Is it 2005 yet?

When people ask me what the best thing is about getting paid nothing to blog on CityPages and next-to-nothing to have my own radio show on The Mighty 1220, WMGT, like Fat Sam, I reply, "Free junk."

A terribly close second, however, is all the great people I meet who really dig similar music, and are still club rats, long after we all should have protected our hearing, and hung up the shoes we don't mind getting stepped on and the shirts we don't mind getting all smokey. I don't pretend to know everything about what I'm doing either, so these guys and gals keep me in line, and are a constant fountain of good information, good music, and good stories. Next time you're introduced to Mark Haakinson somewhere, ask him about his "Staff" Tshirt. Next time you're introduced to Al Kunz, ask him about his various Americana bowling adventures.

And that's the ticket. Sometimes, going to a club is just another lame thing to do, on a lame night, when you're feeling really lame. But many times, it's an adventure. You can watch, meet, or be severely menaced by a very large cast of characters, and the world seems neither too large, nor too small anymore.

That being said, here are some alternative lists to my Ten Best Country Albums of 2003 and Top 50 Country Songs of 2003. The authors have been known to stay up for 3 nights on end in town likes St. Louis, and to drive all the way to Chicago to see Billy Joe Shaver. I like to think of them as Soldiers in the Army of the Twang, but they're really just good old-fashioned music lovers.

Perfesser Al Kunz' Top Albums of 2003:

1. Sid Selvidge - A Little Bit of Rain
2. Scott Miller - Upside/Downside
3. Fred Eaglesmith - Balin
4. Rodney Crowell - Fate's Right Hand
5. Greg Trooper - Floating
6. Rod Picott - Stray Dogs
7. Dan Roberts - Viva La Cowboy
8. Dan Israel and the Cultivators - Love Ain't a Cliche
9. Vince Gill - Next Big Thing
10. Patty Loveless - On Your Way Home

South Side Bob Ferguson's Top Albums of 2003:

1. Rodney Crowell - Fates Right Hand
2. Johnny Cash - The Man Comes Around
3. Reckless Kelly - Under The Table Avove The Sun
4. Jayhawks - Rainy Day Music
5. John Bunzow
6. Roseanne Cash
7. Pat Green - Wave on Wave
8. John Eddie - Who The Hell is John Eddie?
9. Ben Atkins - Mabelle
10. Teddy Morgan
11. Drive By Truckers - Decoration Day
12. Matthew Ryan
13. Robert Earl Keen - Fresh Farm Onions
14. Chris Knight - The Jealous Kind
15. Jim Lauderdale - Donna The Buffalo

South Side Mark Haakinson's Top Albums of 2003:

1. Johnny Cash - Unearthed
2. Bruce Springsteen - Essentials
3. Warren Zevon - The Wind
4. Reckless Kelly - Under The Table & Above The Sun
5. Chris Knight - The Jealous Kind
6. Roseanne Cash - Rules Of Travel
7. Pat Green - Wave on Wave
8. Ben Atkins - Mabelle
9. Robert Earl Keen - Farm Fresh Onions
10. Rodney Crowell - Fate's Right Hand
11. Jayhawks - Rainy Day Music
12. Jud Newcomb - Turbinado
13. Matthew Ryan - Regret Over The Wires
14. John Eddie - Who The Hell is John Eddie?
15. Jesse Malin - The Fine Art of Self-Destruction

South Side Bob Ferguson's Top Songs of 2003:

1. Devils Behind The Wheel - Chris Knight
2. That's Not The Way It Works-Lauderdale/Buffalo
3. Into The Sun - John Bunzow
4. Fate's Right Hand- Rodney Crowell
5. This Too Will Pass - Rodney Crowell
6. Hurt - Johnny Cash
7. Just Fall - Reckless Kelly
8. Regular Guy - Pat Green
9. All The Right Reasons - Jayhawks
10. Beats The Devil - Robert Earl Keen
11. September When It comes - Roseanne Cash
12. Midnight Train To Georgia - Hangdogs
13. Maybell - Ben Atkins
14. No Such Pain As Love - Teddy Morgan
15. Everything - John Eddie

South Side Mark Haakinson's Top Songs of 2003:

1. Keep Me In Your Heart - Warren Zevon
2. September When It Comes - Roseanne & Johnny Cash
3. Disorder In The House - Warren Z & Bruce Springsteen
4. Tailspin - Jayhawks
5. Redemption Song - Johnny Cash
6. Hurt - Johnny Cash
7. Still Learning How To Fly - Rodney Crowell
8. Empty Bottles - Judd Newcomb
9. The Little Things - Matthew Ryan
10. None But The Brave - Bruce Springsteen
11. Nobody's Girl - Reckless Kelly
12. Will You Remember Me? - Roseanne Cash
13. These Years - Robert Earl Keen
14. The Same - Ben Atkins
15. Wave on Wave - Pat Green