10. Living Colour - Collideoscope

Collideoscope returns Living Colour to the world in a big, bold way. Picking up right where Stain left off, the album is as varied as ever, yet has a focus tightened by its reflection on current events. Agree with their view or not, the energy with which they render those views is admirable. A soulful ballad, "Flying," is the emotional centerpiece of this album but ultimately deflates the momentum of the album simply because it falls far too early in the track listing. A couple of inessential covers (AC/DC's "Back In Black" and the Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows") further trip up the album, but the majority of their own songs are so strong it's easy to overlook the minor fluff pieces.

Runners-up

Ziggy Marley - Dragonfly

Bob Marley's son returns without the Melody Makers to make an album less about being reggae and more about simply being music. Ziggy seems to find some influence in the Dave Matthews Band, as many songs feature passages that could easily have been played by the DMB and would easily appeal to fans of their laid-back groove. Oddly enough, after many attempts to distance himself, Ziggy sounds more like his dad than ever before. The first half of the album is some of the strongest material of the year, but unfortunately the second half falls a little flat as everything begins to sound alike.

Grandaddy - Sumday

If the Flaming Lips mated with the Alan Parsons Project, Grandaddy would be their lovechild. Songs of robots and computers mask the deeper meaning of most songs, most of which deal with disfunctional relationships, but the mood and the airy, keyboard-laden atmosphere of the album prevents it from being a drag. The biggest flaw is that it's all rather same-y - nothing really stands out, and all the songs seem melded from the same rhythm track and circulate about the same keys.

Killing Joke

Their second self-titled album is so angry, so overpowering, that I find I simply can't listen to it a lot. The aggression is very real, much moreso than any of the new breed of metal paraded around by teenagers' Ipods. This is the sound of four very pissed off men who can only channel their feelings out through very loud, very distorted, very compressed instruments and Jaz Coleman's gravelly growl. It's fascinating and invigorating, but man, will it wear you out.

Sarah McLachlan - Afterglow

McLachlan's angelic voice is reason enough to check out this new album. It's certainly not to hear anything particularly new - Afterglow is just more of what Sarah does so well. The most powerful segments of the album come early on, with the more up-tempo material providing more reason for returning repeatedly, as the ballads often come across less meaningful and with less impact than would be expected. The production is what enticed me immediately - deep and dramatic with strong vocals over a driving rhythm section powered by her husband, drummer Ashwin Sood, and emotive basslines from the man, Tony Levin. Unfortunately, many songs are marred by whispy, distracting electronic noises that are entirely unnecessary and sound like a desperate attempt to make the music sound more modern. The result, sadly, is that some songs simply sound more new-age oriented.