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Rocktober.com Gift Guide-- 21 Best CDs of 2002
listed basically in order of awesomeness, though not really.

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DVDs For The Music Obsessive

Missy Elliott's Under Construction CD Holy cow, is this a great CD. Missy has one foot in the past, refrencing UTFO, Blondie, Run-D.M.C., MC Lyte, EPMD and almost countless others whole she has the other foot in the future, pumping more cyber-funk from Timbaland. It is simply an amazing sonic document. Party in as box-- put it on the CD player and dance yo' ass off. A definte contender for album of the year.	A Cellar Full of Motown CD This 2 CD set is an awesome gift for the Motown fan in your life. Features rare and never before released songs by Marvin Gaye, The Isley Brothers, Gladys Knight & The Pips and many more. Grooves so good, you'll simply be astonished that Motown kept them hidden away for so many years.	Weezer's Maladroit This album rocks. Hard. There's a bit of emo over-earnestness, but mostly it is just fat riffs and fun licks.
Nelly 's Nellyville The pop-rap album of the year. Features "Hot In Herre" and "Dilemma" (a.k.a. two of the best singles of the year).	Eminem's The Eminem Show You know Eminem can't be touched. His rhyming skills are just off the hook-- pop appeal and blue-eyed-white-boyness be damned.	Moby's 18 Yes, thisis a bit like Play redux, but Play was a fun journey through Big Beat and commercial ambient, so what is there to complain about?
DJ Shadow's The Private Press DJ Shadow does it again. This is one of those albums that really grows on the listenr with repeated listens, as the many layers are revealed. A great gift idea for the hipster in your life who likes sonic experimentation and for the hip-hop head open to new ideas.	Cee-Lo's Cee-Lo Green And His Perfect Imperfections A lively blend of hip-hop, gospel, rock, and soul that (judging by sales figures) not enough people have recognized as one of the best of the year. Beguiling at every turn, the album has an earthy-ness about it that is missing from much of urban music these days.	Nappy Roots' Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz More earthy hip-hop on the experimental tip. By far the best OutKast album of the year.
Dolly Parton 's Halos & Horns Here's all you need to know about this album: Dolly Parton covers "Stairway To Heaven." As a bluegrass song. What is not to love?	Solomon Burke 's Don't Give Up On Me This is soul music. Passionate, grimy and deeply affecting. Features songs of Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Van Morrison and more sung by soul legend Burke.	NERD's In Search Of... Superstar hip-hop producers The Neptunes* rock out and prove that they're geniuses in nearly any genre. Godd gift for someone who equally loves rap, funk and rock.
MC Paul Barman's Paullelujah! Here's what you need to know about this album: Produced by Prince Paul. Prince Paul fires on all cylinders here. MC Paul Barman's hyper-intellegent, poetry-slam lyrical delivery isn't for everyone, but bohemian hip-hop fans will find a lot to love here.	Johnny Cash 's American IV: When The Man Comes Around Given the sound of Johnny Cash's voice on this album, it is likely his last. However, his creaky voice lends a haunting touch to songs originally performed by artists like Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails, The Eagles, Roberta Flack and more. Features appearnaces by Fiona Apple, Don Henley and Nick Cave.	Queens of the Stone Age's Songs For The Deaf The metal album of the year. Hands down. Plus, drumming by Dave Grohl.
Beck's Sea Change Beck's heartbreak album. The best Gordon Lightfoot or Jim Croce album I've heard in a while-- and I mean that in a positive way. The strings on this album are amazing and accent the songs perfectly.	The Flaming Lips' Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots This is perhaps the only rock opera worth listening to all the way through. It's about a Japaneese girl battling robots bent on word distruction, but it is odd touching and totally fun to listen to. Good for fans of psychedellia and quirky pop.	Hank Williams III's Lovesick Broke & Driftin' A great gift for country purists with a taste for rock. Hank III has his grandfather's mournful voice and gift for writing about liquor and heartbreak, but he ocassionally ads rock guitars and pumps up the tempo.
Kasey Chambers ' Barricades & Brickwalls You could listen to the twang and heartbreak on this album over and over again and never know that Kasey Chambers is from Australia. But she is. Strong songwriting and a beautiful voice will appeal to even those with only a slight interest in country music.	The Donnas ' Spend The Night Remember when The Donnas were a tip-off The Ramones? Well, that was really only for one album and since then they've steadily incorporated more glam-rock and metal into their sound. Spend The Night continues the trend with riffs galore, thundering drums and sassy vocals. Only the hippest rock fan on your gift list will already have it, so get it for the rock fan you know whose taste is sort of stagnant.	The Chemical Brothers' Come With Us Some have compalined that this album just followed the same formula and didn't break any new ground. I say the formula is so kicking (and the house music stretch on Surrender wasn't all that), so what is to complain about. Big Beat/techno fans always on the search for the latest thing probably skipped this, so you can safely pick it up for them to help fill up the wholes in their collection

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