In my opinion, the year 2008 was, yet again, another vastly underwhelming year in the world of music.
The entire music scene hasn't really shaken me to the core for a good 15 years, probably since the days when Kurt Cobain was ruling the world.
Yet having said this, 2008 was far from barren in the music world as a whole.
Whilst candy-pop, rap and hip-hop dominated the charts again, for the umpteenth year in a row, it took until October for a new album to emerge, from an old favorite, that would, FINALLY, belatedly, strike me as something worth listening to.
It took the Grandaddy's of heavy metal, the boys hailing from Melbourne, Australia (like myself) in AC/DC to get the music scene back on track with a suitably thumping, grinding, back-to-basics, traditional AC/DC record.
Fortunately for me, AC/DC's 15th studio album, "Black Ice", was released commercially in Australia on October 18th, two days before the rest of the world.
Being an Australian band, "Black Ice", AC/DC's first studio album in eight years, was profiled extensively in the Australian media, with airplay given to most of the 15 songs on the record.
This meant that the Australian audience were fortunate enough to get a taste of everything the record had to offer, without committing to buying or downloading it; whereas the remainder of the world would have to go on the officially released singles.
The first single commercially released from "Black Ice" was the brilliant "Rock and Roll Train", a song heard all over radios, music television channels, and even making a guest background appearance on American TV show "Criminal Minds".
This song, unlike about 99 percent of songs released in 2008, genuinely got me up and moving, dancing and singing along.
This was a classic, heart-pumping, tub-thumping heavy metal rock song, classic AC/DC at their best, and was justification for AC/DC making the front cover of "Rolling Stone" magazine for the first time in their 30-plus year career.
With the Young brothers churning out indomitable riffs on their guitars, and the British ring-in, Brian Johnson, powering out those distinctive vocals, it was just like 1983 all over again.
The remaining 14 songs from "Black Ice" are a mixture of traditional, head-banging AC/DC hard rock, along with some more eclectic, mature songs. AC/DC even, unthinkably, try their hand at an AC/DC-style ballad.
But, it's the hard rock, deep-pounding, traditional AC/DC songs that get me up and moving, and make it easy for me to choose "Black Ice" as my album of the year.
The only album released in the past few that compares to it, for me personally, was Kid Rock's "Rock and Roll Jesus". This album was officially released at the end of 2007 worldwide, so it was unable to come into my considerations, but it would have given "Black Ice" a good run for its money, had I been able to include it.
It was Kid Rock's sensational rock- and rap-infused songs, those released in 2008, that got me jumping up and down at nightclubs, weddings and parties I attended, so I'd say the Kid's work in 2008 came a very close second to that of AC/DC.
In particular, Kid Rock's global hit "All Summer Long" had me up and dancing many times, and I still cannot get enough of it even now.
If you haven't already, then definitely either buy or download AC/DC's "Black Ice", as well as the Kid Rock single "All Summer Long". I guarantee they'll have you up and dancing, and most likely singing as well.
These represent the best music had to offer in 2008.