Best Music of 2003

Year Of The Rhinos - The Rhinos. Rickenbacker 12-string guitar riffs abound throughout an album that sounds like Velvet Crush under the guidance of Roger McGuinn. Jangly, Byrdsian pseudo-60s pop from the good folks at Rainbow Quartz.

Full Tilt & Swing - Walter Clevenger & the Dairy Kings. Clevenger remains the master of genre-crossing jangle'n'twang pop/roots-rock. Ballads like "Let Your Hair Down Tonight" will tug at your heartstrings, while the upbeat pop tunes like "Jonathan Doe" will stick in your mind.

All Wrongs Reversed - Marc Carroll. Equal parts of George Harrison, the Beach Boys and a dash of Adam Schmitt. "Crashpad Number" is a timeless pop tune with chiming guitars galore!

Dog Dreams - Robert Crenshaw. Robert is now the mainstream pop artist that brother Marshall was twenty years ago. This is his third full-length album, and it's time for the pop community to discover him. This album shines from start to finish, but it's hard to resist the Phil Spector-inspired "wall of sound" on "Girl Next Door."

Taking Northern Liberties - Three 4 Tens. An excellent disc from the cream of the current crop of Teenage Fanclub disciples. Lots of jangle; lots of pseudo-60s psych-pop. Do we expect anything less from primo label Rainbow Quartz?

There's This Girl - Lovetap. As fine an indie alt-rock/pop album as Omaha, Nebraska has ever produced! "Kayla" gets my award for power ballad of the year, and "Please" harkens back to the 60s and Beatlesque pop.

Silver & Gold - The Lolas. Twenty-seven songs from the BEST power pop band around - even without Michael Carpenter's affiliation! Pop fans will be listening to this great compilation twenty years from now.

Kingsrdworks - Michael Carpenter. The best Tom Petty album of the year. Carpenter is a pop/rock chameleon who can emulate just about any artist from the past five decades … and he does it so effortlessly!

Fire Garden - George Usher Group. Fifteen more great catchy psych-pop and pseudo-60s pop tunes from an artist who continues to sound a lot like Roger McGuinn. George even adds some Beatlesque riffs on "Daylight Comes."

Pop Dreams - Jeremy. This is Jeremy Morris' best album yet - chock full of Byrds and Beatles-inspired tunes … and a wonderful cover of Bart Mendoza's "I Believe."

ARTIST OF THE YEAR: Michael Carpenter. Whether he is performing as a singer, songwriter, instrumentalist, solo artist, band member or a producer, everything he touches is simply top-notch pop!

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