ALBUMS (descending points)
1. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
2. Patty Griffin - Children Running Through
3. Brandi Carlile - The Story
4. Amy Winehouse - Back to Black
5. Bruce Springsteen - Magic
6. Miranda Lambert - Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
7. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
8. Teddy Thompson - Upfront and Down Low
9. Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - Raising Sand
10. Travis - The Boy with No Name

TRACKS
1. The Shins - Phantom Limb
2. Kanye West - Stronger
3. Rihanna (feat. Jay-Z) - Umbrella
4. Nellie McKay - Identity Theft
5. Miranda Lambert - Famous in a Small Town
6. Duran Duran - Falling Down
7. Travis - My Eyes
8. Rufus Wainwright - Between My Legs
9. Band of Horses - Is There a Ghost
10. Rilo Kiley - Silver Lining

REISSUES
1. Neko Case & Her Boyfriends - Furnace Room Lullaby
2. Joy Division - Closer
3. U2 - The Joshua Tree
4. Leonard Cohen - Songs of Love and Hate
5. Genesis - Abacab

ARTISTS
1. Patty Griffin
2. Method Man
3. Miranda Lambert
4. LeAnn Rimes
5. Teddy Thompson

COMMENTS
1 Arcade Fire, Neon Bible
Win Butler and his fervent, paranoid Canadian comrades are teetering on the cusp of the mainstream, but their sophomore album is an exquisite, ambitious journey into modern man's heart of darkness.

2 Patty Griffin, Children Running Through
The Austin songbird flits between folk, rock and country, evoking childhood and poignant reverence. It's arguably Griffin's best yet, in a career littered with brilliance.

3 Brandi Carlile, The Story
The 26-year-old broke through thanks to Grey's Anatomy, but she's no pop lightweight: The Story is a breathtaking blend of gritty style and heartbreaking substance.

4 Amy Winehouse, Back to Black
What began as a breakout year dissolved into tear-soaked tabloid tragedy, but despite Winehouse's personal problems, Back to Black resonates as a defiant, defining masterpiece.

5 Bruce Springsteen, Magic
The Boss roared back with his best E Street disc since, well, the last one (2002's The Rising). It stars one of the year's classic singles, Girls in Their Summer Clothes.

6 Miranda Lambert, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
The fire-breathing East Texan kicked down Nashville's door with this feisty, fearless record, as loaded with melody as it is attitude. It's the sound of a legend in the making.

7 Spoon, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Aggressively refining their sound and simultaneously writing some of the most straightforward pop songs of their career, Austin's premier indie rockers deliver a moody gem.

8 Teddy Thompson, Up Front and Down Low
The scion of a revered British folk family does old-school country proud, dusting off some classics and serving up an original that fits snugly alongside the standards.

9 Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Raising Sand
An unlikely pairing, but the results are hard to argue with. Fort Worth-raised producer T Bone Burnett guides rock's golden god and the bluegrass queen as they make sweet, sinister music together.

10 Travis, The Boy With No Name
These Scots have struggled mightily to connect with American audiences, but if a polished, emotionally engaged collection such as this fails to take hold, then we don't deserve 'em.

—Preston Jones, Fort Worth Star-Telegram