4. Kanye West, Late Registration


At least he's got the good sense to over-orchestrate his songs when his ego threatens to humble him before the eyes of impatient critics. Jon Brion should sell his mellotron to Aimee Mann as a parting gift.


3. M.I.A., Arular


One of the year's most gratifying sights was watching teens who wouldn't know Sri Lanka from Sirhan Sirhan go apeshit over "Bucky Done Gun" and "Galang." The kerfuffle over her politics has never captivated this listener. Only those beats -- those dizzy, dizzy beats -- and M.I.A.'s exuberance -- an exuberance born of sorrow and death -- signified beyond the pre-release polycultural condescension (and post-release; read this recent horror of a blurb in SPIN's year-end countdown).