Been listening to tons of good radio station promos that probably won't be making my top 20 (and as tough at is, I'm still only letting myself keep 20 albums from a single year in their entirety), but deserve a shout-out all the same. So in the spirit of Entertainment Weekly, let's indulge in a little style-bite.

Honorable Mentions (in order of preference)

ChinaAir, F.O.B. Rock Haircut!
(Dalycity)
Asian-American one-man Blink-182 gets a lot of mileage out of himself ("Bowlcut Blitzkrieg," "You're Big In Japan")


Hellacopters, By The Grace Of God
(Liquor And Poker, 2002 reissue)
'70s arena-rock dreams actually less turgid than the real thing ("Rainy Days Revisted," "The Exorcist")


Blood Brothers, Crimes
(V2)
The ghost of Tim Taylor has possessed Jack White! Oh shit! Meg, too! ("Peacock Skeleton With Crooked Feathers," "My First Kiss At The Public Execution")


For Against, Echelons
(Words On Music, 1986 reissue)
I had no idea there was a missing link between Flock Of Seagulls and Dag Nasty ("Daylight," "Autocrat")


Radio 4, Stealing Of A Nation
(Astralwerks)
The Rapture with Ted Leo on vocals; Underworld and the Happy Mondays for short attention spans. Hooray for hacks! ("Party Crashers," "Absolute Affirmation")


TV On The Radio, New Health Rock EP
(Touch And Go)
Spirited re-write of hit bj skeez, album highlight, YYYs cover infused with wimawaca ("New Health Rock," "The Wrong Way")


Prodigy, Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned
(Maverick)
Side one: classic field hockey jock jams, side two: '98 flashbacks that understandably embarass technoids ("Get Up Get Off," "Action Radar")


Dizzee Rascal, Showtime
(XL)
Props for the neat beats and bass boost, but American versions of the archetpye rarely grab me either ("Stand Up Tall," "Imagine")


The Zutons, Who Killed...The Zutons
(Epic)
The OK Lost Lola Outtakes ("Pressure Point," "Nightmare Part II")


Camper Van Beethoven, New Roman Times
(Pitch-A-Tent)
Hard to complain about jack-off when Cracker couldn't even get it up ("Might Makes Right," "Hey Brother")


Yourcodenameis:milo, All Roads To Fault
(Beggars Banquet)
'98 indiemo basement show flashbacks only Brits could pull off unselfconsciously today ("The Problem," "First Mater Responds")


I may do this again if I don't get too much shit for it.