1999 | Year End Favorites

Wilco - Summer Teeth (Reprise)

Mogwai - Come on Die Young (Matador)

Built to Spill - Keep it Like a Secret (Warner Bros.)

Flaming Lips - The Soft Bulletin (Warner Bros.)

Olivia Tremor Control - Black Foliage (volume 1) (Fly Daddy)

Tom Waits - Mule Variations (Epitaph)

Ben Harper - Burn To Shine (Virgin)

Smog - Knock Knock (Drag City)

Superchunk - Come Pick Me Up (Merge)

Labradford - E Luxo So (Kranky)

Folk Implosion - One Part Lullaby (Interscope)

Low - Secret Name (Kranky)

Bonnie Prince Billy - I SeeA Darkness (Drag City)

Tram - Heavy Black Frame (Jet Set)

Cocteau Twins - BBC Sessions (Bella Union)

Various Artists: Warp10+3 Remixes (Warp)

Death Cab for Cutie - something about airplanes (Elsinor/Barsuk)

Bardo Pond - Set and Setting (Matador)

Piano Magic - Low Birth Weight (Rocket Girl)

Appliance – Manual (Mute)

1998 | Year End Favorites

Mogwai - Any and All Releases (Chemikal Underground)

Godspeed You Black Emperor - F#A# Infinity (Constellation/Kranky)

Neutral Milk Hotel – In an Aeroplane Over The Sea (Merge)

Bob Dylan - Live 1966 (Columbia)

Lounge Lizards - Queen of All Ears (Strange & Beautiful Music)

AMP – Stenorette (Kranky)

Richard Buckner - Since (MCA)

Bedhead - Transaction De Novo (Trance Syndicate)

Marc Ribot - Y Los Cubanos Postizos (Atlantic)

The Beta Band - The Three EP's (Regal)

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – ACME (Matador)

Elliot Smith – XO (Dreamworks)

Darla Records - Bliss Out Series (Darla)

Sonic Youth - A Thousand Leaves (DGC)

Tortoise – TNT (Thrill Jockey)

Billy Bragg & Wilco - Mermaid Avenue (Elektra)

PJ Harvey - Is This Desire? (Island)

Seam - The Pace is Glacial (Touch and Go)

R.E.M. – UP (Warner Brothers)

Don Caballero - What Burns Never Returns (Touch and Go)

BEST LIVE PERFORMANCES

NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS @ METRO (CHICAGO)

RADIOHEAD / SPIRITUALIZED @ ROSEMONT THEATER (CHICAGO)

SONIC YOUTH @ RIVIERA (CHICAGO)

JEFF TWEEDY SOLO PERFORMANCES @ LOUNGE AX (CHICAGO)

1997 | Year End Favorites

Radiohead - OK Computer (Capitol)

Yo La Tengo - I Can Hear the Heart Beating... (Matador)

Bettie Serveert - Dust Bunnies (Matador)

Tindersticks – Curtains (London)

Bardo Pond – Lapsed (Matador)

Helium - The Magic City (Matador)

Laika - Sounds of the Satellites (Too Pure)

Stereolab - Dots and Loops (Elektra)

Sonora Pine – II (Quarterstick)

Spiritualized - Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space (Dedicated)

Velvet Underground - Fully Loaded (Atlantic)

Flying Saucer Attack - New Lands (Drag City)

Portishead – Portishead (London)

Labradford - Mi Media Naranja (Kranky)

The Sea and Cake - Two Gentlemen (Thrill Jockey)

Will Oldham – Joya (Drag City)

Elliot Smith - Either/Or (Kill Rock Stars)

T Model Ford - Pee Wee Get My Gun (Fat Possum)

Galaxie 500 - Copenhagen (Ryko)

The Promise Ring - Nothing Feels Good (Jade Tree)

1996 | Year End Favorites

Wilco - Being There

Tortoise - Millions Now Living Will Never Die

DJ Shadow - Entroducing...

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Murder Ballads

Beck - Odelay

Tricky - Pre-Millenium Tension

Afghan Whigs - Black Love

Soul Coughing - Irresistible Bliss

Red House Painters - Songs For A Blue Guitar

Jonathan Fire Eater - Tremble Under Boom Lights

His Name Is Alive - Stars on E.S.P.

Los Lobos - Colossal Head

The Jesus Lizard - Shot

The Cardigans - Life

Silkworm - Firewater

Stereolab - Emperor Tomato Ketchup

Pearl Jam - No Code

Luscious Jackson - Fever In / Fever Out

Guided By Voices - Under The Bushes Under The Stars

The Fall - Light Users Syndrome

1995 | Year End Favorites

Oasis - What's The Story Morning Glory

Tindersticks - Tindersticks II

Chemical Brothers - Exit Planet Dust

Elastica - Elastica

Son Volt - Trace

Tricky - Maxinquaye

Laika - Silver Apples on the Moon

Golden Smog - Down By the Old Mainstream

Sparklehorse - VivaDixieSubmarineTransmissionPlot

Rolling Stones - Rock and Roll Circus

Boss Hog - Boss Hog

Mercury Rev - See You On The Other Side

Sonic Youth - Washing Machine

Radiohead - The Bends

Garbage - Garbage

Drugstore - Drugstore

Low - Long Division

The Dirty Three - The Dirty Three

Hum - You'd Prefer An Astronaut

Jawbreaker - Dear You

1994 | Year End Favorites

Pavement - Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain

Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds - Let Love In

The Verve - A Northern Soul

Nirvana - MTV Unplugged

Portishead - Dummy

Beastie Boys - Ill Communication

Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral

Tori Amos - Under The Pink

Sebadoh - Bake Sale

Oasis - Definitely Maybe

The Jesus & Mary Chain - Stoned & Dethroned

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Orange

Pearl Jam - Vitalogy

Liz Phair - Whip-Smart

Girls Against Boys - Cruise Yourself

Luna - Bewitched

Veruca Salt - American Thighs

Supergrass - I Should Coco

St. Johnny - Speed Is Dreaming

Superchunk - Foolish

1993 | Year End Favorites

Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream

Afghan Whigs - Gentlemen

Stereolab - Transient Random-Noise Bursts With Announcements

Mazzy Star - So Tonight That I Might See

Morphine - Cure For Pain

The Flaming Lips - Transmissions From The Satellite Heart

The Breeders - Last Splash

Nirvana - In Utero

Archers of Loaf - Icky Mettle

Bjork - Debut

The The - Dusk

Mercury Rev - Boces

The Verve - A Storm In Heaven

Pearl Jam – Vs.

Liz Phair - Exile in Guyville

Sebadoh - Bubble and Scrape

Bailter Space - Robot World

Belly - Star

Yo La Tengo - Painful

Swervedriver - Mezcal Head