Here we go... (apologies if anyone gets this twice, I had some difficulty 
sending it)

1. Fountains of Wayne – Welcome Interstate Managers 
It’s a bit of a cop-out to name the follow-up to one of your previous #1 
records as the #1 record of its given year, but Fountains of Wayne’s “Welcome 
Interstate Managers” is that rare sequel that lives up to the promise of its 
predecessor. Taking the lyrical themes of “Utopia Parkway”, which keenly observed 
the bland concerns of middle class American suburbia with rarely-seen 
empathy, to a broader, more expansive level, “Welcome Interstate Managers” sounds 
like a travelogue where “Utopia Parkway” felt situated at the local mall. 
Fountains of Wayne try on a little of everything here—country, new wave, brit-pop, ‘
70s easy listening, classic power-pop—and wed each track to brilliant Ray 
Davies-esque observations of normal folks. It makes perfect sense that the 
infectious “Stacy’s Mom”, accompanied by a shamelessly commercial video MTV couldn’
t refuse to air, finally broke the band through to the mainstream. But the 
rest of “Welcome Interstate Managers” is every bit as lyrically rich as “Stacy’
s Mom” is catchy.
2. Bleu – Redhead
I like “ordinary” guitar-based pop music with background harmonies and 
guitar solos that sounds really good in the car, in the summer, with the windows 
down. I like people who co-write songs with Andy Sturmer (of the Jellyfish) and 
Dan Wilson (of Semisonic). That’s what this is, so I like it.
3. The Sounds – Living in America
The ‘80s revival is a few years old now, but while most of the electroclash 
acts sound a bit, erm, boring, The Sounds come out of nowhere (well, okay, 
Sweden) and toss out an album that’s catchier and harder-rocking than any single 
Blondie disc while evoking their basic sound. Imitators to some, but this is 
way too much fun.
4. The Coral – The Coral
The Coral’s debut record is barely a half hour long, but in that space they 
run through sea shanties, ska, folk, ‘60s British Invasion rock, brit-pop, and 
punk, often in the space of a single song. At times “The Coral” sounds ready 
to run right off its wheels, standing the most deliriously out-of-control and 
forward-thinking debut of the year. Extra points for also releasing an EP and 
an almost-as-good follow-up record (“Magic and Medicine”) within the same 
year!
5. The Weakerthans – Reconstruction Site
One song on the third CD by Propaghandhi’s John K. Sampson’s side project 
finds him telling a story from the point of view of a boy with cake in his hair 
hiding under the table at a wedding. Another finds him as a jaded cat 
criticizing his owner’s self-destructive ways. The entirety of “Reconstruction Site” 
takes these literate, heart-on-your-sleeve lyrics and pairs them with one of 
the brightest sets of songs of the year, constantly veering from rock to 
country and back again. 
6. Junior Senior – D-D-Don’t Stop the Beat
Prince was a common man to name-check this year, as evidenced by these next 
two choices. Junior Senior took a great deal of psychedelic-era Prince (think “
Raspberry Beret”) and mixed in a whole lot of late ‘80s alt-dance (think B-52’
s, Stereo MC’s, Soup Dragons, Big Audio Dynamite, etc.) and a dash of 
Monkees-esque ‘60s pop to create a fun and booming party record. Way less serious and 
way more fun than most of the other neo-garage acts who flooded the landscape 
this year.
7. OutKast – Speakerboxx/The Love Below
What else can be said about this album that hasn’t been already? “
Speakerboxx/The Love Below” is the rare mainstream record that excites music fans from 
all stripes AND is f***ing good at the same time. We all know this. The most 
important record of 2003, hands down.
8. Postal Service – Give Up
Much of 2003 was about pairings of things that shouldn’t go together, and the 
Postal Service is one of the most vivid examples. Take Death Cab For Cutie’s 
Benjamin Gibbard and a set of songs that are virtually identical to what you’d 
find on any DCFC album and lay them over blippy IDM (read: dance music you can
’t actually dance to) courtesy of Dntel’s Jimmy Tamborello and you get a 
surprise treat, and one of the rare electronic albums that doesn’t sound 
detached. Who would’ve guessed?
9. Blur – Think Tank
Blur, along with Fountains of Wayne, are one of my all-time favorite bands, 
so be aware of bias. But “13”, the last Blur album, was a bloated piece of 
poo, burying all but a few songs under sub-Sonic Youth-like guitar mess and 
leaving them to meander for too long. Then they lost their guitarist, Damon 
discovered hip-hop and world music in his side project, Gorillaz, and the reunited 
Blur came out rejuvenated, recording a spacious, airy album that emphasizes 
percussion rather than guitars. This time around they chose to let the melodies 
breathe, and the result was an album that, while lethargic at times, sounds like 
the clouds drifting away to expose the sun again.
10. Sparks – Lil’ Beethoven
Awarded extra points because it inspired me to purchase all of their 20+ 
record catalog, “Lil’ Beethoven” is a dense and difficult art project, where Ron 
and Russel Mael wrote a set of dance songs like they’ve included on every one 
of their albums for the fifteen years, then scrapped all of the 
instrumentation and laid them over a full orchestra. It’s weird stuff, but from the buoyant 
pop of “Suburban Homeboy” to the tense, near-industrial grind of “Ugly Guys 
With Beautiful Girls”, it never remotely verges on boring. It’s little wonder 
that these guys have been a little-known inspiration on artists as diverse as 
Morrissey, Ween, They Might Be Giants, Faith No More, and the Pet Shop Boys.
11. The Libertines – Up the Bracket
12. The Shins – Chutes Too Narrow
13. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists – Hearts of Oak
14. Liz Phair – Liz Phair
15. Matthew Sweet – Kimi Ga Suki
16. Ryan Adams – Rock N Roll
17. Copperpot – Copperpot
18. White Stripes - Elephant
19. Wheat – Per Second, Per Second… Every Second
20. Belle & Sebastian - Dear Catastrophe Waitress

And honorable mentions to other records I really enjoyed this year: 
Caesars – 39 Minutes of Bliss (In an Otherwise Meaningless World)
Cursive – The Ugly Organ
Dandy Warhols – Welcome to the Monkey House
The Darkness – Permission to Land
Death Cab For Cutie – Transatlanticism
Electric Six - Fire
The Format – Interventions and Lullabies
Go-Betweens – Bright Yellow, Bright Orange
Ike – Parallel Universe
Loveless – A Gift to the World
Model Rockets – Pilot County Suite EP
New Pornographers – Electric Version
Owsley – The Hard Way
Pink – Try This
Radiohead – Hail to the Thief
Rooney - Rooney
Brett Rosenberg Problem - Problematic
Sloan – Action Pact
The Strokes – Room On Fire
Super Furry Animals – Phantom Power