Sound: From track to track Santogold jump from one style to another with reckless abandon. Synthy, new wavy pop/rock (think Missing Persons meets Gwen Stefani); punky ska (think No Doubt); tribal electro (think M.I.A.); feminist, quirky indie rock (think Liz Phair) and many more genres and hybrids are represented…

When I review a new release, I also give the album a score based on the quality of each individual track and the album as a whole. Sure it’s only April, but it’s never too soon to start tracking the Top Albums of 2008. The list will be up 20 soon enough, but for now here are the 15 best albums I’ve heard so far this year (Note: To be eligible for this list the album needs to be released in the U.S. between December 1, 2007 and November 30, 2008):

1. Vampire Weekend Vampire Weekend (XL)
2. Gnarls Barkley The Odd Couple (Atlantic)
3. Lupe Fiasco The Cool (Atlantic)
4. Hot Chip Made in the Dark (Astralwerks)
5. The Hush Sound Goodbye Blues (Fueled By Ramen/Atlantic)

What music are the campuses of Princeton Review’s Top 20 Best College Radio Stations in 2008 buzzing about? New Music Nation surveys radio station and newspaper Web sites for these schools every week to find out.

With many schools winding down for the academic year, the noise-punk band No Age gets noticed by Carleton and Swarthmore for their upcoming release, Nouns. Jamie Lidell continues to get college radio love for his third album, Jim; this week from DePauw University.