Here's my picks for the best albums of 2008 from bands that represent 20 different countries spanning the globe. These albums may not neccessarily be the "best" from each country, just the ones that represent the musical cultures in the best way. If i've missed some countries it's because I haven't heard enough of em. BON VOYAGE!
Australia - Xavier Rudd - Deep Shades of Blue
Australia - Mammal - The Majority
Canada - A Silver Mt Zion
Holland - Ayreon - 01 etc
New Zealand - Shihad - Beautiful machine
New Zealand - Tiki Taane self titled
U.S.A - Cynic - Traced In Air
sorry man, i misunderstood your comment.
yeah the dir en grey album doesn't really represent the japanese music scene, but it just stood out for me this year