1. THE NINES - Properties of Sound
This may very well be the best pop album you'll hear in a long, long time! Any music lover worth their salt should own this stellar new release from the Toronto band fronted by the songwriting genius of Steve Eggers. An incredibly rich, melodic blend of XTC, Ben Folds, McCartney, Teenage Fanclub pop smarts with incredibly memorable songs that sound inspired, fresh, and downright hypnotic.

2. ROSENBERGS - Mission:You
A polished, melodically rich pop album with driving hooks, sweet soaring vocals and a pop and power sensibility that harkens to Fountains of Wayne and the full-band era Posies. A steallar new release from the NYC quartet!

3. THE ORGONE BOX - (Self-Titled)
Imagine outtakes from Sgt. Pepper played by early Pink Floyd then peppered with an astute, contemporary pop sensibility: you'd have the Orgone Box in a nutshell! A vibrant, whirling, psychedlic pop experience. Brilliant!

4. GUIDED BY VOICES - Isolation Drills
In his recent process of becoming more mainstream while still maintaining the eclectic, enigmatic lore that is GBV, Bob Pollard has become an astute pop songsmith. "Isolation Drills" is a vibrant, engaging, and explosive album.

5. THE MINUS 5/YOUNG FRESH FELLOWS - Let the War Against Music Begin
How can you go wrong with an all-star line-up that includes Peter Buck (REM), Dennis Diken (Smithereens), Robyn Hitchcock, Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer (The Posies). The host of guest musicians in the Minus 5 reads like a "Who's Who" of the Seattle music scene. Driven by the twisted, melodic pop genius of Scott McCaughey, the M5 is an engaging, yet complex pop band that evokes the pop smarts of contemporaries such as Jellyfish, XTC, Zumpano and Apples in Stereo while paying equal homage to pop godfathers such as the Beatles and Beach Boys. A stellar album!

Scott McCaughey's other odd music bedfellow and a staple of the Seattle scene since the grunge years, The Young Fresh Fellows mixes some of the pop sophistication of the Minus 5 with a little more humor and punk 'tude. The added guitar assault from veteran Kurt Bloch (Fastbacks)also gives YFF an edge in the RAWK department. This is straight-up, no frills power pop!

6. PHAMOUS PHACES - New Pop City
Any music fan worth their salt knows that the paramount element of any good music is the SONG. In a world of watered-down and often forgettable pop music, Eugene Oregon's Phamous Phaces have an uncanny knack to deliver a familiar, yet fresh approach to pop...with a focus on solid, memorable songs. In addition to a sharp pop songwriting sensibility, the foursome's 3rd full-length album also offers crisp production, and a clean, well-seasoned playing style that recalls such classic stalwarts as the Smithereens and Nick Lowe.

7. COTTON MATHER - The Big Picture
While it would be difficult to match the under-stated brilliance of their 1998 album "Kon Tiki", Austin, Texas' Cotton Mather are certainly in the same arena with "The Big Picture". A lush and lilting album of jangly guitars, Lennon-esque song structures and left-of-center melodic stylings. Not your average pop band.

8. LISTEN TO WHAT THE MAN SAID - A Tribute to Paul McCartney
A stellar line-up of pop veterans pay homage to Sir Paul on this awesome tribute to his post-Beatles repertoire. Contributions from Matthew Sweet, Sloan, Tim & Neil Finn, World Party, Semisonic and Owsley (among others) breathe fresh, new life into the songwriting brilliance of pop music's Godfather.

9. THE FLASHING LIGHTS - Sweet Release
This, the Lights' 2nd full-length release, is a solid, engaging piece of retro-tinged pop rock with nods to the melody and grace of 60's Beatlesque pop to the pouty, posturing, bar chord grooves of 70's arena rock. Singer Matt Murphy's lyrics are cryptic and poetic as ever, and the confident, self-assured sound of this sorely overlooked band has grown leaps from their 1998 debut.

10. SLOAN - Pretty Together
Canada's favorite native sons return with their 6th full-length release. This time, they've embraced the stripped-down, 70's soft rock approach. Not as immediately engaging as their previous releases, but still light years ahead of most cookie-cutter pop.

11. WEEZER - (Self-Titled)
Many Weezer fans may feel justly short-changed with the long awaited third album, which at only 28 minutes long, is a fleeting pop moment compared to the complex brilliance of Pinkerton and the insanely memorable debut (aka the "Blue Album"). Nevertheless, the band's five-year hiatus, which found Rivers Cuomo in various stages of musical neurosis, has yielded an engaging snapshot of what hooked us to Weezer in the first place: driving pop rock anthems and hummable hooks to swoon the masses and a geeky, anti-rock star sensibility that appeals to the most discerning indie rocker.

12. THE LOLAS - Silver Dollar Sunday
A fresh, new power pop band out of Brimingham, Alabama that take the tried-and-true jangle-pop formula to new heights with crafty, memorable songs, aggresive playing style and lush melodies, harmonies, and guitar textures. The perfect album for summer!