boxer This wasn’t even close. Why? Because every single song on The National’s Boxer is a fucking masterpiece. I don’t have many albums which I can listen from start to finish without fail. I’ll be listening to this album from start to finish when I’m 80 years old. Any song on this album is probably better than the single on half of the records I listened to this year. Hell, it seems foolish to point the “highlights” of this album as it’s that damn good. The musical arrangements are varied and gorgeous and although Matt Berninger puts his pants on just like the rest of us, when he does, he makes writes genius and haunts people with his voice. Honestly, someone name that guy Poet Laureate or something. Go sample the whole album on Amazon and if you don’t have it just use Amazon’s mp3 store and immediately download it for $9 (unless you’re in Canada, then just order a spinning disk or pirate it).