Is the album dead?

If you were shown a list of the ten best selling albums of 2008, how many of them would actually be a part of your own personal collection? How many would you honestly admit to having an intimate, well-rounded knowledge of?

Those of you scrambling to recall even one of the potential titles, you’re not alone.

Nielsen SoundScan reports that 2008’s top ten artists sold more than 40 million fewer albums than the top ten of 2000 and the decline doesn’t appear to be ending any time soon.

Apparently, consumers don’t find Lil Wayne, Taylor Swift and Kid Rock to be overly deserving of their time and money.

“In my opinion, the main reason for dwindling album sales is file sharing. All it takes
is for one guy in his dorm to find the new Peter, Bjorn & John and e-mail it to all of his friends weeks before the actual release date” says Brandon Delmont, head buyer for Record Theatre. “What could have been 50 sales of the album turns into zero sales at the record shop.”

The onset of programs such as iTunes and LimeWire tends to support Delmont’s popular assertion, but a closer look reveals something very different indeed. Consider the aforementioned Swift and Kid Rock.

To fans, they represent the pinnacle of American music at this point in time, but to outsiders they’re nothing more than glorified karaoke hounds that produce skin-deep pop songs aimed at hijacking a piece of your wallet.

“It’s so hard to find good bands these days” says college freshman Ben Thuman. “If people actually listen to and buy this crap, nothing within the system will ever change.”

Thuman’s passionate reflection is just a microcosm of what is happening in today’s market. For evidence of how differently some artists approach the business, look no further than Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder and pop sensations The Jonas Brothers.

When Vedder composed the soundtrack for Sean Penn’s “Into the Wild,” he was driven by a strong dedication to the craft and ended up with an album that Rolling Stone writer David Fricke called “tracks that temper the romance of absolute freedom with an eerie foreboding.”

When The Jonas Brothers compose an album, they’re catering to an entirely different demographic and therefore aim to create catchy tunes that will make more money in the short-term.

Whatever people think of today’s pop artists, their commercial status hints at the ongoing shift from producing complex albums to simply making radio-friendly singles that fans can download in 30 seconds flat.

“Long gone are the days of bringing home an album with thought-provoking lyrics on a sheet of glossy paper tucked inside the jacket” says long-time fan Ruth Eger, when expressing her dismay with the current musical climate. “I remember when pop/rock/soul music had edgy lyrics and an instrumental bridge that everyone would be humming in the car.”

Eger isn’t the only one who sees a problem with today’s scene. Thuman also longs for a return to the days of great drumming and virtuoso guitar work.

“You really have to look hard for bands that are capable of making music that involves talent and originality” he says. “Most of them are more interested in making money than making good music and it’s a rip-off.”

Although the negativity abounds, Delmont doesn’t feel that mainstream music has dropped off all that much.

“I think it’s always sort of sucked. I can remember a gentleman in college that was in his 30s at the time and I would tell him how great the Beatles were. He said he never listened to them, because they were too “bubblegum” back then” says Delmont. “You’re always going to find great art, music and literature on the edges of society. You just have to look for it.”