ach year there are numerous albums that emerge from the legions of released music to rise to the top of the heap. No less than 380 of those albums were named by Stylus writers in their year-end lists of favorite albums. It’s an enormous number that typifies how little consensus we actually have among our incredibly diverse staff. That’s why Stylus uses an elaborate point system that gives albums that score highly on only a few writers list’s a greater chance of ending up on the final list. Thus, these are the albums we feel strongly about that encompass many different genres and many different styles, a true Non-Definitive guide to the favorite 20 albums of Stylus Magazine from 2003.


20. Kevin Drumm - Land of Lurches [Hanson]

Ten, fifteen years from now Land of Lurches will be the audio equivalent of Dawn of the Dead. Eerie, brutal, and more than a little frightening, it will still be overshadowed by its much more popular predecessor. The longtime fans will not be unlike the greasy-haired, freakishly-devoted horror junkies who force their otherwise-normal friends to see Dawn and brag of their treks to the Monroeville Mall, where it was filmed. Casual listener, you now have the option of spending the next decade pestering or being pestered. I only wish I had such a choice.
[Mike Shiflet] [review]





19. Ricardo Villalobos - Alcachofa [Playhouse]

Ricardo Villalobos had a prodigious year in 2003, releasing an incredible mix-album, Taka Taka, and completing a stunning DJ set at Fabric (with Richie Hawtin, no less). However, Alcachofa was his most definitive statement of intent. It’s apparent in the first vocodered vocals of “Easy Lee” that this is no ordinary house record. Instead, Alcachofa features Villalobos vision of a claustrophobic, yet still expansive, musical model for a house that blurs organic and electronic elements easily. Microhouse dead? Not by a long shot. Alcachofa proves, without doubt, that this is a fertile genre worthy of more exploration.
[Nate De Young] [review]





18. Belle & Sebastian - Dear Catastrophe Waitress [Rough Trade]

Stuart Murdoch & Co.’s sixth LP was a welcome return to form following a few years of disappearance and disappointment. Regardless of what you attribute the success of Waitress to—Trevor Horn’s sparkling production, a great batch of songs, Murdoch again seizing the reins of his band—there could be no arguing that this was a set of pure pop gems of the highest order. Jumping effortlessly from genre to genre, but never losing the sound and feel that made us love them in the first place, Belle & Sebastian are gloriously back on track now and all is right with the world.
[Todd Hutlock] [review]





17. Xiu Xiu - A Promise [5RC]

Let’s be honest: A Promise suffered from some major missteps, one being "Walnut House," one of the bands worst songs, and another, "Fast Car," a shaky, overlong Chapman cover. Nevertheless, A Promise shoved Jamie Stewart's ear-perking Morrisseyisms directly into the indie-consciousness. Whether seen as aping no-wave shock purveyors or the most hauntingly honest (and uncomfortable) confessional storytellers, Xiu Xiu has successfully reached its goal: Stewart has you repulsed, enamored and/or both and few bands today elicit such strong reactions as Xiu Xiu. And this should only continue into the new year with the upcoming Fabulous Muscles full length.
[Gentry Boeckel] [review]





16. Jan Jelinek avec the Exposures - La Nouvelle Pauvraté [~scape]

A radical departure from the imaginative Loop-Finding-Jazz-Records, La Nouvelle Pauvraté finds Jelinek adding elements of classic pop to his music’s dub-soul and moiré texture foundations. The resultant sound exudes a broader sweep, its moods more expansive and exuberant, with the most notable change the addition of his own vocals, typically in the form of a multi-tracked baritone. Fusing the hermetic qualities of Loop-Finding-Jazz-Records, the extroverted soulfulness of Textstar, and the classic strains of vocal-based rock and pop, La Nouvelle Pauvreté impressed in 2003 as another strong addition to the Jelinek discography.
[Ron Schepper] [review]





15. The Blood Brothers - Burn, Piano Island, Burn [Artist Direct]

With Burn, Piano Island, Burn, the trickle of creativity seeping through the Blood Brothers' first two albums swelled to a fucking flood, a bile-and-blood river ripping a sickly surrealist gulch through hardcore's bedrock of genre clichés. Jordan Billie and Johnny Whitney’s stratospheric shrieks of the damned elevate infirmity and mania to sublimely terrifying heights, writhing in glorious spasms over a relentless torrent of lurching time changes and rusted razor guitars hurtling from all sides of the stereo spectrum. Majestically conceived and pristinely produced, the Blood Brothers' magnum opus seethes with gallows humor, fist-clenching hostility, and all the revelatory power of the most perverse fantasies.
[Joe Panzner] [review]





14. Various Artists - AMPLIFY 2002: Balance Box Set [Erstwhile]

This set -- seven CDs plus a DVD -- is a sprawling, definitive document of Erstwhile’s 2002 festival in Tokyo, featuring over seven hours of music with impressive packaging, beautiful photos, and insights from musicians, critics, and fans who were there for the four days of concerts. Spanning the sparse, hushed-silence interactions of Sachiko M and Toshimaru Nakamura to the tense, noisy overload of synthesizer scientists Thomas Lehn and Marcus Schmickler, this set is not only a valuable historical reference, but a treasure trove of vibrant improvised music that continues to reap massive rewards no matter how much you explore it.
[Ed Howard]





13. Postal Service - Give Up [Sub Pop]

The final showdown in pop music: iridescent humansoul vs. cold futurebeats. In the red corner: Ben Gibbard’s husky voice and reliance on emotive couplets like: "I am thinking it's a sign / that the freckles in our eyes are mirror images / And when we kiss they're perfectly aligned”. In the blue corner: Jimmy Tamborello’s positively jubilant melodies that feature catchy enough hooks that I can ignore Gibbard’s missteps (see above). The winner? Pop love. It’s never been so removed from traditional chord changes and instrumentation and still maintained such honest beauty. They’re on to something.
[Sam Bloch] [review]





12. King Geedorah - Take Me To Your Leader [Big Dada]

While Viktor Vaughn pushed Mr. Dumile's ample lyrical wit and creativity to the forefront, King Geedorah serves as an outlet for his eccentric production stylings. In his capable hands, drum pad bumbling, awkward pauses, and incidental music loops become a successful manifesto against the instrumental homogeneity of most underground hip-hop albums. Doom's strength behind the boards helped transform a cast of relative unknowns (Kurious, Hassan Chop, etc.) into respected veterans. If Doom's future releases are as solid as this year's offerings, Kool Keith might have to relinquish his title as hip-hop's #1 weirdo of all-time.
[Fredrick Thomas] [review]





11. The Wrens - The Meadowlands [Absolutely Kosher]

This was the worst year in my life. By mid-November, between work, relationships and money, things seemed to be spiraling out of control. Then came The Meadowlands, proving that the Wrens have already been there and have wrenched beautiful music from it. My personal anthem and source of hope throughout the year-“This Boy is Exhausted”- hit even harder when the lyrics were finally deciphered after reading the lyric sheet. If the Wrens could go through far worse than I ever have and still make music that sounds this joyous, this full of life, then there is hope for us all.
[Ian Mathers] [review]





10. Exploding Hearts - Guitar Romantic [Dirtnap]

With Guitar Romantic, their now lone album, these four pink-clad Oregonians encapsulated everything that makes us love rock n' roll, and in record time. Clocking in at just under a half-hour, it’s an unforgettable blast of youthful refreshment that busts at the seams with bubblegum enthusiasm and snotty zest. Base imitation this is not-- the Exploding Hearts don't wastefully crib from their influences, they match and best them. Those who say that July 20, the day that saw three members perish in a van accident, was "the day the music died" couldn't be more wrong. Precious little music recorded in recent memory sounds so utterly alive.
[Colin McElligatt] [review]





09. David Banner - Mississippi: The Album [Universal]
09. David Banner - Mississippi: The Screwed and Chopped Album [Universal]

MTA is David Banner nihilistically embracing and then spiritually rejecting existence-as-thug-cliché, realizing that he's been handed an outrageously lucrative but emotionally nullifying societal role and then made into a caricature for accepting it. It’s the sound of a man daring you to believe all of the repugnant "buck" stereotypes of the hyper-sexual, physically overpowering, mindlessly violent black male. Shit, even normally wide-berthing rock critics accuse him of running a "Misogyny Workshop" while new jack indie-hero Dizzee Rascal gets off scot-free for dropping lines like "track and stack whores done dat." In short, MTA + Screwed and Chopped = 2003's most essential joyless exercise.
[Josh Love]

DJ Michael Watts takes Banner’s manifesto, screwing (slowing down) and chopping (slicing up the tracks to create disorienting rhythmic variations) the original, while amplifying the isolation of the original to harrowing effect. The lumbering, lurching pace and pitchshifted vocals turn dark, violent tracks like "Might Getcha" and "What It Do" into something truly menacing and evil. "Fast Life" becomes a flanged-out slow-motion car wreck, while "Choose Me" is a psychedelic epic full of guitars and layered choruses - Pink Floyd meets Lil Jon. But this isn't for Jeeps in front of the club - it's for a beat-up Chevy pickup rolling down a lonely country road.
[Gavin Mueller]





08. Radiohead - Hail to the Thief [Capitol]

And so it arrived. Hail to the Thief was not a return to Bends-era rock. The Clockwork Orange paranoia and sleepdrunk electronic stumbling of these carnivorous tracks gutted your mind to make room solely for their own Orwellian misgivings. A combination of Kid A’s electronic musings and OK Computer’s jaded neo-prog, Radiohead dropped the mirror and made you see reflections through its shards. They again presented themselves as aglow in the keyboard-born heart of modernity, keen and suspicious about its lore and all-too-awake to the stillborn nature of its technological ascendance.
[Derek Miller] [review] [review]





07. Cat Power - You Are Free [Matador]

What is it about Chan Marshall that makes her so utterly beguiling, that makes for albums so gorgeously enigmatic? Her music is so spare it’s barely there and her lyrics would probably sound more awkward than poignant coming out of anyone else’s mouth. It has to be the voice--that beautifully eerie resigned sigh; Koestler’s "shrug of eternity" captured on record. Nothing sounds lovelier or more comforting at three-thirty in the morning than a double-tracked Chan singing, "Come alooong,...fool" in that ghostly, smokey Southern whisper of hers. It’s the insomniac album of the year.
[Josh Timmermann] [review]





06. OutKast - Speakerboxxx/The Love Below [Arista]

Though there were moments of brain popping, pop locking hip-hop (and then some) on both Big Boi's harsher, harder party disc Speakerboxx ("Flip Flop Rock", "Ghettomusick") and on Andre3000's slinkier and altogether more confounding The Love Below ("Cupid Valentino", "Spread"), it was most definitely "Hey Ya!" that was the key to the double-disc's genius. One minute you were listening to the album in your recliner and then it had you leaping about like a freak shouting "shake it like a Polaroid picture!", grabbing at asses both real and imaginary. And then, back in your recliner, you were all like, "what the fuck was that?" Speakerboxxx/The Love Below was all that.
[Clem Bastow] [review]





05. Broken Social Scene - You Forgot It In People [Arts & Crafts/Paper Bag]

You Forgot it in People is the sound of a group of friends stepping out into the starry twilight and deciding to make a night of it. Broken Social Scene, a Canadian supergroup of appropriately post-rockian proportions, put everyone to shame with this album—the emo kids (“Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl”), the new rock revolution (“Almost Crimes”), Interpol and their many clones (“Lovers’ Spit”) and of course, the post-rockers (“KC Accidental”) all take their beatings with equal aplomb. Forgot that this album was technically released late last year, YFIIP is indie rock in 2003.
[Andrew Unterberger] [review]





04. Dizzee Rascal - Boy in Da Corner [XL]

Forget ��grime’, forget UKG; the really compelling thing about Boy In Da Corner was Dizzee himself. In Dizzee’s hands “round round round we go / if you love me let me know” became the most pathos-laden line we heard all year, “I Luv You” a shocking indictment of a generation. And when he turned his hand to the dynamic pyromania of “Jus’ A Rascal” he was nothing short of thrilling. Not to mention that Dizzee’s confused but clear character was also matched perfectly by the sonic template he set himself. The Mercury Music panel couldn’t resist, and neither, it seemed, could anyone else.
[Nick Southall] [review]





03. The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow [Sub Pop]

It almost sounds like the work of an entirely different group; the southern tinge of “Pink Bullet,” delicious chamber pop of centerpiece “Saint Simon” and country rhythm of “Gone For Good” were barely hinted at with the lo-fi psych-pop of their fantastic debut, Oh Inverted World, and yet are integral pieces of the striking progression on their sophomore effort. Although some of the immediacy of their debut is lost amidst Phil Ek’s apposite production, The Shins are finally discovering their sound –one that explodes into full color on Chutes, making it, by far, one of the most rewarding releases of 2003.
[Scott Reid] [review] [review]





02. Manitoba - Up in Flames [Domino/Leaf]

With an opening snippet of orchestral cacophony that’s equal parts Revolver and free jazz traffic jam, Canuck mathematician Dan Snaith retrofits his debut two years ago with something largely unprecedented in glitch-tronica: the sound and energy of a live band, albeit one with a production straight out of Gold Star Studios and a drummer that plays like Ginger Baker with a gallon of Jolt Cola in his system. That man behind the curtain? Still Dapper Dan, overdubbing himself like some post-rock Stevie Wonder. But unlike labelmate Four Tet’s recent Rounds, which also subverted the laptop genre by emphasizing the organic over the synthetic, Snaith takes it one step further with Up In Flames, placing one snowshoe squarely in pop territory before running it all through his IDM Cuisinart. Don’t get me wrong: for all the hubbub over the record’s meshing of tunes and cutup, only “Twins,” the “Teenage Riot”-inspired “Jacknuggeted” and the decidedly Rev-ish “Every Time She Turns Round It’s Her Birthday” are more song than sound; the rest get by on the kind of melodies that suffice in only the indiest of indie rock. But have faith – songs are only one variable in Snaith’s cosmic equation. McGill University would do well to make this guy an offer right away.
[Matthew Weiner] [review]





01. Songs: Ohia - Magnolia Electric Co. [Secretly Canadian]

Magnolia Electric Co. was 2003's only album album, its every facet ("Weeping," as it’s been referred to, "pedal steel," lyrics hewn of pseudo-redneck symbolism and woe, mysterious cover art) wholly indebted to the eloquently blue-collar poetry of Springsteen and Dylan, but still impossibly emblematic of itself. Jason Molina’s oil-streaked behemoth sounds as though it were found abandoned by the roadside of Highway 61, and pieced together by working class hands. It’s an album wrought of distinctly mythical American lore and archetypes–the "small town as prison" thesis is thoroughly explored here, and steel mills and the 66 Highway both receive sincere name-checks that anchor Molina’s lyrics in stark Americana. When Lawrence Peters belts out the death-peaked blues of "The Old Black Hen" in a smoky brogue inextricable from its Nashville influences, with the fiddle and mandolin suffocating Molina’s gentle melody like a billow of smoke, the listener’s first influence is one of reticence. As a generalization, country music (specifically the type you hear on the radio) has been reversely canonized; it’s shameful to enjoy, much less find relevant. But Molina’s songs are so good, they not only demand, but deserve the type of authenticity they’re delivered with. Far from being a fashionably ironic trucker hat guising deliberately "alt"-country songcraft, Molina’s sad songs are resplendent with the potential for edification, mercy, and escape.
[Eric Seguy]





Final List

20. Kevin Drumm - Land of Lurches [Hanson]
19. Ricardo Villalobos - Alcachofa [Playhouse]
18. Belle & Sebastian - Dear Catastrophe Waitress [Rough Trade]
17. Xiu Xiu - A Promise [5 Rue Christine]
16. Jan Jelinek avec the Exposures - La Nouvelle Pauvraté [~scape]
15. The Blood Brothers - Burn, Piano Island, Burn [Artist Direct]
14. Various Artists - AMPLIFY 2002: Balance Box Set [Erstwhile]
13. Postal Service - Give Up [Sub Pop]
12. King Geedorah - Take Me To Your Leader [Big Dada]
11. The Wrens - The Meadowlands [Absolutely Kosher]
10. Exploding Hearts - Guitar Romantic [Dirtnap]
09. David Banner - Mississippi: The Album and Mississippi: The Screwed and Chopped Album [Universal]
08. Radiohead - Hail to the Thief [Capitol]
07. Cat Power - You Are Free [Matador]
06. OutKast - Speakerboxxx/The Love Below [Arista]
05. Broken Social Scene - You Forgot It In People [Arts & Crafts/Paper Bag]
04. Dizzee Rascal - Boy in Da Corner [XL]
03. The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow [Sub Pop]
02. Manitoba - Up in Flames [Domino/Leaf]
01. Songs: Ohia - Magnolia Electric Co. [Secretly Canadian]





Individual Lists

Clem Bastow
01. The Darkness - Permission To Land
02. The Cooper Temple Clause - Kick Up The Fire, And Let The Flames Break Loose
03. The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster - Horse Of The Dog
04. Outkast - Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
05. Kings Of Leon - Youth & Young Manhood
06. Fountains Of Wayne - Welcome Interstate Managers
07. Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros - Streetcore
08. Britney Spears - In The Zone
09. Warren Zevon - The Wind
10. The Distillers - Coral Fang
11. Nelly Furtado - Folklore
12. Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Greendale
13. The Thrills - So Much For The City
14. Kelly Osbourne - Changes
15. Andrew W.K. - The Wolf

Colin Beckett
1. Exploding Hearts - Guitar Romantic
2. Saturday Looks Good To Me - All Your Summer Songs
3. Belle and Sebastian - Dear Catastrophe Waitress
4. Puffy AmiYumi - Nice
5. Songs: Ohia - Magnolia Electric Company
6. Lightning Bolt - Wonderful Rainbow
7. Sufjan Stevens - Greetings From Michigan! The Great Lakes State
8. Prefuse 73 - One Word Extinguisher
9. David Banner - Mississippi: The Album
10. MF Doom - Viktor Vaughn/Vaudeville Villain
11. Jay-Z - The S. Carter Collection
12. Alasdair Roberts - Farewell Sorrow
13. DM and Jemini - Ghetto Pop Life
14. The Clientele - The Violet Hour
15. 50 Cent - Get Rich or Die Tryin’
16. The Unicorns - Who Will Cut Our Hair When We’re Gone?
17. Lucksmiths - Little Distraction
18. The Rapture - Echoes
19. Girls Aloud - Sounds of the Underground
20. R. Kelly - Chocolate Factory

Sam Bloch
01. Prefuse 73 - One Word Extinguisher
02. The Strokes - Room On Fire
03. Basement Jaxx - Kish Kash
04. Manitoba - Up In Flames
05. Broken Social Scene - You Forgot It In People
06. M83 - Dead Cities, Red Seas, and Lost Ghosts
07. Ladytron - Softcore Jukebox
08. The Rapture - Echoes
09. The Mars Volta - De-loused In The Comatorium
10. The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow
11. Junior Senior - D-D-Don't Stop The Beat
12. The Books - The Lemon Of Pink
13. Jay-Z - The Black Album
14. British Sea Power - The Decline Of British Sea Power
15. Explosions In The Sky - The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place
16. The Postal Service - Give Up
17. Blur - Think Tank
18. Enon - Hocus Pocus
19. Wire - Send
20. The New Pornographers - Electric Version

Gentry Boeckel
01. Lisa Germano - Lullaby for Liquid Pig
02. The Decemberists - Her Majesty the Decemberists
03. The Hidden Cameras - The Smell of Our Own
04. Over the Rhine - Ohio
05. Woven Hand - Blush Music
06. The Innocence Mission – Befriended
07. Xiu Xiu - A Promise
08. Buck 65 - Talkin' Honkey Blues
09. Sufjan Stevens - Greetings from Michigan: The Great Lakes State
10. Soul-Junk - 1958
11. Manitoba - Up In Flames
12. Songs: Ohia - Magnolia Electric Co.
13. Aarktica - Pure Tone Audiometry
14. Ulrich Schnauss - A Strangely Isolated Place
15. Non Prophets - Hope
16. Nina Nastasia - Run to Ruin
17. Sweet Trip - Velocity : Design : Comfort
18. Natacha Atlas - Something Dangerous
19. Juana Molina - Segundo
20. Karsh Kale – Liberation

John Brandt
01. David Banner - Mississippi: The Screwed and Chopped Album
02. Basement Jaxx - Kish Kash
03. Broken Social Scene - You Forgot It In People
04. Ladytron - Softcore Jukebox
05. Dizzee Rascal - Boy In Da Corner
06. Belle and Sebastian - Dear Catastrophe Waitress
07. Lightning Bolt - Wonderful Rainbow
08. Blood Brothers - Burn Piano Island, Burn
09. Manitoba - Up In Flames
10. Mono - One More Step and You Die
11. Plastikman - Closer
12. Prefuse 73 - One Word Extinguisher
13. Matthew Shipp - Equilibrium
14. David S.Ware - Threads: Blue Series
15. Junior Boys - Birthday EP
16. Jay-Z - The Black Album
17. The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow
18. The Decemberists - Her Majesty, the Decemberists
19. Joe Budden - S/T
20. Justin Timberlake - Justified

Todd Burns
01. Villalobos- Alchacofa
02. Envy - A Dead Sinking Story
03. Giardini Di Miro - Punk...Not Diet
04. Dizzee Rascal - Boy in Da Corner
05. George - The Magic Lantern
06. A Silver Mt. Zion - This Is Our Punk Rock
07. Soundmurderer - Wired for Sound
08. Nina Nastasia - Run to Ruin
09. David Banner - Mississippi: The Album: Screwed and Chopped
10. Blood Brothers - Burn Piano Island Burn
11. Phantom/Ghost - To Damascus
12. Calla - Televise
13. Pluramon - Dreams Top Rock
14. Lightning Bolt - Wonderful Rainbow
15. Elbow - Cast of Thousands
16. Stone Breath - The Silver Skein Unwound
17. TI - Trap Muzik
18. Mono - One More Step and You Die
19. M83- Dead Cities...
20. Jan Jelinek - La Nouvelle Pauvrete

Sunil Chauchan
01. The White Stripes - Elephant
02. Dizzee Rascal - Boy in Da Corner
03. King Geedorah - Take Me To Your Leader
04. The Majesticons - Beauty Party
05. Al Green - I Can't Stop
06. The Darkness - Permission to Land
07. Mighty Casey - Original Rudebwoy
08. Killer Mike - Monster
09. The Strokes - Room on Fire
10. Outkast - Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
11. Rufus Wainwright - Want One
12. Amy Winehouse - Frank
13. Cody Chesnutt - The Headphone Masterpiece
14. Donnie - The Coloured Section
15. Viktor Vaughn - Vaudeville Villain
16. Agent K - Feed The Cat
17. Kelis - Tasty
18. Stiffed - Sex Sells
19. The Dirtbombs - Dangerous Magical Noise
20. Erykah Badu - Worldwide Underground

Matt D’Cruz
01. Basement Jaxx - Kish Kash
02. Dizzee Rascal - Boy In Da Corner
03. Radiohead - Hail To The Thief
04. Richard X - X Factor Vol. 1
05. Cat Power - You Are Free
06. The Strokes - Room On Fire
07. Outkast - Speakerboxx/The Love Below
08. The Darkness - Permission To Land
09. Mogwai - Happy Songs For Happy People
10. Jay-Z - The Black Album
11. The Rapture - Echoes
12. Zwan - Mary Star Of The Sea
13. Spiritualized - Amazing Grace
14. Plaid - Spokes
15. The White Stripes - Elephant
16. Matthew Herbert - Goodbye Swingtime
17. LFO - Sheath
18. Jonny Greenwood - Bodysong
19. Majesticons - Beauty Party
20. Massive Attack - 100th Window

Nate De Young
01. Ricardo Villalobos - Alcachofa
02. Four Tet - Rounds
03. Manitoba - Up in Flames
04. Prefuse 73 - One Word Extinguisher
05. M83 - Dead Cities Red Seas & Lost Ghosts
06. Jan Jelinek - La Nouvelle Pauvrete
07. Dizzee Rascal - Boy in Da Corner
08. The Books - Lemon of Pink
09. TV on the Radio - Young Liars
10. Jaylib - Champion Sound
11. Mouse on Mars - Glam
12. Soft Pink Truth - Do You Party?
13. Ellen Allien - Berlinette
14. Lifesavas - Spirit in Stone
15. Lightning Bolt - Wonderful Rainbow

Kareem Estefan
01. Dizzee Rascal - Boy In Da Corner
02. Manitoba - Up in Flames
03. Broken Social Scene - You Forgot It In People
04. M83 - Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts
05. Radiohead - Hail to the Thief
06. Russian Futurists - Let's Get Ready to Crumble
07. Need New Body - UFO
08. Xiu Xiu - A Promise
09. Lightning Bolt - Wonderful Rainbow
10. Songs: Ohia - Magnolia Electric Co.
11. The Books - The Lemon of Pink
12. Deerhoof - Apple O'
13. Outkast - Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
14. TV on the Radio - Young Liars EP
15. Prefuse 73 - One Word Extinguisher
16. Viktor Vaughn - Vaudeville Villain
17. Four Tet - Rounds
18. New Pornographers - Electric Version
19. King Geedorah - Take Me To Your Leader
20. Sufjan Stevens - Greetings from Michigan, The Great Lake State

Akiva Gottlieb
01. The Wrens - The Meadowlands
02. Manitoba - Up In Flames
03. The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow
04. Death Cab For Cutie - Transatlanticism
05. Cat Power - You Are Free
06. Blur - Think Tank
07. The Twilight Singers - Blackberry Belle
08. The Mars Volta - De-loused in the Comatorium
09. The Books - The Lemon of Pink
10. Songs: Ohia - The Magnolia Electric Co.
11. TV on the Radio - Young Liars EP
12. The Postal Service - Give Up
13. Radiohead - Hail to the Thief
14. M. Ward - Transfiguration of Vincent
15. The Strokes - Room on Fire
16. Okkervil River - Down the River of Golden Dreams
17. Stephen Malkmus - Pig Lib
18. Apollo Sunshine - Katonah
19. The Clientele - The Violet Hour
20. The New Pornographers - Electric Version

Francis Henville
01. Jan Jelinek avec les Exposures - La Nouvelle Pauvrete
02. Various Artists - Wanna Buy a Craprak
03. Req - Car Paint Scheme
04. Various Artists - Klangmaschine
05. Richard Chartier - Overview
06. Twerk - Living Vicariously Through Burnt Bread
07. Dub Tractor - More or Less Mono
08. The Decemberists - Five Songs
09. The Postal Service - Give Up
10. Matmos - The Civil War
11. Soft Pink Truth - Do You Party?
12. Prefuse 73 - One Word Extinguisher
13. Jaylib - Champion Sound
14. William Basinski - The River
15. Xiu Xiu - A Promise
16. DJ Pica Pica Pica - Planetary Natural Love Gas Webbin' 1999999
17. Asmus Tietchens - Biotop
18. Various Artists - Two Point Two
19. Pole - 45/45
20. Nobukazu Takemura - Assembler

Michael Heumann
01. William Basinski - The River
02. Sogar – Apikal Blend
03. Rechenzentrum – Director’s Cut
04. V/A - Afghanistan Untouched
05. Thomas Köner - Zyklop
06. V/A - Two Point Two
07. Doron Sadja - A Piece of String a Sunset
08. Tim Hecker - Radio Amor
09. Ryoji Ikeda - op.
10. William Basinski - Water Music II
11. V/A - E*A*D*G*B*E
12. Miki Yui - Silence Resounding
13. Mika Vainio - In the Land of the Blind the One-Eyed is King
14. Lee "Scratch" Perry - Cutting Razor—Rare Cuts from the Black Ark
15. Stereolab - ABC Music

Ed Howard
01. Various Artists - AMPLIFY 2002
02. Animal Collective - Here Comes the Indian
03. Matthews/Neumann/Sachiko M - In Case of Fire...
04. The Unicorns - Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone?
05. Kevin Drumm - Land of Lurches
06. Supersilent - 6
07. Martin Siewert & Martin Brandlmayr - Too Beautiful To Burn
08. Lightning Bolt - Wonderful Rainbow
09. Sunroof! - Cloudz
10. Sole - Selling Live Water
11. Viktor Vaughn - Vaudeville Villain
12. Molasses - A Slow Messe
13. Xiu Xiu - A Promise
14. OutKast - Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
15. Fennesz - Live In Japan
16. Six Organs of Admittance - Compathia
17. Diverse - One A.M.
18. Keith Rowe, Thomas Lehn, & Marcus Schmickler - Rabbit Run
19. Aesop Rock - Bazooka Tooth
20. Kiyo - Chaotech Odd Echo

Todd Hutlock
01. Belle & Sebastian – Dear Catastrophe Waitress
02. Shins – Chutes Too Narrow
03. Edwyn Collins – Doctor Syntax
04. (Smog) – Supper
05. LFO – Sheath
06. OutKast – Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
07. Spiritualized – Amazing Grace
08. The Long Winters – When I Pretend To Fall
09. Richard X – Presents His X-Factor, Vol 1.
10. Autechre – Draft 7.30
11. Decal – Brightest Star
12. Massive Attack - 100th Window
13. The Neptunes – The Neptunes Present Clones
14. Paul Weller - Illumination
15. Kinski – Airs Above Your Station
16. Broadcast – Haha Sound

Josh Love
01. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - Hearts of Oak
02. Radiohead - Hail to the Thief
03. Broken Social Scene - You Forgot it in People
04. Drive- By Truckers - Decoration Day
05. MF Doom as Viktor Vaughn - Vaudeville Villain
06. Dizzee Rascal - Boy in Da Corner
07. Songs: Ohia - Magnolia Electric Co
08. Café Tacuba - Cuatros Caminos
09. Bubba Sparxxx - Deliverance
10. Shelby Lynne - Identity Crisis
11. Outkast - Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
12. Four Tet - Rounds
13. Phosphorescent - A Hundred Times or More
14. Prefuse 73 - One Word Extinguisher
15. Elbow - Cast of Thousands
16. David Banner - Mississippi: The Album
17. Jay-Z - The Black Album
18. Matmos - Civil War
19. Jaylib - Champion Sound
20. Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros - Streetcore

Colin McElligatt
01. The Blood Brothers - Burn, Piano Island, Burn
02. Exploding Hearts - Guitar Romantic
03. Dizzee Rascal - Boy In Da Corner
04. Songs: Ohia - The Magnolia Electric Co.
05. M. Ward - Transfiguration of Vincent
06. The Plot to Blow Up the Eiffel Tower - Dissertation, Honey
07. Alasdair Roberts - Farewell Sorrow
08. Carla Bozulich - The Red-Headed Stranger
09. Ten Grand - This Is The Way To Rule
10. Paula Frazer - A Place Where I Know (4-Track Recordings 1992-2002)
11. The Rapture - Echoes
12. Ted Leo/Pharmacists - Hearts of Oak
13. Devics - The Stars At St. Andrea
14. Jay-Z - The S. Carter Collection
15. Band of Blacky Ranchette - Still Lookin' Good To Me
16. Lightning Bolt - Wonderful Rainbow
17. Emmylou Harris - Stumble Into Grace
18. Supersilent - 6
19. William Elliott Whitmore - Hymns For The Hopeless
20. Dean Roberts - Be Mine Tonight

Scott McKeating
01. Arab Strap - Monday at the Hug and Pint
02. Stephen Jones - Almost Cured of Sadness
03. Dizzee Rascal - Boy in Da Corner
04. Elbow - Cast of Thousands
05. The Twilight Singers - Blackberry Belle
06. Daz Dillinger - DPGC: U Know What I'm Throwin' Up
07. TV on the Radio - Young Liars EP
08. Martina Topley-Bird - Quixotic
09. To My Surprise – To My Surprise
10. Freeway - Philadelphia Freeway
11. Kaada - Thank You For Giving Me Your Valuable Time
12. Justin Timberlake - Justified
13. Casiotone for the Painfully Alone - Twinkle Echo
14. Jeff Buckley - Live at Sin-e
15. Babybird - The Black Album
16. The Bug - Pressure
17. The Curse of the Golden Vampire - Mass Destruction
18. Zyklon - Aeon
19. Matmos- Civil War
20. Matt Eliott - The Mess We Made

Ian Mathers
01. Elefant - Sunlight Makes Me Paranoid
02. The Wrens - The Meadowlands
03. Radiohead - Hail To The Thief
04. Belle & Sebastian - Dear Catastrophe Waitress
05. British Sea Power - The Decline Of British Sea Power
06. Elbow - Cast Of Thousands
07. My Morning Jacket - It Still Moves
08. Shins - Chutes Too Narrow
09. The Constantines - Shine A Light
10. Killing Joke - Killing Joke
11. OutKast - Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
12. Kid606 - Kill Sound Before Sound Kills You
12. Blur - Think Tank
14. Hinterlandts - Poprekordt
15. Explosions In The Sky - The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place
16. Spiritualized - Amazing Grace
17. Chris Whitley - Hotel Vast Horizon
18. Mogwai - Happy Music For Happy People
19. The Dears - No Cities Left
20. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Take Them On, On Your Own

Derek Miller
01. Broken Social Scene - You Forgot it in People
02. The Postal Service - Give Up
03. Cafe Tacuba - Cuatro Caminos
04. Menomena - I am the Fun Blame Monster!
05. The Mountaineers - Messy Century
06. Radiohead - Hail to the Thief
07. The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow
08. Parsley Sound - Parsley Sounds
09. Cooper Temple Clause - Kick up the Fire, and Let the Flames Break Loose
10. The White Stripes - Elephant
11. Blur - Think Tank
12. Manitoba - Up in Flames
13. Muse - Absolution
14. Matmos - The Civil War
15. The Dandy Warhols - Welcome to the Monkeyhouse
16. Fruit Bats - Mouthfuls
17. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Fever to Tell
18. Earlimart - Everyone Down Here
19. Four Tet - Rounds
20. Broadcast - Haha Sound

Jay Millikan
01. Foutains of Wayne - Welcome Interstate Managers
02. Postal Service - Give Up
03. The Wrens - Meadowlands
04. The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow
05. The Raveonettes - Chain Gang of Love
06. OutKast - Speakerboxx/The Love Below
07. The Webb Brothers - The Webb Brothers
08. Justin Timberlake - Justified
09. The New Pornographers - Electric Version
10. Death Cab for Cutie - Transatlanticism

Gavin Mueller
01. King Geedorah - Take Me To Your Leader
02. David Banner - Mississippi: The Screwed and Chopped Album
03. Tim Hecker - Radio Amor
04. Jan Jelinek Avec The Exposures - La Nouvelle Pauvrete
05. Victor Vaughn - Vaudeville Villain
06. Autechre - Draft 7.30
07. Soundmurderer – Wired for Sound
08. Dizzee Rascal - Boy In Da Corner
09. T. Raumschmiere - Radio Blackout
10. Kid 606 - Kill Sound Before Sound Kills You
11. Fabolous - More Street Dreams Pt. 2
12. Blood Brothers - Burn Piano Island Burn
13. Lightning Bolt - Wonderful Rainbow
14. Justin Timberlake - Justified
15. Outkast - Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
16. Prefuse 73 - One Word Extinguisher
17. Neptunes Present… - Clones
18. The Rapture – Echoes
19. Three-6-Mafia - Da Unbreakables
20. Racebannon - Satan's Kickin Yr Dick In

Kilian Murphy
50 Cent – Get Rich or Die Tryin’
American Analog Set – Promise of Love
Basement Jaxx – Kish Kash
Black Box Recorder – Passionoia
Blur – Think Tank
Elbow – Cast of Thousands
Matt Elliott – The Mess We Made
Four Tet – Rounds
Grandaddy – Sumday
Iron and Wine – Sea and the Rhythm
M83 – Dead Cities…
Manitoba – Up in Flames
Medicine – Mechanical Forces of Love
Muggs – Dust
Pedro – Pedro
Shack – Here’s Tom With the Weather
The Sleepy Jackson – Lovers
The Webb Brothers – The Webb Brothers
Yo La Tengo – Summer Sun
Susumu Yokota – Laputa

Joe Panzner
01. Keith Rowe and John Tilbury – Duos For Doris
02. V/A – AMPLIFY02: Balance
03. Luomo – The Present Lover
04. Julien Ottavi – Nervure Magnetique
05. Lightning Bolt – Wonderful Rainbow
06. Pluramon – Dreams Top Rock
07. Kevin Drumm – Land of Lurches
08. Ami Yoshida – Tiger Thrush
09. Dion Workman – Ching
10. The Postal Service – Give Up
11. The Blood Brothers – Burn, Piano Island, Burn!
12. Matt Davis, Phil Durrant, and Mark Wastell – open
13. The BSC – Good
14. Dean Roberts – Be Mine Tonight
15. Thomas Lehn, Markus Schmickler, and Keith Rowe – Rabbit Run
16. The Sealed Knot – Surface/Plane
17. Otomo Yoshihide and Günter Müller – Time Travel
18. So – So
19. V/A (Michael Mayer) – Speicher
20. Sachiko M and Sean Meehan – (untitled)

Dom Passantino
01. Belle and Sebastian - Dear Catastrophe Waitress
02. Corb Lund Band - Five Dollar Bill
03. Pitman - It Takes A Nation Of Tossers
04. Fallacy - Blackmarket Boy
05. DM and Jemini - Ghetto Pop Life
06. DJ Format - Music For The Mature B Boy
07. Fountains of Wayne - Welcome Interstate Managers
08. DJ Yoda and Dan Greenpeace - Un-Thugged: Essential Selection
09. t.a.T.u. - 200 km/h In The Wrong Lane
10. Half Man Half Biscuit - Saucy Haulage Ballads
11. DJ Yoda - How To Cut And Paste: 80s Edition
12. Sandie Shaw - La Cantante Scalza
13. Next Men - Get Over It
14. Gold Chains - Young Miss America
15. Herman Dune - Mas Cambios
16. Adam Green - Friends of Mine
17. Dan Greenpeace and DJ Yoda - Un-Thugged
18. Panjabi MC - The Album
19. MC Honky - I Am The Messiah
20. Northern State - Dying In Stereo


Scott Reid
01. My Morning Jacket - It Still Moves
02. The Unicorns - Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone
03. Eluvium - Lambent Material
04. The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow
05. The Decemberists - Her Majesty the Decemberists
06. Gordon Downie - Battle of the Nudes
07. The New Pornographers - Electric Version
08. Cat Power - You Are Free
09. Songs: Ohia - Magnolia Electric Co.
10. Jim Guthrie - Now More Than Ever
11. Radiohead - Hail to the Thief
12. Grandaddy - Sumday
13. Centro-Matic - Love You Just the Same
14. (MF Doom as) Viktor Vaughn - Vaudeville Villain
15. Explosions in the Sky - The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place
16. B. Fleischmann - Welcome Tourist
17. Supersilent - 6
18. Do Make Say Think - Winter Hymn Country Hymn Secret Hymn
19. Pernice Brothers - Yours, Mine & Ours
20. Tamara Williamson - All Those Racing Horses

Ron Schepper
1. Monolake - Momentum
2. Rechenzentrum - Director’s Cut
3. Terre Thaemlitz - Lovebomb
4. Rhythm & Sound with the Artists/the Versions
5. Jan Jelinek - La Nouvelle Pauvraté
6. Kraftwerk - Tour de France Soundtracks
7. Stephan Mathieu/Ekkehard Ehlers - Heroin (2 CD re-issue)
8. Ellen Allien - Berlinette
9. Prefuse 73 - One Word Extinguisher
10. Yasume - Where We’re From the Birds Sing a Pretty Song
11. Lawrence - The Absence of Blight
12. Set Fire to Flames - Telegraphs in Negative/Mouths Wrapped in Static
13. Pole - Pole
14. Plastikman - Closer
15. Pluramon - Dreams Top Rock
16. Steve Reich - Three Tales
17. Boy Robot - Glamorizing Corporate Lifestyle
18. Bus - Middle of the Road
19. Ulrich Schnauss - A Strangely Isolated Place
20. Icebreaker International and Manual - Into Forever

Eric Seguy
01. Songs: Ohia - Magnolia Electric Co
02. Outkast - Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
03. Azita - Enantiodromia
04. Xiu Xiu - A Promise
05. Young People - War Prayers
06. The New Pornographers - Electric Version
07. Cat Power - You Are Free
08. Calexico - A Feast of Wire
09. Crooked Fingers - Red Devil Dawn
10. Matmos - The Civil War
11. Need New Body - UFO
12. Matthew Herbert Big Band - Goodbye Swingtime
13. Belle and Sebastian - Dear Catastrophe Waitress
14. The White Stripes - Elephant
15. Radiohead - Hail to the Thief
16. Blur - Think Tank
17. (Smog) - Supper
18. The Exploding Hearts - Guitar Romantic
19. Broken Social Scene - You Forgot it in People
20. The Unicorns - Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone

Mike Shiflet
01. Songs: Ohia - Magnolia Electric Co.
02. Kevin Drumm - Land of Lurches
03. Paul Duncan - To An Ambient Hollywood
04. Lullatone - Computer Recital
05. Bonnie Prince Billy - Master & Everyone
06. Shedding - Now I'm Shedding
07. Matmos - The Civil War
08. Various - Merzbow's Frog: Remixed & Revisited
09. Fennesz - Live in Japan
10. The Nordic Miracle - We Shall Provide
11. Howard Stelzer & Jason Talbot - Songs
12. Keith Rowe & John Tilbury - Duos for Doris
13. Microphones - Mt. Eerie
14. Wolf Eyes - Mugger
15. Cat Power - You Are Free
16. Decemberists - Her Majesty, The Decemberists
17. Pengo - A Nervous Splendor
18. Loose Fur - s/t
19. A Silver Mt. Zion - Thee Rusted Satalites…
20. Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks - Pig Lib

Nick Southall
01. Manitoba - Up In Flames
02. Outkast - Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
03. Dave Douglas - Freak In
04. Four Tet - Rounds
05. Elbow - Cast Of Thousands
06. Sugababes - Three
07. Missy Elliott - This Is Not A Test!
08. The Clientele - The Violet Hour
09. British Sea Power - The Decline Of
10. Alexander Kowalski - Response
11. Gillian Welch - Soul Journey
12. M83 - Dead Cities, Red Seas And Lost Ghosts
13. Radiohead - Hail To The Thief
14. Basement Jaxx - Kish Kash
15. Dizzee Rascal - Boy In Da Corner
16. Loose Fur - Loose Fur
17. Mogwai - Happy Songs For Happy People
18. DM & Jemini - Ghetto Pop Life
19. The Cooper Temple Clause - Kick Up The Fire And Let The Flames Break Loose
20. Susumu Yokota – Laputa

Fredrick Thomas
01. Lyrics Born - Later That Day
02. Kevin Blechdom - Bitches Without Britches
03. Swamburger - The Roots of Kin
04. Diplodocus + Low Budget - Hollertronix: Never Scared
05. Buck 65 - Talkin' Honky Blues
06. The Bug - Pressure
07. King Geedorah - Take Me To Your Leader
08. DJ Andy Smith - The Document II
09. Viktor Vaughn - Vaudeville Villain
10. DJ High-C - Wax Composite
11. Express Rising - S/T
12. Knifehandchop - Bling The Noize
13. Project Blowed - The Good Brothers
14. Freddie Foxxx (Bumpy Knuckles) - Konexion
15. McEnroe - Disenfranchised
16. Junior Senior - D-D-Don't Don't Stop The Beat!
17. Omid - Monolith
18. Monsieur Leroc - Oh La La!
19. Mr. Dibbs - The 30th Song
20. Bleubird - Sloppy Doctor

Josh Timmermann
01. Cat Power - You Are Free
02. Basement Jaxx - Kish Kash
03. Ladytron - Softcore Jukebox
04. Bubba Sparxxx - Deliverance
05. OutKast - Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
06. The New Pornographers - Electric Version
07. Dizee Rascal - Boy in da Corner
08. Panjabi MC - Beware
09. The Microphones - Mount Eerie
10. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Fever to Tell
11. The White Stripes - Elephant
12. Radiohead - Hail to the Thief
13. Justin Timberlake - Justified
14. Missy Elliot - This Is Not a Test!
15. Matmos - The Civil War
16. Northern State - Dying in Stereo
17. The Sounds - Living in America
18. Lucinda Williams - World without Tears
19. 50 Cent - Get Rich or Die Tryin'
20. Atmosphere - Seven's Travels

Andrew Unterberger
01. Broken Social Scene – You Forgot it in People
02. The Rapture – Echoes
03. Ladytron – Softcore Jukebox
04. Dizzee Rascal – Boy in da Corner
05. Wire – Send
06. Cat Power – You Are Free
07. Blur – Think Tank
08. The Wrens – The Meadowlands
09. Radiohead – Hail to the Thief
10. Need New Body – UFO
11. Russian Futurists – Let’s Get Ready to Crumble
12. One Mile North – Minor Shadows
13. OutKast – Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
14. TV on the Radio – Young Liars EP
15. Lightning Bolt – Wonderful Rainbow
16. Ima Robot – Ima Robot
17. Xiu Xiu – A Promise
18. Songs: Ohia – Magnolia Electric Co.
19. Postal Service – Give Up
20. Massive Attack - 100th Window

Matthew Weiner
01. John Cale - Hobo Sapiens
02. Fountains of Wayne - Welcome Interstate Managers
03. Manitoba - Up In Flames
04. Edwyn Collins - Doctor Syntax
05. King Geedorah - Take Me To Your Leader
06. Supersilent - 6
07. Mu - Afro Finger and Gel
08. Outkast - Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
09. Prefuse 73 - One Word Extinguisher
10. Dizzee Rascal - Boy In Da Corner
11. Robert Wyatt - Cuckooland
12. Gorky's Zygotic Mycni - Sleep/Holiday
13. !!! - Me and Giuliani Down by the Schoolyard
14. Soft Pink Truth - Do You Party?
15. Isley Meets Bacharach - Here I Am: Ron Isley Sings Burt Bacharach
16. Super Furry Animals - Phantom Power

Kevin Worrall
01. Broken Social Scene - You Forgot it in People
02. The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow
03. Xiu Xiu - A Promise
04. The Rapture - Echoes
05. The Wrens - Meadowlands
06. The Postal Service - Give Up
07. M83 - Dead Cities, Red Seas, and Lost Ghosts
08. Arab Strap - Monday at the Hug and Pint
09. Do Make Say Think - Winter Hymn, Country Hymn, Secret Hymn
10. Radiohead - Hail to the Thief
11. 1 Mile North - Minor Shadows
12. Outkast - Speakerboxxx/Love Below
13. Deerhoof - Apple O