HONORABLE MENTIONS

Peter Morèn
"The Last Tycoon" (Quarterstick)
Without Bjorn and John, here comes prettier and deeper living-room cabaret than Keren Ann, Sondre Lerche or Jose Gonzales ("This Is What I Came For," "Le Petit Coeur").

Abdel Hadi Halo & the El Gusto Orchestra of Algiers
"Abdel Hadi Halo & the El Gusto Orchestra of Algiers" (Honest Jon's)
Six guttural excursions in chaabi, where the bendir and derbouka sound folkloric to you and the piano and banjo sound Western to them ("Win Saadi," "Lalla Fatima").

Dizzee Rascal
"Maths + English" (Def Jux)
Fick and foughtful, finally ("Sirens," "Hard Back [Industry]").

DJ Dolores
"1 Real" (Crammed Discs)
Songs not mixes based on beats not tunes (except for the best 1) ("Proletariado," "The Mind Inspector").

Clinic
"Do It!" (Domino)
If their impassive fury was getting old, I wouldn't still wish I understood their lyrics ("Winged Wheel," "Shopping Bag").

Was (Not Was)
"Boo!" (Rykodisc)
Their sardonic funk would be even benter if Sweet Pea Atkinson was still on the mellow, but believe me -- the times are bent enough to compensate ("Semi-Interesting Week," "It's a Miracle").

The Heavy Hearts
"A Killer of Snakes" (Selector Sound)
They wanted that grungy punk finish, because that's who they are, but they didn't want to sound like kids, because that's what they aren't ("On the Breaks," "Revolution").

Ghislain Poirier
"No Ground Under" (Ninja Tune)
Montreal visual-artist-turned-DJ/producer bricolages techno and ragga for peace and justice ("Dem Nah Like Me," "No More Blood").

Man Man
"Six Demon Bag" (Ace Fu)
"Go back to the cave, go back to the ... " ("Engwish Bwudd," "Tunneling Through the Guy").

North Mississippi Allstars
"Hernando" (Songs of the South)
Right, their best song is by Champion Jack Dupree -- who never played this hot and strong in his long life ("Eaglebird," "Soldier").

Corey Harris
"Zion Crossroads" (Telarc)
For his reggae debut, the blues-singing anthropology major clears the grit from his throat, emulates Winston Rodney's penetrating wail, and writes the protest songs he was born to ("Walter Rodney," "No Peace for the Wicked").

Otis Taylor
"Recapturing the Banjo" (Telarc)
Conscious-blues hoedown featuring Alvin Youngblood Hart, Guy Davis, and a tol'able Keb' Mo' -- everybody but Corey Harris and his MacArthur ("Ran So Hard the Sun Went Down," "The Way It Goes").

Babylon Circus
"Dances of Resistance" (Mr. Bongo)
Parisians concoct polyglot Gypsy ska for peace and justice ("Dances of Resistance," "Warlord").

Blues Anatomy With Jef Lee Johnson
"Rediscovering Lonnie Johnson" (Range)
Singing much raunchier and playing a little rougher than the jazziest classic bluesman ("Careless Love," "6/88 Glide").

Mannequin Men
"Fresh Rot" (Flameshovel)
Garage-rock for the 21st century -- "You live for tomorrow, I live for today," and maybe if you drink my blood we'll both sleep till the 22nd century ("Dead Kids," "Boys [They Don't Mind]").

CHOICE CUTS

The Raconteurs
"Hold Up"
"Carolina Drama"
("Consolers of the Lonely" [Third Man/Warner Bros.])

The Slackers
"86 the Mayo"
"International War Criminal"
("Peculiar" [Hellcat])

R.E.M.
"Houston"
("Accelerate" [Warner Bros.])

Andrew Bird
"Scythian Empires"
("Armchair Apocrypha" [Fat Possum])

Joseph Arthur
"Rages of Babylon"
("Could We Survive" [Lonely Astronaut])