TOP 10 LIST Reto Koradi, Switzerland
1. Katell Keineg O Seasons O Castles (Elektra) Stunning debut by this woman from Wales. No comparison with other hyped female artists would be fair; her voice is better than theirs with more varied music.
2. Neil Young Sleeps With Angels (Warner) Sounds relaxed at first, but gets so incredibly intense after some close listens that you can get addicted; a real masterpiece.
3. Pulp His 'N' Hers (Island) British pop is not dead; it's alive and kicking stronger than ever. A unique sound and catchy melodies make this one simply irresistable.
4. David Byrne David Byrne (Sire) He will never be able to make bad music, but this one finally shows him as strong as in the best Talking Heads days.
5. Luka Bloom Turf (Warner) It takes courage to follow up a successful album with such a slow, emotional one. But it's so beautiful that it almost makes me cry.
6. Blur Parklife (EMI) More great British pop; the hit single "Girls & Boys" is by far not the only enjoyable track on this album.
7. Elvis Costello Brutal Youth (Warner) Nobody doubts that he's one of the greatest songwriters ever, but this time he finally recaptures the anger and energy from a time long past.
8. Stiltskin The Mind's Eye (Virgin) Some people might call this hard rock, but the noisy guitars combine with catchy melodies to result in a really refreshing sound.
9. Tori Amos Under The Pink (Atlantic) After the fantastic debut of the new Tori (not counting Y Kant Tori Read), the second album was almost bound to fail. It didn't; another excellent album from Ms. Amos.
10. Levellers Levellers (Elektra) This album plays on my weakness for the Celtic sound.
Honorary mentions: Killing Joke, Therapy?, Black 47 and Soundgarden.
