on this (way over-budget and panic-attack inducing) project on our new ... well, see #10. For now, you can check out some great photos of the shop by Joshua Harding over at Bare Bottle.

9. Last, but not least, we are finally working on a new website. One that we will update. One that will work nicely on your phone thing you carry with you. We promise.

Always epic and often controversial, The 2014 IC Top Ten Album Lists are here! Check out our Rdio playlist containing every album except (sadly) T. Swift.

Don Clark / 2014 Top Ten Albums

01. The Jezabels - The Brink

Best Track: "Time To Dance"

02. Future Islands - Singles

Best Track: "Seasons (Waiting On You)"

03. Taylor Swift - 1989

Best Track: "Style"

04. Sia  - 1000 Forms Of fear

Best Track: "Chandelier"

05. Tycho - Awake

Best Track: "Awake"

06. Lights - Little Machines

Best Track: "Up We Go"

07. Run The Jewels - Run The Jewels 2

Best Track: "Oh My Darling Don't Cry"

08. Betty Who - Take Me When You Go

Best Track: "Somebody Loves You"

09. Bleachers - Strange Desire

Best Track: "Rollercoaster"

10. Young Widows - Easy Pain

Best Track: "Godman"

Ryan Clark / 2014 Top Ten Albums

01. The Jezebels - The Brink

Best Track: "No Country"

02. Sia - 1000 Forms Of Fear

Best Track: "Elastic Heart"

03. Chromeo - White Women

Best Track: "Old 45's"

04. Royksopp - The Inevitable End

Best Track: "Monument"

05. Run The Jewels - Run The Jewels 2

Best Track: "Oh My Darling Don't Cry"

06. Future Islands - Singles

Best Track: "Fall From Grace"

07. Sohn - Tremors

Best Track: "Artifice"

08. Delta Spirit - Into The Wide

Best Track: "Live On"

09. Elbow - The Take Off And Landing Of Everything

Best Track: "Charge"

10. Young Widows - Easy Pain

Best Track: "Kerosine Girl"

Ryan Clark / 2014 Top Ten Metal Albums

01. Slipknot - The Gray Chapter

Best Track: "AOV"

02. Machine Head - Bloodstone & Diamonds

Best Track: "Ghost Will Haunt My Bones"

03. In Flames - Siren Charms

Best Track: "Everything's Gone"

04. At The Gates - At War With Reality

Best Track: "At War With Reality"

05. Decapitated - Blood Mantra

Best Track: "Moth Defect (Bonus Track)"

06. Throwdown - Intolerance

Best Track:  "Intolerance"

07. Insense - De:Evolution

Best Track: "Meandering"

08. Mastodon - Once More 'Round The Sun

Best Track: "The Motherload"

09. Killer Be Killed - Killer Be Killed

Best Track: "Wings Of Feather And Wax"

10. Insomnia - Shadows Of The Dying Sun

Best Track: "While We Sleep"

Zac Schwiet / 2014 Top Ten Albums

01. Betty Who - Take Me When You Go

Best Track: “Alone Again”

02. Broods - Evergreen

Best Track: “Bridges”

03. Chromeo - White Women

Best Track: “Come Alive”

04. Ariana Grande - My Everything

Best Track: “One Last Try”

05. Young The Giant - Mind Over Matter

Best Track: “Mind Over Matter”

06. Chet Faker - Built On Glass

Best Track: “Gold”

07. iamamiwhoami - Blue

Best Track: “Fountain”

08. Number One Gun - This Is All We Know

Best Track: “Make A Movie”

09. Taylor Swift - 1989

Best Track: “Style”

10. Barcelona - The Melodrama

Best Track: “Diamond and Silver”

Josh Cross / 2014 Top Ten Albums

01. Thumpers - Galore

Best Track: "Unkinder (A Tougher Love)"

02. The War On Drugs - Lost In The Dream

Best Track: “Red Eyes”

03. Taylor Swift - 1989

Best Track: “Style”

04. Bleachers - Strange Desire

Best Track: “Rollercoaster”

05. Broods- Evergreen

Best Track: “Bridges”

06. Brooke Fraser - Brutal Romantic

Best Track: “Psychoscocial”

07. Ages and Ages - Diversionary

Best Track: “Light Goes Out”

08. Hooray For Earth - Racy

Best Track: “Keys”

09. Walk The Moon - Talking Is Hard

Best Track: “Different Colors”

10. First Aid Kit - Stay Gold

Best Track: “Stay Gold”

listen to our playlist over at rdio ...

Ryan Clark:

01. Editors - The Weight Of Your Love

Best Track: "What Is This Thing Called Love"

02. Biffy Clyro - Opposites

Best Track: "Biblical"

03. White Lies - Big TV

Best Track: "First Time Caller"

04. CHVRCHES - The Bones Of What You Believe

Best Track:  "The Mother We Share"

05. Empire Of The Sun - Ice On The Dune

Best Track: "DNA"

06. Everything Everything - Arc

Best Track: "Kemosabe"

07. The National - Trouble Will Find Me

Best Track: "I Need My Girl"

08. London Grammar - If You Wait

Best Track: "Wasting My Young Years"

09. Haim - Days Are Gone

Best Track: "Don't Save Me"

10. Bastille - Bad Blood

Best Track: "Overjoyed"

Don Clark:

01. Haim - Days Are Gone

Best Track: "Forever"

02. Empire Of The Sun - Ice On The Dune

Best Track: "Alive"

03. Young Galaxy - Ultramarine

Best Track: "New Summer"

04. Beautiful Eulogy - Instruments Of Mercy

Best Track: "You Can Save Me"

05. The Night Marchers - Allez! Allez!

Best Track: "Tropical Depression"

06. Editors - The Weight Of Your Love

Best Track: "What Is This Thing Called Love"

07. JGivens - El v. Envy

Best Track: "Might (Not) Be"

08. CHVRCHES - The Bones Of What You Believe

Best Track: "Gun"

09. London Grammar - If You Wait

Best Track: "Hey Now"

10. Birds Of Tokyo - March Fires

Best Track: "Lanterns"

Zac Schwiet:

01. Brother - Call

Best Track: “Brother"

02. Andrew Belle - Black Bear

Best Track: “Pieces"

03. One Republic - Native

Best Track: “Can’t Stop"

04. The 1975 - Self-Titled

Best Track: “Heart Out"

05. The Head And The Heart - Let’s Be Still

Best Track: “Shake"

06. Aaron Sprinkle - Water & Guns

Best Track: “Alright"

07. Empire Of the Sun - Ice On The Dune

Best Track: “Surround Sound"

08. Young Galaxy - Ultramarine

Best Track: “Fever"

09. Ivan & Alyosha - All The Times We Had

Best Track: “Running For Cover"

10. The Lone Bellow - Self-Titled

Best Track: “Green Eyes And A Heart Of Gold"

Ryan's Top Ten Metal:

01. Omnium Gatherum - Beyond

Best Track: "New Dynamic"

02. Alice In Chains - The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here

Best Track: "Phantom Limb"

03. Soilwork - The Living Infinite

Best Track: "Tongue"

04. HIM - Tears On Tape

Best Track: "Love Without Tears"

05. Kvelertak - Meir

Best Track: "Bruane Brenn"

06. Extol - Extol

Best Track:  "Open The Gates"

07. Living Sacrifice - Ghost Thief

Best Track: "The Reaping"

08. Amorphis - Circle

Best Track: "Shades Of Gray"

09. Carcass - Surgical Steel

Best Track: "A Congealed Clot Of Blood"

10. Battlecross - War Of Will

Best Track: "Flesh & Bone"

We're honored to be part of the fantastic new book Kern and Burn: Conversations With Design Entrepreneurs curated by Tim Hoover and Jessica Karle Heltzel. Featuring Aaron Draplin, Heads Of State, Arman Vit and many others.

'Kern and Burn: Conversations With Design Entrepreneurs' is a beautiful two-color book that features candid conversations with 30 leading designers who have founded startups, channeled personal passions into self-made careers and taken risks to do what they love. In this book they share their failures, successes, and perspectives. Our hope is that you can learn from them — not to follow in their footsteps, but to chart your own course in parallel, one that allows you to thrive, add value to the world and love what you do.

The entire Kern and Burn project was brought to life by a successful Kickstarter campaign, but here's where it all started. Tim and Jessica's spirit and passion for this book is an inspiration, pick up a copy if you can!

Don Clark:

01. The Jezabels - Prisoner

Best Track: "Rosebud"

02. Lecrae - Gravity

Best Track: "Violence"

03. Paper Route - The Peace Of Wild Things

Best Track: "Two Hearts"

04. Michael Kiwanuka - Home Again

Best Track:  "I'm Getting Ready"

05. Delta Spirit - Delta Spirit

Best Track: "Tear It Up"

06. Propaganda - Excellent

Best Track: "Precious Puritans"

07. The Presets - Pacifica

Best Track: "Promises"

08. Ellie Goulding - Halcyon

Best Track: "Anything Can Happen"

09. Abandoned Pools - Sublime Currency

Best Track: "Hype Is The Enemy"

10. Derek Minor - PSA, V. 3

Best Track: "Love"

Ryan Clark:

01. The Presets - Pacifica

Best Track: "Fall"

02. Twin Shadow - Confess

Best Track: "Five Seconds"

03. Delta Spirit - Delta Spirit

Best Track: "Home"

04. O. Children - Apnea

Best Track: "I Know (You Love Me)"

05. The Jezabels - Prisoner

Best Track: "Endless Summer"

06. Night Flight Orchestra - Internal Affairs

Best Track: "1998"

07. Abandoned Pools - Sublime Currency

Best Track: "Sublime Currency"

08. Miike Snow - Happy To You

Best Track: "Garden"

09. Niki & The Dove - Instinct

Best Track: "Somebody"

10. Bright Light Bright Light - Make Me Believe In Hope

Best Track: "Immature"

Zac Schwiet:

01. Abandoned Pools - Sublime Currency

Best Track: "Hype Is The Enemy"

02. Derek Minor - PSA, V. 3

Best Track: "Turn It Up"

03. Ellie Goulding - Halcyon

Best Track: "Anything Could Happen"

04. School of Seven Bells - Ghostory

Best Track: "The Night"

05. Lecrae - Church Clothes

Best Track: "Co-Sign"

06. The Shins - Port Of Morrow

Best Track: "Simple Song"

07. Twin Shadow - Confess

Best Track: "Run My Heart"

08. Paper Route - The Peace Of Wild Things

Best Track: "Two Hearts"

09. Alt-J - An Awesome Wave

Best Track: "Breezeblocks"

10. Shiny Toy Guns - III

Best Track: "Somewhere To Hide"

Ryan's Top Ten Metal:

01. Deftones - Koi No Yokan

Best Track: "Poltergeist"

02. Black Breath - Sentenced To Life

Best Track: "The Flame"

03. Fear Factory - The Industrialist

Best Track: "Recharger"

04. Katatonia - Dead End Kings

Best Track: "The Racing Heart"

05. Cancer Bats - Dead Set On Living

Best Track: "D.S.O.L."

06. Gojira - L'Enfant Sauvage

Best Track:  "L'Enfant Sauvage"

07. Woods Of Ypres - Woods 5: Grey Skies & Electric Light

Best Track: "Lightning & Snow"

08. Meshuggah - Koloss

Best Track: "The Demon's Name Is Surveillance"

09. Swallow The Sun - Emerald Forest And The Blackbird

Best Track: "This Cut Is The Deepest"

10. Becoming The Archetype - I Am

Best Track: "The Eyes Of The Storm"

Extra special thanks to the talented and gracious Mr. Foster for featuring us in his beautiful new book, New Masters Of Poster Design, Volume 2. Available now!

We're really honored that Matt Stevens included an homage to the IC in his glorious MAX100 book. What's even cooler is that our inspired piece sits right next to Mr. Lustig's, one of my all-time fav's. It must have been an omen. Bless you, Matt. Oh, and get yours here. It's a treat for the eyes (and feet). Seriously.

We're honored to be featured in Design For Music by Hans Lijklema and published by The Pepin Press - showcasing a nice little smattering of various music projects throughout the years + a lengthy interview with both of us. Also includes an accompanying disc featuring 'Collapsing' by some band we are affiliated with. Big thanks to Hans for asking us to be part of this.

Well, we've been hard at work for over a year on this next project (and have many more months to go), but we are excited to preview the logo and name of our first interactive children's book The Uproar!, arriving on iPads everywhere via the Apple App store this fall. Lots of fun announcements coming in the first half of 2012, but for now - a quick synopsis:

"Journey into a world of sound and wonder in the interactive musical story The Uproar! Join a bizarre band of misfit monsters to explore a sprawling story from the mind of Invisible Creatureʼs Don Clark."

We are honored and proud to be working with our new favorite publisher + partner: Space Dog Books. Please do yourself a favor and download Space Dog's first chapter book Treasure Island, illustrated by the amazing Matthew Cruickshank.

It's going to be a fun year. Much more soon ...

It's that time of year again. The infamous IC 'Top Ten Albums' of 2011. Get your hate mail ready ...

Ryan:

1. White Lies "Ritual" 2. Young Galaxy "Shapeshifting" 3. Chapel Club "Palace" 4. Jamie Woon "Mirrorwriting" 5. Bon Iver "Bon Iver" 6. Nero "Welcome Reality" 7. Elbow "Build A Rocket Boys!" 8. The Joy Formidable "The Big Roar" 9. My Morning Jacket "Circuital" 10. Graveyard "Hisingen Blues"

Don:

1. Young Galaxy "Shapeshifting" 2. Phantogram "Nightlife EP" 3. Active Child "You Are All I See" 4. Foster The People "Torches" 5. The Joy Formidable "The Big Roar" 6. Austra "Feel It Break" 7. Adele "21" 8. Mat Kearney "Young Love" 9. Jay-Z & Kanye West "Watch The Throne" 10. Mastodon "The Hunter"

Zac:

1. Tycho "Dive" 2. Mat Kearney "Young Love" 3. Nero "Welcome Reality" 4. Young Galaxy "Shapeshifting" 5. Friendly Fires "Pala" 6. Needtobreathe "The Reckoning" 7. White Lies "Rituals" 8. Mirrors "Lights And Offerings" 9. The Joy Formidable "The Big Roar" 10. Phantogram "Nightlife EP"

Don:

Ryan:

Here's 4 new (ish) books that we've been featured in recently: 1000 Indie Posters by John Foster (out in January), The Graphic Design Exercise Book by Carolyn Knight and Jessica Glaser, Typo Lyrics by Slanted and 1000 Supreme CD Designs by PageOne (This one actually came out in '08 but we spaced on it). Now you know what to get your favorite uncle for the holidays.

Love 'em or hate 'em ... our 2009 Top Tens have arrived.

Don:

1. Imogen Heap Ellipse 2. Coalesce OX 3. John Mayer Battle Studies 4. Miike Snow Miike Snow 5. Jay-Z The Blueprint 3 6. Wilco The Album 7. Paper Route Absence 8. Mute Math Armistice 9. Phoenix Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix 10. Mindy Smith Stupid Love

Top Ten "Honorable Mention"

1. Throwdown Deathless 2. Mastodon Crack The Skye 3. Switchfoot Hello Hurricane 4. Metric Fantasies 5. U2 No Line On The Horizon 6. The Boxer Rebellion Union 7. Blacklist Midnight Of The Century 8. I Am X Kingdom Of Welcome Addiction 9. Editors In This Light And On This Evening 10. Hot Leg Red Light Fever

Ryan:

1. White Lies To Lose My Life 2. Bat For Lashes Two Suns 3. Alice In Chains Black Gives Way To Blue 4. Metric Fantasies 5. Living Things Habeas Corpus 6. I Am X Kingdom Of Welcome Addiction 7. Phoenix Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix 8. Miike Snow Miike Snow 9. Dredg The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion 10. Depeche Mode Sounds Of The Universe

Top Ten "Honorable Mention"

1. Doves Kingdom Of Rust 2. Paper Route Absence 3. Temper Trap Conditions 4. Blacklist Midnight Of The Century 5. Biffy Clyro Only Revolutions 6. Editors In This Light And On This Evening 7. Imogen Heap Ellipse 8. Grammatics Grammatics 9. Silversun Pickups Swoon 10. Prodigy Invaders Must Die

Ryan's Top Ten Metal:

1. Throwdown Deathless 2. Bury Your Dead It's Nothing Personal 3. Coalesce OX 4. Mastodon Crack The Skye 5. The Ascendicate To Die As Kings 6. Napalm Death Time Waits For No Slave 7. Karnivool Sound Awake 8. Unholy New Life Behind Closed Eyes 9. Scar Symmetry Dark Matter Dimensions 10. Devil Driver Pray For Villains

Pre-order the upcoming ultimate rock poster book that spawned from the ultimate rock poster website: Gigposters. I think we have a few pages in there too. And a free Jay Ryan print never hurt anyone.

Not a bad year for music! Yeah, yeah, yeah ... we realize there are a few more releases that are coming out before the end of the year. But are any of them good? Exactly. That being said, read 'em and weep. Don:

2008 TOP TEN

1. Portishead "Third" 2. The Night Marchers "See You In Magic" 3. Kings Of Leon "Only By The Night" 4. People In Planes "Beyond The Horizon" 5. The Out_Circuit "Pierce The Empire With A Sound" 6. Carolina Liar "Coming To Terms" 7. Copeland "You Are My Sunshine" 8. Keane "Perfect Symmetry" 9. The Helio Sequence "Keep Your Eyes Ahead" 10. Coldplay "Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends"

2008 TOP TEN HONORABLE MENTION

1. Snow Patrol "A Hundred Million Suns" 2. My Morning Jacket "Evil Urges" 3. Oasis "Dig Out Your Soul" 4. Your Vegas "S/T" 5. Secret Machines "S/T" 6. Dead Confederate "Wrecking Ball" 7. Royworld "Man In The Machine" 8. Young Widows "Old Wounds" 9. Starflyer 59 "Dial M" 10. Longwave "Secrets Are Sinister"

2008 TOP TEN METAL

1. Metallica "Death Magnetic" 2. Slipknot "All Hope Is Gone" 3. The Famine "The Raven & The Reaping" 4. Gojira "The Way Of All Flesh" 5. All That Remains "Overcome" 6. Bury Your Dead "S/T" 7. Scar Symmetry "Holographic Universe" 8. Meshuggah "ObZen" 9. Becoming The Archetype "Dichotomy" 10. Opeth "Watershed"

Ryan:

2008 TOP TEN

1. Elbow "The Seldom Seen Kid" 2. Portishead "Third" 3. Kings Of Leon "Only By The Night" 4. People In Planes "Beyond The Horizon" 5. Secret Machines "Secret Machines" 6. The Night Marchers "See You In Magic" 7. The Helio Sequence "Keep Your Eyes Ahead" 8. Copeland "You Are My Sunshine" 9. My Morning Jacket "Evil Urges" 10. The Out_Circuit "Pierce The Empire With A Sound"

2008 TOP TEN HONORABLE MENTION

1. Young Widows "Old Wounds" 2. Haunts "Haunts" 3. Carolina Liar "Coming To Terms" 4. Oasis "Dig Out Your Soul" 5. Bon Iver "For Emma, Forever Ago" 6. Goldfrapp "Seventh Tree" 7. Keane "Perfect Symmetry" 8. Starflyer 59 "Dial M" 9. Stereophonics "Pull The Pin" 10. The Subways "All Or Nothing"

2008 TOP TEN METAL

1. The Famine "The Raven And The Reaping" 2. Scar Symmetry "Holographic Universe" 3. Bury Your Dead "Bury Your Dead" 4. Slipknot "All Hope Is Gone" 5. Becoming The Archetype "Dichotomy" 6. Metallica "Death Magnetic" 7. Gojira "The Way Of All Flesh" 8. Disfear "Live The Storm" 9. Meshuggah "ObZen" 10. Trenches "The Tide Will Swallow Us Whole"

Tim (Feed The Creature):

2008 TOP TEN

1. The Walkmen "You & Me" 2. Fleet Foxes "S/T" 3. The Dodos "Visiter" 4. Coldplay "Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends" 5. Kings of Leon "Only By The Night" 6. Department of Eagles "In Ear Park" 7. Vampire Weekend "Self Titled" 8. Okkervil River "The Stand-Ins" 9. Deerhunter "Microcastle" 10. Ryan Adams & The Cardinals "Cardinology"

2008 TOP TEN HONORABLE MENTION

1. My Morning Jacket "Evil Urges" 2. Oasis "Dig Out Your Soul" 3. Portishead "Third" 4. The Helio Sequence "Keep Your Eyes Ahead" 5. Kanye West "808's And Heartbreaks" 6. Wale "The Mixtape About Nothing" 7. The Raconteurs "Consolers of the Lonely" 8. Beck "Modern Guilt" 9. The Cool Kids "The Bake Sale" 10. The Notwist "The Devil, You + Me"

Ryan and I were honored to be part of the epic book Beasts! ... and now we're excited to see Beasts! 2, which I am sure will knock our socks off as well. Stay in the loop here.

Oh, and don't forget to check out the cool paperback version of Beasts! coming soon.

The Weretiger (above) is by A.J. Fosik.

Chip Kidd has a new website (finally!) titled Good Is Dead, which consists of his portfolio, blog, speaking engagements and other nuggets of goodness. I'm very excited about all of this, as I believe Chip is one of the all-time greats. If you don't own this, you need to.

Mmmmm ... first cupcakes, now this: Fantagraphics just announced their new Flora book, arriving in stores next year. If anyone knows where to find a time machine, let us know.