Acid Mothers Temple
In C

They have already released so much stuff that I'll never be able to catch up. I'll just add that this disc didn't disappoint, actually being better than I expected, and that I'm still playing it rather frequently. -- joseph neff <jneff at visuallink dot com> (10 pts)

I guess I could have picked any of the other thousand records this collective released this year, but this one seems to stick to my pan the most. Keep 'em coming... -- skfl <murphj at rpi dot edu> (5 pts)

Alice Coltrane
Universal Consciousness

It sounds strange, but Alice seems to hit my stereo more than her husband does - don't tell anyone. And I just can't say no to a record with Leroy Jenkins on it. C'mon, re-release "World Galaxy" domestically!! -- skfl <murphj at rpi dot edu> (1 pts)

Amalgamated Sons of Rest
ep

Siamese trio is rejoined. -- claptrap <claptrap at hotmail dot com> (8 pts)

Ashanti
Baby

thank you radio hit. -- Jeff Ryan <jeff dot ryan at gettyimages dot com> (4 pts)

Avrocar/Yellow6
Live @ Ochre7

Great contrast between the two here. Avrocar gets pretty heavy at times with distortion then Yellow6 brings you back down to a peaceful state. I love both contributions and I think they go great together. This is available from ochre. -- Eric Roper <eric dot roper at verizon dot net> (4 pts)

Beck
Sea Change

I had my heart broke not once but twice this year - of course this is my favorite record of the year. -- skfl <murphj at rpi dot edu> (15 pts)

Benjamin Biolay
Remix (ep)

The best new French pop artist since Serge Gainsbourg. -- Peter Gianakopoulos <oldschrec at aol dot com> (2 pts)

Beth Gibbons & Rustin Man
Out of Season

Beth Gibbons + Paul Webb (ex Talk Talk/O'Rang) = a classic, subtle, beautiful album. Her voice is one of the all time greatest musical instruments, EVER. -- Chris Lakey <clakey at earthlink dot net> (15 pts)

Bill Ricchini
Ordinary Time

too fey for droneon? I've definitely wanted songs more in the last couple years and this delivers beauteous ones. may even deserve to be up a couple notches. -- Leif Larsen <vvsirin at bitstream dot net> (12 pts)

Blackalicious
Blazing Arrow

heh. -- claptrap <claptrap at hotmail dot com> (11 pts)

Boards of Canada
Geogaddi

I've decided to omit the Flaiming Lips "Yoshimi..." because the pundits love it even though it sounds like outtakes from a previous album that was much better. The same applies to this album but I included it because BOC never played with Justin Timberlake, far as I know. -- b <barrett_jones at yahoo dot com> (12 pts)

Not as good as their first effort (my number two), no pun intended, imo -- but still nice, nice beats and drones to humm along to. -- Chris Lakey <clakey at earthlink dot net> (9 pts)

suffering from the greatness of their early output, still a winner... -- Leif Larsen <vvsirin at bitstream dot net> (10 pts)

So good, I wish I had the original. -- Chris Lakey <clakey at earthlink dot net> (14 pts)

Bob Dylan
Blonde on Blonde 2LP mono remaster

Sundazed has performed one of its greatest customer services by doing the mono mixes of this and Surrealistic Pillow in the same month let alone year. The tough, garage edge of Dylan and the Band as recorded here are taut, tense and BLARING on the electrified cuts, making this THE way to own this 'un. Can you believe the currently available US CD version of this album still fades "Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands" prematurely? Shameful, at least there's some respect on tap here. -- Karl Ikola <anopheles at mindspring dot com> (2 pts)

cocaine blues. -- Jeff Ryan <jeff dot ryan at gettyimages dot com> (13 pts)

Bobness. -- Leif Larsen <vvsirin at bitstream dot net> (13 pts)

Boedekka
Lazy Bones

If Paul McCartney in his late Beatles heyday had collaborated with Pink Floyd and then heard Add N to X. Now go and get it!!! -- Peter Gianakopoulos <oldschrec at aol dot com> (14 pts)

Brendan Benson
Lapalco

charming pop in the canon of Paul Westerberg -- b <barrett_jones at yahoo dot com> (14 pts)

Butthole Surfers
Humpty Dumpty LSD

It may be a compilation of previously released tracks, but its still the best thing by the Surfers in almost a decade. -- Rich Atkinson <richius at voicenet dot com> (14 pts)

Camper Van Beethovan
Tusk

Man, this took a lot of balls to pull off (so to speak) and it works. Great to have them back - Monks of Doom and Cracker were starting to suck big time. -- Jeff From Oxford <leapday at goes dot com> (5 pts)

Casino vs Japan
Whole Numbers Play the Basics

Milwaukee?? -- Leif Larsen <vvsirin at bitstream dot net> (3 pts)

Charalambides
Being As Is

merely my favorite of a wide crop of wonderful releases. IN CR EA SE and the cdr series also bear mention. -- Mark Flaum <mflaum at softhome dot net> (14 pts)

I love everything they've done. -- nicksmith <nicks at texas dot net> (14 pts)

Part of a commemorative Terrastock V box set of 5 7" singles -- R. Lim <rlim at inch dot com> (14 pts)

Charlemagne Palestine
Music For Big Ears

my best friends got married to this music. -- Jeff Ryan <jeff dot ryan at gettyimages dot com> (10 pts)

Chemical Brothers
Come With Us

I'm a sucker for wall-of-sound techno-- well, wall-of-sound anything, really-- especially when it's got lots of old-school touches like this one. And I don't mean _Exit Planet Dust_ old-school, I mean _ex:el_ old-school. -- Doug Orleans <dougo at ccs dot neu dot edu> (14 pts)

Chris Lucey
Songs of Protest and Anti-Protest

UK Revola CD reissue of this amazing lost moody psych/folk gem, originally released on the Mira Records (of Leaves "Hey Joe" fame) subsidiary, Surrey, in 1966. Lucey also recorded an LP under the Jameson moniker called Color Him In, released on Verve in 1967, and worked with Curt Boettcher of Ballroom/Sagitarrius/Millenium fame...should appeal to fans of Arthur Lee and Love....this is his most angst-ridden and passionate statement from the delusory core of the Sunset Strip in '66... -- Karl Ikola <anopheles at mindspring dot com> (11 pts)

Clipse
Grindin

thank you drums. -- Jeff Ryan <jeff dot ryan at gettyimages dot com> (3 pts)

Cody Chesnutt
The Headphone Masterpiece

Lenny Kravitz without Virgin execs in the studio with him or Guided by Voices goes urban. -- Peter Gianakopoulos <oldschrec at aol dot com> (12 pts)

Comets on Fire
Field Recordings from the Sun

Ethan says "How can you deny 'Hey Jude'!!" and can drink most of yous under the table. Get these guys out to East Coast and party hard with the Northeast psych-folk appreciation society pronto... -- brg30 at yahoo.com <brg30 at yahoo dot com> (12 pts)

Cornelius
Point

I spent most of the year listening to old Pink Floyd but a few good albums trickled out to soak the otherwise arid wasteland that was pop music in 2002 and this was the best of the lot. -- b <barrett_jones at yahoo dot com> (15 pts)

Daedelus
Invention

This one doesn't quite fit with the whole DroneOn theme, but it belongs in my top 15. This album has some of the best programming around. Daedelus really pushed the boundries of electronic music with this one. This is some of the most complex programming I have heard. This album has some real soul to it, it is not just another click and pop album. This album contains very melodic tunes throughout and at times has a downtempo touch to it but while still remaining experimental. I can't acurately describe this record with words. Invention was released on plug research. -- Eric Roper <eric dot roper at verizon dot net> (13 pts)

Danny Ben-Israel
Bullshit 3 1/4 LP/CD

Wow! From 1970, the greatest psych LP from Israel along with Churchill's, this is a freak-fest akin to Erkin Koray wrestling Sonny Sharrock to the floor over trad folk interludes...a psych LP that will satisfy the non-practicing "psychedelic fatso" of yore...On the World-In-Sound label of Germany... -- Karl Ikola <anopheles at mindspring dot com> (12 pts)

Dave Phillips
IIII

This and his "Live Action 011116" 3"CDR show the possibility of genuinely soulful experimental music. Very beautiful, revealing, and extremely challenging at the same time. -- Christopher M. Sienko <cmsienko at yahoo dot com> (5 pts)

Dean Carter
Call of the Wild

CD on Ace/Big Beat from the UK. This is late '60s psychobilly from Indiana! Dean Carter is known mainly for his all-time blast-off version of "Jailhouse Rock" (Ear Piercing Punk comp LP) that lays waste to the Residents AND the Monks in one breath. He uses DOBRO like a mean slide steel guitar, hence the freaky sounds on "Jailhouse" and many others -- 29 more tracks are here (most unissued tapes) including "Rebel Woman" (the flip to "Jailhouse Rock"), "Call Of The Wild", "Black Boots", "Dobro Picking Man", the twisted, haunting balladry of "Midnight Sun"....Yow! The story behind getting this released at last is chronicled in the detailed booklet. Look out, Hasil Adkins!! Dean Carter has done come to dinner!!! -- Karl Ikola <anopheles at mindspring dot com> (6 pts)

Debris'
Static Disposal

My first archival offering in 2002, an exact reissue (1000 copies only) of this classic '75 recorded/'76 released private press monster from Oklahoma. Way better than Rocket From The Tombs. Includes previously unreleased version of the Stooges' "Real Cool Time" from a '75 rehearsal recording. Anopheles 006 LP.... -- Karl Ikola <anopheles at mindspring dot com> (10 pts)

Deep Puddle Dynamics
The Taste of Rain & Why Kneel?

Anticon supposedly started with this release - what a FABULOUS beginning. The second track is my most played song of the year. How about re-releasing Sole's "Bottle of Humans"? -- skfl <murphj at rpi dot edu> (2 pts)

Deerhoof
Reveille

boo ba ba boo ba + skronk = o_O -- claptrap <claptrap at hotmail dot com> (15 pts)

best of the year by about seven thousand miles -- Dan Regan <dregan at wernerpublishing dot com> (15 pts)

Derek Bailey
Ballads

who would have thought derek would do an album of songbook material? who would have thought he would do so with such a delicate tone and atmosphere? -- Mark Flaum <mflaum at softhome dot net> (13 pts)

biggest disappointment at ATP was his non-appearance. and that's saying something given the mess that was. The model for a lifetime of free improvisation. -- Leif Larsen <vvsirin at bitstream dot net> (14 pts)

Devendra Banhart
Oh Me Oh My...The Way The Day Goes By The Sun Is Setting Dogs Are Dreaming Lovesongs Of The Christmas Spirit

Marc Bolan, yeah, heard that comparison. -- claptrap <claptrap at hotmail dot com> (10 pts)

oh I love my Tyrannosaurus Rex.t -- Leif Larsen <vvsirin at bitstream dot net> (1 pts)

Dipsomaniacs
The Tremelo Of Her Mind - The Strings Of Her Soul

just as capable of the endless improv-freakout ragas as the bittersweet psych-pop gems. -- Lee Jackson <stulee1 at swbell dot net> (6 pts)

Dixie Witch
Into the Sun

Great cover of The James Gang's "The Bomber"! -- Doug Orleans <dougo at ccs dot neu dot edu> (7 pts)

Doctor Ragtime
s/t

Ok, so this is getting a little ridiculous to mention, but Jack Rose apparantly played some dates in 2002 that explored the sort of thing we learned with last year's unbelieveable Charley Patton set, and here's a small document of just that. It says here that only 60 copies of this CD-R were made, and again, like his long-player on Eclipse, that's surely a shame. There has to be more than 60 people in the world that would agree that this is some of the finest playing either side of the Mississippi. I'm glad I stumbled upon this one. -- Christopher Severson <christopherseverson at hotmail dot com> (4 pts)

Double Lepoards/ Son Of Earth Flesh On Bone
Split

Yes,the cover really is taken from a painting in a Hartford, CT basement that glows in the dark. So is the music... -- brg30 at yahoo.com <brg30 at yahoo dot com> (9 pts)

Dukes of Hamburg
Some Folks

Garage version of the Dukes of Stratosfear. -- Jeff From Oxford <leapday at goes dot com> (2 pts)

Edan
Primitive Plus

I can count the number of records that I regularly spin with fart jokes on it - actually, I think this is the only one. This guy doesn't necessarily break new ground, but then again, when does everything need to be on the cutting edge? All I know is that I can't line up samples and rhymes like this. And yes, I still want the color tv's. -- skfl <murphj at rpi dot edu> (9 pts)

El-P
Fantastic Damage

What can I say about this album that hasn't already been said everywhere. "Motherfucker, do I sound abstract!?!?" Yes and no, but mostly no, to the credit of this highly abstract record. -- Christopher M. Sienko <cmsienko at yahoo dot com> (1 pts)

"Deep Space 9mm" is the single of the year - hands down. And the rest of the record is no slouch, either. -- skfl <murphj at rpi dot edu> (6 pts)

Eugene Chadbourne/Han Bennink
Miss Ann

I find it impossible to decide which side of the 7" I like better, the solo Chadbourne A side, where he rips out some of his finest guitar wrangling that I've heard in a long while, or the duo flip side where Chad combines/collides with some grand-ass post-free clatter from Bennink. People have made this type of statement many times before, but here goes, for I think it applies: There is more going on in the grooves of this 7" than in the grooves of some entire LPs. I go to sleep with a smile on my face knowing that the "degree of seperation" between Eric Dolphy and Eugene is 1. -- joseph neff <jneff at visuallink dot com> (8 pts)

Fairport Convention
Unconventional (Box Set)

This is what I listened to on my holidays!!! Unreleased vintage Sandy Denny/Richard Thompson-era Fairport. What's the question? -- Peter Gianakopoulos <oldschrec at aol dot com> (6 pts)

Famous
Famous

Cheap Trick is alive and well and living in NYC. -- Jeff From Oxford <leapday at goes dot com> (1 pts)

Fat Day
IV

In a supreme display of either trust or laziness, Fat Day let their fans write their new album. Each song is written by someone who sent in the enclosed note card from their previous album, giving the guys notes and chords and lyrics and ideas to sculpt into mighty compositions like "Magnus." Refutes my theory that one should never entrust matters of your own destiny to the general public! -- Christopher M. Sienko <cmsienko at yahoo dot com> (7 pts)

Faust
Patchwork 1971-2002

totally devastating montage from the greatest ever krautrock / non-krautrock groop. -- liz's friend <lizdew at dircon dot co dot uk> (14 pts)

Freescha
Slower Than Church Music

This album is amazing. I think Freescha deserve a lot more recognition than they receive. This should appeal to fans of Boards of Canada but with their own style. This album is very dreamy and sort of down tempo. I like to put this record on and just close my eyes for it is very relaxing to me. Freescha have samples of all their songs available as mp3s from http://www.attacknine.com/ The site hasn't been updated in many months so don't wait too long. Find out for yourself how incredible Freescha are. -- Eric Roper <eric dot roper at verizon dot net> (11 pts)

Gandalf
s/t

Some of this reminds me of early Procol Harum. Other times, they are as non-muscular as any Association I've heard. The whole short thing is a pleasing listen, and the covers of Tim Hardin are fantastic. "Can You Travel in the Dark Alone" could have/should have been a radio hit when it was released. It has just the right mix of pop sensibility and odd touches, qualities that a lot of late '60s hits shared. Often reissues fall short of expectations, but not this one, possibly because I wasn't sure what to expect. -- joseph neff <jneff at visuallink dot com> (6 pts)

Ghost Exits
She is Beyond Good and Evil

best rock band in NYC and they're not even a rock band. -- Jeff Ryan <jeff dot ryan at gettyimages dot com> (9 pts)

Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Yanqui U.X.O.

GSYBE discover P. Glass -- nice. -- Chris Lakey <clakey at earthlink dot net> (7 pts)

listened to alot at work. passively. done actively i may not like it at all. -- claptrap <claptrap at hotmail dot com> (6 pts)

Their best yet!!! Soundz like composed songs that still retain the immediacy of the improvised? material of the past. -- Peter Gianakopoulos <oldschrec at aol dot com> (8 pts)

Gold Chains
s/t

HIPHOPPALOOZA!!!! I got mountains of COKE up in the V.I.P.!!!!! -- Peter Gianakopoulos <oldschrec at aol dot com> (10 pts)

Green Pajamas
Northern Gothic

A welcome return to glory. Haunting, psychy, poppy, radio friendly...what more do you want? -- Jeff From Oxford <leapday at goes dot com> (6 pts)

Hal Blaine
Psychedelic Percussion

Legit Japanese major label (MCA) CD reissue of this obscure and exotic L.A. studio artifact, originally released on LP by Dunhill in 1969. Much wilder than Blaine's first solo LP, the '63 Hot Rod styled LP he recorded for RCA, this lovely reissue is from tapes and will fill your room with the kind of shimmering uncertainty you've been craving... -- Karl Ikola <anopheles at mindspring dot com> (7 pts)

Head of Femur
Demo for "Ringodom or Proctor" CDR EP

The best band in Chicago right now, bar none. 2003 will be known as "the year of the debut Femur full-length," mark my words. It's as if the Flaming Lips spent their time soaking up Sparks instead of tinkling in Brian Wilson's sandbox. Stand up for Art Rock, because this time, Space Rock really *is* over! At least, I hope it is. -- Christopher M. Sienko <cmsienko at yahoo dot com> (15 pts)

Heathen Shame
s/t

Twisted Village brand cold medicine-effectively clears the sinuses and the room from squares simultaniously or double your money back. -- brg30 at yahoo.com <brg30 at yahoo dot com> (5 pts)

Henry Flynt
C Tune (Locust)

Ok, how did I forget this one? Definately worthy of something higher than a lowly number 9, this is easly my favorite of Flynt's amazing (and amazingly varied) catalog that has surfaced the past 24 months. I'm still missing the more recent "Back Porch Hillbilly Blues" (I believe that's what they are called), and I promise you I will get around to those soon, but for the time being, 9 or 10 months later, this one easily still has my attention. Tony Conrad made for easy listening. -- Christopher Severson <christopherseverson at hotmail dot com> (7 pts)

Henry Jacobs' Vortex
Electronic Kabuki Mambo

Fascinating electronic music from the Folkways vaults. -- Peter Gianakopoulos <oldschrec at aol dot com> (1 pts)

High On Fire
Surrounded By Thieves

Not as good as their previous album (or Sleep), still kills. -- Doug Orleans <dougo at ccs dot neu dot edu> (10 pts)

Early Swans battling Motorhead at the foot of Mt. Doom. -- Lee Jackson <stulee1 at swbell dot net> (3 pts)

Hrvatski
Swarm & Dither

Finally! See also Playthroughs on Kranky. -- R. Lim <rlim at inch dot com> (11 pts)

Ian Crause
Head Over Heals

more neglected pop genius. -- Leif Larsen <vvsirin at bitstream dot net> (9 pts)

In Gowan Ring
Exists and Entrances v. 1

Am I the only one here who has these moments where you've fallen asleep in the chair, and when you "wake up" you feel like you've got no control over your body but you can watch while your limbs move & haul you around the room and? Really? Well anyway that's what the finer moments of this disc -- the cover of Mike Heron's "1968", the traditional "Spider Song" and "Bedlam Boys" (THE canonical "wyrdfolk" song) -- feel like ... as the tree ears sprout from between my toes and I keep whispering, "it's only a cd-r, it's only a cd-r". It may be strange to vote for the homemade thingie over the year's official release, but this is the one that keeps haunting me. Be sure to check the dealer lists for superlatives and three-digit prices ten years from now. -- Jim Flannery <newgrange at talmanassociates dot com> (13 pts)

What's this? Paul Simon is now fronting King Crimson? -- Jeff From Oxford <leapday at goes dot com> (12 pts)

Interpol
Turn on the Bright Lights

Bloody good freshman effort. -- Chris Lakey <clakey at earthlink dot net> (13 pts)

This one seemed to be hit with a backlash before it even left the gate. Ah well - I enjoy it just the same. No joke - "Leif Erikson" has hit my ears at least once a day since I bought this. -- skfl <murphj at rpi dot edu> (12 pts)

This record makes #1 simply because I played it over and over and over, at work and at home. Evidently there is a lot of hype about it. I say evidently because I have somehow seemed to avoid the hype machine with this record, thankfully. Interpol turns out an album of mature, dark indie rock, feeding off the song structures of early goth rock (Bauhaus, Joy Division, The Chameleons, etc.) and the late 70s/early 80s NYC downtown art rock scene (Talking Heads, Television, etc.). The lyrics are complex tails of woe and stress, full of delusional moments and restless nights. The music is minor key and brooding, yet melodic flights of grandeur overtake almost every song by their end and the indie guitar chug really pulls the pace of this record along pretty quickly. Not to be missed! -- --s-tephen pozgay <suppoz at earthlink dot net> (15 pts)

holding my nose here. and in a better year it wouldn't be near here. still, catchy as hell. worrisome rote live show makes me wonder where it's coming from (or should I know better?). -- Leif Larsen <vvsirin at bitstream dot net> (11 pts)

Iron and Wine
The Creek Drank the Cradle

hey there. -- claptrap <claptrap at hotmail dot com> (9 pts)

with reservations, but some nice songs. -- Leif Larsen <vvsirin at bitstream dot net> (6 pts)

Jack Rose
Red Horse, White Mule

I think that this record will top, or at least be included in, roughly 300 year end list entries this year as for some god foresaken reason there were only 300 copies pressed. Why this was released in such small numbers and with so little push is beyond me. This could have been released on a number of labels and been one of "the bigger" records of the year, but maybe that's just me since this record is *SO* up my alley it's kind of funny. Given my age, I think it's appropriate that I have only been listening to John Fahey since the release of his Return of the Repressed introduction (an introduction that gave me a belly ache if I listened to in full, but a few years later led the introduction into his cataloque of greater, even more memorable moments), but I have been waiting a LONG time for someone to make another record like this. O'rouke came close with two awful nice attempts in his own warped sense of way, but this one is really what I was looking for. Fare Forward Voyagers Part II. This is as sweet as it gets. And I think I'm the last one to ever have guessed it would have ever come from one of the players of Pelt (or at least prior to 2000). I hope this sees the light of day in a larger release in 2003, or that Jack makes another that only puts this one to shame. Record on.... -- Christopher Severson <christopherseverson at hotmail dot com> (15 pts)

Please see http://www.wfmu.org/~rlim/faves.html for more (including reissues). -- R. Lim <rlim at inch dot com> (1 pts)

Pelt dude stretches out and unleashes epic 6-stringed mountains of beauty. -- Lee Jackson <stulee1 at swbell dot net> (7 pts)

Jessica Bailiff
s/t

The greatest woman of all time. -- nicksmith <nicks at texas dot net> (13 pts)

Johann Johannson
Englaborn

A beautiful, gentle album of string quartet arrangements with piano, harmonium, glockenspiel, percussion and minimal electronics. From one of the leaders of the current Icelandic scene (he runs the Kitchen Motors label, amongst other things). Overwrought without being simplistic or soundtrack-y, this record settles comfortably between The Rachel's and Kronos Quartet. -- --s-tephen pozgay <suppoz at earthlink dot net> (1 pts)

John Coltrane
A Love Supreme (Deluxe Edition)

I'd anticipated the eventual release of this stuff for so long that it was inevitable that I'd experience a little anti-climax, but that eventually wore off. The tracks with Archie Shepp and Art Davis are revelatory of course, and the live in Antibes (which I'd heard before, but it sounds better here, plus the introductions in French add a little something) is also righteous. The overall wait and ultimate satisfaction that this set provides are similar to my feeling regarding "Apocalypse Now Redux". -- joseph neff <jneff at visuallink dot com> (9 pts)

Nothing I can say would really translate what this record means to me. I will say that this sounds WILDLY better than the previous CD release. And the live tracks? UNREAL. -- skfl <murphj at rpi dot edu> (4 pts)

Justin Timberlake
Justifed

NOT an ironic choice: the fact that this record is even here at all should tell how good it is. -- Jeff Ryan <jeff dot ryan at gettyimages dot com> (7 pts)

Kate Village & Wayne Rogers
Quits

Warning: do not try this at home. Guitar torture should only be administered by certified trained professionals. Improper technique may cause serious injury and/or death. -- brg30 at yahoo.com <brg30 at yahoo dot com> (4 pts)

Keith Fullerton Whitman
Playthroughs

Oh. So nice. -- nicksmith <nicks at texas dot net> (10 pts)

Kevin Drumm
Sheer Hellish Miasma

the name of this album is totally wrong. not hellish at all. beautiful. -- Mark Flaum <mflaum at softhome dot net> (11 pts)

Kinski
Semaphore EP

Most likely to become huge in 2003!?!?! Cover of The Clean!! If you like this,their new album,"Airs Above Your Station",is really gonna make you wet yourself. -- brg30 at yahoo.com <brg30 at yahoo dot com> (10 pts)

Krzsytof Komeda
cul de sac

the harkit edition - jolly, jolly good work, mr fishberg. -- liz's friend <lizdew at dircon dot co dot uk> (13 pts)

Ladytron
Light and Magic

Another record that caught a nasty backlash as well as the label "derivative" from the critics. This didn't keep me from rolling around in my car singing along to "Flicking Your Switch", nor did it stop me from nurturing a deep-seated crush for the lead singer. -- skfl <murphj at rpi dot edu> (8 pts)

Landing
2002 tour ep

This is not as spacey as some of their earlier work, but it is really good. There is a great blend of indie rock and space rock throughout this album. It sounds very clean too. If you like the Landing, find this album. Unfortunately there are only 500 of them. This gemm is available directly from www.musicfellowship.com and is only $8.00! -- Eric Roper <eric dot roper at verizon dot net> (5 pts)

Adds songstructure ying to the blissout yang. Shunned by few and shame on you,but whats wrong with progression??? -- brg30 at yahoo.com <brg30 at yahoo dot com> (6 pts)

Lol Coxhill
Spectral Soprano

Lol is an Art Rock/Free Jazz/Snooty Improv/Neo Classical GOD. -- Peter Gianakopoulos <oldschrec at aol dot com> (3 pts)

Low
Trust

"It's a satanic drug thing, you wouldn't understand." -- Lee Jackson <stulee1 at swbell dot net> (1 pts)

LSD March
Untitled

Box set- see also "LSD March Second Album", also on White Elephant Records -- R. Lim <rlim at inch dot com> (15 pts)

Luna
Romantica

Dean's best effort in years. -- Chris Lakey <clakey at earthlink dot net> (6 pts)

Maggie Nicols/Caroline Kraabel/Charlotte Hug
transitions

i first encountered the work of maggie nicols this year, and i feel privileged to have done so. -- Mark Flaum <mflaum at softhome dot net> (12 pts)

Maher Shalal Hash Baz
Maher on Water

no-one more in tune, no-one tries so hard, tries so little, is so great. -- liz's friend <lizdew at dircon dot co dot uk> (15 pts)

Mainpal Inv.
Inverted Brand 7" series

The Goodiepal rides high with these six riffs on commercial brands, each one a rather appealing (and shockingly decent-sounding) picture disc. -- R. Lim <rlim at inch dot com> (7 pts)

Major Stars
Distant Effects

Acid Rock for the 21 century with plenty of influences from records I'll never be able to afford or convince people to burn cd-rs of for me. -- brg30 at yahoo.com <brg30 at yahoo dot com> (11 pts)

heavy as shit quartet jams with delicously absurd guitar solos and feedback explosions. -- Lee Jackson <stulee1 at swbell dot net> (5 pts)

Mammal
Fog Walkers LP

When Gary say dance, you gotta DANCE! Otherwise he might jump out from behind his instruments and tackle you. Really! I've seen it happen. Fortunately, the 13-minute "Fog Face" is the best dance number ever for those of us who wish Perry and Kingsley had stuck around long enough to collaborate with 2 Live Crew. -- Christopher M. Sienko <cmsienko at yahoo dot com> (11 pts)

Marc Bolan & T. Rex
20th Century Superstar

A long awaited box set for me. The best ever remastered Tyrannosaurus Rex on CD yet. Many unreleased early tracks from the Godfather of Glam!!! -- Peter Gianakopoulos <oldschrec at aol dot com> (15 pts)

Marianne Faithful
Kissin' Time

She's ancient, yet still remains vital without falling crutch to modern trends. -- Peter Gianakopoulos <oldschrec at aol dot com> (11 pts)

Matt Valentine
Tonight! One Night Only! MV and EE In Heaven

Shit. Another record that will likely be featured in yet another 300 year end lists. What the hell's up with all the editions of 300 of lately? And this one is even pressed in MONO? Regardless, one of the best releases of 2003 that now I am recalling was also released on CD (or the ever obvious CD-R), but I suspsect that release may have only been an even smaller private pressing. Again, expecting a record like this to come from a band member who in 1994 released a indie rock record like he did with the Tower Recordings debut, I would have never guessed an lp worth of tunes like this would turn up. And did I mention this record looks about as swell as Fahey's own fine gatefold (only one one to his name, I believe) with America? Very, very nice. I hope to hear more from this fellow.... -- Christopher Severson <christopherseverson at hotmail dot com> (14 pts)

MC Tracheotomy
With Love From Tahiti

Slow jams? More like jams for God's holy fools, and those of us who try to reduce ourselves to the status of short bus-ers through music. Trach and Steve Martin's "The Jerk" may seem like strange bedfellows, but it's a natural match. Both know what they need...AND THEY DON'T NEED ANYTHING ELSE! -- Christopher M. Sienko <cmsienko at yahoo dot com> (8 pts)

Melvins
Hostile Ambient Takeover

grrrrrrrrrrrrrunge -- Jeff Ryan <jeff dot ryan at gettyimages dot com> (8 pts)

Metro Area
Metro Area

sneaks up on you. -- Jeff Ryan <jeff dot ryan at gettyimages dot com> (2 pts)

Michael Yonkers Band
Microminiature Love

De Stijl label, unissued '68 experimental garage/psych recorded for the Candy Floss label (C.A. Quintet) at Dove studios (Calico Wall) in Minneapolis. Yonkers later mined a more folk direction but these tracks are infused with an anger and braininess that is the dream hybrid of the Red Crayola and the Litter. -- Karl Ikola <anopheles at mindspring dot com> (14 pts)

Miighty Flashlight
s/t

a quiet winner of 2002 -- claptrap <claptrap at hotmail dot com> (14 pts)

Bought this after seeing them (actually him--Mike Fellows--with help) live, and it was easily my most played disc of this past summer. Wonderfully off-center, yet saturated in an approachable emotional warmth, and about a 1000 miles from Rites of Spring. The music is tuneful, yet groggy; the vocals somewhere between passionate and half-asleep. The way the blusey guitar and the rigidity of the drumbox combine on "Several Water Cannons" is just massive, and the record never lets up for me after that, peaking with "Ballet Skool" and ending with the mildly stunted "Lavish Corduroy". Sounds equally great late at night or first thing on an already really humid morning, when you haven't been to sleep and have a coffee pot's worth of caffine running through yr system. -- joseph neff <jneff at visuallink dot com> (13 pts)

Motorpsycho
It's a Love Cult

Norwegian boogie-rock. Unexplainably infectious. -- Doug Orleans <dougo at ccs dot neu dot edu> (12 pts)

Norway's finest underground band comes into their own. -- Peter Gianakopoulos <oldschrec at aol dot com> (5 pts)

forer tough indie rock guys get all spritely and obsessed with the Monkees. A familiar scenario impeccably performed. -- Lee Jackson <stulee1 at swbell dot net> (9 pts)

Mum
Finally We Are No One

little tiny groovy rhythms -- b <barrett_jones at yahoo dot com> (13 pts)

Not as good as the first, but still better than that Sigur Ros crapshack. -- claptrap <claptrap at hotmail dot com> (12 pts)

I'm not sure which is more beautiful...the vocals, or the programming. This album grew on me more and more each time I heard it. I found a copy of the Icelandic version and this stayed in my cd player for days! This is sort of dreamy, happy, experimental pop. Many songs don't feature vocals but the programming is excellent. Every time I hear this album it makes me happy. This is domestically released on fatcat. Find the icelandic version if you like it! It is quite remarkable to me. -- Eric Roper <eric dot roper at verizon dot net> (14 pts)

Mus
Aida bliss out v.17

First of all, I think this may have been released at the end of 2001, but I didn't hear it until 2002. It is too good to leave out though. The music is very mellow and almost dark at times, which I love, and the vocals are all in a form of spanish. I can't tell exactly what they are saying but I can sure feel it. This one is on darla. -- Eric Roper <eric dot roper at verizon dot net> (6 pts)

MX-80
Live At The Library 1978

Manna from heaven. If you've heard "Big Hits/Hard Attack" (PLEASE tell me you have!), you know what I'm saying. Any clue that helps one to imagine what it must have been like to bump into a band like MX-80 in the '70s is like a rosetta stone you can spin over and over. -- Christopher M. Sienko <cmsienko at yahoo dot com> (2 pts)

Nagisa Ni Te
Feel

Technically a reissue, a technical marvel, an empotional well spring, one of the best guitar players in the folk/pop world and a whole lotta love. -- Lee Jackson <stulee1 at swbell dot net> (11 pts)

Neil Halstead
Sleeping on Roads (4AD)

So a little change of pace here with this one, but considering how many times this got played, I have to list it sooner or later. I believe this was released in the UK in 2001, but definitely a 2002 stateside release, and I am definitely stateside, so how appropriate. With two Fahey tribute records above, this one now goes to Nick Drake. And very well done at that. -- Christopher Severson <christopherseverson at hotmail dot com> (13 pts)

Nerve Net Noise
Meteor Circuit

Contrary to the lyrically beautiful review from BlowUp magazine of Italy, this record is not "a big shitty fraud." NNN's clinical and simple (and endless! I gotcher 'theatre of eternal music' right here!) repetitions of straightforward synth noises is like being tickled in slow motion by your lover, but tickling your vital organs, and with just enough time between tickles to catch your breath. Never ends in tears or cries of "Stop it! Stop it! I can't breathe!" At least not in this household. -- Christopher M. Sienko <cmsienko at yahoo dot com> (13 pts)

New Order
Retro-Box Set

Don't know if this actually counts as an album -- if it does, its really my Number One :) So good, so good. -- Chris Lakey <clakey at earthlink dot net> (3 pts)

No Neck Blues Band
Re: Mr. A Fan ...

I'm still not sure what to think of this record, but I am guessing the TMoQ thing is somewhat out of joke, or maybe not. What the hell does a band like No Neck need with a bootleg release? Regardless, this is a fine one with moments that equal and expand in a rougher sense all the great moments of last year's best record by noneother than themselves. -- Christopher Severson <christopherseverson at hotmail dot com> (5 pts)

proof. -- Jeff Ryan <jeff dot ryan at gettyimages dot com> (12 pts)

Nobody
Ballorettes

This is an incredible blend of experimental and downtempo beats that really smoke. The b-side features vocals and additional keys by Languis. This stands apart from other releases on the label. This is really good. Released on ubiquity. -- Eric Roper <eric dot roper at verizon dot net> (1 pts)

Oasis
Heathen Chemistry

Da bruddahs still got it. Their best since Morning Glory. Maybe it was Bonehead and Guigsy that be holding things back? -- Jeff From Oxford <leapday at goes dot com> (8 pts)

Ogurusu Norihide
"humour" ("study" and "I")

Features wonderful guitar work and gentle piano keys over subltle crackles and pops. Very minimal feel on this one. This cd consists of 2 self released cds: "study" and "I". This one is on carpark. -- Eric Roper <eric dot roper at verizon dot net> (12 pts)

Oh No, The Modulator
Semi-Formalizer

The void left by Inca Eyeball was replaced by robots. Who'da thunk? -- Christopher M. Sienko <cmsienko at yahoo dot com> (6 pts)

OHNE
1

Down so low only because I suspect this will not hold a candle to the forthcoming live recordings of this short-lived SUPERGROUP. Recorded by mail before the Euro-Schitzo Tour, this is great, but sterile. Like assembling one of those puzzles where every piece is exactly the same shape, everything fits together, but OHNE haven't made the choesive picture yet that I know they will. Right now it actually resembles the TART album, and I don't think that's what they were going for. But, like "The Simpsons" in their declining years, a so-so OHNE is still 10 leagues ahead of any competition. -- Christopher M. Sienko <cmsienko at yahoo dot com> (3 pts)

Olneyville Sound System
Efforts in Freedumb

Each of the three Olneyville records seems completely different from the other, even while superficially wielding the same elements (distorto-bass, backbeat-heavy drumming, vocals or electronics). Ben McOsker nailed it, calling this their "On The Corner" style. Bigg jammz that sound great for two minutes or 200. -- Christopher M. Sienko <cmsienko at yahoo dot com> (4 pts)

Oneida
Each One Teach One

blind, blizkreiging, and quite infectious psych punk slop, with an "experimental edge". -- Lee Jackson <stulee1 at swbell dot net> (14 pts)

Outrageous Cherry
Book of Spectral Projections

Psych pop at its best. More hooks than a convention of vaudeville hookers. -- Jeff From Oxford <leapday at goes dot com> (15 pts)

Paul Flaherty and Chris Corsano
The Hated Music

If there are two people I can listen to or see live and everytime go FUCKN' YEAH it's Paul and Chris. This is only the begining.... -- brg30 at yahoo.com <brg30 at yahoo dot com> (15 pts)

Paul Westerberg
Mono/Stereo

even with an ambivalent relationship to his post-Bob output, they won me over. great live show at the Guthrie this summer past. -- Leif Larsen <vvsirin at bitstream dot net> (7 pts)

Pavement
Slanted And Enchanted (Luxe & Reduxe)

I feel a little weird ranking a reissue so high on my list, but this CD totally deserves it. A great record has been made that much greater - why can't all reissues be done so appropriately and in such a grand fashion? -- skfl <murphj at rpi dot edu> (14 pts)

Portal/Yellow6
-Split-

A taste of things to come from the miraculous new Make Mine Music label. I love Portal and I love Yellow6. Portal has 2 songs on the cd and Yellow6 has 2. Then Scott Sinfield from Portal collaborate with Jon Attwood (Yellow6) for 4 more tracks. I believe there collaboration was completely improvised. Independent, dreamy droning guitars that move along freely then suddenly come together as if there were only one. Great stuff. -- Eric Roper <eric dot roper at verizon dot net> (9 pts)

Primal Scream
Evil Heat

Bobby and co. discover Kraut-Rock -- and it sounds good. -- Chris Lakey <clakey at earthlink dot net> (8 pts)

Prince
One Night Alone ... Live!!!

One of the best live acts on the planet and this set proves it! No one artist today has produced such consistent material of such a high caliber while not falling prey to an artist's own anachronistic tendencies. -- Peter Gianakopoulos <oldschrec at aol dot com> (9 pts)

Public Nuisance
Gotta Survive

2CD on Frantic (US), 2LP+ EP on Shadoks (Germany)...the greatest unearthed '60s LP (plus demos, all recorded '68-69) of all time. Public Nuisance was Sacramento's Mod-est and Pop-est freak band, more melodic than Oxford Circle and harder hitting than New Breed. But they had the same great mystique and material as world class bands such as the Creation and the Misunderstood. Leader Dave Houston (a prolific solo artist in his own right up through today) contributed mightily to late '70s Sacto garage/psych greats, the Twinkeyz. -- Karl Ikola <anopheles at mindspring dot com> (15 pts)

Queens of the Stone Age
Songs for the Deaf

Also not as good as their previous album, but it's a grower. -- Doug Orleans <dougo at ccs dot neu dot edu> (6 pts)

Radar Brothers
...And the Surrounding Mountains

another grower.@ -- Leif Larsen <vvsirin at bitstream dot net> (2 pts)

Robyn Hitchcock
Robyn Sings

If anyone could out-Dylan Mr. Zimmerman at his own gig, it's Alfred's little boy. Is Rolling Thunder next? -- Jeff From Oxford <leapday at goes dot com> (10 pts)

Rocket from the Tombs
The Day the Earth Met the...

Gatefold color wax LP on Smog Veil...best sound available of these "loft" sessions recorded in Cleveland in '75, though some material from the old Jack Slack boot is absent, and the fact that they cut off "Satisfaction" after a minute is reason for serious frustration in the listener. Still a must. -- Karl Ikola <anopheles at mindspring dot com> (3 pts)

Horrid fidelity, impenetrably brilliant songs, and Peter Laughner. Finally, everything makes sense. -- Lee Jackson <stulee1 at swbell dot net> (13 pts)

Rolling Stones
Beggars Banquet

This was the year that I finally discarded my silly punk rock biases and embraced The Rolling Stones. Perfect timing, as this batch of reissues sound SO much better than the original CD release. I am still sticking to some of the other non-silly punk rock biases, though... -- skfl <murphj at rpi dot edu> (3 pts)

Rush
Vapor Trails

This doesn't sound much like any other Rush album, which is good because they hadn't really made a solid album in the 20 years before this. This thing is monstrous, with driving guitars and catchy but dissonant riffs-- it could almost be an Arcwelder album. I do still miss the side-long epics of their 70s albums, but I'm pretty happy with what they're doing now. Now if only they'd hire Steve Albini to fix up their drum sound... -- Doug Orleans <dougo at ccs dot neu dot edu> (15 pts)

Rye Coalition
On Top

Honky, Please! -- Doug Orleans <dougo at ccs dot neu dot edu> (5 pts)

Sahara Hotnights
Jennie Bomb

Chick band #3, Sweet dish style. Noticing a trend? That's good; you're paying attention. If Girlschool were still around or Joan Jett and Lita Ford reunited The Runaways.... -- Jeff From Oxford <leapday at goes dot com> (7 pts)

Sakada
Undistilled

A duo project by Eddie Prevost and Rosy Parlane which has lots of laptop but is in no-way "lowercase"; parts of this could get David Jackman's hands over his ears. -- Jim Flannery <newgrange at talmanassociates dot com> (10 pts)

Savage Republic
Complete Studio Boxset

Long time favorites complete studio recordings-What can I say?? How much competition is there in the postartpunkmiddleeasterndrone movement?? Packaging is ace as always with Independent Project releases. -- brg30 at yahoo.com <brg30 at yahoo dot com> (14 pts)

Scion
Arrange and Process Basic Channel Tracks

boy are my arms tired. -- Jeff Ryan <jeff dot ryan at gettyimages dot com> (5 pts)

Sigur Ros
( )

Huh? Say wha'? Mlkasjfoash.... God's Pee afficionados take note - this is how it's supposed to be done. Two words: Scandy Navia. -- Jeff From Oxford <leapday at goes dot com> (4 pts)

There's a sucker born every minute, and I'm one of 'em. -- Lee Jackson <stulee1 at swbell dot net> (8 pts)

Six Organs of Admittance
Dark Noontide

Hey Ben, I never really noticed how much your band looks like The Spacious Mind :-) -- brg30 at yahoo.com <brg30 at yahoo dot com> (13 pts)

I like the witchiness of it all. -- Lee Jackson <stulee1 at swbell dot net> (15 pts)

enveloping. -- Leif Larsen <vvsirin at bitstream dot net> (8 pts)

Skip Heller
Career Suicide

Makes the list for three reasons. 1) A cover of the Mothers' "Take Yr Clothes Off When You Dance" that sounds a bit like something a loungier version of the Bonzo Dog Band would have included on their "Gorilla" album. 2) A short, Stax-like soul blast through the Allman's "Whipping Post" with big, chesty female vocals. 3) "Vamos A Bailar", a serious serving of live Mexican jazzy R & B with vocals by Lalo Guerrero that is the best party song I heard all year. This is a compilation, and a stylistically diverse one at that, so it's hard for me to care about everything on here equally. It ranges from Raymond Scott tributes to a Bill Monroe cover to soundtrack stuff to a reverent take on "Giant Steps" with some Wes Montgomery style guitar. But the best moments are engaging and strongly assured, and the disc gets serious points for Uri Caine piano on "Raymond Scott Memorial". -- joseph neff <jneff at visuallink dot com> (2 pts)

Sonic Youth
Murray Street

fuck the old folk talk. -- claptrap <claptrap at hotmail dot com> (7 pts)

Not as great as "NYC Ghosts and Flowers" (which a lot of people really dislike for some reason), but this is still a fine continuation of what they do. For me, this also shares with "NYC..." a quality that I haven't experienced in SY albums since "Daydream Nation", and that's my desire to always listen to the record uninterupted (excluding the SYR's, which I feel are a different thing). From "Goo" to "1,000 Leaves", I would often find myself putting in the discs for specific tracks (not always the same ones, though). It's been one of my constant pleasures to watch this group continually develop and remain vital. -- joseph neff <jneff at visuallink dot com> (7 pts)

Sonic Youth can do very little wrong in my book, but this one caught my ear in a big way. I don't know about "a return to form" (it seems to me they never left) - I just like it. And seeing them perform it live at Terrastock cemented its power. -- skfl <murphj at rpi dot edu> (13 pts)

Yeah, I'm being lazy here... -- nicksmith <nicks at texas dot net> (12 pts)

So they're old. I hope I rock with a third as much grace at that age. -- Lee Jackson <stulee1 at swbell dot net> (2 pts)

Sonic Youth + I.C.P. + The Ex
In the Fishtank

Lot of negative reaction to this one, but I can't say I agree. I've played this much more than "Murray Street", which is partly due to the sounds, and partly due to it's length. The short playing time allowed me to listen to this when I would have nixed it if it were an hour or longer (when I'm home for 40 minutes between school and work, for example). The more I listened the more I liked. I'm by no means an expert on improv, so maybe that's why I wasn't unimpressed like some, but for now I think this is just fantastic. And the last cut, "X", makes me think of David Shire's "The Taking of the Pelham One Two Three" theme. Of course, I may be the only person who made this connection. -- joseph neff <jneff at visuallink dot com> (12 pts)

Sonny Sharrock
Black Woman

Another piece of the free jazz puzzle. I'd held off on getting the CD where this record is combined with a Wayne Henderson album, hoping that it would eventually come out on its own. "Peanut" is just a thunderous gush of blaring abstraction; Dave Burrell attacks the keyboard with a skilled fury, and Milford Graves shows why he takes a back seat to no one in the free drummer sweepstakes. Linda Sharrock hits some of the same areas that Patty Waters did on her ESP albums, and Sonny presides over all of it like the sound-wizard that he was. For all the talk about Sonny as a noisy maniac, it's interesting to hear how much he relies on tradition. "Blind Willy" is the most obvious example here, but even when the music is really pushing into the upper atmosphere, Sharrock (and everyone else here, for that matter) still shows roots. The closer, "Portrait of Linda in Three Colors, All Black" starts with what is really an overt sort of groove, only to shift into another sort of groove that in short order gets infused with some great splatter trumpet by Ted Daniel and some mind-shaking vocal catharsis by Linda. All the while, Sonny is bubbling underneath, laying a thick and attractive sheet of sonic bedrock. Fanatastic sounds, from start to finish. -- joseph neff <jneff at visuallink dot com> (11 pts)

Spike-Drivers
Folk-Rocking Psychedelic Innovation From The Motor City in the Mid-60s CD/LP

On RD records out of Switzerland, this is an archival release of Detroit's answer to San Francisco's pre-Jefferson Airplane raga-folk-rock originators, Great Society. Eastern scales and harmonies, dark thoughts and beautiful melodies. Collects their rare 45 on Om and a bunch of unreleased material. Essential for archival freaks and just plain music fans (US Kaleidoscope fans, take heed!!). A bit of the Farinas vibe is here as well. -- Karl Ikola <anopheles at mindspring dot com> (13 pts)

Spoon
Kill the Moonlight

Another surprising record for me in 2002. The band has been around since what, 1995? Maybe so, and I don't know how those prior records compare, but this was easly one of my more listened to records for the year. Short. Strange. And to the point. -- Christopher Severson <christopherseverson at hotmail dot com> (8 pts)

Very good pop/rock sounds, with (at its best) strong, catchy songwriting and a swell use of keyboards. If the whole record was of the quality of the songs "The Way We Get By", "Jonathan Fisk", and "Don't Let It Get You Down", then this would have been top 5 easy, but that's not the case. But the lesser songs aren't that lesser, and Spoon is great while cleaning the house or highway driving. Better than the Strokes but not as good as Ted Leo. -- joseph neff <jneff at visuallink dot com> (1 pts)

Stars of the Lid
Avec Laudenum

Can do no wrong. -- nicksmith <nicks at texas dot net> (11 pts)

Stereolab
ABC Music

This is arguably the greatest band of its time. I enjoyed hearing their bbc sessions more than their studio versions in many cases. This collection is unbelievable! Every Stereolab fan will love this. -- Eric Roper <eric dot roper at verizon dot net> (7 pts)

SubArachnoid Space/Bardo Pond
Tigris/Euphrates

This first caught my eye because of the wonderful art on the cover. Something is definately lost when you shrink a 12" picture to 5". That is one advantage to vinyl. I would guess that each contribution clocks in at about 20 minutes, maybe even longer. Each side rocks and gets a little heavy at times. The soundscapes are awesome. This is a little expensive for a record (I paid around $20 for mine) but it is a nice addition to many collections. It is also limited to 500 so it may not be around for very long, but might possibly be available from www.darla.com This was released on camera obscura. -- Eric Roper <eric dot roper at verizon dot net> (8 pts)

Sudden Infant
Sudden Infant's Turntable Cookbook CDR

They fuckin' grabbed me like this and they go hippie. -- Christopher M. Sienko <cmsienko at yahoo dot com> (10 pts)

Sun City Girls
Hi Asia/Lo Pacific

Number 9 and 10 of their seemingly never ending (but possibly this was the last one?) Carnival Folklore Resurrection series, this one definitely has to be my favorite. Platter one is a rather varied afair, and so good at that, while platter two is a 30-some minute sprawl into one of their stranger efforts if that is all possible. It took me about six months to actually get around to playing the second disc, but it was definitely worth the wait. Can't compare this to their more recent efforts released on tour this past fall, but if they surpass this, I would be awful surprised. -- Christopher Severson <christopherseverson at hotmail dot com> (10 pts)

Sunburned Hand Of The Man
Headdress

I've been waiting along time for this. It was worth it. Strap it on and get burned. -- brg30 at yahoo.com <brg30 at yahoo dot com> (8 pts)

Supergrass
Life on Other Planets

Brit-pop discovers old T.Rex!!!! -- Peter Gianakopoulos <oldschrec at aol dot com> (7 pts)

Tall Dwarfs
The Sky Above, The Mud Below

Still got it. May be their most "pop" album but the songs are great. -- brg30 at yahoo.com <brg30 at yahoo dot com> (2 pts)

Terry Riley
Atlantis Nath

a true trip album. -- Jeff Ryan <jeff dot ryan at gettyimages dot com> (15 pts)

The Arthur Doyle Electro-Accoustic Ensemble
Plays the African Love Call

I still haven't heard all of Doyle's stuff, but this is just amazing. While often unrelentingly "out", everything I've heard Doyle play sounds totally natural, even logical. Here, that natural logic gets manipulated by two caring hands. When Arthur does his vocal "thing" (I swear at times he sounds like a completely drug-whacked John Lee Hooker having a major spiritual experience) it never ceases to send chills up my spine. He balances a soulfulness in his hornlines with a gruff, thoroughly post-freedom rawness. I want to look out my window and see people (lots of 'em) doing conga-lines to "Ozy Dozy Lady". The second side of this record is seriously dealt with by O'Rourke, and "Money" especially burns with the interweaving of different approaches. The result reaches areas that I'm flummoxed to call anything but just "sound". Beautiful sound. -- joseph neff <jneff at visuallink dot com> (15 pts)

The Books
Thought for Food

ridiculously good -- Dan Regan <dregan at wernerpublishing dot com> (13 pts)

The Dead C
New Electric Music

Wins the award for best misuse of a laptop in non-dance music mode with some singing. -- brg30 at yahoo.com <brg30 at yahoo dot com> (3 pts)

It's a year end list, and it's a Dead C record. The two have gone hand in hand, at least in this household, since what, 1993? I didn't see a lot of hype following this one, but I am positive it was "released" in 2002, and what a hummer it was. Killer, the opener, was far from that, and would have been a more appropriate title for what follows with track 2, Hush. An extended remix of Sky? Well, I think this about as close as one could get. And let me tell you, it fucking rocks. The mid-section of NEM is sometimes just there, but mention here is almost required for the for the final 30 minute track where about 26 minutes in literally blows my mind. Nice. -- Christopher Severson <christopherseverson at hotmail dot com> (9 pts)

The Donnas
Spend the Night

The best chick band in a biz that's finally getting in touch with its feminine side. -- Jeff From Oxford <leapday at goes dot com> (14 pts)

The Flaming Lips
Finally the Punk Rockers Are Taking Acid

Some of this was new to me, and some I hadn't heard in almost 10 years. I think the peak of their indie stuff was "In a Priest Driven Ambulance", but this collection still has plenty of fine moments, "Jesus Shooting Herion" (Did that make that K-Tel indie comp? If not, it should've) being tops for me. Now I can stop looking through used cd sections for "Telepathic Surgery". Would have liked some liners by an outside observer (Coley, perhaps?), but what's done is well done. -- joseph neff <jneff at visuallink dot com> (3 pts)

bandwagon? piss off. -- claptrap <claptrap at hotmail dot com> (13 pts)

I really, really liked "The Soft Bulletin". I think I like this one more. DAMN. Another album that took hearing the songs live to truly appreciate it. -- skfl <murphj at rpi dot edu> (7 pts)

I'm sure this will add to the distress of the "wot's all this indie rock on the DroneOn Poll" contingent, but fukkit I'm a sucker for a good melody and this one's got an Andre the Giant's Handful of them. -- Jim Flannery <newgrange at talmanassociates dot com> (3 pts)

Another great record from the okie boys that contends with The Soft Bulletin as their finest hour IMHO. -- Peter Gianakopoulos <oldschrec at aol dot com> (13 pts)

You are indeed a hypnotist. -- Lee Jackson <stulee1 at swbell dot net> (10 pts)

The Hives
Barely Legal/Veni...Vidi...Vicious

Interchangeable, hence combined into one vote. Best evidence yet that Iggy lives. -- Jeff From Oxford <leapday at goes dot com> (3 pts)

The Holy Modal Rounders
The Moray Eels Eat The Holy Modal Rounders

A full-on lovely mess. Except for two songs ("Bird Song" and "Half a Mind"), this was all new to me. "Mobile Line" is cracked but still sturdy, the Hurley cover is stupendous, as is the too brief "The STP Song" (maybe my only complaint on an otherwise flawless album), and "Half a Mind " gains so damn much by its inclusion here (It's also on the "East Village Other" ESP release). The way the songs blend into each other helps to present this as one big heaving serving of demented Americana. -- joseph neff <jneff at visuallink dot com> (14 pts)

The Iditarod
The Ghost, the Cat, the Elf, and the Angel

Like a dream where Chan Marshall fronts her own brit-acid folk ensemble. -- Lee Jackson <stulee1 at swbell dot net> (4 pts)

The Mountain Goats
Tallahassee/All Hail West Texas (4AD/Emp. Jones)

Surely not a joint release, but two fine, fine records released by John in 2002. And not to mention the Extra Glenns released their first last year as well, or even the third and final installment in the Ajax/3bos compilations. Big year for l'il John. Tallahassee was the "major label debut", nicely polished and even produced, while West Texas was total picture perfect form that we have all come to expect since the days of his crayon-ed cassettes. His best stories yet. The "god damn" line early on should reach classic status here soon. -- Christopher Severson <christopherseverson at hotmail dot com> (6 pts)

The Notwist
Neon Golden

I have to admit that as recently as this past April I can recall a conversation in which I said I'd barely heard of The Notwist since my days in college radio (1996 or so) and had no idea what they were up to. Boy am I glad that I found out! This record is a perfect marriage of my musical interests. Is it pop? electronic? How about we say poptronic and then call that stupid, ok? And now that I've had time to get to know them (all fall), I can safely say that the evolution of The Notwist really hits its stride on this record. Violins, guitars and bass, electronics, indie-pop vocals, and more mix it up on this album of inventive German excellence (sung in English). -- --s-tephen pozgay <suppoz at earthlink dot net> (14 pts)

The Rapture
House of Jealous Lovers

burner. -- Jeff Ryan <jeff dot ryan at gettyimages dot com> (1 pts)

See also "The House of Jealous Lovers" 12" on DFA -- R. Lim <rlim at inch dot com> (8 pts)

The Spacious Mind
Do Your Thing, But Don't Touch Ours

Scandinavian rock was the biggest buzz in 2002 and here are its best practitioners. The most psychedelic experience of the year. -- Jeff From Oxford <leapday at goes dot com> (13 pts)

Nordic space gods revive the ancient ones through sound. -- Lee Jackson <stulee1 at swbell dot net> (12 pts)

The Streets
Original Pirate Material

here as one of the few things I can vote for unreservedly. great, and worth involving onesself in. still not sure it's a #1, but it's been a thin year--my live acts all got their start before Mike Skinner was out of his nappies. -- Leif Larsen <vvsirin at bitstream dot net> (15 pts)

The Suntanama
s/t

Lots of people put this down, but I can't say that I'm anything but pleased with it. I played it in between the first Little Feat album and David Crosby's "If I Could Only Remember My Name" and it sounded just fine. I recently shaved off my beard and my opinion remained the same. I suspect that the variety of instruments increases my enjoyment. The flute on "And the Story Goes" is killer, and I rarely say that about the flute. This music would probably sound better played live in a muddy field, but it still sounds good to me multi-tracked and trapped in plastic. -- joseph neff <jneff at visuallink dot com> (5 pts)

Themselves
The No Music

This year was the year of Anticon on my stereo, and this record hit the top of the pile. Putting this in the "Hip hop" section seems too limiting - these guys are most certainly up to something wild, and I am willing along for the ride via my stereo. Plus, no MC hits me quite like Dose-One. -- skfl <murphj at rpi dot edu> (10 pts)

Theo Parrish
Ugly Edits

got a match? -- Jeff Ryan <jeff dot ryan at gettyimages dot com> (6 pts)

Throbbing Gristle
TG24

a rare research project. -- Jeff Ryan <jeff dot ryan at gettyimages dot com> (14 pts)

Yeah, I know it's ass to vote for a reissue as number one, but fuckit: damn few bands have ever been as "important" (however you wanna define that term) and look, there's 24 hours of it ... -- Jim Flannery <newgrange at talmanassociates dot com> (15 pts)

24 hours of the Gristle can complete any day. -- Peter Gianakopoulos <oldschrec at aol dot com> (4 pts)

To Live And Shave In L.A.
The Wigmaker In Eighteenth Century Williamsburg 2CD

A cubist mixtape of glam, prog, gore metal and free jazz...all sides visible simultaneously. While your back was turned, the bar was raised...a foot and a half. -- Christopher M. Sienko <cmsienko at yahoo dot com> (14 pts)

Tom Waits
Blood Money

Aging like good cheese, though not as fragrant. -- DJ Effeminate Christian <chuckp8 at juno dot com> (4 pts)

Trad, Gras och Stenar
Djungelns Lag

Perfect CD reissue (on 1/2 Special Records) of the second LP by these Swedish early '70s underground legends (ex-Parson Sound, International Harvester, etc). Extended Velvetsy crunchfests and droney bliss outs for the melancholy, as if "Oh! Sweet Nothin'" was recorded at half-speed through a plexi-glass window for your enjoyment... -- Karl Ikola <anopheles at mindspring dot com> (8 pts)

Tuuli
Here We Go

Chick band #2, Canuck-style. Luscious harmonies, hooks aplenty, and not bad eye candy. If Josie and The Pussycats were human and made a record, this is what it would sound like. -- Jeff From Oxford <leapday at goes dot com> (11 pts)

Twinkeyz
Cartoon Land

Anopheles 007. LP version with new mastering and unbelievable original artwork by group founder Donnie Jupiter of this late '70s Sacramento group's (think Simply Saucer or Pere Ubu) best studio recordings. 1000 LPs only on clear vinyl, 13 tracks, two (their unreleased fourth 45) never having seen the light of day on vinyl before. Includes Donnie Jupiter, Tom Darling, and ex-Public Nuisance Dave Houston. -- Karl Ikola <anopheles at mindspring dot com> (9 pts)

V/A
A Charabang Trip to the Lights

This is a collection of 6 7"s that were scheduled to be released on earworm. They were all compiled on cd instead and earworm shut down. Features: Salvatore, Cranebuilders, House of Mexico, the Shimmer Kids, the Interferons and Landshipping. I wish they were all 7"s because they are great. Hopefully the vinyl versions will see the light of day sometime. -- Eric Roper <eric dot roper at verizon dot net> (10 pts)

best era in r&b since mid-fifties. -- Jeff Ryan <jeff dot ryan at gettyimages dot com> (11 pts)

Beyond highlighting some of the finest improvisors around, this is one of those rare examples of a compilation that becomes more than a sum of its tracks. -- R. Lim <rlim at inch dot com> (12 pts)

First of all, this comes free with Masstransfer magazine. This is a great eclectic collection of experimental and indie bands. The cd features: Land Speed Record, Western Automatic, Landing, Fontanelle, Technicolor, Languis, Aurevoir Borealis, Yellow6, Con dolore, Rachel Goldstar, Nudge, Alphastone, Andrew Duke and Surface of Eceon. This is by far the best free cd I have ever seen and the magazine is incredible. The magazine costs $6.00 (i'm pretty sure) with postage included and can be obtained at: http://www.masstransfer.net/ -- Eric Roper <eric dot roper at verizon dot net> (2 pts)

don't know if any of these came out this year, but I'm just amazed that so much so obscure stuff can be so quality. -- Leif Larsen <vvsirin at bitstream dot net> (5 pts)

Robot vs Rabbit raise quite a rukus. Circle come through again. You'll be able to count on one hand how many people do not have a record with _c_d m_th_rs t_mpl_ on their list. Mandragora Records will be the label to watch. -- brg30 at yahoo.com <brg30 at yahoo dot com> (7 pts)

Clocking in at over 70 minutes, this is almost too much of a good thing. A comp from Chocolate Industries, the vast majority being hip-hop, that is impressive in its overall quality (none of the peaks and valleys that most comps suffer from). It includes El-P, Prefuse-73, Aesop Rock, Mr. Lif, Souls of Mischief (I'd forgotten about them), Mosdef and Diverse, Themselves, and RJD2. The overall feel is similar to an extremely well-programmed radio set (the inclusion of DJ pater enhances this), and the strength allowed me to listen many times without consulting the track listing. However, my favorites would probably be 1) RJD2's refreshingly smart combo of hip-hop, strings, and big rock moves. 2) the opener by Prefuse-73, which packs a ton of variation into a very straightforward track. 3) the wise-ass attitude of Aesop Rock, and 4) DJ Food, which blends beats, horns, and a variety of other pre-existing sounds to a result that staddles the fence between direct and abstract quite succesfully. The Tortoise track is the best thing I've heard from them (though I'll admit that I'm not an avid listener to that group), and overall this record is so good that it managed to satisfy my recent hip-hop jones all by its lonesome. -- joseph neff <jneff at visuallink dot com> (4 pts)

V/A (Australian Beat/Psych/Garage/R&B)
Hot Generation + Of Hopes and Dreams and Tombstones + Peculiar Hole in the Sky

A series of three killer compilation CDs on Ace/Big Beat taken straight from the Festival (Australia) master tape vaults, mined for primo beat, R&B, psych and garage rock 'n' roll! Hot Generation (high energy garage/rock 'n' roll), Of Hopes and Dreams and Tombstones (R&B, punk) and Peculiar Hole In The Sky (Pop/Psych) are also essential for the less punk-specific Oz garage fan. -- Karl Ikola <anopheles at mindspring dot com> (5 pts)

V/A (AUSTRALIAN garage/punk '76-'87)
Do the Pop!!

Shock Records out of Melbourne issued this exhaustive 2CD set, compiled and annotated by David Laing of Grown Up Wrong! and Dog Meat records fame. The perfect taste (and a full course meal taken in totem!) of classic Australian garage rock and punk from '76-87; from the Saints and Radio Birdman and Victims and Lipstick Killers to Lime Spiders, le Hoodoo Gurus, Scientists, Celibate Rifles, etc. -- Karl Ikola <anopheles at mindspring dot com> (4 pts)

Vacuum Boys
Songs from the Sea of Love

gorgeous electro-acoustic improv album, with some of the best and funnest packaging i have ever seen. -- Mark Flaum <mflaum at softhome dot net> (15 pts)

Vainica Doble
s/t

OK trendies!! Wake up and listen to something as vital (though even a bit more esoteric if you can believe it) as those Os Mutantes reissues everyone went gaga about a few years ago...these Spanish ladies cut this fine fine debut LP in 1971. This reissue on the Wah-Wah label is lovingly done, with a bonus p/s 45 of their Christmas offering... Lovely bubbling percussion and acoustic instrumentation make this a nice balance 'tween "Acid Folk", "Psych" and "World Music". Label it however you'd like, this is as good as anything reissued in 2002...Don't be fooled by the fact that this is #15 on my list, go and get it!! -- Karl Ikola <anopheles at mindspring dot com> (1 pts)

Volvox
Bad Earth

There will never be another like Lester Vat. Lessen, of course, you wanna drop your ass through a glass ceiling and suffer neurological impairment to best him! Almost completely indescribable, like an archduke on the nod giving his resignation speech/recap of his life, accompanied by the Screamers' idea of "Indeterminacy." Blessedly rescued from "edition of 50" obscurity by Australia's dual pLOVER, a label destined to be the next Amarillo, money and enthusiasm holding constant. -- Christopher M. Sienko <cmsienko at yahoo dot com> (9 pts)

Wilco
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

Well, you either liked this record or you downloaded it 2001 and tried to ignore it since you did....I am definitely of the former catagory. Can't say that I have heard anything else from Wilco, but when this came out I was surely impressed. -- Christopher Severson <christopherseverson at hotmail dot com> (12 pts)

I think I cried one time when I played this. I like it. What more can I say to convince you? -- skfl <murphj at rpi dot edu> (11 pts)

: -- daphne <pinkgerl at yahoo dot com> (9 pts)

Windy & Carl
Introspection

All the best and all the rest. Seminal, required listening. -- Jeff From Oxford <leapday at goes dot com> (9 pts)

Wire
Read and Burn 01

Definitelty the mostly highly anticipated record of 2002 for me, and I was surely far from let down. In fact, I think I was pretty much thrown across the room that late June afternoon when I first heard this. Not a bum cut on here, and I think the worst on here still sounds as great as your least favorite track on Pink Flag. -- Christopher Severson <christopherseverson at hotmail dot com> (11 pts)

Wolf Eyes
Dead Hills

The record where Wolf Eyes finally and totally lay claim to the throne of Throbbing Gristle. "Oh Wolf Eyes, they're alright, they play all them horns..." -- Christopher M. Sienko <cmsienko at yahoo dot com> (12 pts)

Woven Hand
s/t

Solo project by the auteur of 16 Horsepower; somehow that translates not so much into a different manner of song as a different manner of sound ... the rough edges enhanced rather than smoothed by major-label production standards, the arrangements looser and alive. Another in this year's brigade of songwriters for people who gave up on songs. -- Jim Flannery <newgrange at talmanassociates dot com> (11 pts)

Xinlisupreme
Tomorrow Never Comes

christ -- Dan Regan <dregan at wernerpublishing dot com> (11 pts)

Yellow6
source:remix

I am always a little skeptical about remix albums. First of all, I like many of the origanal versions of better than the remixes. With that being said, I think this is a great cd. It features remixes by: rothko, ::lackluster::, landing, innerise, bauri, portal, amp, galena, phobos3 and maps&diagrams. The list speaks for itself. This is on endorphin records. -- Eric Roper <eric dot roper at verizon dot net> (3 pts)

Yellow6/Rothko/Landing
New Found Land

I would buy this cd just for the art on the cover. Throw in Yellow6, Rothko and Landing and you have a real winner. Jon Attwood's contribution to this piece is captivating. One of my favorite songs on this wonderful cd is Silhouette by Yellow6. When I hear it I think of what it must have felt like to land on the moon or discover a new land. The name of This album is quite fitting. Really brilliant. Rothko's piece is very ambient and nice to listen to. The Landing provides a beautiful contribution of space rock with wonderful instrumentals and lovely vocals. Overall it is a very nice collection. Released on Music Fellowship. Available from www.musicfellowship.com for a very reasonable price! (Shipping in the U.S. is included in the price) If you like any of these bands, or are just looking for something wonderful, buy this album! -- Eric Roper <eric dot roper at verizon dot net> (15 pts)

Yo La Tengo
Nuclear War

Large group of kids covering Sun Ra say "It's a Motherfucker" and "whatcha gonna do without your ass" in unison. Beautiful. -- brg30 at yahoo.com <brg30 at yahoo dot com> (1 pts)

Young People
s/t

Why is this album so fucking good? Well, it is. If this album was PCP I would have choked on my teeth a long time ago. -- nicksmith <nicks at texas dot net> (15 pts)

staggeringly great -- Dan Regan <dregan at wernerpublishing dot com> (14 pts)

Previous Results
2001    2000    1999    (others coming soon)