1 Guided By Voices Universal Truths and Cycles (Matador).  I remember once reading a quote that said, It's Robert Pollard's world; we just live in it.  Listen to this album a couple of times and youll start to understand.  GBV continues to amaze with its ability to write songs every two minutes and release magnificent records every half an hour.  While this album mightve disappointed some old school fans because of its not-quite-return-to-lo-fi style, to that I say: WHO CARES.  Pollard, the indie rock hero/god mixes his affection for prog-rock with his pop genius and comes up with album of the year.  Buy this CD

2 The Waxwings Shadows of the Waxwings (Bobsled).  Detroits answer to its own lo-fi garage rock revival: lo-fi garage pop.  But this album is much more than that.  Listen closely and youll hear specks of the Stones, the Byrds, and the Beatles, with pop-laden hooks laced in psychedelic fuzz  all of it set to a band that can actually sing.  What more could you ask for?  Definitely not the White Stripes Buy this CD

3 Bright Eyes Lifted or The Story is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground (Saddle Creek).  You either love him or you hate him I suppose I hate that I love him.  Yes, I too, have fallen under the spell of Bright Eyes.  While he has not completely out-grown his self-absorption yet, Conor Oberst remains gifted with the uncanny ability to draw you into his life and see the world through his tortured, ever-adolescent eyes if you let him.  Lets just say that all the Bob Dylan comparisons are at least somewhat accurate, and well leave it at that.  Buy this CD

4 Paul Westerberg/Grandpa Boy Stereo/Mono (Vagrant).  The legend lives on.  Among the best songwriters of our era, Westerberg emerges from hibernation with the two greatest records of his solo career in one release (and its on Vagrant? what the hell?).  Written and recorded over a two-year period in his home, Mono delivers rocking, feel-good tunes, and Stereo has Westerberg showing his softer side.  Dont come to these albums looking for the Replacements, and you wont be disappointed. Buy this CD

5 Wilco Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (Nonesuch).  Its story is almost as essential as its music.  Almost.  The only bad thing about this album is that it overshadows some of the great stuff this band did earlier in its career that everyone seems to have forgotten about (such as the masterpiece that is A.M.).  Theres not much I can say about Yankee Hotel Foxtrot that hasnt already been said, so Ill just say this:  my copy is missing at the moment, because I carried it around with me almost everywhere I went this year!  Buy this CD

6 Doug Martsch Now You Know (WB).  Changing, complex rhythms and intricate slide guitar, yet together, they somehow form hauntingly simple, blues-soaked folk songs.  Its not often that a solo artist can be appreciated just as much as his prominent band(s), but for entirely different reasons.  Buy this CD

7 Boyracer To Get a Better Hold, You've Got to Loosen Yr Grip (555).  Boyracer rips through 22 original and cover songs in just under 36 minutes.  The only way to listen to this album is from start to finish, and when its over, the songs form a gloriously fuzzed-out medley that stays in your head for days, British accents and all.  Buy this CD

8 Metropolitan Down for You Is Up (Crank Automotive).  DC boys represent! This is definitely my favorite mid-Atlantic release of the year.  (Am I really allowed to say that?)  Metropolitan revives that beloved late 80s/early 90s indie/college rock with a sound that recalls Pavement and Hüsker Dü but with more of a pop edge and 30-second experimental bits between the longer tracks.  Each element of every song is essential, with bass guitar that is allowed to contribute to the melody and creative percussion that never reaches overkill.  Expect great things from this band in the future.  Buy this CD

9 Teenage Fanclub Howdy! (US re-issue by Thirsty Ear).  Im not entirely sure that this album came out in 2002, but it was definitely re-issued in the US in the last year or so.  Anyway, TFC fail to disappoint with their knack for pure jangle-pop.  With their trademark harmonizing vocals and mellow sound, the Fanclub continue to set the standard for what pop music should sound like: Big Star of course!   Buy this CD