Being the end of the year, I thought I'd ring in with my five favorite albums of the year.

musicforthemorningafter
by Pete Yorn

I'm not sure if I can truly express how I feel about this album, but I will try. This is the best fucking rock album I have heard in a long time. I have being listening to it pretty much non stop since I bought it in August. I can't really do it justice in a review, however I found one that summarizes how I feel.

Innovative without calling attention to itself, musicforthemorningafter raises the bar on straight-up rock & roll and, in a perfect world, might just divert attention away from the TRL juggernaut to the solid song compositions that Yorn offers. Yorn?s self-deprecating enough not to be pompous, abrasive enough not to be sentimental, and bizarre enough not to be safe. His voice sounds like he?s channeling Paul Westerberg, but his guitar rhythms and drum patterns tilt and whirl like a game of pinball, providing momentum when his lyrics could begin to get sappy. Instead of letting sentimentality get the better of him, he lets the music undercut his voice and spins all the elements together into miniature sonic masterpieces.

The only complaint I have is that it's an enhanced CD that doesn't really do much. It has a link to his website and you can play the CD. Big Whoop.

Abulum
by Glen Phillips

I have been a terrible mess since my beloved Toad the Wet Sprocket broke up, so when I saw Glen Phillips was releasing a solo album, I was one of the first in line. However I must issue a warning. If you are looking for Toad, this ain't it.

Clearly, he has gone through some shit since the band broke up and lucky for us, he's decided to share it. Glen is adept at both writing songs of both personal stark introspection (My Own Town) and songs that tell a story (Drive By), but it's also his choice of instrumentation that makes this a beautifully textured collection.

Steady Pull
by Jonatha Brooke

I have a confession to make. Although I have been a huge fan of Jonatha Brooke and her old band, The Story, for several years, I didn't really like this album very much when I first listened to it. When I first played Steady Pull, by song two, it was clear this was some sort of "pop" album and I think that's what put me off. Anyone who knows me knows I love acoustic chick music ("just give me a girl strumming a guitar singing a sad song.") so it was kind of a shock to hear one of my artists going "pop".

Then I actually listened the album. Jonatha's songwriting has remained consistent...insightful, intelligent and catchy. Her voice is as expressive and strong as ever. As the songs started to grow on me I realized they really work in this new style. They work very well.

Now for what I don't like. This summer I was at my friend Micheale's . She bought this album based on my suggestion and had it playing. Then a song came on I hadn't heard. After inspecting the CD case, it appears Borders released the CD with three bonus tracks. Those bastards! I really hate that kind of marketing trickery. I still have yet to buy this bonus CD out of spite.

Fan Dance
by Sam Phillips

Sam Phillips writes the music for the Gilmore Girls, the best TV show you're not watching. (Don't let the fact it is on the WB scare you.) In between scenes, she does the "la, la, la" incidental music that helps set the tone of the show. That sound is present here, but this album has a lot more in its short set of 12 songs.

It is an intimate quiet album that is very stripped down and not overdubbed. That's what makes it so sublime and subdued. Her songwriting is an exercise in an economy of words and phrases, which lends to its simplicity.

Factoid: Turns out Sam first began as a Christian music singer named Leslie Phillips in 1984. Apparently by the late eighties, she became frustrated artistically with the restrictive constraints of Christian pop , denounced her association with it and started recording under the name Sam.

Essence
by Lucinda Williams

Have you been dumped? Need to wallow in some self pitied misery? From the first song titled, Lonely Girls, you realize this is album for such an occasion. When I first started playing the album I had to turn it off. I had to wait about a week of so to really get into it. You see, when I bought it, I was too happy. I had to be in a certain frame of mind to truly appreciate it. It's not an album you listen with anyone but yourself.

Lucinda is by far the most elliptical songwriter there is. By comparison, Essence makes Sam Phillips' Fan Dance sound complicated and wordy. These are songs that are laid back, pure, simple and unpretentious.

I know a lot of people resist Lucinda because of her whiskey-soaked gravel voice. It doesn't always have the endurance to sustain the yearning she wants to express. Her voice is one of her flaws, but it is also one of her charms. It's that kind of unabashed imperfection that makes Lucinda and Essence a true America original.

Honorable Mentions

Revelling/Reckoning
by Ani Difranco

I couldn't in
good conscious put this album in my top 5. I only like one CD in the 2 CD set. Revelling is a wonder fusion of Ani's unique finger picking, songwriting, jazz and funk. Reckoning is a little too contemplative for me. Maybe one day, I'll be in the mood to really listen to it.

Quick
by eddie from ohio

eddie from ohio
is a quirky little band from Virginia who defy genres. Amazon.com's editorial review says it best:

Virginia-based (go figure!) eddie from ohio are not an outfit you can easily tuck into a genre. Folk, pop,Latin, a cappella, jazz, mariachi, Celtic-- this album's a pizza with
everything to go. With a strong catalog of independent work already behind them, including 1999's exceptional Looking out the Fishbowl, they have plenty to live up to, but Quick is virtually flawless thanks to its sardonically witty lyrics ("Lovingcouples, holding hands / Shop and play hoops, making plans / Share a purpose,
share a bed / Those loving couples, I wish they were dead"), ace musicianship, and harmonies so smooth they make maple syrup seem like coconut husk by comparison. Every track is a flavor burst, but check out the airplay-worthy title track; the nutty, doo-wop "Let's Get Mesolithic"; and the a cappella gospel gem "Great Day." eddie from ohio have already made a small mark, now they deserve to break out. Quick may just do the job.