The criteria for being included in my year-end best of Maine music column include the following: I liked it. I thought it was really good. The band put on a good show. And, um … that’s it.

Sure, I could have done a big reader vote, or had a panel of esteemed colleagues help me pick the most rock of the rock. Instead, I opted for simply going back through the past 52 weeks of listening and writing and seeing what I liked the best.

I did look for bands that did something notable this year, like releasing an album, going on a big tour or playing some memorable shows. I am slightly biased towards those that play north of Portland. And the award names are completely arbitrary.

Anyway, I offer to you, dearest reader, my picks for what rocked the hardest in area code 207 for 2008. Thanks for reading, and enjoy your holidays. Do you think something belongs here that isn’t here? Shoot me an e-mail.

Dreamosaic — The Funkotronic Award

Two guys, some keyboards and percussion, and one singularly, funky electronic sound. That’s Dreamosaic from Portland. Joshua Francis is a sick drummer. Sets at the Beltek Festival, the White Heart Lounge in downtown Portland and at the Red Martini in Bangor show that they’re a perfect combination of live-band and DJ experience. Their “Moving to Neptune” disc came out last fall on Roadside Manna Records. The jam-band scene likes ’em; so do the techno kids. What’s not to love? Listen to Dreamosaic on Myspace

Stiff Whisker and the Driftwood Kids — Keepin’ It Real Award

A bunch of friends meet at a local watering hole over pints and guitars. A year or so later, they’re an awesome bar band. Stiff Whisker and the Driftwood Kids, based out of the Ellsworth area, are in it for the music and the friendship. Anything else is just gravy. Check out the band’s self-titled EP, or go see it live at Parkers in Ellsworth or the Deck House in Southwest Harbor most weeks of the year.

Sunlight in Architecture — Pour Out Your Soul Award

Garrett Soucy’s side project from Tree By Leaf is not just a great Maine album — it’s a great album, period. Every song is well crafted, thoughtful and oftentimes extremely emotionally affecting. Andrew Luckless’ production sparkles, giving Soucy’s rough edges more crispness and punch. Excellent contemporary songwriting from one of the state’s finest songwriters. Listen to Stiff Whisker and the Driftwood Kids on Myspace

Huak — Sheer Rock Power Award

I absolutely love this band. Joel Glidden, Mike Cunnane, Stefan Hanson and Jake Lowry make music that sounds like Fugazi, if Fugazi was less angry and listened to more indie pop. They put out an album called “Trajectory” toward the end of the summer on Peapod Recordings. It’s excellent, and it was recorded in a basement in Orono. It’s complex, but it’s punk rock. In a word, it’s perfect. I can only imagine where it will go from here. Listen to Huak on Myspace

Wood Burning Cat — Chinese Democracy Award

Wood Burning Cat is Jason Unterreiner and Tony Bitetti. They live in Orono and make quirky, smart indie pop-punk. They finished 99 percent of the recording on their debut full-length album, “Borono.” It’s not out yet, though, and I am waiting for them to release it so I can officially tell everyone how good it is. Unofficially, I’ll tell you that I am typing the words “Barsuk Records” right now, so that label will get a Google alert about this article, and hopefully they’ll read it and then Google “Wood Burning Cat” and sign the band to the label immediately. I can’t technically tell you that it’s that good. Not officially, anyway. Listen to Wood Burning Cat on Myspace

Full Contact Kitty — Dylan Goes Electric Award

I saw Full Contact Kitty a year and a half ago, and it was a weird, artsy indie band. I saw it last summer, and it was suddenly a weird, artsy punk-rock band that had gotten about 1,000 times better. Not that it wasn’t good to begin with. The Belfast-based trio obviously figured something out in the span of that year, changed their sound up, and now rock among the hardest of bands I’ve seen this year. The new album, “Luck Soup,” reflects that. Listen to Full Contact Kitty on Myspace

Fire on Fire — It’s Cool That They’re From Maine Award

Fire on Fire makes haunting, off-kilter acoustic music, peppered with unorthodox instrumentation (oud, accordion, hand drums) and full of vocals sung in unison. It’s so captivating that Michael Gira of acclaimed indie label Young God Records signed the band, and has championed it relentlessly over the past few years. The album, “The Orchard,” came out a few months back, and it’s lovely. And Fire on Fire is from Maine. Neat-o. Listen to Fire on Fire at Myspace

Dominic and the Lucid — More Than Just Potatoes Award

Dominic and the Lucid are one of the biggest bands playing the Portland scene right now, with the album, “Season in the Sun,” topping charts on the radio and at Bull Moose. You know where the four bandmates met? In high school, in Madawaska and Fort Kent. There is something in the water in Aroostook County that produces amazing musicians, I tell ya. Listen to Dominic and the Lucid at Myspace

Roy Davis and the Dregs — Best Newcomer Award

Roy Davis is 22, but he sings like a guy who has been out on the road, having hard times for decades. Be on the lookout for these guys. Listen to Roy Davis and the Dregs on Myspace

Feel It Robot — Hey, Where’d You Go? Award

For a combined total of about 10 months, Feel It Robot was Bangor’s own B-52s. Keys, guitar, drums and tuba. Songs about riding bikes, dancing and taking off your pants. Live shows that lasted 20 minutes, but were packed with enough shimmying and shaking to sweat out your PBR. And then, it was done. Who knows when the Robot will ride again? Listen to Feel It Robot on Myspace

Bar Harbor Blues Authority and Red Martini — Not A Band, But a Bar Award

The Bar Harbor Blues Authority is a tiny club on the island that brings in Maine’s finest blues musicians; they’ve only been open for a little over a year, and it’s already a hub of the blues scene. On the other side of the coin, the Red Martini is a swanky lounge that opened last spring and, with help from people from the Beltek Festival, is single-handedly responsible for the rebirth of the electronic scene north of Portland. And that’s not mentioning the bar upstairs from the Red Martini, Christopher’s, which hosts local blues legend Eric Green every Wednesday. You can have bands up the wazoo, but if the bands don’t have a place to play? Forget about it.