1. Martin Grech, Open Heart Zoo. Yes, I know, Lexus ad, fast signing to a major label, rather 'produced' album and only 2 people credited and one is the producer, sounds a lot like The Bends...there's a lot here to hate, or at least make one suspicious. But this remains one of the most captivating albums of the year, if you discard the overwrought first track ("Here it Comes") and the somewhat tedious "Dali." On the slower tracks the melodies are exquisite and his voice is magic and less reminiscent of Thom Yorke the more you listen to it.

2. Beth Gibbons/Rustin Man: Out of Season. Portishead vocalist visits the fairy forest with Paul Webb of Talk Talk and makes an excellent British folk album. Gorgeous echoes of Nick Drake and Vashti Bunyan, with a hit of latter day Tindersticks soul swagger ("Tom the Model"). Somewhat ironically released in the late autumn, exactly the right season for this album. The only real complaints here are that this will certainly be better than the next Portishead album, and that Rustin' Man is a terrible pseudonym for Mr. Webb.

3. Sybarite: Nonument. Big step forward for Xian Hawkins in production and breadth of tone; opening the album up to more musicians while keeping a tight rein on what makes a Sybarite release just that: unpredictable clicks and gentle beats over swaths of electrowash. It's too bad the exceptional single "Scene of the Crime" wasn't folded into the album. Coupled with my next entry did a lot to revitalize 4AD's credibility.

4. Piano Magic: Writers Without Homes. If Xian showed restraint in the chance to put out a "4AD album," Glen Johnson went all-out, revisting not only sounds of his own band's past but raiding the label's back catalog, pulling in Simon Raymond to recall This Mortal Coil and a smattering of other old 4AD ghosts as well. Some of the choices could have been better ("The Season is Long" cries out for a female vocalist of Paula Frazer's caliber, rather than the Czars frontman John Grant), but this initial shock of this album wore off and I found myself enjoying the nostalgia trip.

5. Charles Atlas: Worsted Weight. Completely biased entry but would have ranked regardless. Contributions by Sean and Denise from San Francisco's Sunshine Club helped make this the electro-post-ambient-shoegaze crossover album of the year (for me at any rate).

6. Thee More Shallows: A History of Sport Fishing. Massive! The most impressive debut from a California band since Grandaddy. The instrumentals are heartbreaking and the vocal songs are to the point.

7. Sierpinski: This Geography of Ours. Took a while to warm up to but I found it in my player more than I'd expected. Ex-Hood drummer and Random Number guy's other band. Imagine an instrumental Hood anchored by piano and there you have it. Absolutely no-one bought this album so you should.

8. Interpol: Turn on the Bright Lights. Guilty pleasure of the year and better than the hype that will sink them. He doesn't sound so much like Ian Curtis to me as he does Richard Butler.

9. The Notwist: Neon Golden. The New Order compliment to Interpol's JD. Better than Get Ready though.

10. Sonic Youth: Murray Street. Who knew that all it took for Sonic Youth to be brilliant again was to add another member and have New York get bombed? Sadly too short, and about four years ago Kim quit singing and started barking bad poetry so the second to last song here keeps the record from Evol status. Kim come back!

Honorable mentions: Mum: Finally We Are No One. I bought the Icelandic version of this so I can't understand a word of it. Beautiful. Casino Vs. Japan: Whole Numbers Play the Basics. Erik Kowalski finally hits a home run with his third albums which merges the wiggliness of his second record with the emotion of the first. Tarwater: Dwellers on the Threshold. Crappy cover art but their best album so far, miles beyond the terrible Animals, Suns, and Atoms. Adding an acoustic guitar here and there helps a lot. The Telescopes: Third Wave. Outstanding return by one of the most important bands of the early 90's. The Flaming Lips: Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. I was kicked dragging and screaming into Flaming Lips fandom with this album which made me go back and revist The Soft Bulletin and realize it wasn't as bad as I'd initially thought. Windsor for the Derby: The Emotional Rescue LP. Holy crap it's another New Order album! The Liars: They Threw Us In A Trench And Stuck A Monument On Top. Nice synthesis of Wire, Can, and something noisier. Didn't notice the last song was a 15 minute loop until the 14th minute.

Disappointments: Badly Drawn Boy: Have You Fed the Fish? Horrible. If I want to listen to a bad Wings record I'll throw on London Town. Doves: Last Broadcast: other than the rewrite of the King Crimson song, it was pretty dull. Speaking of which: King Crimson: Happy With What You Have to be Happy With. Egads, other than Belew's beautiful acoustic Eyes Wide Open, the worst thing they've ever recorded, and that includes Islands. Coldplay: A Rush of Blood To The Head. Tepid rehash of the first album that not even the phallic title could save. Bright Eyes: Lifted! Good songs, bad recordings or something. I liked all this stuff live. Don't know what happened here.

Labels: 2002, reviews, top ten