Music 1998:

6. The BellRaysLet It Blast (Vital Gesture)

7. Wildstares Acoustic Chamber OrchestraDarling Clementine (Angel Dust)

8. Chris CacavasAnonymous (Normal)

9. 3 Hole PunchGreatest Hits(Spun)

10. The NeckbonesSouls on Fire (Fat Possum)

Honorable mention: Buck, Mekons, Bell, Cheifs, John Fogerty, Texas Terri & the Stiff Ones, Andre Williams. Also, figure skater Surya Bonaly's anti-racist and illegal back-flip protest during the Winter Olympics: the most punk rock moment of the year.

JOHN PAYNE'S 1998 A 2 Z

Add N to X, On the Wires of Our Nerves (Satellite)

Air, Moon Safari (Caroline)

Air Liquide, Coldcut, etc., Battery Park Cologne 2.0(Harvest/EMI)

Amnesia, Lingus (Island)

Attilio Mineo, Man in Space With Sounds (Subliminal Sounds)

Autechre, Peel Sessions (Warp/Nothing)

Beck, Mutations (DGC/Bong Load)

Bjornstad, Darling, Christensen, Rypdal, The Sea II(ECM)

Black Star, Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star(Rawkus)

Brahem, Surman, Holland, Thimar (ECM)

Caravan, Songs for Oblivion Fishermen (Hux)

Club Off Chaos, Club Off Chaos(Mute)

Damo Suzuki & Michael Karoliat Spaceland, September

Electric Company, Studio City (Supreme/Island)

Esa-Pekka Salonen, L.A. Philharmonic, Ligeti's Atmospheres, Requiem and Lux Aeterna, May

Fantastic Plastic Machine, The Fantastic Plastic Machine (Emperor Norton)

Holger Czukay vs. Dr. Walker, Clash (Tone Casualties)

Kalyanji, Anandji, Dan the Automator, Bombay the Hard Way: Guns, Cars & Sitars (Motel)

Kevin Ayersat the Gig, June

Legendary Pink Dots, Nemesis Online (Soleilmoon)

Miles Davis, The Complete Bitches Brew Sessions (Columbia)

Nick Cave & the Bad Seedsat the Wiltern, September

Nuno Canavarro, Plux Quba (Moikai)

Otis Redding, Dreams To Remember: The Otis Redding Anthology (Rhino)

Pluramon, Render Bandits (Mille Plateaux)

Robert Wyatt, Shleep (Thirsty Ear)

Scott Walker, Tilt (Drag City)

Sonic Youth, A Thousand Leaves (Geffen)

The Fall, Levitate (Artful)

Toru Takemitsu, The Film Music of Toru Takemitsu(Nonesuch)

U Yee Nwe, Sandaya: The Spellbinding Piano of Burma (Shanachie)

Wagon Christ, Tally Ho!(Personal/Astralwerks)

Zoviet France, Digilogue (Soleilmoon)