HONORABLE MENTIONS

Beats Antique
"Collide" (CIA)
One alleged Bay Area belly dancer plus two Bay Area lower-case gypsies dub up Middle Eastern beats -- and tunes -- they play themselves ("Beauty Beats," "Roustabouts [Bassnectar Remix]").

Zomby
"Where Were U in '92?" (Cargo)
Revisiting/recombining jungle's heady heyday -- or, if you're neither nostalgic nor scholarly, gluing 38 minutes of electrodance dynamite onto repeated rumbling synth riffs and surgical blats of rousing high-end ("Where Were You in '92," "F--- Mixing, Let's Dance").

Flying Lotus
"Los Angeles" (Warp)
Steady-state DJ undulates a world of sound in the world's direction ("Comet Course," "Golden Diva").

Kocani Orkestar
"The Ravished Bride" (Crammed Discs)
Balkan brass's most fluent ensemble speaks the language of erotic commitment ("Kalino Mome," "Sahara Dreams").

Ashford & Simpson
"The Real Thing" (Burgundy)
After 45 years of songwriting and 35 of marriage, their partnerships live on live ("It's Much Deeper," "Gimme Something Real").

Clem Snide
"Hungry Bird" (429)
Impressionistic doomsongs that grow in beauty, as if to prove doom has an afterlife ("Pray," "With All My Heart").

Abe Vigoda
"Reviver" (PPM)
If this EP marks their transition into a song band, somebody tell them mixing the voices up front won't do the trick ("The Reaper," "Don't Lie").

Madlib
"The Other Side: Los Angeles" (Time Out/Deaf Dumb + Blind)
Afrocentric mixmaster's multiculture speaks only da English -- but in a beatful way (Outlaw Blues Band, "Deep Guilty"; Steve Grossman, "Inmate Man").

Ludacris
"Release Therapy" (Disturbing Tha Peace)
Rap porn clown as rap businessman, a richer choice thematically than rap entertainment mogul or rap crime boss ("Tell It Like It Is," "Mouths to Feed," "Slap").

Various artists
"The Best of the Johnny Cash Show 1969-1971" (Columbia/Legacy)
Back when country was working to prove it was America's music, rather than donning the mantle of patriotism and disrespecting us sinners (Ray Charles, "Ring of Fire"; George Jones, "MEDLEY: She Thinks I Still Care/Love Bug/The Race Is On").

Soulja Boy Tell 'Em
"iSouljaboytellem" (Collipark/Interscope)
Stoopid, but far from dumb -- especially compared to the dogboys who froth at the mouth about him ("Bird Walk," "Eazy," "Soulja Boy Tellem").

Various artists
"Belly Bar" (CIA/Bellydance Superstars)
For two CDs ethnic and less so, what the title says, although outsiders well may wonder about the "Some Like It Cool" disc (Saad, "Salaam Alakoom"; Turbo Tabla, "Irrouh").

Wye Oak
"If Children" (Merge)
Poised warily between innocence and experience, d/b/a melody and chaos ("Keeping Company," "I Don't Feel Young").

David Banner
"The Greatest Story Ever Told" (Big Face/SRC/Universal/Motown)
Aka "The Power of Positive Thinking," "How to Win Friends and Influence People" and/or "A Man for All Seasons" ("Cadillac on 22's Part 2," "Get Like Me").

The Bigfellas
"Chubbed Up" (no label)
Beloved San Diegans reflect more wittily and tunefully than most on their normally displaced lives ("Reinventing the Wheel," "Wish You Knew").

Clipse
"Clipse Presents: Re-Up Gang" (Koch)
Liva and Sandman carry more weight than they can eat ("Million Dollar Corner," "Emotionless").

Amanda Palmer
"Who Killed Amanda Palmer" (Roadrunner)
In the grand solo-artist manner, better when she explains her dark-side vision than when she explores it ("Runs in the Family," "Ampersand").

Novalima
"Coba Coba" (Cumbancha)
Retro-futurist Peruvian salsa, freshest at its most dub ("Kumana," "Se Me Van").

Madlib
"Beat Konducta Vol. 5-6: A Tribute to . . ." (Stones Throw)
J Dilla for Dummies (like me), in 42 shifting pieces ("King Chop [Top Line]," "Never Front [Ears Up]").

Boom Pam
"Puerto Rican Nights" (Essay)
Surf-inflected Balkan worldbeat inna Hebrew, avec rent-a-singers ("Ushest," "Marylyn Jones").

CHOICE CUTS

Bruce Springsteen
"Queen of the Supermarket"
"Outlaw Pete"
"Kingdom of Days"
("Working on a Dream" [Columbia])

Simone White
"Mary Jane" ("I Am the Man" [Honest Jon's])

Ludacris
"I Do It for Hip Hop" ("Theater of the Mind" [Disturbing Tha Peace])