Whiskeytown - "Pneumonia" (2001)

Before his solo debut in 2000, Ryan Adams fronted the North Carolina born band Whiskeytown. Pneumonia, the band's 3rd and final album, sat shelved for nearly two years after its recording due to Outpost Records folding during a label merger. It eventually saw the light of day and bridges Ryan's alt-country defining days in Whiskeytown with his bountiful songwriting output that spanned the last decade. Beneath both periods his band members changed as much as his perceived persona, but his drive to write honest, American music only increased. Here you can listen to him on the cusp of greatness on an album that's for sure a desert island necessity for me. Such artists gracefully command your attention with no more than a constant drive to express their soul, and once they have it, there's no mistaking such genuine endeavor from all else. -- Chris Baginski

1. "The Ballad of Carol Lynn" (3:04)
2. "Don't Wanna Know Why" (3:59)
3. "Jacksonville Skyline" (3:01)
4. "Reasons to Lie" (3:30)
5. "Don't Be Sad" (3:21)
6. "Sit & Listen to the Rain" (4:05)
7. "Under Your Breath" (3:28)
8. "Mirror, Mirror" (3:15)
9. "Paper Moon" (4:42)
10. "What the Devil Wanted" (3:38)
11. "Crazy About You" (2:46)
12. "My Hometown" (2:46)
13. "Easy Hearts" (5:08)
14. "Bar Lights" (3:56)

The Shins - "Oh, Inverted World" (2001)

One of my favorite records from the past decade, The Shins debut album is a pillowy white cloud that combines 60's sunshine pop with hypnotic melancholy. The dreamland created gives the music a lucid feel that streams by you at a sweet tempered pace, spins you around and sings you a lullaby. -- Chris Baginski

1. "Caring Is Creepy" (3:20)
2. "One By One All Day" (4:09)
3. "Weird Divide" (1:58)
4. "Know Your Onion!" (2:29)
5. "Girl Inform Me" (2:21)
6. "New Slang" (3:51)
7. "The Celibate Life" (1:51)
8. "Girl on the Wing" (2:50)
9. "Your Algebra" (2:23)
10. "Pressed in a Book" (2:55)
11. "The Past and Pending" (5:22)