So without further ado, here are some albums we liked, in no particular order. For some of the albums, you can access Flak's full-length reviews by clicking on the "Full Text" icon. Also: check out our previous feature, a brilliant little piece on ChickClick.com. Or, check out our more recent bit on David Eggers, America's crown prince of irony.
Or, ignore everything, and head back to our front page.

Though Novak called it quits after a handful of singles, its only full-length — released in the U.S. by Hidden Agenda — demands more than just a casual listen. Filled with myriad tempo changes and employing more instruments (including accordian so lush it has to be heard to be believed) than your average engineer, Novak emerges seemingly from a dream world, shimmering as brilliantly and striking as much emotional resonance as anything released this year.

Considered the first "hip-hopera" A Prince Among Theives, from producer-rapper Prince Paul, is the story of a kid from the projects working his way into the music business who turns to hustling to bankroll the necessary cash. This album, with a nothing less than stellar crew, is lyrically, musically and socially as relevant and revolutionary in 1999 as Fear of a Black Planet was in 1990.

No one expected the long-dormant Stephen Merritt to bust out with a 69-song musical revue about love. But if Top Ten lists of music nerds from all walks of life are any indication, we're glad he did. It's impossible to go into specifics here, but over the course of three discs, the Magnetic Fields' poppy pendulum swings past folk, jazz, blues, punk, beatnik and beyond. What, no Motown? Just buy it, already. Available seperately or as a set.

Lush dream pop backed by a bevy of keyboard knob twists, twinkling lights and the drummer from Polara. Add lyrics straight from Douglas Coupland's "Generation X," the three women singing might as well be sirens. Surely hundreds of ships will be dashed along the rocks by the pure beauty of AW's tune and harmony.

From Bitter Springs' vocalist Simon Rivers' chilling calls for "an ugly wife" on "Dark Secrets Look for Light" to the mechanical chirping of "Birdymachine," Low Birth Weight perfectly blends beauty and despair. A cast of British post-rock all-stars joins Glen Johnson and Martin Cooper on this Rocket Girl release, creating a rich, darkly breathtaking album that belies its oddly cute album cover.

Possibly most aptly described as Prince's best album in years, Beck's Midnite Vultures is an honest, almost entirely unironic, ode to '80s R&B and rap. Eighteen months in the works, this album is cleaner, fresher and more digital sounding than anything he's released to date. The result is 11 tracks of over-the-top dance tunes and slow jams, each of which bears the completely identifiable mark of the shapeshifting boy-wonder.

Olivia Tremor Control rang in the summer with Black Foliage Volume 1, a bright, beaming Cheshire-Cat-grin of an album. Black Foliage's songs are interspersed with what the group calls "combinations" and "animation music" — bits of the pop songs, reassembled into shorter, decidedly un-pop songs. The result is a sun-dappled, psychedelic Pet Sounds for the Information Age.

Winners of the 1999 award for "The Fastest Merch Table Purchase by this Reviewer" (two Songs), Boston's The Sheila Divine blasted into the brittle future of rock with an unparalleled mix of goth, pop, emo and punk. New Parade — more sensitive than an uprooted molar — swoons as much as it rocks. Lead singer and guitarist Aaron Perrino's voice strains along the edges, fraying as it goes. When he unapologetically sings, "I know I can act / You should see me lie," you can see he's used this one before.

The Lilys fourth album The 3 Way, picks up where 1996's Better Can't Make Your Life Better, left off. It's a continuation of their Kinks/ Beach Boys-style song crafting with the pleasant incorporation of bossa nova and loungy Latin rhythms. The 3 Way is a brilliant release, necessary for anyone with a soul, an ear and a penchant for bopping around, whatever that is.

Pick Up picks up (sorry, couldn't resist) right where Dutch samplemistress Solex left off, featuring quirky, full-length pop songs fashioned from snippets of other musicians' bootlegged recordings. All this backed with grinding guitar and the sensual, swoony singing fans of Solex vs. the Hitmeister have fallen in love with. It's a cut-and-paste collage, a pop pastiche that is one of the year's oddest releases as well as one of its best.

Keep it Like a Secret, the follow-up to 1997's superb Perfect From Now On finds Doug Martsch and Co. leaning to pop and some of their earlier work. The result is a collection of simpler, more radio-friendly songs with Martch's trademark finger-pointing lyrics throwing their usual hefty punches. Though this album lacks the density of Perfect, its reclaimation lies in driving jet propulsion.

German outfit Lali Puna put together what may have been the best electronic album of the year. Tridecoder, an incredibly fluid, dreamy, Krautrock-tinged extravaganza saw U.S. release thanks to San Francisco-based Darla. Trancey, guitar-and-analog-based songs — many of them featuring breathy, affected German and English lyrics — are the group's forte. Fans of early '90s Too Pure techno like Mouse on Mars and Seefeel would do well to pick this up.

Released after the band scored a multi-record contract with EMI, The Three E.P.s was the first most of us on the left side of the Atlantic had heard of Scotland's The Beta Band. And what a pleasant introduction. This compilation of the group's first three out-of-print EPs is a blissful cauldron of songs ranging in influence from Pink Floyd to Steve Miller to Can. An essential for anyone interested in genre-bending.

Last year found Low in collaboration with producer Steve Albini on Secret Name. Perhaps not coincidentally, the Duluth, Minn.-based trio gives a subtle nod to pop on a few tracks. The most promising aspect of this new, mostly overlooked release is its place in a series of Low releases that branch out, take on new ideas and work out new sounds. Something most bands find fairly uninteresting these days.

The ultra-hip "Monkey on My Back" highlights this collection of early singles from late '90s England's answer to early '80s NYC punk. From the Devolved rumblings of "I.P.C. Subeditors Dictate Our Youth" to the blistering surf-rock of "Cement Mixer" and the orgasmic wailings of the aptly-named "Porno," those who take attitude with their indie can revel in Clinic, the tightest 25-minute collection since the Pixies' Come on Pilgrim.

Mos Def has now perched himself on a throne abdicated when Q-Tip started slappin' booties in the "Vivrant" video, sorry. Displaying the same skills that made Mos Def and Talib Kweli *Are Black Star a standard, Mos strikes back with street cred and global consciousness. "Native son / Speakin' in the native tongue." Think Richard Wright, and realize this single line from "Hip Hop," sums the whole record. Sit back, listen and learn: a hip-hop history lesson condensed into an hour.

Though best known for penning and producing hits for the likes of Nancy Sinatra and Dean Martin, Lee Hazlewood is in top form on Trouble is a Lonesome Town, one of four Hazlewood re-issues on Hoboken, N.J.'s Smells Like Records. On this, his debut album, he sings about and narrates the trials and tribulations of inhabitants of the folksy, fictional Trouble. Hank Williams fans, take note.