Those unloved balding types at Q Magazine reckon the White Stripes' 'Elephant' was the best album of 2003, and that Blur's annoyin' and aged death rattle 'Think Tank' was second best, with the prog-punk of The Mars Volta coming in third. And if you really wanna yawn and giggle, the rest went like this: Kings of Leon fourth, Justin Timberlake fifth, 50 Cent sixth, Strokes seventh (even though 'Room On Fire' received the maximum 5/5 rating, whilst The White Stripes didn't), OutKast eighth, The Darkness ninth, Jane's Addiction tenth, Radiohead eleventh and Kylie fiftieth.
It's good to know in these times of freedom and democrazy that some things remain predictable and safe. It just makes you wonder what point Q are trying to make with this list and to whom, or is it just a case of making sure their readers know they bought the 'right' records?
Drowned in Sound's albums of 2003 will be announced next Monday.