Top Albums of 2003 (1 Viewer)

Here are my choices for the top albums of 2003. Actually, these are my favorite albums, not necessarily the best releases, in no particular order:

Josh Rouse - 1972
Ryan Adams - Love is Hell
Robinella & the CC String Band
Kathleen Edwards - Failer
Tim Easton - Break Your Mother's Heart
Gillian Welch - Soul Journey
Jayhawks - Rainy Day Music
Scott Miller - Upside Downside
Bonnie Prince Billy - Master and Everyone
Warren Zevon - The Wind
Emmylou Harris - Stumble Into Grace
Lucinda Williams - World Without Tears
Rosie Thomas - Only With Laughter Can You Win
Steve Earle - Just An American Boy
Drive-by Truckers - Decoration Day

Honorable Mentions:
Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Greendale (brave concept album)
Outkast - Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (very talented, but not something I'd listen to often)

I will wait until after Christmas to do my complete list because I have a few cd's on my wish list. As of right now though my favorite so far is:

Arena - Contagion

Others I've liked are:

Zwan - Mary Star Of The Sea
Jane's Addiction - Strays
A Perfect Circle - Thirteenth Step
Iron Maiden - Dance Of Death

My Top 30 of the year. Great year for new artists for me.

1. Nina Nastasia - Run to Ruin
2. Matthew Sweet - Kimi ga suki
3. Frog Eyes - The Golden River
4. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Fever to Tell
5. The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow
6. Radiohead - Hail to the Thief
7. Outkast - Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
8. Xiu Xiu - A Promise
9. Bonnie Prince Billy - Master and Everyone
10. Sufjan Stevens - Greetings from Michigan
11. Exploding Hearts - Guitar Romantic
12. Super Furry Animals - Phantom Planet
13. Cat Power - You Are Free
14. Keren Ann - Not Going Anywhere
15. Beulah - Yoko
16. Tomahawk - Mit Gas
17. White Stripes - Elephant
18. The Books - Lemon of Pink
19. British Sea Power - The Decline of
20. The Unicorns - Who Will Cut Our Hair...
21. Mogwai - Happy Songs for Happy People
22. Songs Ohia - Magnolia Electric Co.
23. the Decemberists - Her Majesty
24. Mu - Afro Fingers and Gel
25. The Fire Theft - s/t
26. Twine - s/t
27. Pernice Brothers - Yours Mine and Ours
28. Starlight Mints - Built on Squares
29. the Wrens - Meadowlands
30. Murder By Death - Who Will Survive and What Will Be Left of Them

Whoa, I haven't heard of three-quarters of these...where have I been?

In no order, except the first one:

1. King Crimson- The Power To Believe
A powerful set of bold, evil sounding music from my favorite band of all time.

2. Dream Theater- Train of Thought
So heavy. So good.

3. Radiohead- Hail To the Thief
A nice progression from the sometimes inspiring, sometimes boring experimentation of their previous two albums.

4. Dave Holland- Extended Play
A nice long double live album from my favorite current jazz group.

5. Steely Dan- Two Against Nature
The boys do it again.

6. OutKast- Speakerboxx/The Love Below
Not as together (logistically and musically) as their earlier albums, but a lot of great material and finally gets then the mainstream acceptance they deserve.

7. Spock's Beard- Feel Euphoria
Sans Neil Morse, but still rockin'

8. Warren Zevon- The Wind
A 10/10 on the poignancy scale.

9. Van Morrisson- What's Wrong With This Picture?
The only post-mid-70s Van album I have, but glad I got it.

1. Elephant - the White Stripes
2. A Perfect Circle - Thirteenth Step
3. The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow

Those were the 3 major stand-outs for me this year.

Radiohead "Hail to the Thief"

Steely Dan "Two Against Nature"

1. Van Morrison - What's Wrong With This Picture?

2. Steely Dan - Everything Must Go

3. Atlanta Symphony Orchestra - Rainbow Body

4. Various - Four Generations of Miles

5. Ryan Adams - Rock N Roll

6. Eleanor McEvoy - Yola

Reissue mentions (tie)

Pink Floyd - Dark Side of The Moon
Talking Heads - Once in a Lifetime

Ryan Adams - Rock n Roll
Steve Earle - Just an American Boy
Paul Westerberg - Come Feel Me Tremble
Grandpaboy - Dead Man Shake
Cracker - Countrysides
The Ataris - So Long, Astoria
Eve 6 - It's All In Your Head
Fountains of Wayne - Welcome Interstate Managers
The Jayhawks - Rainy Day Music
Josh Rouse - 1972
Chris Smither - Train Home
Scott Miller & the Commonwealth - Upside Downside
John Hiatt - Beneath This Gruff Exterior
Pete Yorn - Day I Forgot
Guster - Keep It Together

Wow! 2003 was a kickass year for music! I have really different tastes than most of you, so my list will reflect that. So, enjoy my picks for the top albums of 2003!

Top Metal/Nu-Metal/Hardcore albums:

1. Chimaira - The Impossibility of Reason
2. Spineshank - Self-Destructive Pattern
3. Lamb of God - As the Palaces Burn
4. Hatebreed - The Rise of Brutality
5. Blood Has Been Shed - Spirals
6. Mushroomhead - XIII
7. Metallica - St. Anger
8. Ill Nino - Confession
9. Superjoint Ritual - A Lethal Dose Of American Hatred
10. KoRn - Take A Look In The Mirror

Top Alternative Rock/Punk/Hard Rock/Pop-Punk albums:

1. AFI - Sing The Sorrow
2. Less Than Jake - Anthem
3. The Offspring - Splinter
4. Blink-182 - Blink-182
5. Yellowcard - Ocean Avenue
6. Jet - Get Born
7. Alien Ant Farm - TruANT
8. Forces Of Evil - Friend Or FOE?
9. Gob - Foot In Mouth Disease
10. Cold - Year of the Spider

Special mentions for...
Outkast - Speakerboxx/The Love Below
Bubba Sparxxx - Deliverance.

I applaud their originality in the rap genre! Bubba is the first rapper I know of to combine Country with Rap, and it actually sounds good!

2004 will be a big year with the new Killswitch Engage, Fear Factory, downthesun, Slipknot, Green Day, Jimmy Eat World, and hopefully Reel Big Fish and Meshuggah albums. Can't wait to see what else 2004 has in store!

Derek Trucks Band's JOYFUL NOISE
Friends Of Dean Martinez ON THE SHORE
Suitcase Pimps LOVE IS GRAND
Colleen Sexton GREATEST FIND
David Sanborn TIMEAGAIN
Will & Rainbow HARMONY

All in all Derek be da man!

Favorites, in no order:

Fountains Of Wayne - Welcome Interstate Managers
The New Pornographers - Electric Version
Idlewild - The Remote Part
The Dandy Warhols - Welcome To The Monkey House
Stars - Heart
The Pernice Brothers - Yours, Mine And Ours
Stereophonics - You Gotta Go There To Come Back

Identity crises, with mixed results:

Guster - Keep It Together
Wheat - Per Second, Per Second, Per Second...Every Second
Jay Farrar - Terroir Blues

Really need to hear more than the radio singles:

South - With The Tides
Broken Social Scene - You Forgot It In People
The Twilight Singers - Blackberry Belle
Eisley - Laughing City EP, Marvelous Things EP

Ashok-The Electric Eyes of Man
Redshift- Siren & Wild
Navigator-Oceanic Empire
In this order!

I can't say that I bought a lot of CDs this year but I couldn't let this thread pass without putting in a mention for "The Well's on Fire" by (who else?) Procol Harum. In this order.

Here's some of my favorite albums of the year:

1. King Geedorah - Take Me to Your Leader
2. Styles of Beyond - Megadef
3. Viktor Vaughn - Vaudeville Villain
4. Madlib - Shades of Blue: Madlib Invades Blue Note
5. Prefuse 73 - Extinguished
6. Herbaliser - Herbal Blend
7. Outkast - Speakerboxxx/Love Below
8. Kid Koala - Some of My Best Friends are DJs
9. Jaylib - Champion Sound

And I just today received a Pete Rock set and PBWolf/Charizma: Big Shots cd. Both of those could make their way into the list.

no particular order here...


Dream Theater - Train of Thought
Radiohead - Hail to the Thief
Opeth - Damnation
A Perfect Circle - 13th Step

A Perfect Circle- 13th Step

The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow
Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros - Streetcore
OutKast - Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
Alkaline Trio - Good Mourning
The Postal Service - Give Up
Cursive - The Ugly Organ
Mars Volta - De-loused In The Comatorium
Belle & Sebastian - Dear Catastrophe Waitress

Mike and Jordan,
I take it you meant Everything Must Go, as Two Against Nature was released in 2000
Everything Must Go is definately my favorite new release of the year. Though in reality most of the music I bought this year didn't come out this year (and alot of it not even in the past decade).