The Boy, aka, Damon Gough releases his first album proper. A bold statement of eighteen hauntingly beautiful songs, Hour of the Bewilderbeast's fare ranges from Paul Simonesque balladry to cocksure witticisms ala (wait for it) Lennon and McCartney. Though he's been dubbed 'The British Beck' by lazy journalists, Badly Drawn Boy stands in a class of his own creation: part lo-fi, part crooning poet, and part swaggering Manc badass. To hear sincere music from a generation steeped in self conscious irony is a surprise, to hear it done well is a genuine treat. If you don't own this album already, buy, borrow or steal a copy.. You'll thank me later.

Widely panned in music rags, Richard Ashcroft's solo debut was dismissed as saccharine self-indulgence by critics worldwide. Particularly rough on their native son, British journalists mistook Ashcroft's newfound happiness as 'going soft'. True, much of the scab-picking heartache of The Verve is gone, but in its place is an unashamed exuberance that makes this album a joy to listen to. If The Verve were the sound of the depths of despair, Alone With Everybody is the sound of the light at the end of the tunnel..

Even if the tone is different, the wide-eyed fatalism that made The Verve so compelling is still present. Brave New World is positively epic, at once mournful and optimistic, I Get My Beat is as beautiful a love song as one could ever hope to inspire, and C'mon People (We're Making It Now) is classic Ashcroft 'n' tequilla bravado.

There are enough strings here to make Burt Bacharach blush, but it all fits into the lush package Ashcroft has produced. Time will be kind to this album. I forsee the NME will eat its words.

When I first heard this album's lead-off single, Godless, I remember thinking to myself 'Either this is incredibly pretentious or really fucking cool'. After about 50 spins, I'm I'm still not entirely sure. Ranging from carefully constructed indifference to lackadaisical hedonism, this disc is the most interesting export from of The US of A in a long time. 13 Tales scrapes the seedy underbelly of the middle-class, and creates the soundtrack of a drug-addled suburbia packed up and headed for the city. Shoegazing at it's finest.

Warning: There is, in fact some crap on this album. Due to the collective-minded nature of this Scottish octet, you will have to endure the insipid whinge of Sarah Martin on The Model as well as Isobel Campbell's vocal massacre of the otherwise endearing Family Tree. To these women, we say a hearty "get some ovaries, girl" and move on. For Fold Your Hands… is, for all it inconsistencies, possessed of some beautiful tracks.

For every lacklustre effort on the part of his bandmates, honey voiced Stuart Murdoch makes it up with his unique brand of bookish naivite. Songs like Chalet Lines and Fought in a War will haunt you for days at a time, while There's Too Much Love is kind of an intellectual disco thumper, a song which makes you want to go and dance and be a hermit at the same time.

As I said, I recommend this album with reservations, as there are definitely some duds here.. However, to hear Murdoch merrily sing "What went wrong your grades were good?/ It would take a left-wing Robin Hood/ to pay for school/ Your dad's a boozer and you keep him alive." is alone worth the price of the album.

In my top five despite daft title. Probably one of the most viceral hip-hop albums to come out in a while, Stanktonia is 55 minutes of wacked-out space funk accompanied by jackhammer beats and unidentifiable sound effects. Most refreshingly, this album is confident without resorting to the 'bitches on my dick' bravado of their contemporaries. Probably owing more to Parliament and Grandmaster Flash than modern rap artists, Stanktonia is accessible to those normally scared off by gangsta machismo (ie. Me) yet remains throuroughly sexy and attractive. Bombs Over Baghdad, the album;s best track , also wins my pick for single of the year.

So that's it. Lanky Brits, Scottish socialists, and some martians from Atlanta thrown in for good measure. Honorable mention goes to Coldplay , Grandaddy and At The Drive In.

Vancouver’s claim to heavy metal fame strikes again with this barrage of riff heavy extreme metal.

Technically brilliant and spiritually rewarding music. Probably the best show of the year too.

While I didn’t like this one as much as their earlier releases, it did catch the attention of John Scofield and Verve records. Good job Metalwood. Let’s hear it for the local guys!

I was never a fan of earlier Radiohead stuff, but they seem to have turned a lot of heads with this album, mine included.

Okay, it’s not great, but in an age of Papa Roach fans, I need stuff like this to remind me what hardcore used to sound like.

I jumped on this band too late and missed them playing in Vancouver a short while back. ROC is full of songs that make you want to shout along. Fast, sometimes furious, and completely full of enthusiastic fun.

Sure, Bad Religion albums are kind of like Ramones albums as they all sound the same, but in their defense, if a band sounds great album after album, why throw a wrench in it by having some artistic revelation?

An extremely nice package of new wave power pop. Packed with high-speed fun, and a great cover of “99 Red Balloons”.

Although Bubble is a by-product of several early 90’s big hair metal bands, these four went back to the garage and created a very raw and truthful Rock-N-Roll album. It’s still LA rock, only with a punk attitude.

For his creativity and integrity Marilyn Manson scores. Deciding not to stick to the Glam of Mechanical Animals, “Holy Wood” is a great high-powered Industrial rock masterpiece. Intense!

Honorable mentions go to Crazytown (because I love that butterfly song), and Dr Dre’s 2001 came in just a little too early.

More commercially viable than any other Ween album to date. This is the first time the Ween “brothers” recorded with their complete touring band. Well crafted songs with extremely catchy melodies. Ween’s trademark twisted slant is still evident, but on this release it is much more subtle. Includes a rock anthem, Exactly Where I’m At, the Jimmy Buffet influenced Bananas and Blow and a couple songs that would not sound out of place on the first Travelling Wilburies album, Stay Forever and Falling Out. My third favorite Ween release, still good enough to be in my top five of 2000.

A stellar pop album with just enough edge. Jon Spencer and wife, Christina Martinez second release as Boss Hog. The addition of keyboards adds to it’s cool pop sound. Very groovy and very sexy as are Christina and Jon. A little promotion could have taken this album a long way. Whiteout, Fear for You, and Nursery Rhyme are highlights. Only one dud, the Garbage sounding Get it While You Wait, which really sounds like garbage.

Another superb release from Robyn Hitchcock. I must say I’m a huge fan, and this release stands along side Hitchcock’s best. The album is actually out takes from his 1999 release “Jewels for Sophia”. Simple arrangements, minimal production, interesting lyrics and witty as ever. After more than twenty years of recording Robyn has really found the perfect packaging for his eccentric musings. Stand out tracks include I Saw Nick Drake, Judas Sings (Jesus & Me), and Nietzsche's Way. Good luck finding it though. After being dropped by Warner, Robyn has decided to sell “A Star for Bram” only through his official web site, by money order only. www.robynhitchcock.com

Fresh is the best way to describe the Gomez sound. Comparisons of the Band, the Beatles, the Allman Brothers, and even Love and Rockets come to mind. These young Brits have a very down home American sound with some tasteful experimentation to keep the arrangements interesting. The album is a combination of rarities and alternate mixes with some new tracks thrown in. Gomez has three different lead singers which adds more flavor to their multi-styled songwriting. Flavors, 78 Stone Shuffle, and Bring Your Lovin Back Here are sure to get your toes tapping.

Very catchy and a lot of fun. This Vancouver “super group” offers up a smorgasbord of sweet, catchy pop tunes. A virtual desert buffet with cheese plate included. But only the finest cheese. This one is making a lot of Canadian top of 2000 lists with good reason. Best songs for me are, The Mary Martin Show, The Slow Descent Into Alcoholism, and Jackie. Mass Romantic is the album the Monkees dreamed of making and Sloan wish they made.

A collaboration in the truest sense of the word. Everyone involved seems to have kept their egos in check and done what is best for each song. The result is a collection of American music (I know Billy's English - blow me) that stands up to the greatest music to come out of the States. If you like Dylan's Blood on the Tracks, Tom Waits' Rain Dogs, or The Band's Music From Big Pink, this is the next logical step. When Bragg chose Wilco to work with on this project, he made the smartest move of his career. As much as I like Wilco and Bragg on their own, I'm sure that the two Mermaid Avenue collections will be the peaks of both of their careers. This is an album that will sound just as good in thirty years. No, make that fifty.

This is the sound of 2000. Who cares if most people haven't heard it? These thirteen songs, on their own, are awesome. As a seemless song cycle, they continually amaze me. The Dandy's have the confidence to bury their best songs later in the disc and by the time they start Horse Pills or Bohemian Like you, it feels like you've been listening to a greatest hits album. Think of Lou Reed, Beck, and Ric Ocasek holed up at the Playboy Mansion, laying down tracks between binges. Or, don't think of it - I don't care. Just buy the album.

In the great tradition of Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, and Lucinda Williams, Neko delivers an album of what country music is supposed to sound like: great songs performed with passion and honesty. Songs like Set Out Running and Porchlight showcase the strength and beauty of Neko's powerful voice. Because these twelve songs are originals, this album has a more cohesive sound than her first effort, The Virginian, on which the best songs were the covers. This is the kind of album I always wanted Maria McKee to make after she left Lone Justice.

Yes, They're still together, and, yes, they still make records, and, yes, they still write great songs. (Blister in the Sun was seventeen years ago!) The Violent Femmes are definitely a band that is best caught live and, except for their first album, they have been unable to capture the energy of their live shows on record. Until now. Freak Magnet finds the Femmes at their self-hating, demented best. The album starts out with the one-two-three punch of Hollywood is High, Freak Magnet, and Sleepwalking - three songs that rock harder than the Femmes ever have. It climaxes with Gordon Gano's most successful marriage of rock and Christianity - Rejoice and Be Happy. It also includes the insane dichotomy of Mosh Pit - a hardcore punk anthem in the tradition of Bad Religion - followed by Forbidden a gentle acoustic romp extolling the virtues of dressing up like a woman and playing by the sea. Don't lump these guys in with the rest of the has-been eighties bands. The Violent Femmes are alive, and, as I can see from their lyrics, still not very well. Thank God!