For the Record

Like their better-known producing peers in America and abroad, the Swedes are building on pre-existing styles, but they're producing future music that will blow your mind. Björn Borg. Ikea. Abba. The Swedes have given us so much. You're about to hear a lot more from them soon. See artists like Robert Leiner and Samuel L Session for examples.

2. Not Swedish, but close
Tony Rohr, an American, and two Brits -- Michaelangelo and Oliver Ho -- have crafted superlative tribal-techno tracks with styles that are distinctly their own, yet evocative of the Swedish techno sound. Unless you're out digging through crates every week or ordering up some platters online, it might be tough to find tracks from these cats. But you can hear some of the tracks on readily available mix CDs from Adam Beyer and John Kelley.

3. The rest of the best
Celebrating ten years of bringing light in, 1992-2002, a two-CD set of electronic perfection from Underworld, has almost everything you need from its oeuvre: "Cowgirl," "Born Slippy," "Two Months Off," "Dark and Long," "Rez" and many more. The live act might be the best there is -- electronic or not -- and the group's artistry is unparalleled. Even without Darren Emerson, it's still banging.

On Nueva Musica, the Latin Project combines live recordings of Latin vocals and instrumentation with programmed beats and synths. Without sampling any vinyl, the Latin Project has created a compulsively danceable new sound that accents the strengths of its roots without diluting them.

Jesse Houk's (aka Scumfrog) two-CD set, Extended Engagement, which features his original material along with wildly imaginative remixes of other artists' tracks, is perfect for dancing, listening and just chilling out. And the vaguely house-y cuts are damn good.

The War of the Airwaves
By Michael Roberts

Most radio programmers aren't interested in folks who like more than one style of music. They prefer predictable people who listen exclusively to one style until the day they're planted. That leaves eclectic sorts with minds of their own -- call them the outcasts -- to keep fighting the good fight. Below is one exception to radio's blandification and nine more that deserved to be heard.

1. Outkast, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (Arista)
On The Love Below, Andre 3000 offers up "Hey Ya," which singlehandedly made mainstream radio tolerable, and a bold, funny, untoppable mix of hip-hop, funk, jazz and whatever. It's 2003's finest, hands down -- and as a bonus, the package includes Big Boi's Speakerboxxx, a pretty decent disc in its own right.

2. H-Foundation, Environments (Astralwerks)
San Diegans Hipp-E and Halo bring it to the house in an unconventional way. Instead of simply fiddling with their knobs like most electro-pros, they lay the Foundation beneath actual songs that are as good for listening as for dancing. What a concept.

3. Rodney Crowell, Fate's Right Hand (DMZ/Epic)
When mainstream country started sucking, Crowell, a commercially and critically popular tunesmith (and Johnny Cash's former son-in-law) refused to make like a Dirt Devil, and faded as a result. His indie comeback, 2001's The Houston Kid, was merely an appetizer for this defiant, consistently moving album.

4. Low Flying Owls, Elixir Vitae (Stinky Records)
Fronted by the reedy voiced Jared Southard, this Sacramento four-piece may have started in the garage, but the band's on the road to new destinations. Elixir Vitae blends rock rudiments with aggressive psychedelia on tracks like "Glad to Be Alive" that stretch out without wearing thin. (Low Flying Owls appears at the Larimer Lounge on Friday, January 9.)

5. Inti-Illimani, Lugares Comunes (Xenophile)
An Andean collective that's been around since the late '60s, Inti-Illimani is known for its fearless political activism, which its members exercised at great personal risk. This legacy steals attention from music that, on Lugares Comunes, is deep, gorgeous and thoroughly accessible: Chile, not chilly.

6. Kindred the Family Soul, Surrender to Love (Hidden Beach)
All too often, the "neo" in neo-soul is a warning that the music in question is a watered-down version of the real stuff. In the case of this Philadelphia combo, however, the label doesn't fit. "Spread the Word" compares to classic R&B because that's what it is.

7. Spring Heel Jack, Live (Thirsty Ear)
In which drum-and-bass groundbreakers Ashley Wales and John Coxon join forces with jazz avant-gardists (Matthew Shipp, William Parker) and intriguing wild cards (J Spaceman of Spiritualized) to make glorious, pigeonhole-smashing racket. Proof that creativity can't be bound by any category.

8. Moneen, Are We Really Happy With Who We Are Right Now? (Vagrant)
The only emotion generated by a frighteningly high percentage of emo acts is profound indifference. Yet despite this album's tedious handle, Canada's Moneen dodges the boredom bullet via an unexpectedly adventurous musical approach and some concrete passion. That's happy news.

9. Gemma Hayes, Night on My Side (Astralwerks)
Some mediocre singer-songwriters try to tart up ordinary material with electronic touches in a futile attempt to seem hip. Fortunately, Hayes is a strong composer who uses new-millennium studio techniques to enhance songs such as "Making Waves," not cover up their deficiencies.

10. Limp Bizkit, Results May Vary (Flip/Interscope)
Just kidding.