Sound: The world’s premiere hip hop band jumps around from militant synth funk to smooth jazzy fusion to brooding r&b and even drops an electro industrial beat that could be on a Nine Inch Nails album. Meanwhile lead MC Black Thought spits fiery, socially conscious rhymes and frequently passes the mic to an equally hungry, agitated and skillful group of guest rappers…

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.

School’s out for most the College Radio Buzz schools. However, M83 gets a second shout out from DePauw University for their new release, Saturdays=Youth; it was originally highlighted a couple of weeks ago by Carleton College.