Here we are at the end of another year. Another year of music and another year of music games. And while the holidays roll around, it can be very hard to decide what music game is worth putting your shiny coin on the counter for. Especially now that music games can range in price nearly as high as a video game console itself. So, what are the best music games of 2008?

5.) Guitar Hero: On Tour (Nintendo DS)

They've done it on consoles; now they do it on handhelds. Yes, they have translated the guitar peripheral into a bite sized version that fits perfect for the Nintendo DS which gives people the opportunity to play Guitar Hero on the road. You might find a cell phone version of Guitar Hero but it hardly represents the franchise as well as the DS version does. We chose it as number five because it is a great piece of technology and imitates the satisfaction of the console version very well. For 50 bucks you get the game and the neck like controller which attaches to the DS. It doesn't have the greatest song selection and it may give you a bit of wrist strain, but it is still a worthy purchase. There is also a sequel to the game that offers you more tracks if you already own the neck peripheral.

4.) Wii Music (Nintendo Wii)

People haven't been saying the nicest things about this game, turning their heads away at the kiddie nature of the game and comparing it to Rock Band and Guitar Hero. I was skeptical at first, but after opening and playing the game for several hours I can say that it is still really fun. It's a totally different kind of game than conventional music games, and it's a totally different kind of fun. The game lets you play dozens of instruments as you hold the Wii remote and nunchuck in a very non-provocative fashion. You can easily grab four friends (doesn't matter the age) and recreate arrangements to classic, if not over used, music. The main gripe is that the songs are quite bad including the likes of twinkle twinkle little star. But, it also has several Nintendo themes like Zelda and Mario. All and all, it won't give you the play time of other music games, but if you're pretty casual about the whole idea anyway (or a pretty girl with a life) then you could do a lot worse than Wii Music.

3.) Sing Star (Playstation 3)

What could be a better musical premise than karaoke? Well, obviously whatever comes next on our list, but karaoke is still a good premise nonetheless. Sing Star, for the PlayStation 3, is a singing game where you... uhh.. sing. But now the new Sing Star allows you to make your own profile online, letting you connect with other singers in a Myspace like network. They also have downloadable content that continues to grow. This allows you to download only the songs that you want. Other than that it's a pretty basic idea, but Sing Star is the best karaoke game on the market. And, they package in two microphones so it's a pretty good value for multiplayer straight out of the box.

2.) Guitar Hero: World Tour (Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, Playstation 3)

I think most gamers could predict what number 1 and 2 are and for the rest of you we're here to enlighten. Guitar Hero is no longer guitar centric and allows you to play drums, bass and vocals. Although it was not the first game to pull off this concept it's still loads of fun. Guitar Hero: World Tour specifically gives you a much more vintage playlist, harder songs and a song creation tool. Currently, the guitar and microphone work great but a huge percentage of drum sets have been malfunctioning or completely broken... Including ours. The game is released for all major consoles and for 190.00 dollars it will be a great Christmas gift.

1.) Rock Band 2 (Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, Playstation 3)

By far the best music game ever made is Rock Band. It started with a guitar by Guitar Hero and after being built upon, the greatest idea was made: playing in a virtual band with your friends. This idea has now just recently been implemented in Guitar Hero: World Tour so what makes Rock Band so much better? Well, first off the presentation is much better, offering you greater graphics and a more sophisticated look that resonates more with the crowd of virtual rock stars. The track list is now fully robust letting anyone of any musical genre play and love the game. The game is also perfect for parties allowing for a much more forgiving gameplay experience and it's great for all ages. If you already own Rock Band 1, just buy the Rock Band 2 disc and get 80 new songs. If you don't have either, buy Rock Band 2 and get new instruments and the best rock package ever made. If you're wondering if 180.00 dollars is too much to spend on a game for either Rock Band or Guitar Hero: World Tour then it should boil down to one thing: if you consistently have friends to play the game with you then you are going to have a blast. So if you have a group of friends, a girlfriend/boyfriend, or a big family then it is worth it. In other cases, playing by yourself is fun but not 180.00 dollars worth of fun.

There you have it, the 5 best music games. Whether you want to play your music games on the road, wave your arms around like an idiot, sing duets, or jam virtually with your friends this list will have you covered. It's hard to think there will be a better slew of music games next year but we continue to be surprised.