HONORABLE MENTIONS

Jean Grae
"The Orchestral Files (Deluxe Edition)" (Babygrande)
Skills trump indirection on one disc of outtakes and another of collabs ("Nah'mean Nah'm Sayin," "My Angel Is You," "Power, Money & Influence").

Mike Edison and the Rocket Train Delta Science Arkestra
"I Have Fun Everywhere I Go" (Interstellar Roadhouse)
Ex-"Screw" and "High Times" editor bellows yock-strewn war stories over punk boogie ("Pornography, Part I," "Ozzy, High Times, and Me").

Walé
"The Mixtape About Nothing" (Purloined Datadisc)
Intelligent black rapper keys showcase to intelligent white comedian, which would be cooler if the two gents were equally inspired ("The Kramer," "The Opening Title Sequence").

Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog
"Party Intellectuals" (Pi)
Avant-guitarist to the cult stars constructs power trio that can play every genre he's interested in, with -- what else? -- mixed results ("Party Intellectuals," "Break on Through").

Death Cab for Cutie
"Narrow Stairs" (Atlantic)
Unfailingly melodic, surprisingly dynamic, somewhat overextended love problems, and if he's so smart why doesn't he shelve music and solve them? ("You Can Do Better Than Me," "Grapevine Fires").

Nas & DJ Green Lantern
"The N----- Tape" (Purloined Datadisc)
Great spoken word, dumb interview, lost keepers, lost losers and redundancies -- that is, a mixtape ("Be a N----- Too," "Association").

Various artists
"Body of War: Songs That Inspired an Iraq War Veteran" (Sire)
Thirty war songs, 30 freedom songs -- major and minor, obscure and familiar, with many more to come (John Lennon, "Gimme Some Truth"; System of a Down, "B.Y.O.B."; Laura Cantrell, "Love Vigilantes"; Bouncing Souls, "Letter From Iraq").

I See Hawks in L.A.
"Hallowed Ground" (Big Book)
Cowpunk meets cyberpunk in Americana's dark past and damaged future ("Ever Since the Grid Went Down," "Carbon Dated Love").

Eténésh & Le Tigre (Des Platanes)
"Zèraf!" (Buda Musique)
Gallic guitar-drums-sax-trumpet unit enlists brave Ethiopian alto, evokes full weird Ethiopian horn band ("Muziqawi Silt," "Ambassel").

Eef Barzelay
"Lose Big" (429)
"True freedom from all earthly constraints" is a chimera, right, but Clem Snide's greatest melody helps you forget it ("I Love the Unknown," "Could Be Worse," "Apocalyptic Friend").

Nada Surf
"Lucky" (Barsuk)
Ambivalent tunes about love and death that deserve the full title "Just Lucky, I Guess" ("Whose Authority," "The Film Did Not Go 'Round").

Coldplay
"Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends" (Capitol)
Applying all his powers, Chris Martin successfully dilutes Radiohead, with -- what else? -- pleasant results ("Viva la Vida," "42").

Travis Morrison Hellfighters
"All Y'All" (Barsuk)
Emo goduncle showcases solider emotional smarts than many hepper heart-on-sleevers ("I'm Not Supposed to Like You [But]," "You Make Me Feel Like a Freak").

Ride the Boogie
"Ride the Boogie" (Longhair Illuminati/Boogie Disks)
Honestly monikered Warped Tour vets demonstrate the continued compatibility of blues chords, rock rebellion and cunnilingus ("All Night," "Naughty Corner").

CHOICE CUTS

Dog Murras
"Kamussekele"
("The Rough Guide to African Street Party" [World Music Network])

Rhany
"Un Mot de Toi"
Amr Diab
"Amarain"
("The Rough Guide to World Music: Africa & Middle East" [World Music Network])

Jason Mraz
"Wordplay"
"Geek in the Pink"
("Mr. A-Z" [Atlantic])

Jason Mraz
"Love for a Child"
("We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things." [Atlantic])

George Stanford
"Get Free"
("Big Drop" [Mercury])