Austin, Texas is the absolute middle of the music world in March.

Join us for an in-depth look at 22 of the hottest, most important acts playing this year’s festival. To whet your appetite, here are the picks of PLAYBACK:stl editors and staffers making the trip, as well as those of some of our industry friends. See you in Austin!

http://2006.sxsw.com/music/ 

Brian McClelland | Live Music Editor
1. The Jessica Fletchers
2. Viva Voce
3. Mates of State
4. Rogers Sisters
5. Susannah Hoffs & Matthew Sweet
6. The Heavenly States
7. Frog Eyes
8. Chocolate Genius Inc.
9. Buck 65
10. Dressy Bessy

Nico Leone | KDHX Program Director
1. Camera Obscura
2. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
3. Gogol Bordello
4. Mogwai
5. Old Crow Medicine Show
6. Page France
7. +/-
8. Undertow Records showcase
9. White Ghost Shivers
10. Wooden Wand

Laura Hamlett | Managing Editor
1. Morrissey
2. Bluebottle Kiss
3. Hard-Fi
4. Dirty Pretty Things
5. Art Brut
6. Blue October
7. Minus the Bear
8. Elbow
9. The Velvet Teen
10. OK Go

Kimberly Faulhaber | Fish in a Barrel
1. Bettye LaVette
2. Destroyer
3. Aberfeldy
4. Susanna Hoffs/Matthew Sweet
5. The Rogers Sisters
6. Buck 65
7. Teddy Thompson
8. The Gossip
9. David Mead
10. The Twilight Singers

Jesse Raya | The Pageant St. Louis Publicity
1. Dungen
2. Morrissey
3. Art Brut
4. Blanche
5. World Party
6. World Leader Pretend
7. Turn Me On Dead Man
8. Tralala
9. Teddy Thompson
10. Stan Ridgway/Beth Orton (tie)

Jim Dunn | Associate Editor
1. Elbow
2. Twilight Singers
3. The Subways
4. Be Your Own Pet
5. Lab Partners
6. The Cribs
7. Radio 4
8. Aberdeen City
9. Dirty Pretty Things
10. Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band

Nic Harcout | KCRW Morning Becomes Eclectic
1. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
2. Jesca Hoop
3. Editors
4. Corinne Bailey Rae
5. Guggenheim Grotto
6. DeVotchKa
7. Ladytron
8. KT Tunstall
9. Persephone’s Bees
10. Brazilian Girls

Chloe Walsh | Press Here Publicity
1. Arctic Monkeys
2. Animal Collective
3. Lady Sovereign
4. Love Is All
5. Cerys Matthews
6. Morrissey
7. Whirlwind Heat
8. The Zutons
9. Mike Wexler
10. Mazarin