I’m pretty proud of my Best of 2008 Mixtape that I sent out to nine friends today (see previous post). But Merge Records is giving me a run for the money with their own 2008 Sampler.

Here’s the lineup:

1. Slipped Dissolved and Loosed by Lambchop
2. Life Like by The Rosebuds
3. Dark Leaves Form a Thread by Destroyer
4. All the Lost Souls Welcome You to San Francisco by American Music Club
5. Cape Canaveral by Conor Oberst
6. I Don’t Feel Young by Wye Oak
7. Warm Rising Sun by Radar Bros.
8. Auctioneer by The Broken West
9. Some Small History by Portastatic
10. She’s Fetching by Big Dipper
11. Why Do You Let Me Stay Here? by She & Him
12. Majesty by The Music Tapes
13. Jingle Bells by Julian Koster

You can stream these songs on Merge’s site or register and receive the album as a free download. Offering the download is a smart move by Merge, as the Conor Oberst and Wye Oak albums are the only ones we currently own. After this new sampler sinks in a bit, I’m sure we’ll be tempted to pick up more of these ’08 releases.

Bonus tracks for download here: Lazy Susan and Living in Sin by Oakley Hall (another Merge recording artist, but one that didn’t release an album in 2008. These tracks are from 2006.)