Best children's album of the year... so far? That depends on who you are. Disney junkies will go for the new stuff from Hannah Montana. Reggae fans may like new kids' discs from Bob Marley or Ziggy Marley. Working-class dogs and those with a soft spot for the 1980s may gravitate toward Rick Springfield's kids album.

But don't take their word for it. For opinions that matter, go to the experts.

So we did. An informal poll of two Seattle youngsters suggests that the new SpongeBob's Greatest Hits is the year's front-runner. Since the blogosphere can be a pretty punishing place, we've omitted their real names, but here, in their own words, are the kids' opinions...

MC International Metamorphosis
Male, age 8
Budding battle rapper/interpretive dancer
"I really, really, really, really love it. The songs make me dance a lot and exercise. It makes me feel outrageously awesome. My favorite songs are 'The Best Day Ever' and 'This Grill is Not a Home' [import version only]. If I could hear SpongeBob sing another song, though, I think it would be 'Smooth Criminal'."

Coco W.
Female, age 5
Aspiring soul singer and self-described princess
"My favorite part is when SpongeBob says he rips his pants. I shouldn't tell you what my dance looks like. Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I like when Plankton sings about destroying the world. I won't listen to [this disc] forever, but I'll listen to it for a few days."

SpongeBob's Greatest Hits comes out next week, but meanwhile, give your own spawn a taste of the music with this video featuring the inimitable P!nk. Finally, scurvy is fun again!

You can also sample the whole album here.

     --Jason Kirk

Just because it's only July doesn't mean it's too early for us to pass judgment on 2009's song and album offerings. Below, discover not only our favorite music of the year, but also Amazon MP3 customers' favorite songs of the year. We voted with our opinions-- they voted with their wallets. Please hit the comments to let us know where we got it right and/or tell us what morons we are for leaving off your favorite album.

Editors' Picks: The Best Albums of 2009, So Far
1. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz
2. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
3. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
4. Neko Case - Middle Cyclone
5. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
6. K'Naan - Troubadour
7. Metric - Fantasies
8. Leonard Cohen - Live in London
9. The Bird and the Bee - Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future
10. Bat for Lashes - Two Suns
11. Iggy Pop - Preliminaires
12. Mt St. Helens Vietnam Band - Mt St. Helens Vietnam Band
13. Royksopp - Junior
14. Dent May - The Good Feeling Music of Dent May and His Magnificent Ukulele
15. Mos Def - The Ecstatic
16. Various Artists - Dark Was the Night
17. Amadou & Mariam - Welcome to Mali
18. Mastodon - Crack the Skye
19. God Help The Girl - God Help The Girl
20. Passion Pit - Manners
21. Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career
22. St Vincent - Actor
23. Amesoeurs - Amesoeurs
24. Silversun Pickups - Swoon
25. The Crystal Method - Divided By Night
26. The Horrors - Primary Colours
27. Ben Kweller - Changing Horses
28. MF Doom - Born Like This
29. Sarah Jarosz - Song Up in Her Head
30. Sonic Youth - The Eternal
31. Cass McCombs - Catacombs
32. Fever Ray - Fever Ray
33. Finale - A Pipe Dream and a Promise
34. Ida Maria - Fortress 'Round My Heart
35. M. Ward - Hold Time
36. MIDIval PunditZ - Hello Hello
37. Rocco Deluca and the Burden - Mercy
38. Bon Iver - Blood Bank
39. Bonnie Prince Billy - Beware
40. Isis - Wavering Radiant
41. Lily Allen - It's Not Me, It's You
42. Wilco - (The Album)
43. Au Revoir Simone - Still Night, Still Light
44. Justin Townes Earle - Midnight at the Movies
45. Marianne Faithfull - Easy Come, Easy Go
46. The Bad Plus - For All I Care
47. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
48. Akron/Family - Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free
49. P.O.S. - Never Better
50. Point Juncture, WA - Heart To Elk

Amazon MP3 Bestselling Albums of 2009, So Far
1. U2 - No Line On The Horizon
2. Green Day - 21st Century Breakdown
3. Lily Allen - It's Not Me, It's You
4. Chickenfoot - Chickenfoot
5. Black Eyed Peas - The E.N.D. (The Energy Never Dies)
6. The Lonely Island - Incredibad
7. Depeche Mode - Sounds Of The Universe
8. Neko Case - Middle Cyclone
9. Keith Urban - Defying Gravity
10. Eminem - Relapse
11. Various - Hannah Montana: The Movie Soundtrack
12. Mos Def - The Ecstatic
13. Dierks Bentley - Feel That Fire
14. Various Artists - Dark Was The Night (Red Hot Compilation)
15. Rascal Flatts - Unstoppable
16. Silversun Pickups - Swoon
17. Andrew Bird - Noble Beast
18. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
19. Kate Voegele - A Fine Mess
20. Dave Matthews Band - Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King
21. Chrisette Michele - Epiphany
22. Zac Brown Band - The Foundation
23. Jason Mraz - We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.
24. Morrissey - Years Of Refusal
25. Steve Earle - Townes
26. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz!
27. Ben Harper And Relentless7 - White Lies for Dark Times
28. The Decemberists - Hazards Of Love
29. Nickelback - Dark Horse
30. Chris Cornell - Scream
31. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
32. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
33. Moby - Wait For Me
34. Crystal Method - Divided By Night
35. The Fray - The Fray
36. The Prodigy - Invaders Must Die
37. Metric - Fantasies
38. Passion Pit - Manners
39. Street Sweeper Social Club - Street Sweeper Social Club
40. Keri Hilson - In A Perfect World...
41. Kelly Clarkson - All I Ever Wanted
42. The Bird And The Bee - Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future
43. k'naan - Troubadour
44. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
45. Various Artists - Just Dance
46. india.arie - Testimony Vol. 2: Love & Politics
47. Bruce Springsteen - Working On A Dream
48. Newsboys - In The Hands Of God
49. Mandy Moore - Amanda Leigh
50. Seth Walker - Leap Of Faith

Editors' Picks: Best Songs of 2009, So Far
1. Phoenix - "Lisztomania"
2. Neko Case - "People Got a Lot of Nerve"
3. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Zero"
4. Lily Allen - "The Fear"
5. Animal Collective - "My Girls"
6. Kelly Clarkson - "My Life Would Suck Without You"
7. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - "Contender"
8. Grizzly Bear - "Cheerleader"
9. K'Naan - "Dreamer "
10. Metric - "Help I'm Alive"
11. Passion Pit - "The Reeling"
12. Kid Cudi - "Make Her Say"
13. U2 - "Magnificent"
14. The Lonely Island - "I'm On a Boat"
15. Bat For Lashes - "Daniel"
16. La Roux - "Bulletproof"
17. Silversun Pickups - "Panic Switch"
18. The-Dream (feat. Kanye West) - "Walkin' on the Moon"
19. Dirty Projectors + David Byrne - "Knotty Pine"
20. Empire of the Sun - "Walking on a Dream"
21. Kinky - "Hasta Quemarnos"
22. Major Lazer - "Hold the Line"
23. MIDIval PunditZ - "Har Ek Baat"
24. Chrisette Michelle - "Another One"
25. Ciara - "G Is For Girl (A-Z)"
26. Doves - "Jetstream"
27. Marianne Faithfull - "The Crane Wife 3"
28. Pet Shop Boys - "Love Etc."
29. Bon Iver - "Woods"
30. Cass McCombs - "Jonesy Boy"
31. Ida Maria - "Oh My God"
32. Deerhunter - "Game of Diamonds"
33. Jay-Z - "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)"
34. Molly Jenson - "Give It Time"
35. N.A.S.A (Feat. Kayne West, Lykke Li) - "Gifted"
36. Tonéx - "Bring It"
37. You're Too Gone - "Jason Lytle"
38. Yusuf - "Welcome Home"
39. John Frusciante - "Heaven"
40. Miley Cyrus - "The Climb"
41. Mos Def - "Quiet Dog"
42. The Bad Plus - "Comfortably Numb"
43. The Clipse (feat. Kanye West) - "Kinda Like a Big Deal"
44. The Crystal Method ft. Matisyahu - "Drown in the Now "
45. Bob Dylan - "Beyond Here Lies Nothin'"
46. Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele - "Meet Me In The Garden"
47. Mstrkrft - "Bounce (feat. N.O.R.E. & Isis)"
48. Royksopp - "Vision One"
49. Amadou & Mariam - "Sabali"
50. P.O.S. - "Goodbye"

Amazon MP3 Bestselling Songs of 2009, So Far
1. Black Eyed Peas - "Boom Boom Pow"
2. Flo Rida - "Right Round"
3. Kelly Clarkson - "My Life Would Suck Without You"
4. Various - "The Climb"
5. The Fray - "You Found Me"
6. Kid Cudi - "Day 'N' Nite"
7. Pitbull - "I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho) (Extended Mix)"
8. Seether - "Careless Whisper"
9. Eminem - "Crack A Bottle"
10. Flo Rida - "Sugar [feat. Wynter]"
11. Keri Hilson - "Knock You Down"
12. Linkin Park - "New Divide"
13. Keri Hilson - "Turnin Me On"
14. Black Eyed Peas - "I Gotta Feeling"
15. Sean Kingston - "Fire Burning"
16. Brad Paisley - "Then (Single Edit)"
17. Jeremih - "Birthday Sex"
18. Ciara featuring Justin Timberlake - "Love Sex Magic"
19. Green Day - "Know Your Enemy"
20. The Lonely Island - "I'm On A Boat"
21. Jason Aldean - "She's Country"
22. Asher Roth - "I Love College"
23. Carrie Underwood - "I Told You So (Featuring Randy Travis)"
24. Keith Urban - "Sweet Thing"
25. U2 - "Get On Your Boots"
26. Madcon - "Beggin'"
27. Lily Allen - "The Fear"
28. Keith Urban - "Kiss A Girl"
29. Rob Thomas - "Her Diamonds"
30. Rascal Flatts - "Here Comes Goodbye"
31. Maino - "All The Above [feat. T-Pain]"
32. Maxwell - "Pretty Wings (uncut)"
33. Lil Wayne - "Prom Queen"
34. Kenny Chesney - "Out Last Night"
35. Silversun Pickups - "Panic Switch"
36. Kelly Clarkson - "I Do Not Hook Up"
37. Ciara featuring Young Jeezy - "Never Ever"
38. John Rich - "Shuttin' Detroit Down"
39. K'jon - "On The Ocean"
40. U2 - "Magnificent"
41. Rodney Atkins - "It's America"
42. Depeche Mode - "Wrong"
43. Gloriana - "Wild At Heart"
44. Dierks Bentley - "Feel That Fire"
45. The-Dream - "Rockin' That Thang"
46. The Lonely Island - "Jizz In My Pants"
47. The Fray - "Never Say Never"
48. Phillips, Craig And Dean - "Revelation Song"
49. Pleasure P - "Boyfriend #2"
50. Colbie Caillat - "Fallin' For You"

-- Jeff Reguilon

When you’re rollercoasting along a track at breakneck speed, heart in your mouth and adrenalin coursing through your veins, is there a song that would make the perfect soundtrack to your fear? Until now, you never had the choice, but those thoughtful people at Universal Studios have decided to change all that. The new Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, at Universal Studios Florida, offers a choice of 30 songs across five genres with which to accompany your white knuckle experience. Individual riders will be able to choose a song to be played directly into their ears, with artists represented including Mötley Crüe, Daft Punk, Dwight Yoakam, Cypress Hill and Donna Summer. Some of the most fearful riders may find it quickest to pick the encouraging sentiments of Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive,” but for the rest, choosing a tune should take some of the boredom out of waiting in the long queue for the ride. It’s not known whether the songs in the jukebox will be changed or added to at any time, nor whether the park owners are taking requests for the future; if they do, what song would you most like to see on their playlist?

Or conversely, what songs would you definitely not want to accompany your Rockit ride?

If you can't see the YouTube video above -- a simulation of the new ride -- you can find it here.

Here's the full selection of songs available:

RAP/HIP-HOP

"Don't Phunk With My Heart," Black Eyed Peas
"Insane in the Brain," Cypress Hill
"Pump It," Black Eyed Peas
"Rock Star," N.E.R.D.
"Sabotage," Beastie Boys
"Stronger," Kanye West

POP/DISCO

"Bad Girls," Donna Summer
"Glamorous," Fergie
"Hella Good," No Doubt
"I Will Survive," Gloria Gaynor
"That's the Way (I Like It)," KC and the Sunshine Band
"U Can't Touch This" MC Hammer

CLUB/ELECTRONICA

"Busy Child," The Crystal Method
"Harder Better Faster Stronger," Daft Punk
"Intergalactic," Beastie Boys
"Keep Hope Alive," The Crystal Method
"Le Disko," Shiny Toy Guns
"Pumps Up the Volume," MARRS

CLASSIC ROCK/METAL

"Born to Be Wild," Hinder
"Bring Me to Life," Evanescence
"Gimme All Your Lovin'," ZZ Top
"Kickstart My Heart," Motley Crue
"Paralyzer," Finger Eleven
"Rollin'," Limp Bizkit

COUNTRY

"All Night Long," Montgomery Gentry
"Guitars, Cadillas," Dwight Yoakam
"I Can Sleep When I'm Dead" Jason Michael Carroll
"Living in Fast Forward," Kenny Chesney
"Midnight Rider,"  The Allman Brothers
"The Devil Went Down to  Georgia," The Charlie Daniels Band

--Hazel @ SoundUnwound

SoundUnwound's editorial team write about the latest big music news and quirky stories which catch the eye. We'll be posting a selection of these news stories on Chordstrike every week; for much, much more, visit SoundUnwound.com, the new music site from IMDb and Amazon.

*A word of explanation about this list: while the majority of my picks can be called world music, a couple of them (Emmy the Great, Little Boots) are imports which don't necessarily fall into the world music category. I'm including them here because: 1) they've been released in another country, and 2) I couldn't resist sharing them (seriously, they're that good).  But keep in mind that you probably won't find either of these artists categorized under world music in our music or MP3 stores.

1. Coeur de Pirate, Coeur de Pirate (CD)

I practically swooned the first time I heard this tiny, tattooed French-Canadian chanteuse.  With a voice like honey, Coeur de Pirate ("Heart of a Pirate"), otherwise known as 19-year-old Béatrice Martin of Quebec,  has crafted a rich, whimsical, and utterly stirring debut album imbued with a vein of nostalgia and maturity that far belies her years.  While songs on the album are driven primarily by Martin’s magical piano playing, Martin weaves in string arrangements, horn interludes, and accordion accompaniment with a thoughtful, nuanced touch.  Each melody is as finely crafted as spun silk.

The album sounds like it could have been made in 1920's France or used in the soundtrack to the film Amélie.  The buoyant “Ensemble” (“Together”) makes me feel like dancing down the street, while the pensive “C’était Salement Romantique” (“It Was Terribly Romantic”) fills me with longing for something that I can't quite define.  Listen and imagine yourself wandering the winding, cobbled streets of some old European city.  You don’t have to understand French to love this album.

If you can't see the embedded video player above, click here to watch a YouTube video of Coeur de Pirate performing "C'etait Salement Romantique."

2. Issa Bagayogo, Issa Remixed (MP3)

I was blown away when I first heard Issa Bagayogo’s Issa Remixed.  Rarely have I heard West African music infused with house-style dance rhythms so successfully—and so infectiously.  Originally from Mali, Issa grew up playing the ngoni (a three-stringed lute popular in West Africa), but rather than sticking to traditional music, he’s infused his albums with elements of jazz, dub, and funk.  Hybrid albums like this can often go wrong, but Issa’s compositions are masterfully done, and Issa Remixed is no exception.  Who knew that West African chord structures could mesh so well with electronica and sound so natural?

3. Emmy the Great, First Love (CD | MP3) 

I never would have expected the artist behind one of my favorite folk albums to be from London--a city that I tend to associate more with sassy britpop (think Lily Allen, Kate Nash) or alternative rock (think Coldplay).  But with a soaring, lyrical voice that hearkens back to the ‘60s, Emmy the Great (Emma-Lee Moss) is the real deal—with a twist.  Yes, her music is folk, but she's anything but traditional.  Witty and sarcastic, she probes into heavy subjects (death, pregnancy) and offers up world-weary and frequently biting social commentary couched in that smooth, magnetic voice of hers.  This is folk music with a thoroughly modern edge--or, perhaps, folk music for the 21st century.

4. Mariza, Terra (CD | MP3)

Reigning fado queen Mariza doesn’t disappoint with her fourth studio album.  No fado album is complete without heavy doses of Portuguese guitar—and this album has it in spades—but Mariza also experiments with other musical styles without straying too far from her musical roots.  She sets her marvelously flexible vocals to blues and jazzy piano, succeeding at the difficult task of offering up a thoroughly refreshing take on this most traditional and stylized of musical genres.    

5. Little Boots, Hands (CD)  

If you’re into dance music, you’ve probably already heard of Little Boots, a.k.a. 25-year-old Victoria Hesketh of England.  A multitalented musical dynamo, Little Boots made a name for herself by posting YouTube videos in which she performed her own original compositions and covered other popular songs.  Not only does she sing, she also plays the keyboard, the piano, the stylophone, and the very cool electronic Tenori-on—sometimes all at the same time.  With an astute ear and a flair for making multilayered rhythms irresistibly catchy, Little Boots merits the buzz that she’s generated.  She’s a serious musician taking electro-pop seriously, and the result is a dance enthusiast's delight, especially welcome in a genre that is sometimes considered too commercial to be "real." 

If you can't see the embedded video player above, click here to watch a YouTube video of Little Boots performing "Meddle."

--Bri Nguyen

We’re halfway through the year already, so it’s time to present half of a Top 10 list for our Best of the Year So Far. The following top 5 picks are the standouts in the ever-growing americana genre that pulls from all brands of alt country, bluegrass, folk, rock, and blues music. Each of the following titles fall somewhere in that spectrum, if not covering all of them in some cases.

Song Up In Her Head, by Sarah Jarosz (CD, MP3)

Arriving on the scene in her early teens on the strength of her own written material, 18 year old bluegrass singer/songwriter Sarah Jarosz already has the right voice and music for anyone to notice that the young songstress has bluegrass in her soul and can express it with just the right tone. Offering listeners a brand of musical honesty and depth that’s mature beyond her years and mixing it with the rustic reflections of an observant troubadour, Jarosz holds her own with an apparent comfort and ease that bodes well for what she can do for years to come. Playing on the album with some venerated bluegrass greats (including Jerry Douglas, Tim O’Brien, and Samual Grisman of the David Grisman Quintet) but not content to rest on the shoulders of such giants, Jarosz wrote all but two songs on the album herself, with interesting cover choices of Tom Waits and Colin Meloy (the Decemberists) on the other two tracks. This rising bluegrass singer has laid down a solid foundation on Song Up in Her Head and is poised for great things to come. Let’s hope she will continue to burn as brightly as she has out of the gate. 

Middle Cyclone, by Neko Case (CD, MP3)

Long-time fans of Neko Case will be happy to know that dark and obscure themes continue to rule the day in her musical world. Neko’s signature caterwauls and crooning refrains call like a siren beckoning listeners to come to her shores in a perilous world filled with fairy tale creatures whose purpose as either friend or foe is not always apparent. That’s to say that Neko’s off-center lyrics keep the listener just out of reach of her inner circle. There’s a continuous sense that her songs are intentionally obscure as if offering more literal insights might expose her to too much intimacy with the listener. Instead, she offers broad lyrical strokes that give an impressionistic feeling that remains compelling, if not always clear. With a litany of cameo appearances on the album from some great artists including members of The New Pornographers, Los Lobos, Calexico, Giant Sand, The Sadies, Visqueen, and The Lilys, not to mention those in her own band, the volume of talent around her manages to thankfully remain in the pocket of the album instead of overflowing into it. Ultimately, we’re left to scrutinize the finer points of Neko Case’s songs to see what clues they can offer about her fairy tale worlds, but we love hearing her sing about them nonetheless.

Everything You Love Will Be Taken Away, by Slaid Cleaves (CD, MP3)

Singer/Songwriter Slaid Cleaves has been building his musical momentum for a while. And by some accounts, this is the album that defines the best of all 8 of his albums to date since the mid-90s. Speaking of some accounts, partly because it’s close to deadline, and more because our customers know the music AND how to write, I’m highlighting a few lines from our customer reviews to help explain why this album is here. I’ll just add that the even keeled blend of folk, country, and blues with a hint of rock is what propelled this into my list. Fans of Son Volt, T-Bone Burnett, Whiskeytown, and The Jayhawks (all on elevated status in my world!) will gravitate to this release and its amalgamation of all things Americana. And now for some customer raves:

Hyperbolium says, “Cleaves sings with a warmth that infuses an element of hope in the crushing blows he delivers. Is there hard-won pain or only a clever couplet in singing ‘Every man is a myth, every woman a dream / Watch your little heart get crushed when the truth gets in between… The album winds down with a bitter critique of politicians, global industrialists and sleepwalking media, somehow managing to retain a belief in the goodness of man. The closer, "Temporary," resigns itself to existential impermanence.”

 

Tim Brough “author and music buff” says, “I've long posited on Amazon reviews that Slaid Cleaves is America's best working young folksinger and one of our finest interpretive singers. I considered his Unsung to be one of that year's best records…. The music, downbeat as the descriptions sound, is thoroughly likable. The hopeful "Beautiful Thing" swings hard at the liars and manipulators in the belief that "the goodness of man" sees us through "the new dark ages."

 

Colin Spence "grey mist" says, “His 'matter of fact' delivery of the songs belies the potency of their lyrics - a qualitative combination that would spell out a recipe for disaster for some artists. But with SC, his somewhat impassive vocals serve only to emphasize the intensity of the lyrics - then again, with some songs I detected just a little more edge to his singing than on previous albums.”

Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women, self-titled, (CD, MP3)

Fans of Dave Alvin, who know him from his years with The Blasters and all the goods they delivered in equal turns of blues, rockabilly, and vintage country sounds, should fall nicely into the groove of his latest CD. It offers the added twist of an all-star line-up of some of the biggest female stars in folk and bluegrass yesterday and today. Dubbed The Guilty Women, the group consists of Americana scene vets Christy McWilson, Cindy Cashdollar, Nina Gerber, Laurie Lewis, Sarah Brown, and Amy Farris. Alvin’s gruff baritone mixes with rich female harmonies and plenty of bluegrass string work from violins, lap steel guitars, and mandolins to fill the bucolic scenes and stories that come to life on each track. Here’s hoping that the ubiquity of female talent lingers a little longer to work with Dave on similar projects in the future, too.

Do Wrong Right, by The Devil Makes Three  (CD, MP3)

Easily capturing the moniker of most-whimsical band on this list, the rough and tumble sounds of The Devil Makes Three leave their mark sounding like a jug band high on hay fever during a night of partying at the county fair where their music shuffles along in shades of half-sober Dixieland and Cajun styles. With lyrics that are peppered with references to all-nighter pop-offs, it’s fun to imagine what could happen during one of their set breaks: “No one’s getting arrested / no one’s having any fun / doctor’s orders for your heart beatin’ / go ahead and take you one / now you’re dumber than a singin’ saw playing ‘Uncomfortably Numb,’ it’s a thorazine work party with free fluorite bubble gum” and: “You drink a cheap malt liquor from a 40 ounce bottle / a fifth of bourbon and some pills if you got ‘em / but you know you’re goin’ to come down every night / and there ain’t no way that it’ll ever feel satisfied.” If you’re looking for a little entertainment under-the-influence, no prescription needed, check out Do Wrong Right. You won’t have to worry about a hang-over, but be aware of the quick onset of do wrong fun. 

More contenders for Best of the Year:

Just to keep things interesting and honest, here are a few more albums that may very well end up on our final best of the year list, but for now they are worth noting to round things out.

Townes, by Steve Earle (CD, MP3)

It doesn't get much better than this: Classic Steve Earle covering classic Townes van Zandt. Since this is cover album (albeit with incredible songs and equally stunning renditions), this one is not currently in my top 5 list, but as the year goes on, we’ll see if any other better contenders can do a one up.

 

 

Roadhouse Sun, by Ryan Bingham (CD, MP3)

A solid sophomore follow-up to a good first release, Mescalito. I’m still debating in my head whether the style is overly derivative of Dylan, but the voice definitely is. I think it's probably a vocal preference thing for me. I'm also wondering if there’s a hint of Tom Petty(?!). Still on the fence with it as stylistic questions linger, but definitely some good tracks: “Day is Done,” “Change Is,” and “Hey Hey Hurray.”

 

American Central Dust, by Son Volt (CD, MP3)

This one is being released today as we go to print, so with not enough quality time for a critical listen I’ll have to relegate it to the second tier for now. But judging by the latest video clip, sound samples, and decade-spanning collage from Jay Farrar’s work (including Uncle Tupelo), there is little doubt that this will probably rock-it to the top of my list by the end of the year.

And with that, we wait for more to come in the second half of the year, including those sleepers in the ranks and some anticipated releases later in the year.

--Lucas Hilbert