Listmania!
Best of 2002 (subject to change)
( )( ) by Sigur Rós
Buy new: £4.98 / Used from: £3.69
Stark, icy and monolithic in scope - Sigur Ros are turning into an unstoppable force. The year's best! Key Tracks - 1, 2, 3, 4
Yankee Hotel FoxtrotYankee Hotel Foxtrot by Wilco
Buy new: £9.48 / Used from: £8.39
The previously resolutely traditional Wilco go experimental and pull it off in style. Key Tracks - War on War, Jesus,etc, Ashes of American Flags, Poor Places
GeogaddiGeogaddi by Boards of Canada
Buy new: £6.98 / Used from: £5.24
BOC try for a more organic sound on their second album proper and produce another classic in the process. Key Tracks - 1969, Dawn Chorus, The Beach At Redpoint, Alpha and Omega
OceanicOceanic by Isis
Buy new: £11.98 / Used from: £12.18
Isis blur the lines between post rock and prog metal on this hulking album. Key Tracks - Carry, Weight, Other
Songs For The DeafSongs For The Deaf by Queens Of The Stone Age
Buy new: £2.98 / Used from: £2.29
A drummer's delight with Grohl on the sticks - this is the definitive Queens album. Key Tracks - No One Knows, Millionaire, First it Giveth
Yoshimi Battles the Pink RobotsYoshimi Battles the Pink Robots by The Flaming Lips
Buy new: £4.68 / Used from: £2.77
Nothing was going to live up to 'The Soft Bulletin' so the Flips change tack and do paired down electro pop. Key Tracks - Ego Tripping, Do You Realise, Fight Test
Sad Songs For Dirty LoversSad Songs For Dirty Lovers by The National
Buy used from: £16.60
They haven't quite found their distinct voice on this release but some of the songs are among their very best. Key Tracks - Cardinal Song, Slipping Husband, 90 Mile Water Wall
Sea ChangeSea Change by Beck
Buy new: £4.98 / Used from: £4.00
Beck goes sincere in lyric and Nick Drake in sound on a very different album for him. Pretty solid. Key Tracks - Paper Tiger, Lost Cause, The Golden Age
Heroes & VilliansHeroes & Villians by Palo Alto
Buy new: £29.79 / Used from: £32.77
Wow, these guys have listened to 'The Bends' even more than me! Quality is quality no matter how derivative. Key Tracks - Sleeping Citizens, Throwing Stones, Fade In/Out
Melody A.M.Melody A.M. by Röyksopp
Buy new: £6.68 / Used from: £0.94
A chillout pop record in a similar vein to Air's 'Moon Safari'. Key Tracks - Sparks, In Space, Poor Leno
Source Tags & CodesSource Tags & Codes by ..And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead
Buy new: £4.98 / Used from: £1.88
Diverse and full of energy - this shares common experimental ground with Sonic Youth among others. Key Tracks - Relative Ways, Source Tags and Codes, Monsoon
TrustTrust by Low
Buy new: £10.98 / Used from: £8.69
Not as bleak as 'Things We Lost....' this is more loose and experimental. Key Tracks - Canada, Point of Disgust, Last Snowstorm
Yanqui U.X.O.Yanqui U.X.O. by Godspeed You Black Emperor!
Buy new: £11.98 / Used from: £7.25
Off-puttingly impenetrable at first - this reveals itself slowly over repeated listens. Newcomers should start with 'Skinny Wrists' though. Key Tracks - Rockets Fall On Rocket Falls, Motherf*cker=Rede
HeathenHeathen by David Bowie
Buy new: £3.98 / Used from: £1.00
A return to form for Bowie after the totally forgettable 'Hours' - some carefully chosen cover versions take the strain off Dave to write a complete album of new songs. Key Tracks - Cactus, Your Slave
LateralusLateralus by Tool
Buy new: £7.08 / Used from: £6.99
Some of the band's mystique has gone astray and the whole thing is a bit 'MTV friendly' comparedd to 'Aenima'. Still powerful. Key Tracks - Schism, The Grudge, Ticks and Leeches
The Private PressThe Private Press by DJ Shadow
Buy new: £4.98 / Used from: £1.16
This was always going to suffer in comparison to 'Endtroducing' and so it proves. A decent effort. Key Tracks - Six Days, Blood On The Motorway, Mongrel...Meets His Maker
HinterlandHinterland by Aim
Buy used from: £0.48
If the DJ Shadow album doesn't tickle your fancy perhaps this jazzier offering from Aim will. Key Tracks - No Restriction, Guimar, Vipco
Night on My SideNight on My Side by Gemma Hayes
Buy new: £7.98 / Used from: £0.58
Sweet delivery and sour sentiment from Gemma with production courtesy of Dave Fridmann. Key Tracks - Ran for Miles, Over and Over, My God