Remembering overlooked pop highlights

8. Tracey Thorn, Out of the Woods. I reviewed this album back when it was released in March, so I don't feel so bad about completely forgetting about it the rest of the year. The singer for the Brit duo Everything But the Girl - best known for its 1994 hit "Missing" - is a divinely expressive vocalist. Out of the Woods, her first solo album in two decades, works its melancholy electro-jazz-folk groove with contemplative grace.

9. Lori McKenna, Unglamorous. Thanks to the good graces of Faith Hill, who recorded several of her songs and brought her on Oprah, and Faith's husband, Tim McGraw, who co-produced this major-label debut, Lori McKenna got a shot at attracting a wider audience this year. Those who listened caught a country-folk songwriter akin to Patty Griffin who is as attuned to the vicissitudes of married life as you might expect from a songwriter who's the mother of five children.

10. Wussy, Left For Dead. Will Chuck Cleaver ever get his just due? Here's hoping so. The Cincinnati songwriter with the piercing Neil Youngish voice may not name his bands in the hopes of mass appeal - he previously fronted the Ass Ponys - but he sure can write darkly funny, rough-around-the-edges, slightly droney indie rock songs. Better still, he's found a partner in Lisa Walker, who writes and sings them just as well as he does, and who steps up as the star of this sterling sophomore follow-up to 2005's Funeral Dress. This still isn't available on iTunes, so hunt it down at www.wussymusic.com.