Judging from recent releases this year, it looks like Women Artists will dominate my year-end music poll. Nothing against the guys! but women are rocking my world of late.

IN MY ROOM-JULY 2003

1. "World Without Tears", Lucinda Williams. There just isn’t one weak track on this record. Looks like this one is going to stay in heavy rotation till year’s end.
2. "Rules of Travel", Roseanne Cash. Like many on this list, It has been far to long a wait for a new set of songs from Roseanne. "September When It Comes", a duet with her dad, is worth the price of admission alone.
3. " The Grotto", Kristin Hersh. Ahhh! those glorious days of my youth. Seeing the Throwing Muses perform live in Boston and Providence during my under-grad years(1984-88) seem just like yesterday. This is Kristin’s best solo release. A somber, moody collection of subtle melodies that get more interesting with each listen.
4. " Bare", Annie Lennox. What an album! Annie spills her guts out for the whole world to listen. This is right up there with Peter Gabriel’s "US" as a testament to heartbreak after the end of a relationship. What a comeback!!!
5. " Night On My Side"(North American edition), Gemma Hayes. Typical American record label story: Take an amazing import release that is a year old, remix the songs, change the tracklisting and repackage the artwork to appease the American record buying public. Well, normally this never works, but in this case, Astralwerks gets it right. By omitting a few weaker tracks and replacing them with two excellent selections from Gemma’s debut EP they made a strong debut even better. Though, a misstep with the repackaged artwork!
6. " High Dive", Maria McKee. Maria’s a nutcase in my book. But, her voice is one of those special instruments that come along very rarely. Lone Justice’s debut is still one of my favorite releases ever. This is a record for fans only.
7. " Chinatown", The Be Good Tanya’s. Personally, not as strong as their debut! but then again, there is no one out there like these gals. Can’t wait to see them live!
8. "10", Kate Rusby. I just can’t stop listening to this collection of previous released tracks. What a voice!
9. "Holy Road: Freedom Songs", Lizzie West. Excellent collection of pop songs that remind me of 10,000 Maniacs in their prime. Here’s hoping she doesn’t fall through the cracks because of the obstacles of releasing a creative disc on a major label with very little backing and no radio play.
10. " Soul Journey", Gillian Welch. Another strong recording from this amazing American artist. But in defense of men: When is David going to get more credit! It’s time for Gillian to share the bill with her husband!

Cheers, Kevin(from Arizona)