For fans of: Sebadoh; Spacemen3; Built to Spill; the Fall; the Ramones; Suicide

Liars made what could be their most accessible album yet, but it's still all over the place compared to No Age. When Liars take a stab at pop music, they apparently prefer to do so with a dull blade. At this point, it's obvious they have the talent to do whatever they want and they seem to have no interest in crossing over. Not completely, anyway. So open up your mind, give this one a few rotations and enjoy yourself, because this might be your last chance to do so with these guys. With savvy, mad geniuses like these guys, I expect them to make my ears explode on their next album, just when the world is about ready for them to meet the parents.

For fans of: Sonic Youth; Jane's Addiction; Jawbox; Les Savy Fav; Dismemberment Plan; ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead

Kiss and Wake Up
45. Black Lips - Good Bad Not Evil (Vice)
These rambunctious kids first wowed me when I saw them perform one of the most somber punk rock anthems of all time, the essential "O Katrina" (named after the deadly hurricane) on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Sadly, the album didn't live up to my personal hype, but few musical moments could compare with what I saw that night and they come pretty close to achieving that here which is about all you can ask for.

This album will make you long for the golden age of rock, whenever that was. The emotion is raw and real and the action is steady, head-bobbing fun. Hopefully, the party has just begun. While they appear to be new wave outlaws on the outside, their chops are as traditional as you will find in this day and age. These rip-off artists (I mean that in the nicest possible way) are poised to be one of the best bands of the next decade. When these masters of loose technicality hit, they hit impressively hard and even when they miss, they still delight in interesting ways.

For fans of: the Sonics; the Rolling Stones; the Who; the Fall; the Hives

Paint it Black
44. Pela - Anytown Graffiti (Great Society)
This was a late addition that was brought to my attention just before compiling everything by a friend who we will call Andy because that is his name. All I can say is that it immediately struck a chord with me and I'm always shocked when a band I've heard little to nothing about nails things so magnificently and makes it look easy. You don't often see a debut hit on so many positive points and achieve (unseen) greatness without tricks or pretension. I can't wait to revisit it some more and unearth more stellar moments because there were so many obvious ones right off the bat and that doesn't happen everyday.