The album is good, but some songs are boring.

Best album released for years, the lyrical content is something to admire, completely compelled to listen to it at least once a day even though its been out for over a year, thanks Justin.

Every song on the album is good, as is the overall mood presented, but it felt like I was listening to one very very long song. Just not enough variety.

A truly cathartic masterpiece of a debut album from Justin Vernon. What started as a retreat ended in creation, that creation came in the form of "For Emma, Forever Ago". Like many, the first song that peaked my interest was "Skinny Love" (please don't pretend like you're "over" this track because it's popular you elitist douche) every song on the album builds and destroys, pushes and pulls, burns and freezes the emotions of a bitter heartbreak and quiet defeat of denial.I've never met a person who has taken the time to sit down and listen to this album and not love...if these people exist...I would rather never acknowledge their existence for as long as I live.… Expand

Such sadness, but such beauty. His voice stays with me for hours

Beautiful album. Justin Vernon's voice is so intimate... yet so intense... the best of the year for me along with portishead's third.

What a fantastic album. The vocals are hauntingly familiar and there is enough subtle diversity to keep the record fresh. My only complaint is that there are only 8 full songs on it -- it's a lovely listen though.

Great, fantastic. Great, gloomy and genious!

This album is a very soothing and calming release. I first heard it while in Iraq and have been a fan since. His music was just what I needed on those rough days when tempers flared and situations were nearly out of control...I would go and listen to this album to calm down.

Love this record, "Skinny Love" stands out as the best track for me. Bon Iver sounds like an accoustic version of TV on the Radio. Outstanding.

One of the best albums I have EVER heard.

I love this. I'm waiting for one of these songs to end up on Grey's Anatomy because of all the hype. Not that I'd watch Grey's, but seriously boys and girls. If you don't own this and are any sort of person that is inspired by music, this record will haunt you for a long time.

Briliant...

The guitar reminds me of Elliott Smith and the off-putting at first that grow on you vocals remind me of the first few times I listened to the Pixies. Definitely worth multiple listenings.

Amazing album. Sounds like Tunde Adepimbe from TV on the Radio meets the instrumentation of Sam Beam. Great for late nights or early morning car drives to work. My only complaint is that this rerelease came out at the end of winter. Would have been a great soundtrack for December and January.

Great album from this french artist! Merci!

incredibly refreshing; I say with no uncertainty that this is the most beautiful album I have ever listened to.

This is the best record I've heard in a long long time.

Decent effort...must confirm the next time.

I think this was the best album of 2007. Hauntingly beautiful. Skinny Love never gets old.

My favourite record of the year. An ambient, honest, simple, soul-searchingly wonderful record. Can't stop listening to it.

Fantastic album, unique voice.

Absolutely amazing sound; pure emotion and thought.

It has been long since I heard this album first time but what I remember is this magical feeling. It makes this CD timeless sailing through my mind. Album has only 9 tracks but sometimes it's better to put some really good melodies on the disc and leave the less shiny behind. Songs for Emma are picked with love and by a big ear which knows how to get into humans soul.

One of the more unique albums in recent memory. His voice is very specific and fits the overall mood of the cd's themes very well. Look forward to more of him.

Reaches out to your inner loneliness but in a good way. Very original.

Buy this one on vinyl and let-er-spin on a Sunday morning while you're blankly staring at birds out the window. "Skinny Love" is just OK people (a nice sounding pop styled song... but not the best song on the album!) The "Wolves" songs are much more layered and unexpected in sound and rhythm. Great sound-scape of an album. Somewhat haunting...great poetry.

Album of the year, with Skinny Love as the track of the year.

I listen to this CD in my car and find myself transported. Even my kids love the songs. This is such a transformational CD that i am telling all of my friends about it. I cant wait to hear what he does next. he reminds me a bit of Sufjan Stevens!

Bon Iver's splendid ballads of heartbreak, loss and regret fall, soft like snow on one's ears, gradually and subtly penetrating the soul. He sets up camp in a well trodden musical landscape - the stripped down quest of the singer songwriter - yet manages to emerge with something that feels personal, fresh and vital. This is a grower. Initially it may sound much more conventional than it is. An album that pays big dividends to those willing to allow its less obvious strengths surface.… Expand

The layering of vocals and the subtle Peter Gabriel meets Simon and Garfunkel ethos makes this one of the best albums of the first two months of 2008.

A very pretty, lush record. Muted. Calm. Hushed. Intimate, yet detached. This is a very dour record, but it a good way. "Skinny Love" and "Re: Stacks" stand far above the rest, which pale in comparison to those two highlights. But "Flume" is also a very sparsely emotional opener, and "Lump Sum" and "Creature Fear" both share beautiful strange decaying harmonies. "Team" is a brief instrumental that doesn't really do much, but fades into the awkwardly dialogged tale seamlessly. This is a nice record, and wonderful rainy morning or misty night soundtracking. However, it is not as amazing as everyone thinks it is; the lyrics are often incomprehensible, which works with many bands, but not necessarily in these instances. It's definitely ignorable, but it did deter from the listening/mood for me. And, honestly, I'd rather go spin "The Creek Drank The Cradle" a few times, and lull into that sepia-toned realm instead of this wintery cast. Beautiful. Emotional. But not outstanding.… Expand

Wow ... Easily album of the year for me. I have never had an album grab me the way this has. A moment of musical genius.

Great record, but to get the full deal see them LIVE. Just saw them open for Black mountain in Halifax, Nova Scotia and was floored. Holds a nice spot right next to the handsome family and all my Palace Music. Solid talent to be reckoned with

I just fell in love with this album tonight so take the "10" rating for what it is. But as far as first impressions go it doesnt get much better than this for me. Beautiful record.

Such a gripping listen. His voice is precious. As the album progresses, you can almost envision the 3 months he spent in a cabin tucked away in Wisconsin's hinterland. Although thoroughly enjoying this album at the moment, I can't help but look forward to future albums from Justin, aka. Bon Iver.

Easily the best indie album of the year (so far). Painfully evocative of the rural setting which inspired him and a truly masterful acoustic opus.

Intimate. Hypnotic. Beautiful. Intense.

This may seem redundant, since I completely agree with Josh. When I first heard it I thought, "Tunde Adekimpe?" (lead singer of TV On The Radio). The songwriting and song craftsmanship is gorgeous, and Skinny Love and Creature Fear are fantastic.

Wow, this is a brilliant album. I am giving an 8 because it lets itself down a little towards the end and well, since I believe nothing's ever perfect, 9 is my highest score. Skinny Love is going to be played to everyone who will listen and who I believe will appreciate it. There's some others too, but that one hit me right away. Nice job!

Cool album. I can't wait for his next.

On the title track, this songwriter uses, then surpasses, the best Damien Jurado("Tragedy"), M. Ward("Chinese Translation"), and Beiruit("Postcards from Italy"), song. It sounds like the soundtrack to Rob Sheffield's "Love is a Mix Tape", the memoir about the rock critic's late-rock critic wife. Of all the sadly beautiful songs on "For Emma, Forever Ago, "For Emma" is the most sadly beautiful. It might be the best of its kind since Elton John's "Your Song". "Skinny Love" is my other favorite. Violent Femmes didn't do punk, but they gave good pathos on acoustical instruments, just like "Skinny Love". The "creature" in "Creature Fear", must be the girl, the proverbial "Emma", but it's also a funny reference to the animals outside this songwriter's "recording studio", his cabin. A raccoon? A chinchilla? A rabbit with rabies? He's girl and squirrel afraid. I'm afraid I'll never hear another album like "For Emma, Forever Ago". This is rare music, indeed.… Expand

The real American ballads os XXI century. Genetics: American Music Club, Cowboy Junkies. I love it. Come to Portugal, one day.

What can I say-- this album is too good to be lumped into any sort of genre. For Emma.. gives me that feeling of being kissed for the very first time. I'm pretty sure its going to be the best thing to come out this year.

Perfect. Whatever the situation you find yourself listening to this album, every song suits every eventuality. But there is still more to come no doubt, looking forward to seeing where he goes in his career.

Re: Stacks must be the most beautiful sentimental song I have ever heard. Great to listen to when looking at old pictures from college parties.

A masterpiece.

When I first heard this album, by the third song, my brain had begun to re-wire itself, neurons grew, new synapses formed. I will never be the same. This is one album that I will try my best to keep to myself, like a briefcase full of cash you find in an alley.

This is the first record I have ever listened to where I don't want to share my opinions on it simply because i wouldn't want to say something stupid that took away from its shocking beauty. The one point I will make and this is something that keeps entering my head everytime i hear this album is how distinctly American it is. In no other country could I see this type of album being made. Harbored in folk and soul but expressed through solitude, loneliness, and yes (lame as it might sound) freedom Justin Vernon has captured the actual American spirit that so many country acts have pitifully grasped at.… Expand

I have never heard anything quite like this. It is absolutely brilliant.

Stunning, absolutely stunning.

The only crime with this beautiful album is that it is not longer than it is... Another 15 minutes or 2, 3 songs would have been awesome.

I love music that surprises me. Like many great albums, For Emma, Forever Ago has taken several listens fully grasp the raw beauty of Bon Iver's music. Very easily a contender for album of the year.

If you count this album as a 2008 release, it is definitely the best of 2008. If you count Justin Vernon's individual release of 2007, Bon Iver is the second best of 2007 with you-know-what in first (In Rainbows). Very good music for someone who recorded in a remote cabin in Wisconsin for four months.

Its Wounder an album like this is made today. Art, folk rock at a finest level. Never wavers nor falls short. Just bleeds all the way through to the end.

Songs to download are Creature Fear/Team, Flume, Re: Stacks and The Wolves, if not the whole thing. Amazing, amazing work. His voice and his harmonies are just plain beautiful.

Hands down, album of the year. Beautiful.

Best album of 2008. The Vinyl interprets the space of the cabin in a way the CD just can't. But in any medium this is a record worth hearing. The live shows with Wilco were outstanding.

This is amazing! one of my favs this year. if your going to listen to anything this is a must.

Wisconsin, Winter, Moonlight... the best 3 am album ever.

A relaxing listen

What a bore!

Pick this one up. You won't regret it. Gentle, sad and haunting. Vernon's only gotten better since his Mount Vernon days.

I saw him in concert in November about a month after discovering him on the internet. His performance was poignant and moving, like his songs. It is a lonely yet complacent record, and Vernon sets that tone on every track. This album is a stunning debut, Vernon has the capacity to be both irresistable and haunting.

Beautiful album - has a depth of sound and feeling - my favorite song changes each time I listen to it. Makes me homesick.

Though I frequent this site regularly for music recommendations, I rarely rate albums. That said, this is one of the most beautiful and affective albums I have ever heard. I know that sounds like a grand and thoughtless statement, but it's true. My response to it was immediate. It's indie rock-soul-folk, and it's gorgeous.

This album is fantastic. It's so raw and emotional. It's hands-down the best album of the year.

Get to this fellow's show - live in fact better than fiction.

Simply Brilliant.

Grand record considering how mellow and stripped down it is. Some great ambiance behind the rhythmic strumming of the guitar. Opening track, Flume, and skinny love are the best...I love it when a record opens up upon repeated listenings. Goes well with Neil Young's Live 1971 Massey Hall.

Simply inspiring.

This is such a stunning album. I've heard it so many times, and it's still fantastic. I love how different his voice is, and all of the harmonies, and how EVERY song amazes me. It's a really great album.

For Emma, Forever Ago perfectly captures the feelings of both the cold and warmth of a long winter. I have played this album non-stop since I discovered it over the summer. Overall one of my all-time favorite records.

WOW! I am an avid music lover and rarely come across a musician who leaves me speechless. Reviews suggesting this is a "good" sophomore effort, but could have been better leave me dumbfounded! The lyrics, singing, and phrasing are simply amazing. Note one album in the recent past the has so much emotional intensity and intense lyricism! Bon Iver is the "real deal" and I only hope he continues to produce such amazing and beautiful songs. Absolutely fantastic!… Expand

Justin Vernon is a very talented musician and always has been. Anything he has ever written, including music off of this album, is perfection.

I loved it. Best by far. He easily slipped this one as my top album. I live in Wisconsin. This is the sound track of my life, captured by lovely vocals and incredible lyrics.

Every word penetrates our hearts like a recognition of our most sincere feelings. This is a perfect album, where every song feels like it's meant to exist. It's impossible to get tired off every single one of this musics...

It is heartbreakingly lovely, personal, and visceral. It is perfect for lying in bed and dozing, reading, or having on outside in the sun for a day. This album couldn't be better.

Justin Vernon has one of the most beautiful falsetto I've ever heard. This album is a slice of pure musical genius. Each track is beautifully written and gets better with each listen. I never found this to be an entertaining album but after listening to it a few times, it's really grown on me. Lump Sum is easily the best track on this album but every other track is amazing also. All In All, "For Emma, Forever Ago" is an extremely well written album and I highly recommend this to anyone. A… Expand

This is a pretty nice album with a subtle and interesting feel to it. It's the type of music you would listen to if you were camping with a bunch of friends and you got stuck in a rainstorm in the middle of the afternoon. Give it a chance, it's a fine listen.

5000 characters isn't enough so I'll sum it up with this: perfect. I can honestly listen to this album anytime/season/place etc...easily in my Top 10 albums of all time (talking about ones made in my lifetime).

In a word- it's boring. It has its moments, like "Skinny Love," a track that actually features some loud/soft dynamics, but the rest is just too monotone. The man makes it clear that he's been hurt and for a little while, makes you care. Unfortunately, while listening to this album, I kept waiting for so many of the tracks to actually go somewhere, and they hardly ever did. If you are a fan of the "one man playing an acoustic guitar softly" genre (think Iron & Wine's earlier albums), you may well love this as many others like you have. Otherwise, you will find this to be overhyped and disappointing.… Expand

One of the records of the decade. This has beautiful songs, unique arrangements and a genuine rawness that only gets captured on record properly once every few years. Bon Iver does an awful lot with very little on this. I would highly recommend.