On a level of pure listening enjoyment, Boy In Da Corner isn't quite an Original Pirate Material; but it does succeed in establishing that Dizzee Rascal deserves a place right at the forefront of the UK Urban movement.

With one album, Alicia Keys jumps up from the most overrated R&B artist since Michael Jackson to the best young talent R&B has seen in a very long time.

Shins fans will find this a solidly enjoyable album.

There's no way you won't be listening to this CD on repeat for anything less than two weeks straight.

This is a magnificent album.

Sure it's a stereotype of all the things the South is. At the same time, it is a clearer-eyed view than has been offered before.

This album is carried by its incredibly poetic lyrics.

For people friendly to western pop traditions, there is little or nothing in the music to dislike, and lots to sing along with.

Summer Sun is full of beautiful melodies that fail to excite for the sole reason that, for the already initiated, it seems like old hat.

The Notwist are, for me, the band New Order never had a good enough singer, or a creative enough programmer, to be.

A summery pop journey, complete with mellow melodies and gentle guitars.

Nocturama is as slight and as pretty as a walk through the snow on a sunny Winter day.

With The Sea and Cake, the question is never whether the album is good or bad, but whether the album is good or excellent. One Bedroom then is a good album.

Mount Eerie doesn't work outside of its concept and, to the detriment of the songs, the album is so intensely personal that melody and song structure give way to abstract conceptualism.

Justin Timberlake's solo debut is good.... Was this the same Justin Timberlake from that boy band *NSYNC? Could it be? Better asked, how could this be?

An album whose scope, diversity, wit and heart make it instantly the best album of 2002.

Sea Change is different (and, in a way, less interesting) than everything Beck has previously done, but he has a rare gift that he shares with precious few artists, Prince and Bob Dylan amongst them: no matter what he does, Beck will always be interesting.

What saves her from getting HACK stamped across her forehead is how she chooses to approach the material, meaning she's turned down the notch a couple decibels for the duration of the trip.

One of the best hard rock albums of 2002.

Eve-olution isn't revolutionary but the album is strong, definitely her strongest to date.

“Weeds,” an excellent tune which compares the English working class to this type of plants, is only one of the various epic, melodramatic tunes in the key of Scott Walker (who produced the record) present here that use elements of nature to symbolise aspects of modern society and the human condition itself.

Black Letter Days is a truly special work, and should be treated as such. Don't let the best record of the year go overlooked.

With this album, the deejay only adds to his rep and further solidifies his place amongst Hip-Hop's elite producers and turntablists.

Even at its worst, Don't Give Up On Me is never anything less than elegant.

As usual, Public Enemy's lyrics are relevant, intelligent, unyielding, and punctuated with skillfully crafted accompaniment.

Where The Soft Bulletin was an intricate assessment of rock's potential, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots is merely a rough sketch of a new musical direction.

For the first time in their careers, Sonic Youth are willing to stand for something and give it to you, no frills. No more hiding behind black shades and pretending you're Lou Reed, no more “let's try to make the scariest noises possible from our guitars” sessions, no more poses. Sonic Youth have grown up.

The whole album is as musically stirring and creative as anything TMBG have ever done, and that’s saying a lot.