Pictured: Shelby Lynne, Emmylou Harris, The Incredible Moses Leroy and Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros. There were a lot of good CDs released in 2003. You could almost say there were 'two' too many. With that in mind, my end-of-the-year 'best-of' list contains two CDs in the one-through-10 slots. Queer artists Rufus Wainwright, The Hidden Cameras, Erin McKeown, James William Hindle, Gretchen Phillips & David Driver, The Soft Pink Truth and Flare made it into the top 10, while several others (including Super 8 Cum Shot, Michael Feinstein, Certainly, Sir, Junior Senior, Pansy Division, Meshell Ndegeocello, Patty Larkin, and Pansy Division) earned honorable mentions. 2003 also saw the strong return of two gay icons, Cyndi Lauper and Bette Midler, both of whom breezed through town for outstanding live shows in support of their albums of mostly period cover tunes.
1. Tie: Rufus Wainwright – Want One (DreamWorks) / The Hidden Cameras – The Smell of Our Own (Rough Trade)
2. Tie: Erin McKeown – Grand (Nettwerk America) / James William Hindle – Prospect Park (Badman)
3. Tie: Rosanne Cash – Rules of Travel (Capitol) / Shelby Lynne – Identity Crisis (Capitol)
4. Tie: The Long Winters – I Pretend To Fall (Barsuk) / The New Pornographers – Electric Version (Matador)
5. Tie: Grethchen Phillips & David Driver - Togetherness (Bar/None) / Britta Phillips & Dean Wareham – L'Avventura (Jetset)
6. Tie: Emmylou Harris – Stumble Into Grace (Nonesuch) / Joan Baez – Dark Chords On A Big Guitar (Koch)
7. Tie: Warren Zevon – The Wind (Artemis) / Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros – Streetcore (Hellcat)
8. Tie: The White Stripes – Elephant (V2) / Mates of State – Team Boo (Polyvinyl)
9. Tie: The Incredible Moses Leroy – Become The Soft.Lightes (Ultimatum) / Radiohead – Hail To The Thief (Capitol)
10. Tie: Do You Party? – The Soft Pink Truth (Soundslike Records) / Flare – Hung (Le Grand Magistery)
Best of the rest (in this order): Super 8 Cum Shot – Volume II (Big Dixie), Outkast – The Love Below/Speakerboxx (Arista), Michael Feinstein – Only One Life (Concord), Certainly, Sir - Mugic (Spoilt/Pussy Foot), Junior Senior – D-d-don't Stop The Beat (Atlantic), Cyndi Lauper - At Last – (Epic/Daylight), Caitlin Cary – I'm Staying Out (Yep Roc), Maria McKee – High Dive (Viewfinder), Guster - Keeping It Together (Palm/Reprise), Kathleen Edwards – Failer (Rounder), Nada Surf – Let Go (Barsuk), Fountains Of Wayne – Welcome Interstate Managers (S-Curve), Warren Zanes – Memory Girls (Dualtone), Joss Stone – The Soul Sessions (S-Curve), Cat Power – You Are Free (Mammoth), Jessica Molaskey – A Good Day (PS Classics), Death Cab For Cutie – Transatlanticsm (Barsuk), Pansy Division – Total Entertainment (Alternative Tentacles), Bette Midler – Sings The Rosemary Clooney Songbook (Columbia), Patty Larkin – Red=Luck (Vanguard), Bitch & Animal – Sour Juice And Rhyme (Righteous Babe), Meshell Ndegeocello – Comfort Woman (Maverick), Poi Dog Pondering – In Seed Comes Fruit (Premonition), Liz Phair – Liz Phair (Capitol), Trachtenburg Family Slide Show Players (Bar/None), Gemma Hayes – Night On My Side (Astralwerks), Elvis Costello – North (Deutsche Gramophone), The Sea and Cake – One Bedroom (Thrill Jockey)