Alexis (Melbourne, AUSTRALIA)

1. TV on the Radio - Desperate Youths, Bloodthirsty Babes
2. Joanna Newsom - The Milk-Eyed Mender
3. The Walkmen - Bows + Arrows
4. Devendra Banhart - Rejoicing in the Hands
5. Youth Group - Skeleton Jar (Great second album from the Sydney band who lost a long-time member to manage the Vines.)
6. Cut Copy - Bright Like Neon Love
7. Bloc Party - Bloc Party EP
8. The Go! Team - Thunder, Lightning, Strike
9. Air - Talkie Walkie
10. The Concretes - The Concretes
11. New Buffalo - The Last Beautiful Day (Sweet acoustic songwriting mixed with old jazz and easy listening samples and DIY production from the Melbourne-based wife of The Avalanches Darren Seltmann.)
12. Sufjan Stevens - Seven Swans
13. Fiery Furnaces - Blueberry Boat
14. Fennesz - Venice
15. Wilco - A Ghost is Born

Andres (SPAIN)

1. Mark Lanegan - Bubblegum
2. Lambchop - AwCmon/NoYouCmon
3. The Go! Team - Thunder Lightning Strike
4. TV on The Radio - Desperate Youth Blood Thirsty Babes
5. Max Ritcher - The Blue Notebooks
6. !!! - Louden Up Now
7. The Black Keys - Rubber Factory
8. Nick Cave - Abattoir Blues the Lyre of Orpheus
9. Pinback - Summer In Abaddon
10. Dungen - Ta Det Lungt

Andreas A (SWEDEN)

1. japancakes - waking hours
2. david kilgour - frozen orange
3. muna zul - s/t
4. niobe - voodooluba
5. benjamin biolay & chiara mastroianni - home
6. rita calypso - sicalyptico
7. pascal schafer - dawn
8. daniel higgs - magic alphabet
9. cranes - particles and waves
10. iqu - sun q
11. nellie mckay - get away from me
12. bark psychosis - codename: dustsucker
13. pepito - everything changes

Joseph B (Adelaide, AUSTRALIA)

1. Joanna Newsom - The Milk-Eyed Mender
2. The Go! Team - Thunder, lightning, strike
3. The Arcade Fire - Funeral
4. TV on the radio - Desperate youth, blood thirsty babes
5. The Ponys - Laced with romance
6. Franz Ferdinand - s/t
7. AC Newman - Slow wonder
8. Madvillain - Madvillainy
9. Junior boys - Last exit
10. Menomena - I am the fun blame monster

Lynne B (Atlanta, GA, USA)

1. Animal Collective - Sung Tongs
2. The Arcade Fire - Funeral
3. Sufjan Stevens - Seven Swans
4. The Walkmen - Bows and Arrows
5. The Drive-By Truckers - The Dirty South
6. Madvillain - Madvillainy
7. Max Richter - The Blue Notebooks
8. Annie - Anniemal
9. Dungen - Ta Det Lugnt
10. Trashcan Sinatras - Weightlifting

Miguel B (Madrid, SPAIN)

1. Black Dice - Creature Conforts
2. Animal Collective - Sung Tongs
3. Gang Gang Dance - Gang Gang Dance
4. Liars - They Were Wrong So We Drowned
5. Excepter - Vacation/Forget Me
6. Sightings - Arrived In Gold
7. Double Leopards - Urban Concussion
8. Wolf Eyes - Burned Mind
9. Les Savy Fav - Inches
10. Tortoise - It's All Around You

Rew B (Rochester, NY, USA)

1. the Arcade Fire ~ Funeral
2. mewithoutYou ~ Catch for Us the Foxes
3. Iron & Wine ~ Our Endless Numbered Days
4. Sufjan Stevens ~ Seven Swans
5. Joanna Newsom ~ The Milk-Eyed Mender
6. Emery ~ The Weak's End
7. John Vanderslice ~ Cellar Door
8. Franz Ferdinand ~ S/T
9. Bjork ~ Medulla
10. the Walkmen ~ Bows + Arrows
11. Castanets ~ Cathedral
12. U2 ~ How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
13. Pedro the Lion ~ Achilles Heel
14. Viva Voce ~ The Heat Can Melt Your Brain
15. Modest Mouse ~ Good News for People Who Love Bad News

David Bauwens (BELGIUM)

1. CocoRosie - La maison de mon rêve
2. Fennesz - Venice
3. Devendra Banhart - Rejoicing in the hands & Niño rojo
4. Joanna Newsom - The milk-eyed mender
5. Wovenhand - Consider the birds
6. Shuji Inaba - The rapture of being destroyed is the flipside of the misery of destruction
7. Arve Henriksen - Chiaroscuro
8. Sachiko M / Toshimaru Nakamura / Otomo Yoshihide - Good morning good night
9. Rosy Parlane - Iris
10. Keith Rowe / Burkhard Beins - ErstLive 001
11. Kazuo Imai - Far and wee
12. John Hudak / Stephan Mathieu - Pieces of winter
13. Carla Bozulich - I'm gonna stop killing
14. Castanets - Cathedral
15. Trapist - Ballroom / Radian - Juxtaposition

Jay Benfield (San Diego, CA, USA)

1. Charalambides - Joy Shapes
2. Joanna Newsom - The Milk-Eyed Mender
3. Tortoise - It's All Around You
4. Ghost - Hypnotic Underworld
5. Yellow Swans - Bring the Neon War Home
6. Animal Collective - Sung Tongs
7. Wolf Eyes - Burned Mind
8. Comets on Fire - Blue Cathedral
9. Xiu Xiu - Fabulous Muscles
10. Taurpis Tula - Sparrows

Bo! (Phoenix, AZ, USA)

1. The Blood Brothers "Crimes"- Took me 2 minutes to except the almost dramatic change from their previous album, then I was hooked like a double simultaneous hook punch into the face. The loud screeching guitars and the squealing and wailing are certainly not for everybody but those who can withstand the great verb, "listening," may not even be able to stand after they listen to this album which I have chosen for the best album of the year (for that reason).
2. Modest Mouse "Good News For People Who Love Bad News"- This the all around perfect album that anyone can get into the groove of, not their best album but a sure turning point for the band. When that time comes for the next album to be released, ill be saving it spot for top 10, but I can't speak too soon...
3. Pavement "Crooked Rain Crooked Rain" re-release- This album has a wide variety of songs that sound different but there are always songs that stay with you for a while. The whole album stayed with me for a very long time.
4. AIR "Talkie Walkie"
5. Mission of Burma "A Gun To The Head"
6. Xiu Xiu "Fabulous Muscles"
7. Tom Waits "Real Gone"
8. Wilco "A Ghost is Born"
9. Interpol "Antics"
10. Bjork "Medulla"

Oliver BR (CANADA)

1. The Arcade Fire - Funeral
2. Death from Above 1979 - You're a Woman, i'm a Machine
3. le Fly Pan Am - N'écoutez pas
4. Devendra Banhart - Nino Rojo
5. Wilco - A Ghost is Born
6. Antibalas - Who Is This America?
7. Electric Masada - 50th Birthday Celebration, Vol. 4
8. Squarepusher - Ultravisitor
9. Dillinger Escape Plan - Miss Machine
10. Tortoise - It's all Around You

Matt Bryan (Spartanburg, SC, USA)

1. Interpol – Antics
2. Elliott Smith – From A Basement On The Hill
3. Brian Wilson – Smile
4. The Cure – The Cure
5. Tortoise – It’s All Around You
6. Mum – Dusk Log
7. Hood – The Lost You
8. Secret Machines – Now Here Is Nowhere
9. Stereolab – Margerine Eclipse
10. The Futureheads – The Futureheads
11. Bloc Party – Bloc Party EP
12. Clinic – Winchester Cathedral
13. Skinny Puppy – The Greater Wrong Of The Right
14. The Go! Team – Thunder, Lightning, Strike
15. The Beta Band – Heroes To Zeros

Jason Bunch (Valparaiso, IN, USA)

1. Disintegration Loops I-IV - William Basinski
2. Holy Ghost Rare and Unreleased Box Set - Albert Ayler
3. Rejoicing in the Hands - Devandra Barnhart
4. Venice - Fennesz
5. 7 - Philip Jeck
6. N'Ecoutez Pas - Fly Pan Am
7. Pretty Little Lightning Paw - Thee Silver Mt. Reveries
8. Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes - TV on the Radio
9. Sleeper Coach - Zelienople
10. The Giant Pin - Nils Cline Singers
11. Man in a Blue Turban with a Face - Man Man
12. Madvillainy - Madvillain
13. Riot on an Empty Street - Kings of Convenience
14. Dead Texan - Dead Texan
15. It's All Around You - Tortoise

Nick C (Guangdong, CHINA)

1. Epic45 - Slides(limited edition 10 track CDR album)
2. Epic45 - Against The Pull Of Autumn
3. The Album Leaf - In A Safe Place
4. The Arcade Fire - Funeral
5. Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand
6. The Walkmen - Bows + Arrows
7. Modest Mouse - Good News For People Who Love Bad News
8. Tortoise - It's All Around You
9. The Six Parts Seven - Everywhere and Right Here
10. AC Newman - The Slow Wonder

Chris (CHINA)

1. Epic 45 - Against the Pull of Autumn
2. Franz Ferdinand -ST
3. Air - Talkie Walkie
4. Bark Psychosis-Codename Dustsucker
5. Fly Pan Am - N'ecoutez Pas
6. Interpol - Antics
7. Dykehouse - Midrange
8. Tortoise - It's all Around You
9. Tracer AMC - Flux and Form
10. Express Rising - ST
11. Japancakes - Waking Hours
12. Polar - Comes With A Smile
13. Boy in static - Newborn
14. Windermere - The World is Here
15. Pan American-Quiet city

Christophe (Rochemaure, FRANCE)

1. Ada - Blondie
2. François K. - Live at Sonar
3. Metaxu - Rumors of war
4. Deathprod - Morals and dogma
5. Bulbul - Drabule
6. Moodymann - Black Mahogani
7. Traject - Strengir hrynja
8. Pan sonic - Kesto
9. Fennesz - Live in Japan
10. Brinkmann - Tour de Traum
11. Can - Ege Bamyasi (re-issue)
12. Talking Heads - the name of this band is ... (re-issue)
13. Skiboy - Je vous encule (single)

Curt III (Altamonte Springs, FL, USA)

1. The Walkmen (Bows & Arrows)
2. Animal Collective (Sung Tongs)
3. Interpol (Antics)
4. XIU XIU (Fabulous Muscles)
5. Madvillian (Madvilliany)
6. The Fiery Furnaces (Blueberry Boat)
7. Arcade Fire (Funeral)
8. Sufjan Stevens (Seven Swans)
9. Brian Wilson (Smile)
10. Iron & Wine (Our Endless Numbered Days)
11. Devendra Banhart (Rejoicing in the Hands)
12. Franz Ferdinand (S/T)
13. AIR (Talkie Walkie)
14. Sonic Youth (Sonic Nurse)

Chris Day (Bloomington, IN, USA)

1. Joanna Newsom- The Milk-Eyed Mender
2. Devendra Banhart- Nino Rojo
3. Xiu Xiu- Fabulous Muscles
4. Animal Collective- Sung Tongs
5. Blonde Redhead- Misery is a Butterfly
6. Shannon Wright- Over the Sun
7. Bjork- Medulla
8. Air- Talkie Walkie
9. Panda Bear- Young Prayer
10. Loretta Lynn- Van Lear Rose

Ryan Dee (Lincoln, NE, USA)

1. joanna newsom "the milk eyed mender"
2. xiu xiu "fabulous muscles"
3. sagor & swing "orgelplaneten"
4. tigran mansurian "monodia"
5. hidden cameras "mississauga goddam"
6. phonophani "oak or rock"
7. deathprod "deathprod"
8. cLOUDDEAD "ten"
9. wolf eyes "burned mind"
10. fiery furnaces "blueberry boat"
11. the go! team "thunder lightning strike"
12. lali puna "faking the books"
13. charalambides "joy shapes"
14. le fly pan am "n'ecoutez pas"
15. the clogs "stick music"

Lauren Dziuban (Pittsburgh, PA, USA)

1. James Cotton - The Dancing Box (Spectral Sound)
2. Frivolous - Somewhere in the Suburbs (Karloff)
3. Gonzales - Solo Piano (No Format)
4. AM/PM - The Ends I & II (Dreck)
5. Gogi.Ge.Org - Post Industrial Boys (Max Ernst)
6. Fennesz - Venice (Touch)
7. 154 - Strike (Delsin)
8. Claro Intelecto - Neurofibro (Ai)
9. Lusine - Serial Hodgepodge (Ghostly International)
10. Kattoo - Places (Hymen)
11. Bjork - Medulla (Elektra)
12. Various - For Human Ears Only (Nobot)
13. Arthur Russell - Calling Out Of Context (Audika)
14. Dunaewsky 69 - Contiguity (Shaped Harmonics)
15. Mark Van Hoen - The Warmth Inside You (Very Friendly)

Eikman (GERMANY)

1. Ada - Blondie
2. Annie - Anniemal
3. Kings of Convenience - Riot on an Empty Street
4. High Contrast - High Society
5. Arovane - Lilies
6. Max Richter - The Blue Notebooks
7. Franz Ferdinand - s/t
8. Juli - Es Ist Juli
9. Dillinja - My Sound
10. Triola - Im Fünftonraum
11. Blockhead - Music for Cavelights
12. Haiku d'etat - Coup de Theatre
13. Cocorosie - maison de mon reve
14. Saint Etienne - Travel Edition
15. Telefon Tel Aviv - Map of What Is Effortless

Craig Evanson (Cheshire, UK)

1. Fennesz - Venice
2. Fly Pan Am - N'Ecoutez Pas
3. Mount Eerie - 2 Songs + Seven New Songs of Mount Eerie
4. The Microphones - Live in Japan
5. William Basinski - The Disintegration Loops I-IV
6. Animal Collective - Sung Tongs
7. Max Richter - The Blue Notebooks
8. Taylor Deupree & Christopher Willits - Mujo
9. The Arcade Fire - Funeral
10. Brian Wilson - Smile
11. Thee Silver Mountain Reveries - The Pretty Little Lightning Paw
12. Tim Hecker - Mirages
13. Mountain Men Anonymous - Krkonose
14. Julian Fane - Special Forces
15. Datach'i - Mmale and Ffemale

Grant Everett (Minnedosa, MB, CANADA)

1. Arcade Fire- Funeral
2. Elliott Smith- From a Basement on the Hill
3. Interpol- Antics
4. Stars- Set Yourself on Fire
5. Frank Ferdinand- s/t
6. Hayden- Elk Lake Serenade
7. Wilco- A Ghost is Born
8. Royal City- Little Hearts Ease
9. Modest Mouse- Good News for People Who Like Bad News
10. The Silver Mt. Reveries- Pretty little Lightning Paw Ep

Andrew F (Melbourne, AUSTRALIA)

1. matthew shipp - harmony & abyss
2. the necks - drive by
3. madvillain - madvillainy
4. nick cave - abattoir blues/lyre of orpheus
5. dj spooky - celestial mechanix
6. dj spooky - rhythm & science
7. deadbeat - something borrowed, something blue
8. interpol - antics
9. rjd2 - since we last spoke
10. max richter - blue notebooks
11. cLOUDDEAD - ten
12. andrew hill - black fire (reissue)
13. optimo/espacio - how to kill the dj (part 2)
14. franz ferdinand - s/t

Medard Fischer (Toronto, CANADA)

1. Arovane - Lilies
2. Swod - Gehen
3. Team Shadetek - Burnerism
4. Bjork - Medulla
5. Sufjan Stevens - Seven Swans
6. Fennesz - Venice
7. The Streets - A Grand Don’t Come For Free
8. Air - Talkie Walkie
9. Donato Wharton - Trabanten
10. Mils - Le Grand Pic Mou
11. The Album Leaf - In A Safe Place
12. The Go Find - Miami
13. Porn Sword Tobacco – Porn Sword Tobacco
14. Interpol - Antics
15. Abstrackt Keal Agram - Bad Thriller

Jeroen François (Brussels, BELGIUM)

1. Brian Wilson - Smile
2. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Abattoir blues
3. Isis - Panopticon
4. Lambchop - No, You C'mon
5. Mauro Pawlowski and The Grooms - Black Europa
6. Sophia - People are like seasons
7. Tortoise - It's all around you
8. Mono - Walking cloud and deep red sky, Flag fluttered and the sun shined
9. Einstürzende Neubauten - Perpetuum mobile
10. Hermano - Dare I say

Neville Giles (Auckland, NEW ZEALAND)

1. The Ordinary Boys - Over the Counter Culture
2. Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand
3. The Black Keys - Rubber Factory
4. Paselode - Taming Of The Wasps
5. Dimmer - You’ve Got To Hear The Music
6. Kasabian - Kasabian
7. Green Day - American Idiot
8. Hope Of The States - The Lost Riots
9. Scissor Sisters - Scissor Sisters
10. Snow Patrol - The Final Straw

Christopher Gramstadt (London, UK)

1. The Arcade Fire - Funeral
2. Sufjan Stevens - Seven Swans
3. The Walkmen - Bows and Arrows
4. Amusement Parks on Fire - Amusement Parks on Fire
5. Delays - Faded Seaside Glamour
6. My Morning Jacket - Acoustic Citsuoca
7. Radio Dept. - Lesser Matters
8. The Earlies - These Were The Earlies
9. Gravenhurst - Flashlight Seasons
10. The Concretes - The Concretes
11. Sufjan Stevens - Michigan
12. Broken Family Band - Jesus Songs
13. Dreamend - As If By Ghosts
14. The Shins - Chutes too narrow
15. Adem - Homesongs

Aaron Grauer (Lincoln, NE, USA)

1. feist "let it die"
2. the go! team "thunder, lightning, strike"
3. lansing-dreiden "the incomplete triangle"
4. junior boys "last exit"
5. triosk "moment returns"
6. adem "homesongs"
7. lars horntveth "pooka"
8. tortoise "it's all around you"
9. franz ferdinand "franz ferdinand"
10. iron & wine "our endless numbered days"
11. the dead texan "the dead texan"
12. jason forrest "the unrelenting songs of the 1979 post disco crash"
13. sufjan stevens "seven swans"
14. oren ambarchi "grapes from the estate"
15. cee-lo "cee-lo green is the soul machine"

Tim H (Surrey, BC, CANADA)

1. Arcade Fire - Funeral
2. A.C. Newman - The Slow Wonder
3. Wilco - A Ghost Is Born
4. Franz Ferdinand
5. Elbow - Cast of Thousands
6. The Go! Team - Thunder, Lightning, Strike
7. The Mountain Goats - We Shall All Be Healed
8. Junior Boys - Last Exit
9. Air - Walkie Talkie
10. Animal Collective - Sung Tongs

Craig Helmreich (USA)

1. John Vanderslice - Cellar Door
2. Ataxia (John Frusciante/Joe Lally/Josh Klinghoffer) - Automatic Writing*
3. Elliott Smith – From A Basement On The Hill
4. John Frusciante - DC EP*
5. Louis XIV (From the former members of Convoy) - s/t
6. John Frusciante - Will To Death*
7. Vienna Teng - Warm Strangers
8. John Frusciante - Inside of Emptiness*
9. Jay Farrar - stone steel & bright lights
10. Badly Drawn Boy - one plus one is one
    (*Yes, all these albums came out in 2004. John Frusciante released five albums in 2004 and will release a sixth on January 25, 2005. Unfortunately, while four of the albums made my top ten, the fifth "A Sphere In The Heart Of Silence" is my nominee for worst album of the year. For those who do not know, John is the introverted guitar player for the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I am reluctant to announce this fact, however, since his music as a solo artist makes the collective work of RHCP seem wholly irrelevant. John's previous solo releases have failed to combine his guitar playing genius and song writing together in a way that creates a cohesive album (for examples of amazing guitar see: Niandra LaDes & Usually Just a Tshirt, for song writing see Shadows Collide With People or To Record Only Water For Ten Days). However, on the four albums in my list John has created amazing records, that might have been the sole albums on my list if it were not for some other artists who have struck it out solo or formed new projects for 2004 (Vanderslice, formerly of MK Ultra; Smith; Louis XIV, most of the members of Convoy; and Jay Farrar, formerly of Uncle Tupelo and Son Volt.)

Anton Ivanov (Tartu, ESTONIA)

1. animal collective - sung tongs
2. hans appelqvist - bremort
3. iron & wine - our endless numbered days
4. nagisa ni te - self-titled
5. califone - heron king blues
6. lsd-march - kanashimino bishounen
7. mono - walking cloud and deep red sky, flag fluttered and the sun shined
8. xiu xiu - fabulous muscles
9. keiji haino - koko
10. patrick wolf - lycantropy
11. the konki duet - il fait tout gris

Adrian Ko (Buenos Aires, ARGENTINA)

1. Loretta Lynn - Van Lear Rose (Miss being Mrs. made me cry...)
2. Arcade Fire - Funeral
3. Joanna Newsom - Milk-Eyed Mender
4. Sufjan Stevens - Seven Swans
5. M83 - Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts
6. Animal Collective - Sung Tongs
7. Xiu Xiu - Fabulous Muscles
8. Sonic Youth - Sonic Nurse
9. Comets On Fire - Blue Cathedral
10. Fiery Furnaces - Blueberry Boat

Levvy (POLAND)

1. Arcade Fire - Funeral
2. The Go! Team - Thunder Lightning Strike
3. Dungen - Ta Det Lugnt
4. 90 Day Man - Panda Park
5. Modest Mouse - Good News For People Who Love Bad News
6. Of Montreal - Satanic Panic in the Attic
7. Interpol - Antics
8. Les Savy Fav - Inches
9. Air - Talkie Walkie
10. Sufjan Stevens - Seven Swans

Marshall Lilly (Athens, OH, USA)

1. Arcade Fire - Funeral. (Even though the rest of my list this year is metal, I had to put this album at the top. It knocked me on my ass and became one of my all time favorites. They're even better live.) **Some of this stuff has popped up on people's lists so far, but I want to give an all-metal list for people who dig this site rather than give pretty much the same list as everyone else. Give this stuff a shot...I think you'll be pleased.**
2. Isis - Panopticon. Isis (can best be described as the metal Sigur Ros. The long, melodic instrumental soundscapes and indecipherable vocals are all here, it's just heavier. I'm begging you, get this record.)
3. Death From Above 1979 - You're a Woman, I'm a Machine. (This album puts me in a good mood everytime I hear it. This group could be Lightning Bolt's more accessable, hipster alter-ego. Huge riffs that will have you playing air guitar in your room all night long, then you realize it's bass and there's no guitar at all, then you're all like....hell yeah.)
4. Cult of Luna - Salvation. (This album is right up there with Panopticon. The vocals are a bit rougher, but the music is just as beautiful. If you like one, you'll like the other.)
5. Hella - The Devil Isn't Red. (An insanely technical, instrumental duo with guitar and drums. Way at the other end of the metal spectrum from Isis and Cult of Luna, but any musician will appreciate this record.)
6. Neurosis - The Eye of Every Storm. (These guys started off as a pretty horrible band from my point of view, but their last three albums have all been building up towards this, a slow, spraaaaaaawling slab of metal in the vein of Isis, but with more vocals.)
7. Blood Brothers - Crimes. (I just got this record for Xmas, but it's really grown on me. Very spastic, faster music with two vocalists who know how to scream. Lots of great keyboard work too. I can't think of any group that sounds like these guys, but if you're feeling brave, get this record.)
8. These Arms Are Snakes - Oxeneers or The Lion Sleeps When Its Antelope Go Home. (Features former members of Kill Sadie and that horrible metal band Botch (I don't care what anyone says...they suck). The guy has a great scream, but sings a lot too. Not nearly as crazy as Blood Brothes, but the emphasis on keyboards and really good guitar hooks are similar.)
9. Old Man Gloom - Christmas. (Not a holiday record thank goodness. Features the singer from Isis, as well as members of Cave In and Converge. These guys put out records that are split between the slower melodic metal of Isis and more ambient stuff that even sounds like the drone stuff on Kranky. The records always go from one extreme to another, but its all great.)
10. The Pretty Weapons - s/t. (These guys aren't metal, but they used to play in metal bands, and I'm friends with the singer/guitarist. It's hard to put a finger on how these guys sound, but if you like Interpol, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, My Bloody Valentine, or Jesus and the Mary Chain, you should pick up this record.)

Joshua McGregor (Airdrie, Alberta, CANADA)

1. Bark Psychosis: Codename-Dustsucker (After far too long of a hiatus, Bark Psychosis returns with a brilliant release. Codename-Dustsucker moves like a dream: slow, gauzy, ethereal, hypnotic, and intensely emotional. Fans of their album Hex will find everything they are looking for, and more. Very atmospheric. I just hope we don't have to wait another 10 years for another album.)
2. Blackfield: Blackfield (A collaboration between the man behind Porcupine Tree, Steven Wilson, and Israeli artist Aviv Geffen. Much like Porcupine Tree's brand of music, and an excellent release to satisfy fans until PT's new album is out early next year.)
3. Bed: Spacebox (This French artist, with jazz-like leanings, creates a very approachable, yet complex musical style. Emotive, nostalgic and very listenable.)
4. Arcade Fire: Funeral (I am always cautious with "critically acclaimed" bands, so when this album seemed to explode in reviews all over Canada, I was a little hesitant. Alas, this album delivers, gushing press reviews aside. Emotionally wrought vocals are what make this album, and it sounds quite different from other Montreal artists. Musically, nothing groundbreaking, but done with a fury of emotion.)
5. Beef Terminal: The Isolationist (An electronic release from a Toronto artist, and also quite diverse. Some indie-electronica, quasi-ambient music;absolutely perfect for driving.)
6. Akumu: Fluxes (Canadian dark ambient artist, whom I first heard on CBC's Brave New Waves. Dark, otherworldly, perfect for night listening.)
7. Isan: Meet Next Life (A British electronica band doing electronica a little different, almost happy sounding.)
8. Phillip Jeck: 7 (Instrumental, ambient, slow-moving, slightly similar to Tim Hecker's releases. Noisy and crawling, an album that slowly enwraps the listener.)
9. Bola: Gnayse (Bola can do no wrong. Every album has been exceptional electronica--and this is warm electronica, laced with beautiful interludes, adding humanity to the sound. Very cinematic, and done with a depth so much electronica lacks.)
10. Loscil: First Narrows (From Vancouver British Columbia, more electronic wizardry. This release seems to embody the oceans of BC's west coast: airy, rainy, somehow very sea-like. Very high replay value, as something new always pops up in each song. Complex yet relaxing.)

J Mig (PHILIPINES)

1. Air - Talkie Walkie
2. Max Richter - The Blue Notebooks
3. Carina Round - Disconnection
4. Apostle of Hustle - Folkloric Feel
5. Batyscaphe - 11034m
6. Climax Golden Twins - Highly Bred and Sweetly Tempered
7. Psapp - Tiger, My Friend
8. n.Lannon - Chemical Friends
9. Owen - I Do Perceive
10. Isis - Panopticon
11. Of Montreal - Satanic Panic in the Attic
12. Iron & Wine - Our Endless Numbered Days
13. Chin Up Chin Up - We Should Never Have Lived Like We Were Skyscrapers
14. VHS or Beta - Night on Fire
15. Foxhole - We The Wintering Tree

Malcom Miles (Lincoln, NE, USA)

1. Bjork – Medulla
2. Iron & Wine – Our Endless Numbered Days
3. Joanna Newsom – Milk-Eyed Mender
4. David Byrne – Grown Backwards
5. Tara Jane Oneil – You Sound, Reflect
6. PJ Harvey – Uh Huh Her
7. Berg Sans Nipple – Life If (in four parts)
8. Jay Bayles – The Complete Home Recordings
9. Arcade Fire – Funeral
10. Xiu Xiu – Fabulous Muscle
11. Sufjan Stevens – Seven Swans
12. Sonic Youth – Sonic Nurse
13. Simon Joyner – Lost With The Lights On
14. The Good Life – Album Of The Year
15. Wolf Eyes – Burned Mind

Manuel (Madrid, SPAIN)

1. Joanna Newsom - The Milk Eyed Mender (amazing girl!Beautiful record and amazing debut, long time since I heard something like it! Unique.)
2. Stina Nordenstam- The World is saved (she always ends up on my favourite list, dunno how she does it!)
3. The Czars - Goodbye (One of the best bands right now, with one of the best lead singers: the voice of an angel!)
4. Xiu Xiu - Fabulous Muscles (Art as music: "Brian the Vampire" is one of the best songs ever!)
5. Patrick Wolf - Lycanthropy (Incredibly young and talented british boy! Terribly cute too!)
6. The Organ - Grab that Gun (All-girl canadian band. Amazing debut and amazing live!)
7. Cocorosie - La Maison de mon Rêve (When did these girls drop from heaven?Like tiny elves singing Bessie Smith tunes in a Jean Genet story!)
8. The Knife - Deep Cuts (Astounding swedish electro! One of my favourite discoveries! Check out their videos!)
9. Arcade Fire - Funeral (Amazing)
10. Baby Dee - A Book of Songs for Mary Anne (As if the sweetest heart in the world began to sing! So precious it makes you cry.)
11. Antony & the Johnsons - I am a Bird now (Not yet released but I know it shall be my all-time favourite record ever!)
12. Dogs die in Hot Cars - Please describe Yourself (You cant stop singing, from beginning to end! Wonderful and so addictive!)

Marcel Moorman (Grunnen, NETHERLANDS)

1. Reigning sound – Too much guitar
2. Thermals – Fuckin’ A
3. Pan American – Quiet city
4. Mr airplane man – C’mon DJ
5. Thalia zedek - Trust not those in whom without some touch of madness
6. Hunches – Hobo sunrise
7. Charles atlas - To The Dust: From Man You Came And To Man You Shall Return
8. Isis - Panopticon
9. Mono - Walking cloud and deep red sky, Flag fluttered and the sun shined
10. Coachwhips - Peanut butter and jelly live at the ginger minge

Carles N (Barcelona, SPAIN)

1. Tom Waits - Real Gone
2. Madvillain - Madvilliany
3. TV On The Radio - Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes
4. Devendra Banhart - Rejoicing In The Hands
5. CocoRosie - La Maison De La Reve
6. Sonic Youth - Sonic Nurse
7. The Fall - The Real New Fall LP
8. Deerhoof - Milk Man
9. Xiu Xiu - Fabulous Muscles
10. De La Soul - The Grind Date
11. Fennesz - Venice
12. Two Lone Swordsmen - From The Double Gone Chapel
13. Iron And Wine - Our Endless Numbered Days
14. The Go! Team - Thunder, Lightning, Strike
15. Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds - Abatoir Blues / The Lyre Of Orpheus

najia (Athens, GREECE)

1. pan american – quiet city (kranky)
2. fennesz – venice (touch)
3. lido/lato – coti (poeta negra)
4. old boy ost
5. lambchop – awcmon/noyoucmon (city slang)
6. tuxedomoon – cabin in the sky (crammed)
7. les georges lenigrand – sur les traces du black eskimo (alien8)
8. lali puna – faking the books (morr)
9. märz – wir sind hier (karaoke kalk)
10. sketchie - rain by high lantern (lumenessence)

Eric Nash (Milwaukee, WI, USA)

1. sonic youth - sonic nurse (geffen)
2. solvent - apples and synthesizers (ghostly international)
3. two lone swordsmen - from the double gone chapel (warp)
4. faust vs. dälek - derbe respect, alder (staubgold/klangbad)
5. kptmichigan - s/t (aesthetics)
6. dykehouse - midrange (ghostly international)
7. numbers - in my mind all the time (tigerbeat6)
8. stereolab - margerine eclipse (elektra)
9. liars - they were wrong so we drowned (mute)
10. matthew dear - backstroke (spectral sound)
11. signer - the new face of smiling (carpark)
12. fennesz - venice (touch)
13. wolf eyes - burned mind (sub pop)
14. pan sonic - kesto (mute)
15. skywave - synthstatic (alison)

Johan Neij (Malmoe, SWEDEN)

1. TAPE ~ Millieu [www.hapna.com] + v/a Operette: Tape remixes feat David Grubbs [Cubic Fabric] (Our pride and joy! The true sound-milleu of Sweden! Droney, warm, beautiful!
2. HANS APPELQVIST ~ Bremort [www.komplott.com] (equally top-notch! Unique talent!)
3. STREAM (a.k.a. Viktor Sjöberg) ~ Crawl: Beyond April [www.structuressonores.com]
4. TSUKIMONO ~ Who's Note, What Note? [Heyyoufuckingman]
5. LJUDBILDEN & PILOTEN ~ split cd w/ Osso Bucco [www.nosordo.com] (this three gentlemen above share some truly heartwrecking qualities, which goes for Tape as well; all instrumental, sometimes samplebased, repetitive and experimental warmhearted listening for late nights.Love 'em all!)
6. JENS LEKMAN ~ lot's of great releases, officials on Secretly Canadian and Service, stunning demos and live cd-rs distributed by the man himself and a stunning unreleased mp3 gallery at Secretly C's website. I like him best in his most samplebased mood - Jonathan Richman vs The Avalanches! Worldwide domination soon to come - beware!)
7. DUNGEN ~ Ta det lugnt [Subliminal Sounds] Worldwide success for this stunning retroblaster, too!
8. SOPHIE RIMHEDEN~ Miss [Svedjebruk/www.dotshop.se] (One tough electro princess!)
9. ANDREAS TILLIANDER a.k.a. MOKIRA ~ Dutty & Digital [www.idealrecordings.com] (Rhythm & Sound-styled dub groover 12inch! + more than a handful other official albums on different labels such as Cubic Fabric, Type, Pluxemburg - most prolific this year for sure!)
10. HIRD ~ Moving On [DNM] (Jazzy housy lounge; not that spectacular as I'd hope - but just wait 'til this young genius drops some of his more offbeat, minimalistic, warm and fuzzy stuff as Christoffermusik/Brus… Mumma!)

Neil (Dover, UK)

1. Bark Psychosis - Codename: Dustsucker [better than "Hex"]
2. Mono - Walking Cloud And Deep Red Sky, Flag Fluttered And The Sun Shined [I'm ashamed to say I didn't know about this extraordinary band earlier]
3. Pan Sonic - Kesto (238.48:4) [their most ambitious, and greatest, work]
4. Stafrann Hakon - Ventill/Poki [the loveliest thing from Iceland]
5. Stafrann Hakon - Ã Ãstandi Rjapunnar [see above]
6. Dialect - Buildings.With.Towns.In. [utterly fabulous electronica from embarrassingly young genius - his first album is going to be fabulous]
7. Stafrann Hakon / Dialect - UK/Ireland Tour EP 2004 [everything I said before is true]
8. Emery Reel - For And Acted Upon Through Diversions [another wonderful surprise]
9. Envy - All The Footprints You've Ever Left And The Fear Expecting Ahead [also the best band to see at 2 o'clock in the afternoon]
10. Todd - Purity Pledge [that they've played with Part Chimp is recommendation enough]
11. Tortoise - It's All Around You [a return to form, after the sloppy "Standards"]
12. Isis - Panopticon [I could listen to "So Did We" all day]
13. Aereogramme - Seclusion [hopefully a new full-length album is on its way]
14. Noxagt - The Iron Point [violin! in a rock trio! not as ridiculous as it sounds]
15. Valley Of The Giants - Valley Of The Giants [obligatory appearance of Godspeed side-project]

Nik (London, UK)

1. The Go! Team- Thunder Lightening Strike
2. Chronomad - Sokut
3. TV On The Radio- Desperate Youth Bloodthirsty Babes
4. Boy In Static- Newborn
5. Sufjan Stevens- Seven Swans
6. Cobra Killer- Monika
7. Kasabian- Kasabian
8. Modest Mouse- Good News For People Who Love Bad News
9. State River widening- Cottonhead
10. The Killers- Hot Fuss

Marcin O. (POLAND)

1. Sweek - The Shooting Star's Sigh [2004,Carte Postale] (Post-Rock/Experimental)
2. Magyar Posse - Kings Of Time [2004,Verdura] (Post-Rock/Experimental, Experimental Rock)
3. Electrelane - Power Out [2004,Beggars] (Post-Rock/Experimental, Indie Rock)
4. The 90 Day Men - Panda Park [2004,Southern] (Math Rock, Indie Rock)
5. Regina Spektor - Soviet Kitsch [2004,Shoplifter] (Anti-Folk, Singer/Songwriter)
6. Dont Look Back - Drunk In Your Arms [2003,Supersonik] (Post-Rock/Experimental, Instrumental Rock, Indie Rock)
7. Bathyscaphe - -11034m [2004,?] (Post-Rock/Experimental)
8. Migala - La Increible Aventura [2004,Acuarela] (Post-Rock/Experimental, Indie Rock)
9. Hope Of The States - The Lost Riots [2004,Sony Music] (Post-Rock/Experimental, Indie Rock)
10. Dreamend - As If By Ghosts [2004,Graveface] (Post-Rock/Experimental, Indie Rock)
11. The Arcade Fire - Funeral [2004,Merge] (Post-Rock/Experimental, Indie Rock)
12. The Silent League - The Orchestra, Sadly, Has Refused [2004, File-13] (Post-Rock/Experimental, Indie Rock)
13. Lambchop - No, You C'mon [2004, Merge] (Chamber Pop, Indie Rock)
14. Kings of Convenience - Riot On An Empty Street [2004, Astralwerks] (Indie Pop)
15. Ella Guru - The First Album [2004 , Banana Recordings] (Indie Rock, Slowcore, Sadcore)

M. Packman (Halifax, CANADA)

1. Espers - Espers
2. The Arcade Fire - Funeral
3. The Go! Team - Thunder Lightning Strike
4. Interpol - Antics
5. Sonic Youth - Sonic Nurse
6. Panda Bear - Young Prayer
7. The Futureheads - The Futureheads
8. Secret Chiefs - Book of Horizons
9. Air - Walkie Talkie
10. Fiery Furnaces - Blueberry Boat

Darek Piecuch (POLAND)

1. Death from above 1979 -You're A Woman, I'm A Machine
2. Arcade Fire - Funeral
3. Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand
4. Thunder, Lightning, Strike - The Go! Team
5. Bows & Arrows by The Walkmen
6. Good News For People Who Love Bad News by Modest Mouse
7. A.C. NewmanThe Slow Wonder
8. TV on the Radio-Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes
9. interpol-antics
10. dizzee rascal- showtime

Corey Pierce (?)

1. TV on the Radio - Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes
2. Arcade Fire - Funeral
3. the Futureheads
4. Blonde Redhead - Misery Is A Butterfly
5. Manic Street Preachers - Lifeblood
6. Bjork - Medulla
7. Blood Brothers - Crimes
8. Air - Talkie Walkie
9. Franz Ferdinand - s/t
10. Patrick Wolf - Lycanthropy
11. Modest Mouse - Good News For People Who Love Bad News
12. Mclusky - The Difference Between You And Me Is That I'm Not On Fire
13. Magnetic Fields - I
14. Raising the Fawn = The North Sea
15. Isis - Panopticon

Risko Pullerits (Tartu, ESTONIA)

1. le fly pan am - n'ecoutez pas
2. thee silver mountain reveries - the "pretty little lightning paw" e.p.
3. dat politics - go pets go
4. animal collective - sung tongs
5. electrelane - the power out
6. tim hecker - mirages
7. the dead texan - s/t
8. mice parade - obrigado saudade
9. shannon wright - over the sun

Raffaello (Rome, ITALY)

1. Piano Magic – The troubled sleep of Piano Magic (Green Ufos)
2. Grace Cathedral Park – In the evenings of regret (La Verdad)
3. Tanakh – Dieu deuil (Alien 8 Recordings)
4. Iron & Wine – Our endless numbered days (Sub Pop)
5. The Album Leaf – In a safe place (Sub Pop)
6. Gravenhurst – Flashlight seasons (Warp)
7. Kings of Convenience – Riot on an empty street (Source)
8. Burd Early – Mind and mother (Western Vinyl)
9. Bark Psychosis – Codename: dustsucker (Fire)
10. Pan American – Quiet city (Kranky)
11. James Yorkston & The Athletes – Just beyond the river (Domino)
12. Múm – Summer make good (Fat Cat)
13. Art of Fighting – Second storey (Trifekta)
14. Eluvium – An accidental memory in case of death (Temporary Residence)
15. Devendra Banhart – Niño rojo (Young God)

Adam Richardson (Louisville, KY, USA)

1. dizzie rascal - showtime
2. animal collective - sung tongs
3. william basinski - the disintegration loops
4. black dice - creature comforts
5. fly pan am - n'ecoutez pas
6. madvillain - madvillainy
7. comets on fire - blue cathedral
8. les savy fav - inches
9. bjork - medulla
10. sunn 0))) - white2

Elwin Rijken (NETHERLANDS)

1. Arcade Fire - Funeral (Gorgeous emotional songs that go straight to the heart, Tunnels and Power-Out are two of my favourite songs of the year, love the package design too, Canada does it again.)
2. Dungen - Ta Det Lugnt (just love those piano touches and the whole cloudy feeling it evokes; rock that rocks the cradle.)
3. The Go! Team - Thunder Lightning Strike ('feels good to be alive and able to shake your behind' kinda music, just excellent)
4. Mirah - C'mon Miracle (What a beautiful voice! Makes you believe in Miracles alright)
5. Stars - Set Yourself On Fire (I love this band and this year I saw the singer, Amy, live in Ekko - Utrecht, The Netherlands, when she sang with Broken Social Scene . Amy signed my cd, wiehoe)
6. Patrick Wolf - Lycantropy (catchy stuff, I just love his style of singing, it's just right; swings between over the top and classically, makes for a very enjoyable album!)
7. Sufjan Stevens - Seven Swans (beautifuly crafted, a real timeless piece, my parents like it)
8. Xiu Xiu - Fabulous Muscles (took me several listens, especially the more experimental parts/songs, but it got really better with each listening, the band really knows how to use silence and pauses, excellent atmosphere, very powerful)
9. Modest Mouse - Good News For People Who Love Bad News (well it's not their best, but nice to see they could get away with a more poppy album and still not dissapoint fans. I saw them live for the first time this year in Paradiso Amsterdam, they really rocked live, their 15 minute version of 'Cowboy Dan' was just awesome)
10. Interpol - Antics (another great rock album, very layered and thick songs, those gitars are really cool.)

Ritchie (USA)

1. Arcade Fire - Funeral (This record is one of those rare ones that comes along and really, really resonates with me. Not only is it great from a purely musical standpoint, but lyrically it is superb as well, and I feel like I can truly connect with it. These ten songs about death and growing up are at once crushingly dark and incredibly uplifting, and in either case absolutely marvelous.)
2. Rf - Falls (I have heard a lot of nice things in my lifetime, but few have been quite as nice as this. A gorgeous album rooted in nature, it sounds organic despite all the bubbly little beats and pops that wash over each track like an aural bath. I could go on about how downright beautiful it is, but I'll just leave you with the story of an instance in which I played it for a friend, who fell into a sort of blissful trance and wasn't the same for the rest of the night.)
3. Sufjan Stevens - Seven Swans (I could just write that Sufjan is one of my most favorite musical artists ever and he can do no wrong, but that wouldn't be sufficient. So I will tell you that his newest album, Seven Swans, is an intimate bunch of lovely, touching songs about love and faith and more, and it is incredible, and Sufjan is one of my most favorite musical artists ever and he can do no wrong.)
4. Deathprod - Morals and Dogma (Four tracks of weighty, cold ambient music that will end up making you feel lonesome and mournful. This is the musical equivalent of a black hole, an alluring mass of music so dark and unpenetrable that no light or happy sounds can escape from it.)
5. Animal Collective - Sung Tongs (An utterly weird and colorful pastiche of soaring harmonies, schizophrenic instrumentation, tribal rhythms, and buoyant happiness, all wrapped up in the childhood zaniness that might come from a bunch of lobotomised kids tripping on LSD. That made no sense, and to many ears, Animal Collective doesn't either - more than a few of my friends has walked away proclaiming they hate it. But if you give it time, you may very well find yourself addicted. Worth losing friends over.)
6. Air - Talkie Walkie (The third and arguably the best album from this French duo finds them once again dishing out a solid bunch of hook-laden electronic pop. A bit more diverse than their past two albums, the band tries out all manner of different instruments and styles, ranging from piano-driven love songs to whimsical, whistling rockers to soothing, dreamy electronic pieces. Their past two albums were classics, and this is no exception.)
7. The Fiery Furnaces - Blueberry Boat (I used to hate this album. I used to think it was a huge, bloated piece of music with no direction. But slowly it revealed itself, and I'm glad I stayed around to listen. What I heard was a sprawling, brilliant musical carnival that drunkenly stumbles from vaudevillian quirkiness to memorable singalongs to slow-burning ballads to straight-up rock'n'roll - sometimes all in the course of one song. And it sounded amazing. Like a Gilbert and Sullivan musical put on by elementary school children, directed by rock musicians, and staged in a carnival funhouse. It's all pretty disorienting, but like the best roller coaster rides, it’s also a ton of fun, and worth riding again and again.)
8. Black Moth Super Rainbow - Start a People (You know those old 1970's children's TV shows, full of so many weird colors and outlandish characters that the creators were more likely than not tripping on something while writing the scripts? Black Moth Super Rainbow is like that. They are a band stuck in the loving throes of nostalgia, and take listeners back to groovy 70s television with naive and pretty songs about childhood innocense.)
9. Mum - Summer Make Good (Oh Mum, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. With their absolutely heartwarming and beautiful music, the Icelandic Mum is the musical equivalent of a warm blanket, and it's this lovely naivete that makes them one of my favorite bands. On their new one, however, they get a little bit darker. Recorded in an abandoned lighthouse, this claustrophobic album manages to perfectly convey all the feelings and atmosphere one might feel whilst trapped in a storm on the open seas.)
10. The Album Leaf - In a Safe Place (A gentle and very pretty album by one Jimmy LaVelle (aka The Album Leaf), who, together with all sorts of guest stars like Jon Thor Birgisson of Sigur Ros, creates mostly instrumental music. The album title is an appropriate one - listening to it transports you to somewhere calmer and safer, where plants drape shade over the ground and streams trickle by.)

Andy Roddick (Ottawa, CANADA)

1. Arcade Fire - Funeral
2. Apostle of Hustle - Folklorist
3. Erlend Oye - DJ Kicks
4. Modest Mouse - Good News...
5. Mirah - C'mon Miracle
6. Franz Ferdinand - S.T.
7. The Necks - Drive By
8. Augie March - Strange Bird
9. Chad Van Gaalen - Infiniheart
10. Blonde Redhead - Misery is a Butterly
11. Interpol - Antics
12. Sixtoo - Chewing on Glass...
13. Madvillain - Madvillainy
14. Dungen - Ta Det Lugnt

Tony Romaker (Columbus, OH, USA)

1. The Futureheads - s/t
2. The Arcade Fire - Funeral
3. Interpol - Antics
4. Pinback - Summer in Abaddon
5. Get Him Eat Him - The Casual Sex Demo EP
6. Block Party - s/t EP
7. Les Savy Fav - Inches
8. Hot Snakes - Audit in Progress
9. Devendra Banhart - Rejoicing in the Hands
10. This Moment in Black History - Midwesterncuttalistick
11. Franz Ferdinand - s/t
12. Mission of Burma - OnOffOn
13. Rogue Wave - Out of the Shadows
14. The Ex - Turn
15. The Ponys - Laced with Romance

javier santafé (barbastro, SPAIN)

1. William Basinski - The disintegration loops I-IV
2. Max Richter - The blue notebooks
3. Sonic Youth - Sonic nurse
4. Dean Roberts - Be mine tonight
5. Shalabi Effect - Pink abyss
6. Black Ox Orkestar - Ver tanzt?
7. Charalambides - Joy shapes
8. Molases - Trouble at jinx hotel
9. Cerberus Shoal - Bastion of itchy preeves
10. Valley of the Giants -Valley of the Giants
11. Mats Gustafsson - Hydros 3
12. Faun Fables - Mother twilight
13. Le Fly Pan Am - N'ecoutez pas
14. Fennesz - Venice
15. Animal Collective - Sung tongs

Tim Silk (Adelaide, AUSTRALIA)

1. Rejoicing In The Hands / Nino Rojo - Devendra Banhart
2. Van Lear Rose - Loretta Lynn
3. Let It Die - Feist
4. The Milk-Eyed Mender - Joanna Newsom
5. Medulla - Bjork
6. Thunder, Lightning, Strike - The Go! Team
7. Blueberry Boat - The Fiery Furnaces
8. Smile - Brian Wilson
9. Sung Tongs - Animal Collective
10. The Pretty Toney Album - Ghostface
11. Funeral - The Arcade Fire
12. Cee-Lo Green Is The Soul Machine - Cee-Lo
13. Not Going Anywhere - Keren Ann
14. Seven Swans - Sufjan Stevens
15. Showtime - Dizzee Rascal

Bruno Silva (PORTUGAL)

1. Animal Collective - Sung Tongs
2. Sonic Youth - Sonic Nurse
3. Devendra Banhart - Rejoicing in the Hands
4. Fly Pan Am - N`ecoutez Pas
5. Arcade Fire - Funeral
6. Excepter - KA
7. Brian Wilson - Smile
8. The Go! Team - Thunder Lightning Strike
9. Destroyer - Your Blues
10. Black Dice - Creature Comforts
11. William Basinski - The Disintegration Loops
12. Boredoms - Seadrum / House of the Sun
13. Max Richter - The Blue Notebooks
14. Liars - They Were Wrong, So We Drowned
15. Stereolab - Margerine Eclipse

Roger Simonsen (Lincoln, NE, USA)

1. Tom Waits - Real Gone: (I wasn’t really wanting or expecting this but I got it. #1 with a bullet between the eyes. Bonus points for hilarious role opposite Iggy Pop in latest Jim Jarmusch film.)
2. Junior Boys – Last Exit: (Kind of a poor man’s Roxy Music for the 21st Century. Absolutely listenable. And I did. Over and over and etc.)
3. Tortoise – It’s All Around You: (Take something very known, combine it with something completely unknown, and then throw in something you thought you knew but it turned out you didn’t really know it as well as you thought you did. OK, now forget all that and just listen to the new Tortoise album.)
4. Ministry – Houses of the Mole: (This album wouldn’t have been any fun if Bush had lost the election. But since we got another four years this one deserves a #4 on my list.)
5. Mike Watt – The Secondman’s Middle Stand: (Doesn’t equal his previous full length but after seven years of waiting who cares? I salute the Bass man for doin’ his own thing in sickness and in health, and this album certainly has no greater influence than his own life itself. Greater things to come…and Zen some.)
6. John Cale – Hobosapiens: (I kept thinking this might just be average material for Mr. Cale but after about the 10th listen or so it dawned on me that I’d listened to it 10 times or so in about 10 days or so. So I give it a 10…or so.)
7. The Album Leaf – In a Safe Place: (Will this one be remembered 100 years from now? Probably not, so you best listen to it now. For fans of non-threatening guitars everywhere!)
8. Robyn Hitchcock – Spooked: (Just got this cd last week but I’m gonna rank it based on the ‘Bing a Bong a Bing-Bong’ melody in the opening track. Plus, who else here is gonna rate this one?)
9. Mouse on Mars – Radical Connector: (Based more on their live show than the cd studio version, nevertheless, a tight piece of electronica from a band I had always thought was hit or miss before seeing them live. A few really memorable tracks here.)
10. Low – A Lifetime of Temporary Relief: (Let me beat Rolling Stone to the punch and pick Low as my choice for band of the 2000’s!)

Peter Smith (St. Paul, MN, USA)

1. Greg Davis - Curling Pond Woods
2. Dijf Sanders - Mating Season
3. S - Puking & Crying
4. Annie - Anniemal
5. Eliot Lipp - s/t
6. Ambulance LTD. - s/t
7. DJ Signify - Sleep No More
8. Mouse on Mars - Radical Connector
9. The Foreign Exchange - Connected
10. CocoRosie - La Maison De Mon Rêve

Jeffrey Song (?)

• Tom Waits - Real Gone (Anti)
• The Album Leaf - In a Safe Place (SubPop)
• Joanna Newsom - The Milk-Eyed Mender (Drag City)
• Shalabi Efect - Pink Abyss (Alien8)
• Clogs - Stick Music (Brassland)
• Black Ox Orchestar - Ver Tanzt? (Constellation)
• Mollases - Trouble at Jinx Hotel (Alien8)
• Grimble Grumble - Leaves Leader (Pehrlabel)
• Leonard Cohen - Dear Heather (Columbia)
• Jackie-O Motherfucker - Wow! / The Magick Fire Music (reissue, ATP)
• Xiu Xiu - Fabulous Muscles (5RC)
• Iron and Wine - Our Endless Numbered Days (Sub Pop)
• Sonic Youth - Sonic Nurse (Geffen)
• Grace Cathedral Park - In the Evenings of Regret (Le Verdad)

Fábio Sp (Guaratinguetá, BRAZIL)

1. Devendra Banhart - Rejoicing In The Hands
2. Xiu Xiu - Fabulous Muscles
3. Califone - Heron King Blues
4. Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand
5. M.I.A. / Diplo - Piracy Funds Terrorism Volume 1
6. Interpol - Antics
7. The Cansecos - The Cansecos
8. On!Air!Library! - On!Air!Library!
9. Animal Collective - Sung Tongs
10. The Arcade Fire - Funeral
11. Sonic Youth - Sonic Nurse
12. Mirah - C'mon Miracle
13. Castanets - Cathedral
14. A.C. Newman - The Slow Wonder
15. Erlend Øye - DJ Kicks

Nick Spangler (Rocklin, CA, USA)

1. Kings of Convenience - Riot on an Empty Street
2. Hella - The Devil Isn't Red
3. Crime in choir - The Hoop
4. Zach Hill Holy Smokes - Masculine Drugs
5. Badly Drawn Boy - One Plus One Is One
6. Flossin - Lead Singer
7. AC Newman - The Slow Wonder
8. Mum - Summer Make Good
9. Sigur Ros - Ba Ba / Ti Ki / Di Do
10. Panda Bear - Young Prayer

Jean-René Sylvestre (Deux-Montagnes, CANADA)

1. Arcade Fire - Funeral
2. Fennesz - Venice
3. Deathprod - Morals and Dogma
4. The New Year - The End Is Near
5. This Is A Process Of A Still Life - S/T
6. Valley Of The Giants - S/T
7. Efterklang - Tripper
8. The Album Leaf - In a Safe Place
9. Clann Zu - Black Coats and Bandages
10. Destroyalldreamers - A Coeur Léger Sommeil Sanglant
11. Interpol - Antics
12. Isis - Panopticon
13. Rogue Wave - Out of the Shadow
14. Tim Hecker - MIrages
15. Sixtoo - Chewing on Glass and other Miracle Cures

Rob Toste (Toronto, CANADA)

1. Animal Collective - Sung Tongs
2. Arcade Fire - Funeral
3. Squarepusher - Ultravisitor
4. Devendra Banhart - Rejoicing in the Hands / Nino Rojo
5. Xiu Xiu - Fabulous Muscles
6. Black Dice - Creature Comforts
7. Wolf Eyes - Burned Mind
8. Panda Bear - Young Prayer
9. Max Richter - The Blue Notebooks
10. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Abattoir Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus

Vatroslav (Zagreb, CROATIA)

1. Arcade Fire - Funeral
2. Wilco - A Ghost is Born
3. Franz Ferdinand - ST
4. Animal Collective - Sung Tongs
5. David Byrne - Grown Backwards
6. Mark Lanegan - Bubblegum
7. Interpol - Antics
8. AC Newman - The Slow Wonder
9. TV on the Radio - Desperate youth, Blood Thirsty Babes
10. Lambchop - Aw Cmon/No You Cmon
11. Feist - Let it Die
12. Nick Cave - Abbatoir Blues/Lyre of Orpheus
13. Iron&Wine - Our Endless Numbered Days
14. Tom Waits - Real Gone
15. Brian Wilson – Smile

Greg W (New York, NY, USA)

1. Jeff Kelly - For the Swan in the Hallway
2. Gravenhurst - Flashlight Seasons
3. Devendra Banhart - Rejoicing in the Hands
4. Sufjan Stevens - Seven Swans
5. V.A. - Hand/Eye compilation
6. Sodastream - A Minor Revival
7. Monster Movie - To the Moon
8. Stone Breath - The Silver Skein Unwound
9. P.G. Six - The Well of Memory
10. Black Heart Procession / Solbakken - Fishtank
11. Espers
12. David Kilgour - Frozen Orange
13. Franz Ferdinand

Mike Weis (Chicago, IL, USA)

• Gold Sparkle Band with Ken Vandermark - Brooklyn Cantos
• The Ivy Tree - The Winged Leaves
• Thuja / My Cat is an Alien - The Earth to the Spheres Split Series
• Philip Jeck - 7
• Rosy Parlane - Iris
• Pan American - Quiet City
• Loren Connors - Departing of the Dream (vol. 3)
• The Blithe Sons - Arms of the Starfish
• Arthur Russell - World of Echo
• Peter Brotzmann - Clarinet Project
• Sightings - Arrived in Gold
• Birchville Cat Motel - With Maples Ablaze
• Gravenhurst - Flashlight Seasons
• Double Leopards - Urban Concussion
• Tim Hecker - Mirage

Samuel Wigley (London, UK)

1. Interpol - Antics
2. The Streets - A Grand Don't Come For Free
3. Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand
4. Sufjan Stevens - Seven Swans
5. The Arcade Fire - Funeral
6. Animal Collective - Sung Tongs
7. Xiu Xiu - Fabulous Muscles
8. Adem - Homesongs
9. Air - Talkie Walkie
10. Scissor Sisters - Scissor Sisters

Mel Z (Adelaide, AUSTRALIA)

1. Wilco - A Ghost Is Born
2. The Arcade Fire - Funeral
3. Interpol - Antics
4. Modest Mouse - Good News For People Who Love Bad News
5. Sufjan Stevens - Seven Swans
6. Devendra Banhart - Rejoicing In The Hands
7. The Fiery Furnaces - Blueberry Boat
8. The Decemberists - The Tain (EP)
9. Franz Ferdinand
10. The Walkmen - Bows + Arrows

stefanos zarkantzias (salonica, GREECE)

1. radio dept. - lesser matters (if you ever liked ride, slowdive etc this is better and popier..)
2. xiu xiu - fabulous muscles
3. cee-lo - cee-lo green is the soul machine (this years' outkast)
4. destroyer - your blues (his voice reminds me of Carter USM.. i even liked the production everybody else hated)
5. the hidden cameras - missisauga goddam (first band since the smiths with NOT ONE mediocre song.. even the B-sides are great)
6. tv on the radio - DYBTB
7. iron and wine - our endless numbered days - (the first four songs are godlike)
8. franz ferdinand - ff
9. modest mouse - good news..
10. lali puna - faking the books - (if you liked 'neon golden' by the notwist you'll love this)
11. junior boys - last exit (the most original debut since..)
12. interpol - antics
13. cocorosie - la maison de mon reve
14. morrissey - you are the quarry
15. weeping willows - presence (just like #1, a perfect-pop-rock lp from sweden. This could well be their greatest hits lp)