Well, I'm a little late but some goodie's arrived right at the year's end, and I needed time to soak everything up...so here goes:

10. Gnarles Barkley, "St. Elsewhere" I'm not at all bothered by the fact that this slick piece of soul funk fusion has been a subliminal soundtrack to my year.

9. Cat Power, "The Greatest" I found myself listening to this more often than not. Sure, it's not as dark or daring as all most all of her previous output, but maybe that's not such a bad thing. This woman has always been soulful. On this record she's really got some soul!

8. Neko Case, "Fox Confessor Brings the Flood" I don't think I should even try to convey in words the emotional depth of Ms. Case's voice. Listen to the record and judge for yourself.

7. Nina Nastasia, "On Leaving" This sparce collection of somber folk compelled me to drop whatever I was doing and pay attention.

6. Six Organs of Admittance, "The Sun Awakens" I feel like this should be higher up on my list than it is. There's never been a SOOA album I didn't like, and this one is definitely as sweet and mysterious as the rest of'm.

5. Michael Cashmore, "Sleep England" Autumn was a little more turbulent than I expected. I'm glad I had this collection of solo ambient guitar meditations to sooth my soul. Even if you're not a fan of current 93, this is still worth checking out.

4. Rivulets, "you Are My Home" A fully realized effort from a highly underrated musician. Let the fragile beauty of the voice and guitar draw you in, and soak up the lush arrangements.

3. Will Oldham, "The Letting Go" This has gotten mixed reviews, and I really don't know why. Oldham has always been a first rate song writer, but these compositions are profoundly beautiful.

2. Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins, "Rabit Fir Coat" I stumbled upon this, quite accidentally on, of all places, Myspace! It's pretty much a made-to-order bittersweet country folk masterpiece.

1. Haley Bonar, "lure the Fox" Maybe it's the fact that I got this early in the year, or maybe it's just because it's a really solid album, but I've come back to this more then any other recording released in the last twelve months. Just buy it and listen to it. It has all the qualities I've highlighted in the previous nine selections, and a good deal more.