I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again — now is not a good time for rock music…. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again — now is not a good time for rock music. Right now, we are in a sort-of post-ejaculation, musical refractory period. We are between movements. In a funk, if you will. The medium is changing. With songs being distributed online, you have to ask what is to become of the album. Will it be a lost art form? And the most successful genres in popular music today are country and hip-hop. As I am sure fans of these genres are not complaining, we rock fans are wondering, “Where is our Brian Wilson? Where is our Kurt Cobain? Where is our revolution?”

Fortunately, 2003 featured good music in several genres, though they might have been a little harder to find. The following is my list of the top albums of 2003. Handle with care.

5.The White Stripes — “7 Nation Army”

Although I am definitely not a fan, I must give credit to a solid song with a great hook. This is the song that every boy in a garage band wanted to write. Too bad Jack White beat us all to the punch.

4.Radiohead — “Myxomatosis”

When Thom Yorke said that Hail to the Thief was a shagging record, this is what he meant. A song named after a deadly infection found in rabbits about … STDs? “I been where I liked, I slept with who I liked, she ate me up for breakfast, she screwed me in a vice.”

3.Blur — “Sweet Song”

Many who bought Blur’s Think Tank did so because of “Crazy Beat” or “Out of Time,” both good songs. The real gem on their 2003 release, though, is “Sweet Song.” The song is recorded in such a soft and warm way that it’s too good to ever get too popular.

2.Radiohead — “Alligators in New York Sewers/Fog (Again)”

Available only in its live version on the “Go to Sleep” single, “Alligators in New York Sewers” is just Thom Yorke and a grand piano — proof that behind all of the Pro Tools production is a wonderful chord progression and an amazing vocal melody. It is songwriting at its very best.

1.OutKast — “Hey Ya!”

“Hey Ya!” has the ingredients of a great pop song. First, it’s familiar yet influential. It’s Beatleseque but provides us with 2003’s “Show me the money” catch phrase in “Shake it like a Polaroid picture.” Second, it’s universal. Everyone likes this song. I don’t care if you are young or old, black or white, Republican or Democrat, lower class or upper class — unless you are deaf, you like this song. George Bush likes it and, somewhere in a bunker, Osama bin Laden is shakin’ it like a Polaroid picture.

For those of you who are waiting for the next big thing, I strongly urge you to listen to these albums. Even though we are in the midst of a funk, there is good music out there if you look hard enough. Honorable mentions for 2003 include wonderful albums by Cat Power, The Rapture, The Shins and Justin Timberlake. People to look for in 2004? The Neptunes, Billy Corgan, Eddie Vedder, Radiohead, The Pixies and Wilco.