The Evil Lair's Top 10 Albums of 2003

I must, of course, put out a disclaimer that there are still shitloads of potentially good albums that I haven't gotten me grubby hands on. Death Cab For Cutie's latest? What about David Bowie's "Reality" or Basement Jaxx's "Kish Kash"? Hell, I still haven't heard the new Britney album. I dunno about that. She doesn't seem to be as funny as before. Nevertheless, if you guys have any good recommendations for me to check out, please drop them in the comments section below. Don't be shy...

10. The White Stripes - Elephant
I dunno man. I've read an article before on how your tastes in music, practically everything freezes when you reach 24. After that, everything you experience or hear isn't as good as "y'know, da good ol' times". I was severly disappointed with this year's outings by bands that I was a huge fan of, like Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, the Cardigans and the worst of the lot, the Dandy Warhols. However, the White Stripes surprised me with this offering since I have always thought that the band was surrounded by way too much hype (probably they are) and was nothing but a flash in the pan. 'Seven Nation Army' and ' The Hardest Button To Button' are the standout tracks.

9. The Darkness � Permission to Land
Hair metal is back!!! Well, sooner or later, I guess. These guys make me laugh so much with their tunes and music videos. The excesses of the 80's are just recycled by Justin Hawkins and his boys. Hawkins just churns every rock cliche in the bag and regurgitates several famous rock riffs complete with wild BIG rock solos and melodramatic rawk theatrics. Tell me the intro of 'I Believe In A Thing Called Love' doesn't sound like the riff to Judas Priest's 'Living After Midnight'? Bar-band made good.

8. Godsmack - Faceless
As compared to their second album "Awake", this was one with chockful of memorable tunes and brings back the groove of the debut. Nothing stylistically different. Nothing ground-breaking. Not that it is bad or anything though.

7. Genetic Habit � From Outside
Granted, it's my friend, Clifton's band. But hey, they do have some good tunes on this one. Those who like their records to be musically uniform should avoid this as there are some genre-hopping involved here. However, this album is aimed directly at the charts and pretty mainstream and accessible. That doesn't mean that it is disposable pop music as well. Standout tunes that stick to your head: 'Without You', 'School's Out'

6. Super Furry Animals � Phantom Planet
"Rings Around The World" was my favourite album in 2001. This, along with Tool's "Laterlus" as well. The Furries carry on their mission to inflict upon the unsuspecting world with their brand of Beach Boys-inflected folk tunes. While they left out the weirder pop experiments, 'Serena And Venus' will send shivers down your spine, just like the 1st time when you heard 'Juxtaposed With You' from "Rings Around The World".

5. The Rapture - Echoes
Disco meets punk. You can call it whatever you want. It's still great, weird-ass music. I love the New Order vibe of 'Sister Saviour'. From I heard from some friends, the remix of 'House Of The Jealous Lovers" has been burning up dancefloors worldwide. Groovy basslines anchors shards of discordant guitar chords through the album while frontman Luke Jenner yelps and screams like the Cure's Robert Smith in heat. That is hard to top, if you ask me.

4. Placebo � Sleeping With Ghosts
Same ol' shit from the same ol' band. But the shit sounds much tighter and better than any of their previous albums.

3. Jay-Z � The Black Album
The final album from Jay-Z, apparently. This guy is amazingly prolific, releasing a new album every year for the past 7 years. If this were really to be the final one, it ain't too shabby to end your career on a high. While I believe the album's lead single, 'Change Clothes' can be heard on radio, the best track off the record is still 'Brush Your Shoulders Off' with a pulsating synth riff.

2. Radiohead �Hail To The Thief
Hail to the band... Radiohead returns to form with their 6th studio album, touting strong tunes like 'There There', '2+2=5' and the amazing 'Where I End And You Begin'. As an album, it is definitely more cohesive and bridges the gap between the band's more experimental and electronic side and their roots as a guitar rock band. In my opinion, this is even better than their 2nd record, "The Bends". Yeah, go ahead, bitch in the comments section...

1. The Postal Service � Give Up
This is an incredible album with 10 tunes brimming with energy and creativity. Electronic textures and soundscapes, courtesy of IMD (Intelligent Dance Music; dun ask how they actually coined that term) outfit Dntel's Jimmy Tamborello, sits comfortably with indie darlings Death Cab For Cutie's Ben Gibbard's plantive vocals and other organic instrumentations. It might be a side project for the both of them but it was magic that was recorded onto the album.

T-T-That's all, folks...