Voted for but didn't quite make the Top 25

American Football: s/t
Ah, Mike Kinsella—how wonderful you are.  Not only did you bestow sweetly profound bliss upon your listeners as Owen and with The Owls, but you also gave us a reflective precursor to those projects with American Football.  Short-lived but deeply thoughtful, this little shooting star of an album made an entire generation fall in love with love. | Anne Valente

Brave Saint Saturn: The Light of Things Hoped For
Honest. Clever. Outrageous. This album is space rock at its finest (though really, when is space rock not fine?), particularly the goosebump-inducing duo of "Estrella" and "Heart Still Beats." Reese Roper is a certified nut, and anything with his name on it deserves at least a listen; this deserves repeats. | Aaron Brummet

Eltro: Velodrome (Absolutely Kosher)
These visionary Philadelphia drone-pop purveyors missed the internet/blog-fueled hunger for inventive electronica by just a bleep-PING. Velodrome showcases lush, sparkling, multi-layered grooves topped with Diana Prescott's subtly alluring vocals. "Niagara," "Escaping Flatland" and "Denver International" are just a few of the mesmerizing gems here. It coulda been a contender. | Kevin Renick

Matthew Good: In a Coma: 1995-2005 (Universal Canada)
The reason Matthew Good's not a household name in the United States is because, well, Universal didn't try very hard. At home in his native Canada, he's a rock star. But here in the States Universal gave him just one release-2001's Beautiful Midnight with the Matthew Good Band-with everything before and since available as import-only. Because it's hard to pick just one Good album to highlight, I went with the collection, last year's In a Coma, which spans ten years of Good's band and solo career. Listening to it, you hear not only the commercial potential but also the intelligence and thought behind the music. Good's arrangements are inspired, whether he's all out rocking or stripped down with strings. His voice can go from a roar to a whisper thin vibrato; it's that smooth. And the lyrics will give you something to chew on, indeed. Good's a reluctant rock star, to be sure, but there's no denying his musical genius. | Laura Hamlett

Ho-Hum: Sanduleak (1997) It wasn't until after this Little Rock, Ark. band's major label debut/misfire (with Elvis Costello and Morrissey's production team, no less) and subsequent dismissal that genius struck with their self-produced indie follow-up, Sanduleak, the definitive collection of brothers Lenny and Rod Bryan's sad gas-station-attendant pop songs. Nearly ten years and several critically acclaimed self-releases later, Rod's currently running as an independent in the upcoming Arkansas gubernatorial election, no shit. | Brian McClelland

Invert: s/t
After Kronos Quartet's scary, Psycho-like soundtrack for Requiem for a Dream, I was left craving more music from a string quartet that would scare the hell out of me. There are surprisingly few modern recordings that fit the bill, but Invert, a string quartet that has two cellists instead of two violinists, really hits the nail on the head with their debut LP. | Pete Timmermann

Wyclef Jean : Welcome to Haiti Creole 101
The artist is not overlooked but this album is, by me and by many. It demonstrates Wyclef's tremendous depth and his cultural and linguistical sophistication, with delightfully celebratory, hoppin' Carribean anthems. The brilliance of the song "President," is enough to warrant this album's placement. | Nate Dewart

The Juliana Theory: Deadbeat Sweetheartbeat
TJT lost plenty of support after a couple of disappointing releases. But Deadbeat, their swan song, was easily a "comeback of the year" contender, and possibly their best album. Full of driving guitars, heartfelt passion, and the sarcasm that trademarked their finest moments, it should be on everyone's radar. | Aaron Brummet

Little Brother: The Listening (2003, ABB Records)
It didn't make the list, but Little Brother's "The Listening" is the brightest bright spot in the last five years for Hip-Hop. The North Carolina trio put together a soulful, original hip-hop album that channels Tribe and De La Soul. No big booty bitches, cocaine dealings or Cadillac Escalades included. | Sam Levy

Rival Schools:  United By Fate
A supergroup of sorts, Rival Schools consisted of members of such legendary punk outfits as Gorilla Biscuits, Quicksand, CIV and Youth Of Today.  Their only LP, United By Fate, sounded like a grunge on punk orgy with the perfect hooks and vocals (by the amazing Walter Schreifels) to make it radio friendly and tasteful at the same time.  Sadly, the band broke up in 2003 after only one album, limiting their time to get noticed by many people.  United By Fate still stands up as an amazing album by a short lived band. | Chris Schott

The Unicorns: Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone? (2003, Alien8)
The Unicorns, ala their spiritual godfather Biggie Smalls, seemed to sense that they were a doomed act from the start. Loosely organized under the thematic heading of "personal mortality," this cracked set of lo-fi gems crammed in enough hooks to sustain a decade-long discography. A sonic mixture this unstable, unfortunately, could never last beyond one album. Thank goodness Islands are forever. | Jeremy Goldmeier

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