Lise LePage's Favorite Records Of 2002

I feel really lucky to be able to come up with even 10 titles worthy of listing in a top ten list... I did buy a number of indie pop type records that I thought sucked. I will list them: Beck 'Sea Change', that Wilco number on Nonesuch, Belle and Sebastian 'Storytelling,' and Luna 'Romantique.' So wimpy, these records! All by artists who didn't used to be so lame... Ok, here's what I did like:

1. Lemon Jelly , Lost Horizons (XL Recordings)
   I bought this because of the packaging alone, and I think it's probably the best record musically I bought all year. Varied, melodic, interesting, and coolly brilliant.
2. Steve Earle, Jerusalem (Artemis Records)
   I lost track of Steve after he got busted sometime in the 90s, but this record brought me back. Politically courageous, but also a really good country rock record too.
3. Elvis Costello, When I Was Cruel (Island)
   First Elvis record I've liked in years.
4. The Herbaliser, Something Wicked This Way Comes (Ninja Tune)
   Groovy tunes and hip hop.
5. The Mountain Goats, Tallahassee (4AD)
   A bleak southern novel in song.
6. Pavement, Slanted and Enchanted : Luxe and Reduxe (Matador)
   Thank you, thank you, thank you.
7. Clinic, Walking With Thee (Domino)
   Great vocals, great songs.
8. Guided By Voices, Universal Truths and Cycles (Matador)
   Pollard doesn't quit.
9. India.Arie, Acoustic Soul (Motown)
   Best new mainstream pop singer in a long time. Teenagers with weird ideas about femininity and personhood should listen to this record. Hell, we all should.
10. Thievery Corporation, The Richest Man In Babylon (ESL Music)
    This is another record I bought on no advance info. Another winner! Maybe I should just buy records using random methods instead of tedious research...
11. Coldcut , Journeys by DJ Special Release (Journeys by DJ)
    Highly entertaining, even if you don't know where all the samples come from.
12. Brainwashed, George Harrison (Columbia)
    A parting shot from beyond the grave and a fitting swan song.

I see now that I have 12 records, not just 10. Hell, that's almost respectable. Cheers and happy 2003!