1. The Clientele: Bonfires On The Heath. Melodic, intimate & lovely. Favorite track is "I Wonder Who We Are", but it's all good.
2. Bell X1: Blue Lights On The Runway. With songs like "The Great Defector" & the awesome "How Your Heart Is Wired", this one just missed being my favorite CD of the year.
3. Silversun Pickups: Swoon. "Panic Switch" and "There's No Secrets This Year" are just two of the highlights off this CD.
4. Phoenix: Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. The stand out track for me is "Fences" but "1901" also rocks all over the place.
5. Fastball: Little White Lies. A nice come back CD from these guys. "Mono To Stereo" really won me over.
6. Great Lake Swimmers: Lost Channels. I have a crush on the song "Pulling On A Line", but again, it's all good.
7. Company Of Thieves: Ordinary Riches. Lead by vocalist Genevieve Schatz, the song "Oscar Wilde" is but one of many stand out cuts from this new band with a bright future.
8. Gomez: A New Tide. "Airstream Driver" and "Little Pieces" are but two highlights from this prolific band's latest work.
9. Various Artists: Daptone Gold. If The Budos Band's "Up From The South" don't get yer junk in the truck movin', you might need to get your trunk fixed.
10. Harper Simon: Harper Simon. "Berkley Girl" makes me want to cry, it's so beautiful. 'Nuff said.