Adrienne Lake
Unless you live in a cave, under a rock or in a tree, you've probably noticed that music as we know it is changing, especially as it did in 2002. It wasn't too long ago that certain "industry people" enjoyed poking fun at those that supported indie bands and labels, saying they had no viability because they'd never make a dime, but those same people are now at the same shows as me and throwing millions at the indie flavor-of-the-month. Funny. It's exciting and sad, isn't it? How will we overcome our indie snobbery when we have to share Trail of Dead with a venue full of meatheads (I walked out) or when we hear our favorite "unknown band" on a car commercial? In fact, I just saw my #1 pick below in a Saturn commercial today and their label is nearly unheard of. When long standing AFI devotees found out that the band's (around 10 years on indies) major label release was being played on mainstream alternative KROQ in Los Angeles, the station was swamped with emails of furious kids terrified that their darlings would have to be shared with Limp Bizkit or (gasp!) New Found Glory fans. If every schmuck that has access to Urban Outfitters is rocking out to our At The Drive-In (R.I.P., they helped start it, and "it" helped end them), how can we feel superior by thinking, "Oh yeah? Well, your music sucks"? In 2002, our music officially became THEIR music. When I was in high school, all we had to do to feel different from everyone else (which of course, we wanted to) was to listen to punk and wear vintage clothes, now kids have to pull guns on their classmates to shock people. I miss the good old days.

This year was hard. It seems like last year everything fell into place, Fugazi was such an obvious #1. But this year was trickier. Choosing the top 5 was easy, but choosing which order was torture. I still think 1-4 should all be #1, but who am I to defy the laws of mathematics? They didn't all fit neatly into a top 10, but here are my favorites:

1. The Walkmen -- Everyone Who Pretended To Like Me Is Gone (Startime International) L.A. Woman has been quoted as saying, "Hearing The Walkmen is like crawling in bed with your long lost first love." It's familiar, endearing and it makes tears well up in your eyes. Ex members of Jonathon Fire* Eater bring you bittersweet songs so lovely and gentle, it's hard to believe it came out of New York.

2. Departure Lounge -- Too Old To Die Young (Nettwerk America) Yes, I know you haven't heard of this U.K. band, but if you go out right now and buy it you will spend the rest of this year wondering why you hadn't. This album is deliciously complex and varied. It drifts from beautiful, soaring, ethereal songs to edgy pop gems and the transitions are gorgeous. It is truly a crime that this incredible band is so unknown. Do not deprive thyself.

3. Enon -- High Society (Touch & Go) I have to say that in a decade where bands feel they have no choice but to rehash the past, Enon is one of the very few truly original and dynamic bands. If you fell in love with Enon's last album like I did, at first you won't believe that this is the same group. Where Believo! Is endearingly lo-fi and quirky, High Society is sleek and polished without losing an ounce of the originality and sexiness that the band's first album had. Toko (bass, vocals, ex Lapse/Van Pelt/Blonde Redhead) had an active role in the writing of this album, and her contributions are scrumptious. If you throw this one on as the host at a party or as the driver when your car is loaded up with your peeps and you are out on the town, they will think you are the coolest person in the world. And you want to be cool.

4. Neko Case -- Blacklisted (Bloodshot) Lordy! Neko has got to have one of THE most beautiful and passionate voices ever! My Tucson hometown heroes, Calexico, joined her in the production of this album and their influence has created one of the most ravishing albums that could be thrown into that "alt-country-whatever" category ever. Her voice possesses an old-fashioned country goddess style somewhere between Wanda Jackson and Patsy Klein, but is truly her own and is made more timeless by the pure raw and beautiful emotion she pours into her soaring vocals. Put this record on and close your eyes and you are transported to the middle of a moonlit desert, reveling in the despair of being abandoned by your elusive lover. Light a candle and get country-emo.

5. Hotsnakes -- Suicide Invoice (Swami) It's not Jehu (R.I.P.) but it doth rocketh. Especially when John Reis shuts up. "WOOOOO! Hello Lohs Anne- jell-eez!"

6. The Kills -- Black Rooster E.P. (Dim Mak) Ex queen of emo (Discount) moves from Florida to London and hooks up with a male fellow guitar player and manages to make the most soulful dirty rock and roll you'd ever want to get dirty and rock and roll to. Yes, it's just a girl and a guy, but no it's not The White Stripes….she's actually talented! Her sexy, sassy guitar and vocals merge beautifully with her partner's. If you see them live keep it sober, so as to avoid an embarrassing "rip off your clothes in public and dirty dance with the nearest stranger" session. Amen, brothers and sisters!

7. Interpol -- Turn On The Bright Lights (Matador) A surprise out of N.Y. Great make out soundtrack.

8. M. Ward -- End of Amnesia (Future Farmers) Nobody has heard of this guy, either. His gravelly, gritty voice takes some getting used to, but the tender, melodic songs which have tinges of blues, folk and country, are so immediately endearing you soon forget about wanting him to clear his throat.

9. Doves -- The Last Broadcast (Capitol) As gorgeous as their last, I can't wait for their 3rd.

10. Blood Brothers -- March On Electric Children (Three One G) It doesn't get any louder, faster or sassier. With some pretty dark lyrics to boot.

11. The Rattlesnakes -- I, Explosion! (Local Host) www.therattlesnakes.com You know what happened in 2002? So many rockers forgot how to rock. Not just to rock, but to rock with furious abandon. To regurgitate all the luscious fire and brimstone from within, to dance with the demons inside all of us, to writhe in the scorching sexuality of loud guitars and howling growls from the soul. The Rattlesnakes did not forget. In the past year I have watched this band grow, glisten, glorify and gratify. See them live. And just wait 'til the next album. Just you wait…

12. Spoon -- Kill The Moonlight (Merge) Simple, yet solid. Except for one fluke album which shall remain nameless, Spoon has always been there with catchy indie rock loveliness that hasn't grown faded with age.

13. Doug Martsch -- Now You Know (Warner Bros.) This one takes a few listens, but here the front man of Built To Spill delivers an engaging handful of songs, rich with blues, country and folk flavors. You will learn to love it.

14. David Cross -- Shut Up You Fucking Baby! (Sub Pop) Oh Dave. Dave, Dave, Dave. Dave with your witty, dead on critiques of modern culture. He's like the guy in your high school posse who was geeky and hip at the same time, who could have easily aced his SATs, but opted to ditch and drive to the next town over to see Guided By Voices instead. Dave has an unusual, disorganized, rambling comedy style, which is endearing and brilliant at the same time, partly because you know it's not scripted. This is just the man's mind at work. I never would have thought I would put a comedy album in my best of 2002 list either, but I can't help it, dude. I've been Crossed.

15. Sigur Ros -- ( ) Slightly disappointing next to their last release, it's still real purty and will help you escape to the land of faeries and unicorns dancing in the mist. It's more somber and heavy than previous album, but still passed the emo crybaby test live in concert. Five sheets of Kleenex and one boyfriend's shirtsleeve were sacrificed.

16. Tom Waits -- Blood Money and Alice (Epitaph) What kind of madman releases 2 albums in one year at the age that most men are staring at Jeopardy reruns in their boxers and black knee high socks? Only the consistently original and bizarre Tom Waits. I wish he were my uncle.

17. Trespassers William -- Different Stars (Self Released) www.trespasserswilliam.com Yet another unknown band that shouldn't be an unknown band. These So Cal locals write tear-jerking masterpieces of languid melancholy that would please any Mazzy Star fan. Anna-Lynne's voice is drop dead gorgeous and is just as strong in the band's live performances. These kids are totally without representation at this time, but get their surprisingly well recorded self-release through their website.

18. Flaming Lips -- Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots (Warner Bros.) I don't care what anyone says, Wayne Coin's voice is atrocious! Even still, one has to admire the Lips' quirky tenacity and natural ability to write supremely wacky song titles. This album is a trip through a brightly colored, sideways world that somehow gives off the scent of the comforts of home.

19. Run DMC -- Greatest Hits (Arista) Gotta represent, yo. Hip hop's pioneers deserve your cash.

20. Kings of Convenience -- Quiet Is The New Loud (Astralwerks) There is comfort food and then there is comfort music. May I present to you, Norway's Kings of Convenience. They have bottled up a sunny day with a gentle breeze and waved a magic wand at it until POOF! You have a butterfly kiss in CD form.

21. Ugly Casanova -- Sharpen Your Teeth (Sub Pop) It ain't Modest Mouse, but it ain't half bad either.

22. Denali -- Denali (Jade Tree) Lush and moody, ethereal and intense. Maura Davis is a star. Her beautiful voice (which was honed in opera school for a bit) really commands attention. The last time I saw them an amazing thing happened, EVERYBODY shut up and even the people in the smoking room, who are normally too cool to watch bands, came out and took in the poetic musical trainwreck that is Denali. And they were awestruck.

23. Division of Laura Lee -- Black City (Burning Heart) I have to admit, I liked this band more before I saw them live and their (or at least the singer's) disgustingly bloated ego was exposed right in front of me backstage when he complained to a venue staff member that they were "the best fucking band there and shouldn't have had to play first." The headliners were fellow Swedes, (International) Noise Conspiracy. Keep in mind, there is crazy good and crazy bad. It still rocked me the first 6 times I heard it, though.

Chris Worth
2002 was a strange year for music - several highly anticipated releases fell somewhat short of my expectations. I've had a hard time coming up with 10 records that I felt were truly worthy of being included in a "best of" list. So, I have eight, including one EP and one comedy album. I got long-winded. Sorry.

1. Blackalicious -- Blazing Arrow (MCA) Foundational. This record, better than any other released this year, marks a turning point for hip hop. From turntable antics (chemical calisthenics), to interstellar psychedelia (Release), to minimal grooves (passion), to feel-good bumps (make you feel that way), it's impossible to listen to this record and not be moved in some way. The sheer creativity of Gab and Xcel is unparalleled by any team working in the hip-hop world. Blazing Arrow is the OK Computer of hip-hop, and will no doubt be equally influential. This record set a major bar, and I can't wait to see what it spawns over the next few years.

2. Boards of Canada - Geogaddi (Warp) A hallucinatory, psychedelic, electronic record. Who would have thought. Minimal, ambient keyboard lines intertwined with quiet and judicious sampling, punctuated by squelchy production. Strangely, this record seems to be the record that people who don't like electronic music like. The ability to jump out of your own genre is respectable at any time, and to do so with such movingly quirky music is phenomenal. Not a lot of people sound like Boards of Canada, but after this, they will.

3. David Cross -- Shut Up You Fucking Baby (Sub Pop) Perhaps it's improper to include a comedy album on a top 10 best rock records list. But David Cross behaves and feels more like an indie rock band than a comedian anyway. Showering disdain, vitriol, and copious amounts of cursing on favorite punk targets such as religion and the government, Cross comes across as everyone's angry drunken friend, but much, much funnier. Although it's not without its weak points (rants on rednecks, though amusing, become tedious and familiar too quickly), Shut Up You Fucking Baby is provocative and will no doubt piss off anyone who listens to it in some way. I can appreciate that.

4. Dillinger Escape Plan with Mike Patton -- Irony Is a Dead Scene (Epitaph) My only complaint is that it's too short -- 4 songs, one of which is a cover. The three originals are just brilliant, with DEP performing customary hand-destroying instrumental work, and Mike Patton being typically weird and difficult. The cover of "Come to Daddy" - well, covering Aphex Twin isn't easy, and they've pulled it off better than most could. What's amazing is how strangely accessible it becomes. Be warned: stylistic comparisons between this record and more abrasive nu-metal are somewhat valid, but if nu-metal sounded like this, it wouldn't be such a grotesque stain on the musical landscape. This is a record that messy-haired, black-pants-wearing, french-poetry-reading art snobs can share with that kid at Hot Topic with the acne, choker, and ridiculously large pants without either one feeling bad about themselves.

5. Flaming Lips -- Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (Warner Brothers) This is the record that made me completely forgive them for relentlessly irritating "Vaseline" from Transmissions from the Satellite Heart. Yoshimi picks up where The Soft Bulletin left off, and bumps the electronic experimentation up a notch. What resulted is the bastard child of Pet Sounds and Kid A - a perfectly exquisite album full of sweet pop songs with propelling and melody-altering synth treatments, about a robot-demolishing, karate-spewing, small japanese girl. The record sounds exactly the same - cute, and a little bit crazy and terrifying.

6. Low - Trust (Kranky) Trust is not Low's best album -- it's still better than 99% of what's out there. They're beginning to stretch their wings and take what they're doing in new directions, both more lush and more minimal. It's comforting to know that there's a band as reliable, as consistently good as Low. As usual, their sound is typified by gorgeous melodies, haunting harmonies, and sparse and airy rhythms. The next album should be phenomenal.

7. Mastodon - Remission (Relapse) Everyone knows that metal is the refuge of virtuoso guitar-wankers everywhere. As a genre, it's too often plagued with a lack of innovation, with the exception of the occasional (and usually unfortunate) foray into jazz fusion. Mastodon succeeds, spectacularly, where so many of there contemporaries fail, by the simple elements that make for good records everywhere - excellent musicianship, interesting divergences from a formulaic genre, a good sense of roots, and hook-laden songwriting. That's not to say that Remission is a pop record - nothing could be further from the truth. It's one of the most earsplitting, bloody, and brutal records to come out in years. What makes it so different is the intelligence of the melodies, and the rhythmic interplay between the disparate instruments. Throw in some surprisingly introspective and thought-provoking lyrics, and you have a record which, regardless of personal taste, must be respected. As a side benefit, it kicks your ass to the floor and uses you to mop up your own blood.

8. The Paperchase -- Hide the Kitchen Knives (Beatville / Divot) This is a purely frightening record. Completely original, bizarre, and seething with malice. After seeing them live, a friend of mine described them as "what The Jesus Lizard was trying to do." It's impossible to describe The Paperchase - 20 different people will name 20 different bands in attempt to do so, yet somehow, they manage to unify and transcend all of those elements. Hide the Kitchen Knives is strewn with strange samples, lyrical gamesmanship, odd percussion, sprawling guitars, atmospheric piano, and musical nods to itself. It comes off like a concept album about guiltless murder. Fortunately, every time it teeters on the ledge of overwrought shock tactics, the band pulls it back a little, and adds something sublime and beautiful. The three-part harmony at the end of "I Did a Terrible Thing," the vaguely pop hook in "Don't You Wish You Had Somemore" and its accompanying acoustic backing - every dark moment is offset by a reminder that failure is both epic and uniquely human. Records like this are the kind of thing that should prompt Trent Reznor to give up entirely.

Honorable Mention:
dälek - from filthy tongue of gods and griots
Richard Buckner - Impasse
Godspeed You Black Emperor - Yanqui U.x.0
RjD2 - Deadringer