A friend of mine calls Paste a music magazine for people who wish Uncle Tupelo were still together, but have decided to try to like new stuff. And I can’t agree more when looking at Paste’s Top 50 albums of 2008 list.

Alt-country and straight country albums from artists like Lee Ann Womack, Johnny Flynn & The Sussex Wit, and Lucinda Williams get placed on the list alongside albums that Paste obviously is forced to put on the list but doesn’t really like all that much (Tha Carter III, which I don’t recall them actually reviewing, Dear Science, Santogold, Nouns, etc.).

But there’s no greater head-scratcher than their pick for number one: She & Him’s Volume One, which they pick mostly for it being “adorable,” as they say in the write-up. I’m pretty sure "adorable" is mostly used as a slight, but Paste posits that it makes the album the best of the year.

I can’t say I’m necessarily surprised, but it’s still a bit of a strange list. To read it in full, go here.