| 40 | CHAIRLIFT DOES YOU INSPIRE YOU Singing about handstands in a Nano commercial, this obscure Brooklyn-based trio achieved who is this? notoriety even before their debut album's release. Besotted with reverb-drenched synthetic lushness, they flit from uncanny new-wave caricatures to beguiling heroin country ballads, nodding deeply to David Lynch's Angelo Badalamenti-scored oeuvre. Their artful absurdity never falters, no matter how many vocal identities Caroline Polachek tries and abandons. BARRY WALTERS |  |
| 39 | GUNS N' ROSES CHINESE DEMOCRACY The last time Axl Rose gave the world a set of new Guns N' Roses tunes, he required two albums to contain them. After 16 years of editing, the mad frontman whittled down Chinese Democracy to a single disc, but it's no less idea-stuffed than Use Your Illusion I and II. In "There Was a Time" alone, GNR v2.0 find a route from righteous church music to devilish rap rock. Though there are no "November Rain"-level melodies to be found, it's still a relative feast after the famine. MIKAEL WOOD |  |
| 38 | OASIS DIG OUT YOUR SOUL Based on songful merit -- not the brutish stasis Oasis supposedly represent -- 2005's Don't Believe the Truth was a remarkable rebirth, as both Gallaghers penned timeless, heartfelt Britpop that packed arenas with misty fist-pumping. Dig injects a darker rhythmic urgency, plus a newfound, psych-swirling reflection. "The Shock of the Lightning" and "Falling Down" ooze battered wisdom, not creaky bluster; even Liam's ballad "I'm Outta Time" la-las with a mature tenderness. CHARLES AARON |  |
| 37 | WOLF PARADE AT MOUNT ZOOMER Lacking the immediate hooks of 2005's Apologies to the Queen Mary, Zoomer appeared at first blush to be the quintessential Difficult Second Album. But it's a grower not a shower -- behind the more intricate arrangements lies a pastiche of '70s-tinged glam, prog, and pop that sounds thoroughly modern. Not to mention surprisingly cohesive, despite the band's hydralike combo of Dan Boeckner's rawk swagger and Spencer Krug's whinnying idiosyncrasy. STEVE KANDELL |  |
| 36 | LYKKE LI YOUTH NOVELS "For you I keep my legs apart," this young Swede confides in her breakthrough single, "Little Bit." The provocation could be Katy Perry's, but the steely passion is pure Lykke Li -- this is her proclamation of absolute fidelity. There's vulnerability and fearlessness in her makeup; studio finesse from Björn Yttling (of Peter Bjorn and John) brings out both in an unconventionally stark yet nuanced debut that complements Li's pop instincts and complicates even her most straightforward serenades. B.W. |  |
| 35 | THE RACONTEURS CONSOLERS OF THE LONELY In 2006, Jack White's just-one-of-the-boys-on-the-bus spiel seemed no less an affectation than his red pleather pants. But two years (and one Meg anxiety attack) later, the Raconteurs, and his role within them, feel much more natural and assured. "Hold Up" and "Salute Your Solution" are blistering rockers served well by an actual rhythm section, and sidekick singer-guitarist Brendan Benson fully becomes White's equal with his lead turns on the brassy "The Switch and the Spur" and "Many Shades of Black." S.K. |  |
| 34 | MILES BENJAMIN ANTHONY ROBINSON MILES BENJAMIN ANTHONY ROBINSON The drums rush to find footing, the woozy harmonies scrape together harshly -- this is clearly not the debut of someone who has all the answers. But Robinson, a Brooklyn singer-songwriter who has survived terrible spells of depression and drugs, is propelled by the hope that his ruddy folk rock will reach a spiritual place, though the Dylan-esque strain in his voice is a study in wild abandon. STACEY ANDERSON. |  |
| 33 | EL GUINCHO ALEGRANZA Barcelona's Pablo Díaz-Reixa samples and psychedelizes deliriously happy records to evoke the chaos of carnival time. Alegranza's overdubbed choir of voices and endlessly layered beats conversely suggest miseries temporarily escaped. "All of the joy of young people in love is conveyed in this delightfully simple melody," announces a sound bite on "Fata Morgana," which, like the rest of this delightfully warped album, sounds like a crowded island merry-go-round spiraling off its axis. B.W. |  |
| 32 | THE GUTTER TWINS SATURNALIA No big surprise that the long-awaited collaboration between '90s-vintage gloom kings Mark Lanegan and Greg Dulli wasn't exactly the feel-good hit of the year. But the former's narcoleptic, baritone moan and the latter's mischievous, soulful wail give these mid-tempo dirges, awash in revelations and Revelation, a touch of grace that recalls their classic work without repeating it. The most upbeat moment: the synthy "Idle Hands," in which the word suffer pops up only four times. S.K. |  |
| 31 | BON IVER FOR EMMA, FOREVER AGO In a strong year for austere folkies, no one did more with less than Bon Iver's Justin Vernon. Looking like he just returned from the woods and sounding like maybe he wanted to stay, the Wisconsin resident built a cathedral to lost love from a base of acoustic guitar and his astonishing, frequently multitracked vocals. As posed by Vernon's gorgeously earthy falsetto, a question as simple as "Who will love you?" takes on shattering emotional force. As it should. DAVID MARCHESE |  |
