Of course the National should be on all top 5 for the year. Just saw them on Saturday night and were great. No love for Josh Ritter, one of the three best songwriters out releases his most adventurous album this year and gets no talk here. If you like National and Neutral Milk Hotel then go get the new Okkervil River (cant spell, sorry) it is really good as well. The best album from last year still gets very little pub, it is the Dust of Retreat by Margot and the Nuclear so and so's (but there is one terrible song).