Best Beats '08

Call it the Year of the Diva, or the Year I Became Just That Much Gayer, but how could you

 not feel overcome by big-female artist albums? Madonna, Mariah, Kylie, Celine, Cyndi – the list goes on, and so did that ear-to-ear smile on my face. For most of them, at least. But only two gay icons swooped into this annual year-end tally (Mariah, at No. 3; Cyndi, No. 6), which means I was left – happily – with divas-in-the-making, hot rock-lite dudes, a lesbian fave and a quasi-country cutie I’m probably too old to listen to.

1. Coldplay, ‘Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends’

A little stylistic switcheroo never hurt – especially when everything starts sounding like it’s being engineered in a hit factory. Déjà vu might’ve marred their creatively-tired “X&Y,” but limiting the pop sheen – and invigorating their rock-lite sound with experimental tinkering and band-bellwether Chris Martin’s stray from distraught falsetto – Coldplay recorded an epic opus. Singles swoon, but "Vida"’s a ceaseless mesmerizer, knee-deep in mind-probing, ach

y, romantic sounds. The anthemic closer “Death and All His Friends” is a grandiose awakening, “Lost!” rides a catchy clap-groove, and “Lovers in Japan” offers up the kind of perseverance we need most now. Or, hell, whenever.

iPod it: “Lost!,” “Lovers in Japan,” “Violet Hill”

2. Robyn, ‘Robyn’

And the No. 2 album of the year is from … Robyn? No one would’ve guessed that the Swedish “Show Me Love” popster could muster anything of great significance. Which might be why she redefined her sound, and her image – self-titling her fourth disc, a contempo pop gem besting releases from Britney and Beyonce. Between bouncy in-your-face bits like “Konichiwa Bitches” and “Handle Me,” Robyn knows how to twist our heart, stinging us with the bittersweetness of “With Every Heartbeat” and the sparse “Eclipse.” So, show it love.

iPod it: “Robotboy,” “With Every Heartbeat,” “Eclipse”

3. Mariah Carey, ‘E=MC2’ 

Mariah, she’s so bad. Experimenting with her cheeky side – and who knows what else (this was MC at her horniest) – “Touch My Body” helped her reign over Elvis' record for No. 1 singles. And the rest of “Emancipation” Part Two? So good. And thuggish. And personal. She dishes on still living with ex-hubby “Side Effects” and laments her dad’s death on “Bye Bye.” Say bye bye to this album? Not

 anytime soon.

iPod it: “Migrate,” “I’ll Be Lovin’ U Long Time,” “Side Effects”

4. Kathleen Edwards, ‘Asking for Flowers’

Four albums in, this alt-country Canadian goes quieter, letting the feistiness that marked previous rock-leaning releases fall to the wayside. But with more emotion than a funeral home, Edwards keeps her edge – in the songwriting. The joshing is left to “The Cheapest Key,” a brief, salty morsel. But, elsewhere, she’s an actress, playing the guy avoiding the draft on “Oil Man’s War,” and a woman kidnapped, beaten and left for dead (“Alicia Ross”). It’s powerful enough to leave a mark. And it obviously has.

iPod it: “Alicia Ross,” “Buffalo,” “Goodnight, California”

5. Duffy, ‘Rockferry’

Aimee Duffy was unjustly declared Amy Winehouse’s replacement. Sure, the structure, delivery and even the “yeah, yeah, yeah” might’ve coincidently – or even conveniently – matched the druggie’s “Rehab.” On the Welsh’s debut, though, she makes her name known, using her sweeter voice to accentuate a blistering, cloudy-day affair doused in neo-soul. Without the Winehouse sass, Duffy still knows how to nail a break-up ballad, like “Hanging on Too Long,” or a sweeping sweller like “Distant Dreamer.”

iPod it: “Mercy,” “Scared,” “Distant Dreamer”

6. Cyndi Lauper, ‘Bring Ya to the Brink’

Madonna’s “Hard Candy” went with the fad flow, but Lauper kept it so unusual, releasing an almost-entire retro dance album. And one of the best of her two-decade-plus career. “Rain on Me,” the only ballad (and a sublime one it is), is a “Time After Time” throwback, but the album’s brimming with disco-ball shimmer, like on the synthy, dizzying “Into the Nightlife.” Her elastic, expressive voice didn’t just lure us to the dance floor, especially on mood-lifter “Set Your Heart." It kept us moving in a different way.

iPod it: “Echo,” “Into the Nightlife,” “Rain on Me”

For the entire list, pick up Between The Lines now or visit www.pridesource.com.