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But enough of listening to us. Here's what a few area notables had to say about some of their favorite albums and songs from this year. Also included are some saucy quotes culled from interviews with various music types that The Mag spoke with during this millennial season:



Mark Luce,

Lawrence-based writer,

Best albums:

 Aimee Mann, "Bachelor No. 2"  If someone writes better bittersweet songs than Aimee Mann, please let me know.

 PJ Harvey, "Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea"  Sure it sounds like Patti Smith. So what's the problem?

ÂRadiohead, "Kid A" Â Let the diehards cry foul, this spacy soundscape breaks new ground.

 Elliott Smith, "Figure 8"  Pure pop pleasure from the reluctant indie favorite.

 Los Lobos, "Del Este De Los Angeles (Just Another Band From East L.A.)"  This 2000 reissue of the band's rare 1977 release features the wolves having fun with acoustic Spanish numbers.

 Ryan Adams, "Heartbreaker"  Get left. Get drunk. Get sad. Get this record and revel in it all.

 Outkast, "Stankonia"  The "Dirty South" rises again. The single "Ms. Jackson" brings to mind early, funky Prince.

 Dandy Warhols, "Thirteen Tales of Urban Bohemia"  A bit arch on the title, but nice guitar work from Portland's answer to Wilco.

 Jurassic Five, "Quality Control"  Quality left-coast hip-hop.

 Asylum Street Spankers, "Spanker Madness"  The feel-good substance-abuse hit of the year.

Killa The Hun,

rapper for DVS Mindz,

Best albums:

 OutKast, "Stankonia"

 DJ Clue, "Backstage Mixtape"

 Big Pun, "Yeah Baby"

 DVS Mindz, "Million Dolla Broke Niggaz"

 Scarface, "Last of a Dying Breed"

 Ludacris, "Back for the First Time"

 Tony Touch, "The Piece Maker"

 Cap.One, "Through The Eyes of a Don"

Sue Malloy and Brad Boerger,

singer/guitarists for Coyote Project,

Best albums:

 Ida, "Will You Find Me"

 Steve Earle, "Transcendental Blues"

 Radiohead, "Kid A"

 Shelby Lynne, "I Am Shelby Lynne"

 Elliott Smith, "Figure 8"

 Bruce Hornsby, "Here Come the Noise Makers"

 Julie Doiron & the Wooden Stars, "Julie Doiron & the Wooden Stars"

 LTJ Bukem, "Journey Inwards"

 Dirty Three, "Whatever You Love, You Are"

Kareem Abdul Malik,

host of "Hip-Hop Hype," KJHK-FM 90.7

Best albums:

 Dead Prez, "Let's Get Free"

 Common, "Like Water For Chocolate"

 Erykah Badu, "Mama's Gun"

 Ghostface Killa, "Supreme Clientele"

 De La Soul, "Art Official Intelligence"

 OutKast, "Stankonia"

 Big L, "The Big Picture"

Damian Siwek,

guitarist for

Preferred Villain,

Best albums:

 Slash's Snakepit, "Ain't Life Grand?"  This album found a permanent stay in my CD player for all of 2000. Slash once again shows that there's nothing better than straight up rock 'n' roll. Like other albums that I've picked in my list, I respect an artist who won't change under the different musical climates of the day.

 Stevie Ray Vaughan "SRV Box Set"  The box's highlights are numerous, but a hat trick of acoustic live tracks from an early "MTV Un-plugged" session and a guitar duel with Jeff Beck on the Freddie King staple "Goin' Down" are alone worth the price of admission. This tribute left me sadly shaking my head wondering what may have been had he lived.

 Van Halen, "Re-masters" OK, maybe Warner Bros. reissued the original VH albums to make money, but there's no denying that these colossal rock records sound even better now. For those with a trained ear, you can hear a huge difference.

 Giuliano Carmignola/Venice Baroque Orchestra/Andrea Marcon, "Antonio Vivaldi: The Four Seasons; Concertos for Violin & Orchestra"  It might seem that the last thing the classical world needs is another Four Seasons, but violinist Giuliano Carmignola's playing is so virtuosic, and so sensitive to the programmatic elements, and the period orchestra's playing so clear, lively and astute, that all objections are overcome.

 AC/DC, "Stiff Upper Lip" ÂThere's something reassuring about the fact that on AC/DC's Stiff Upper Lip, the first new studio release from the Australian hard rock legend since 1995's "Ballbreaker," the band doesn't use samples or blend rap into its unmistakable sound. Rock music may have undergone a lot of changes in the last five years, but in the insular world of AC/DC, the song remains the same.

 Pantera, "Reinventing the Steel" ÂThere's not an ounce of fat on this album: not a weak vocal, a bum solo or a misfired beat among "Steel's" 10 tracks. And with such pouty-pussed, self-pitying metal bands as Korn still generating mass appeal, it's refreshing to see that a chart-topping bruiser like Pantera can kick our asses without asking us to feel its pain first.

 Eminem, "The Marshall Mathers LP" ÂEven though I don't listen to rap that much any more, I can't deny that Eminem is the best rapper I've ever heard. You know things are changing when the best rapper out there is white and the best golfer is black.

 Black Label Society, "Stronger than Death"  Zakk Wylde's band. Heavier than crap. Maximum Brutality. Nuff said.

 Al DiMeola, "Anthology"  One of the best guitarists of all time. Having a collection of his most memorable playing is a must have for anyone who wants to hear electric guitar playing pushed to sickening levels.

Darrell Lea,

guitarist for The Schwag,

Best albums

 Nothing is Always, "Coyote Project"

 Pete Townsend, "The Lifehouse Concert: Live at Sadler Wells 2000"

 Oasis, "Standing on The Shoulder of Giants"

 "Gladiator," "Original Motion Picture Soundtrack"

 John Lennon, "Plastic Ono Band [Original Recording Remastered]"

 The Beatles, "1" (I know it's all old, but it's still The Beatles!)

 Fairport Convention, "The Wood & the Wire"

 Thegither an' a', "Maria Anthony and Megan Hurt"

 Ratdog, "Evening Moods

Tony Nave,

host of "Guided by Flavor,"

Sunflower Cable Channel 6,

Best all-time songs ever about food

 "Every Time I Eat Vegetables It Makes Me Think of You," The Ramones

 "Cinnamon Girl," Neil Young

 "Chocolate Salty Balls," Isaac Hayes

 "Starfish and Coffee," Prince

 "Peaches," The Presidents of the United States of America

 "Incense and Peppermints," The Strawberry Alarm Clock

 "Holiday in Cambodia," Dead Kennedys (sick joke)

 "Yummy, Yummy, Yummy" Ohio Express

 "Jambalaya," Hank Williams

 "Dixie Chicken," Little Feat