1. Tom Waits - Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers and Bastards
2. Various Artists - Rogue's Gallery
3. Scott Walker - The Drift
4. Johnny Cash - American V: A Hundred Highways
5. Cibelle - The Shine Of Dried Electric Leaves
6. Joanna Newsom - Ys
7. Robyn Hitchcock - Ole Tarantula
8. Bob Dylan - Modern Times
9. The Decemberists - The Crane Wife
10. Lambchop - Damaged
11. Liars - Drum's Not Dead
12. Drive By Truckers - A Blessing and a Curse
13. Belle & Sebastian - The Life Pursuit
14. Natacha Atlas - Mish Maoul
15. The Fiery Furnaces - Bitter Tea
16. Richard Butler - Richard Butler
17. Frank Black - Fast Man/Raider Man
18. The Church - Uninvited, Like the Clouds
19. Eels - Live At Town Hall
20. Jerry Lee Lewis - Last Man Standing

couple handfuls more nearly made it to #20

Post the complete list.

Waits at #1, huh? There are definitely a ton of gems on that. There are also some clunkers ("Road to Peace", mainly).

I'm still kicking myself for not picking up that Robyn Hitchcock album at the Tower sale.

What is Rogue's Gallery?

It's a pirate and sea shantey Hal Wilner joint. Here's Hal on it:

http://www.anti.com/catalog.php?id=67

Excellent.


The main ones on there that I haven't heard anything from are the legends: Waits, Walker, Hitchcock, Dylan, Lewis. But that's because I'm anal about looking into older artists and feel like I should hear everything they've released in chronological order. Most of those artists, I'm lucky if I've heard their first few albums.

Considering how many releases I haven't heard this year or have only heard a few tracks from, it's a good list.

i'd never heard of scott walker until a week ago and now i see his name everywhere.

Oldies radio remembers him for Walker Brothers songs like "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore." But his solo stuff since the 80's is next to nothing like the Righteous Brothers-as-chamber-pop stuff of the Walker Brothers. He's still got the tremulous baritione but is so very much stranger now. His late 60-70's solo albums are kind of the middle ground between the two extremes.

Solid yet yearning. Good list.

I'm from Maine. I can yearn okay. Hopeful melancholy and all.

Wanted to check out that Cibelle release.

Good to see Lambchop on another list.

some others I like: Persephone's Bees, Saint Etienne, Guillemots, Ray Davies, Blue October, Donald Fagen, Destroyer, Sonic Youth, TV On The Radio, Two Gallants, Essex Green, Pipettes, Neil Young, Regina Spektor, Camera Obscura, Ray Lamontagne, Neko Case, Jim Noir, Morrissey, Mojave 3, Th' Legendary Shack Shakers, Old Crow Medicine Show, Flaming Lips, Margot & The Nuclear So & So's, Marconi Union, East River Pipe, Cat Power, Loose Fur, The Elected, Dresden Dolls, Eleventh Dream Day, Rose Melberg, Adrian Belew, Jenny Lewis, Lanegan/Campbell, Guster, Killing Joke, Gomez, Calexico, Mogwai, Hem, Chumbawamba, Half-Handed Cloud, Solomon Burke, Junior Boys...and probably a lot of Beach House type things once I actually hear the whole thing. Haven't heard at least 60-percent of what's on the shmoo drop-down list.

I concur!