ALBUMS OF THE YEAR 2002
compiled from the critics' choices in the following publications: Uncut, Q, Mojo, the NME and The Face
1
Original Pirate Material
The Streets
2
Yoshima Battles the Pink Robots
The Flaming Lips
3
The Coral
The Coral
4
Sea Change
Beck
5
The Eminem Show
Eminem
6
The Beginning Stages Of ...
The Polyphonic Spree
7
Songs for the Deaf
Queens of the Stone Age
8
Geogaddi
Boards of Canada
9
A Rush of Blood to the Head
Coldplay
10
Highly Evolved
The Vines
11=
The Datsuns
The Datsuns
11=
The Rising
Bruce Springsteen
13=
Turn on the Bright Lights
Interpol
13=
Up the Bracket
The Libertines
15
Lapalco
Brendan Benson
16
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Wilco
17
A Little Deeper
Ms Dynamite
18
The Last Broadcast
Doves
19
Demolition
Ryan Adams
20
Handcream for a Generation
Cornershop
21
The Blueprint
Jay-Z
22
About a Boy
Badly Drawn Boy
23
Don't Give Up On Me
Solomon Burke
24
Out of Season
Beth Gibbons & Rustin Mann
25
Life On Other Planets
Supergrass
26
In Search Of ...
N*E*R*D
27
BRMC
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
28
Blood Money
Tom Waits
29=
Heathen
David Bowie
29=
Under Construction
Missy Elliott
NOTES:
Pretty much a standard year then: 16 albums by old favourites and 14 albums by new artists. That's new as in new to these charts - obviously Solomon Burke isn't actually new, as such. There's the usual mix of singer/songwriters (Beck, Ryan Adams, Badly Drawn Boy), noisy guitar rock (Vines, Datsuns, BRMC) and the acceptable end of hip-hop (Missy Elliott, Eminem, Jay-Z). Actually Jay-Z, together with N*E*R*D, deserves congratulations for getting the same record into these charts for a second consecutive year.
Just outside the top 30 were The Hives, Lambchop, Foo Fighters, DJ Shadow and Red Hot Chili Peppers. Old boys Johnny Cash and Steve Earle also both just missed out but Springsteen made his first appearance for several years.
And finally, for the first time since his artistic renaissance with Tin Machine (note: this is not a joke), Bowie finally got some recognition. Damn fine record it is too.
