10) Cuff the Duke - Way Down Here
An impressive album filled with heartfelt lyrics and powerful acoustic melodies, but just when listeners think the band has settled into a swinging country rock rhythm, it throws in an electric guitar solo.9) Great Lake Swimmers - Lost Channels
Lost Channels has a more robust feel to it than the GLS' last album, Ongaria. Lost Channels is bolder and, while still carrying the iconic sound of sparse isolation, merges it with a more rounded, if slight, pop sound.8) Neko Case - Middle Cyclone
Middle Cyclone is the kind of record that grabs you by the throat from the first strum of the guitar on This Tornado Loves You - her most fearless and arresting record to date - and does not let go until it is over.7 ) Hayden - The Place Where We Lived
Hayden continues his mellow amalgam of country, folk, pop and rock on The Place Where We Live. With its twangy guitar, gentle drums and piano, which he interweaves with his nostalgic lyrics with conviction and warmth flows throughout the whole album.6) Amy Milan - Masters of the Burial
Building on the delicate, intimate, folk-based foundations of her debut solo album, Milan creates a fuller and more complete sounding album.5) Melissa McClelland - Victoria Day
A very different sound from her previous recordings, Victoria Day is a wonderful slice of Canadian twang as a foundation for the album, with an infusion in 50’s goodness, dreamy melodies, tender piano and surprisingly heavy guitar work. Evidently, touring and recording with husband Luke Doucet has had a fruitful impact on her new album.4) Catherine MacLellan - Water In the Ground
Full of warm and engaging songs which melt into each other, including one of the most heartbreaking songs Flowers On Your Grave. As an added bonus, Water In The Ground is accompanied by her debut album Dark Dream Midnight, previously only available by mail order.3) Blue Rodeo - The Things We Left Behind
This double album includes perhaps some of Blue Rodeo's best work. My only complaint is that several of the songs sound much like the are part of a Jim Cuddy or Greg Keelor solo album, which might be a result of bringing in Cuff The Duke's lead signer Wayne Petti to sing background on several tracks, rather than Jim and Greg sharing backing duties. However, where the album works best is on those songs that sounds like true Blue Rodeo collaboration.2) Metric - Fantasies
There's nothing small or careful about Fantasies - it's a full-on bid for pop glory and it's a smashing success. Every song has the great hook of pure pop perfection!1) Joel Plaskett - Three
On Joel Plaskett's triple record (Yes, I said triple disc!), he decides to have a wonderful conversation with the listener about the intimate nature of family and self-contemplation of life in Nova Scotia (and beyond). And Rose Cousins and Ana Egge seem to beautifully harmonize our response back into that conversation. Three is not only Joel Plaskett's most defining moment, but it may be one of Canada's all-time top 10 most defining recorded statements.Honourable mentions: k-os - Yes!, Jacksoul - SOULmate, Wilco - Wilco (The Album), Leona Naess - Thirteens, Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson - Break Up, Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs - Under the Covers, Vol. 2
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