My top twenty albums of the year 2000

1. The Magnetic Fields - 69 Love Songs
OK, this was my album of the year for 1999, too, but it only got a UK release this year, so it qualifies again. Sure, there are maybe ten non-starters on this three-CD set, but that still leaves 59 brilliant songs.

2. Goldfrapp - Felt Mountain
By turns beautifully calming and shockingly jarring. Imagine Portishead fronted by Shirley Bassey, then throw in some unearthly sounds. A perfect album to chill out to.

3. Kirsty MacColl - Tropical Brainstorm
When I first heard about this, the thought of Kirsty MacColl going all Latin American filled me with dread. But she pulls it off with verve and wit. The feelgood album of the year, it will have you dancing around in your socks. No album made me smile more this year. And no news made me sadder than that of her death.

4. Bent - Programmed To Love
Entertainingly eclectic. Techno, sweeping strings, country, nursery rhymes, 80s synthpop, and a Johnny Cash impersonator, with no regard whatsoever for what's "cool".

6. Mekon - Relax With Mekon
An embarrassment of riches featuring house, dub, 50s ballads, and Marc Almond on one of his strongest tracks in years.

7. The 6ths - Hyacinths and Thistles
Yet another eclectic ragbag, with pithy writing and some of pop's most eccentric voices: Clare Grogan, Gary Numan, Melanie. Oh, and Marc Almond on one of his weakest tracks in years.

8. Tim Keegan and Departure Lounge - Out Of Here
Depressingly uplifting. Cheerfully downbeat.

9. Badly Drawn Boy - The Hour Of Bewilderbeast
Classy songwriting, allied with home studio productions values produces a generally satisfying yet underperforming album.

10. Various - Chilled Euphoria
Shedloads of dance and trance tracks, digitally remixed (whatever that means) by Red Jerry (whoever he is) - this combines Moby, Underworld, Chicane, etc, with whooshing wave noises. Lovely.

11. The Delgados - Great Eastern
More mumbling, drum loops, strings, brass and wonky xylophones from Scotland's finest. Introspective lyrics, subtle melodies and swooping production.

12. XTC - Apple Venus Vol 2: Wasp Star
A return to a rockier sound after last year's orchestral Vol 1. Great riffs abound, and the lyrics are as wry as ever. Stupidly happy.

13. Shirley Bassey - Diamonds Are Forever: the remix album
Take over-the-top classics from every queen's favourite diva, and throw in more strings, more beats, more drama. Over-egged? You betcha.

14. Prince - Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic
A partial return to form for the purple one. There are way too many weak tracks, but a few rank with his best: The Sun, The Moon And Stars, and his cover of Every Day Is A Winding Road, in particular.

15. Mirwais - Production
Great deep house basslines, acid production, vocoders and acoustic guitars. Works wonderfully half of the time, but produces some real clunkers too ("Junkies Prayer").

16. Paul Haig & Billy MacKenzie - Memory Palace
Released posthumously, this was Billy MacKenzie's last work. Soaring vocals and cinematic production, with two real classics: Give Me Time and Transobsession.

17. The Aluminum Group - Pedals
Take a bit of Roxy Music, add a pinch of Stereolab, stir in some Magnetic Fields and fold in a Cardigan.

18. Elliott Smith - Figure 8
It's your standard Elliott Smith album: a bit Beatles, a bit Simon and Garfunkel. Worth it for Everything Means Nothing To Me alone.

19. The Wondermints - Bali
Take the Elliott Smith album, cross it with the Aluminum Group one, and add some ELO. The result - a mess of quirky cheerful pop, too clever by half, with the occasional gem.

20. Lemon Jelly - Lemon Jelly KY
Buy it for the packaging alone - groovy gatefold psychedelia. But the music's cool too. Like Air without the vocoder, a more chilled Orbital, a more melodic Sabres. Silly spoken-word samples like you used to get on early Orbital and St Et albums. Lush piano, shuffling percussion. Music to complete javascript tutorials to.