No good new music?

I probably bought about 100 CD's this past year. I'd second Wilco's "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot," Steve Earle's "Jerusalem," and Leonard Cohen's "Ten New Songs."

To those, I'd add:
Peter Bruntnell "Ends of the Earth"
Jay Bennett & Edward Burch "Palace at 4am"
Richard Buckner "The Hill"
Alejandro Escovedo reissues "Gravity" and "Thirteen Years."

I've bought some old stuff, too. Some of the Stones' SACD reissues, Townes Van Zandt, various Sid Griffin bands, Jason and the Scorchers, etc., etc.

Not necessarily in strict order, some of my 2002 favorites are:

Dream Theater - Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence - basically one of the best from one of my favorite bands. 2CD set, with one CD individual songs, and the other a "theme" set. Always good sonics on these CDs too.

Los Lobos - Good Morning Aztlan - no need to devolve into a political discussion about the title. Long term band that has never been better, IMO. Varied, energetic.

Peter Gabriel - Up - probably rated somewhat higher because it was a 10 year hiatus, but good sonics and lots of good material.

Steve Earle - Jerusalem

Queens of the Stone Age - Song For The Deaf - not for everybody or every occassion, but really great when you're in the mood for hard rock.

Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots - put me in the "love it" group.

Joe Satriani - Strange Beautiful Music.

Al DiMeola - Flesh on Flesh - just fantastic, even in the context of a guy who's put out many fantastic CDs.

Several good remasters / compilations put out this year too - Jesus and Mary Chain, The The, Traffic - Low Spark and High-Heeled Boys, 22 Stones remasters, all the old Peter Gabriel CDs remastered.

Lots of good stuff. Several mentioned in this thread that I still want to check out. My poor checkbook.

Ok here it goes, I am going in no particular order, except number one is number one, and the other 9 can go in any order. These are all CDs that I bought this year. I believe the shins was released 2k1, and doves and SFA were released 2k1 in the uk, 2002 in the states, but anyway...

1. Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. This is now one of my top five faves of all time. Far from being a weak song on the album, every song I crave to hear at one time or another, this album has been in my rotation since Larry bootlegged my copy for Xmas last year, and it still is.

2. Super Furry Animals - Rings Around the World. Perfect pop, plus it gets kind of out there at times, which is evrything I look for in a CD. I still havent listened to the bonus disc yet though, and I cant really tell you why. I guess whenever I am in hte mood for SFA, I want to hear this album.

3. The Shins - Oh Inverted World! I am often annoyed by singers with high ass voices, but for some reason, I have a crapload of em this year that I am really digging. This is just so mellow in some parts that it automaticall relaxes and moves me at the same time.

4. Doves - The Last Broadcast. This is what I call Manchester baby. Wonderful guitars, nice words, and great melodies, plus it was my favorite show of the year, beating out Wilco even.

5. The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. I am a sucker for a concept album, and this is no exception. Do You Realize wins best lyrical song of the year, and is up there for all time.

6. Jurassic 5 - Power in Numbers. This is what good rap should be like. Wonderful music, intelligent and thought provoking lyrics, but they aint afraid to get funky on ya.

7. Todd Snider - New Connection. Fabulous song writing from a man who has recently found comfort in his own songwriting and voice.

8. Sonic Youth - Murray Street. I have never liked anything by these guys. This is like Sonic Youth, only good.

9. Say Zuzu - Every Mile. This has maybe my favorite single song of the year on it. They are an alt country type band, but they do it much better than most.

10. SOUNDteam - Into the Lens. It is a crime that this band is not an a label, and their live show is almost up to par with their El 6 style home done recording. Everyone on this list should buy it if I haven't made them already.

Justin

Fortunately, there is no record of how many recordings I spend (my very) limited disposable income on. Here are some recent scores that I like:
Alamaailman Vasarat, Vasaraasia
Other Quartet, Sound Stains
Tony Oxley, Floating Phantoms
La Perra, Friccion Visual
Jonas Hellborg, Personae
Bobby Previte, Bump
Don Preston, Transformation
Tunnels, Progressivity
Massacre, Meltdown
Larry Koonse, Americana
Jon Balke, Kyanos
Erik Friedlander, Grains of Paradise
Mephista, Black Narcissus
Deus ex Machina, Cinque
Hamster Theatre, Carvival Detournement
Sotos, Platypus
Sylvain Luc, Trio Sud
Nels Cline Singers, Instrumentals
Melvins, Ambient Hostile Takeover
Hasse Bruniusson, Flying Food Circus
Zony Mash, Live in Seattle
Present, High Infidelity
Spaceways Incorporated, 13 Cosmic Standards
Univers Zero, Rhythmix
Simon Nabatov Trio, Sneak Preview
Stuart Leibig, Pomegranate
Attention Deficit, Idiot King
Boredoms, Vision/Creation/Newsun
Jim Black, Alasnoaxis
Bill Frisell, The Willies
Rich Halley Trio, Objects

The Mooney Suzuki...modern MC5 rip off...great stuff