(order is pretty much negligible)

01. The Strokes -- Room on Fire (I really feel they topped Is This It with this record. To me, it feels much more fresh and diverse. THIS IS THE NU SOUND.)

02. The Unicorns -- Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone? (Quirky and a bit perverse, reminding me of what The Flaming Lips would have sounded like if they mixed ecstacy with their acid. Their eccentricities helped them make one of the most "out-there" indie albums of the year, one I can't stop listening to.)

03. Songs: Ohia -- Magnolia Electric Company (Not that Molina's sparser stuff is bad [I mean, I like it a lot], but this record is ridiculously lush in its arrangements and production and excellent. Filled with a feeling of despair, this has become my "driving home after a bad night" record.)

04. Goldcard -- Goldcard (One of the most brutally honest and emotional albums I've heard all year. I get shivers when I listen to this record.)

05. Jay-Z -- The Black Album (Not Reasonable Doubt or The Blueprint, but really close. An album that will spawn a shitload of singles that I will adore and sing along to like I'm "down." Y'ALL TUNED TO THE MUTHAFUCKING GREATEST!)

06. Sufjan Stevens -- Michigan (Stevens has an abundance of talent that he lets loose upon the listener's ears, giving us the most frighteningly beautiful albums of the year. This album could make a hard-ass cry with the best of them.)

07. Broken Social Scene -- You Forgot It In the People (Hype, hype, hype, hype, hype, hype, actually really good indie rock awesomeness hype, hype, hype, hype, hype, hype, hype!)

08. Beulah -- Yoko (Some critics panned this because suddenly, *SHOCK*, Beulah was making more emotional music! I really enjoy their straight-forward, happy-go-lucky music too, but this comes off more sincere and relaxed.)

09. The Shins -- Chutes Too Narrow (I really didn't think The Shins could top Oh, Inverted World -- I'm still not sure if they have. I'm thinking they more or less created a twin in greatness. Listen to "Pink Bullets" or "Saint Simon" if you don't believe me.)

10. Outkast -- The Love Below/Speakerboxxx (Yeah, this would definitely have been better as a single disc [Jesus Andre, a five minute version of "My Favorite Things"?], but overall, this is pretty impressive. Big Boi gets my nod for better half, but Andre gets a wink and pat on the ass for railing against circumcision and making one of the catchiest songs of the year.)

Honorable mentions:

- Radiohead -- Hail to the Thief
- TV on the Radio -- Young Liars
- The New Pornographers -- Electric Version
- Ted Leo & the Pharmacists -- Hearts of Oak
- Grandaddy -- Sumday
- Jeff Hanson -- Son
- The Rapture -- Echoes (I was || <--- that close to putting it on the list.)
- The Constantines -- Shine a Light
- Belle & Sebastion -- Dear Catastrophe Waitress