How do music critics put together their lists of the year's top CDs?

Simple.

You pick the ones you listened to the most.

The ones you played when you should have been using the time to check out some new release you hadn't played yet.

The ones you told your friends they just had to hear.

And now we're telling you about the ones we think you - or maybe someone on your holiday shopping list - should hear. Though you're probably familiar with some of what's on the following lists, the enormous variety of our critics' tastes offers CDs for even the most voracious music lover to discover.

Enjoy.

LARRY KATZ

1. OutKast, "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below" (La Face). Two of the year's top albums - one pop/r&b, the other hip-hop - in one funkalicious package.

2. The White Stripes, "Elephant" (V2). Jack, Meg and a big guitar sound live up to the hype.

3. Groove Armada, "Lovebox" (Jive). Maximum pop thrills when Brit DJ duo mix big beats, rap and vocals by the likes of Neneh Cherry and old folkie Richie Havens.

4. Various artists, "Festival in the Desert" (World Village). Listen to this amazingly crisp recording and you are there with a blissed-out Robert Plant, a Navajo rock group and musicians from West Africa at an unlikely celebration that took place last January in a location a four-wheel drive from Timbuktu.

5. Bettye Lavette, "A Woman Like Me" (Blues Express). Criminally underrated singer transcends any weaknesses in material and production to stake her claim as one of the great soul-blues vocalists alive.

6. Warren Zanes, "Memory Girls" (Dualtone). Ex-Del Fuego returns with a tuneful and creative pop-rock gem.

7. Yerba Buena, "President Alien" (Razor & Tie). A high-voltage Cuban cocktail for young moderns from a New York group.

8. Damien Rice, "O" (Vector). Fast-rising Irish singer- songwriter's folk-pop ballads reach majestic heights.

9. My Morning Jacket, "It Still Moves" (ATO). Kentucky boys lost in a beguiling haze of electric guitars and reverb as they gaze across America in search of Neil Young.

10. Warren Zevon, "The Wind" (Artemis). The late great singer- songwriter gathers friends in the studio and holds his own part- ornery, all-moving wake.

SARAH RODMAN

1. Fountains of Wayne, "Welcome Interstate Managers" (S-Curve). Cleverly crafted pure pop that ranges from the hilarious to the heartbreaking.

2. Liz Phair, "Liz Phair" (Capitol). Overlook the glossy makeover and this is classic Phair fare: smart, funny, empowered and a little bit naughty.

3. Annie Lennox, "Bare" (Arista). The beautiful, devastating and occasionally danceable sound of romantic despair from one of the most gifted singers of her generation.

4. OutKast, "Speakerboxx/The Love Below" (Arista). Freaky funk and sinuous hip-hop from Atlanta's dynamic duo.

5. Rancid, "Indestructible" (Hellcat/Warner Bros.). A relentless blast of scabrous yet singable classic punk.

6. The Mavericks, "The Mavericks" (Sanctuary). A glorious return to stylistically diverse form for the reunited country-Latin party rockers.

7. Robbie Williams, "Escapology" (Chrysalis/Virgin). He may not be able to get arrested in this country, but that doesn't diminish the allure of his cheeky humor and anthemic dance-pop.

8. Rufus Wainwright, "Want One" (Dreamworks). Sumptuous baroque pop for drama queens and the women who love them.

9. Blink-182, "Blink-182" (Geffen). Pop-punk's class clowns graduate with honors.

10. Amy Rigby, "Til the Wheels Fall Off" (Signature). More delicious roots-rock entries from the diary of a mod divorcee.

DEAN JOHNSON

1. Radiohead, "Hail to the Thief" (Capitol). Still pushing the envelope, still the most important "new" band.

2. The Darkness, "Permission to Land" (Atlantic). Over-the-top retro-rock, fun, fast and dumb.

3. Jet, "Get Born" (Elektra). AC/DC meets Wings.

4. Lucinda Williams, "World Without Tears" (Lost Highway). The kind of songwriter even great songwriters long to be. And now she rocks, too.

5. Macy Gray, "The Trouble With Being Myself" (Sony). Gray uses a big musical palette to paint vivid pictures.

6. Richard Thompson, "The Old Kit Bag" (SpinArt). Great lyrics, great guitar, great songs, good voice.

7. Maria McKee, "High Dive" (Viewfinder). Songs that sound as if they're from a rock musical - evocative, memorable, even a little spooky.

8. My Morning Jacket, "It Still Moves" (ATO). Smart guitar songs and moody textures done right.

9. Nelly Furtado, "Folklore" (Dreamworks). A startling fusion album that defies labels.

10. Al Green, "I Can't Stop" (Blue Note). Very good, not great, Al Green, but still head and shoulders above most r & b.

T.J. MEDREK

1. Lorraine Hunt Lieberson and Emmanuel Music, "Bach Cantatas" (Nonesuch). Sets a new standard for modern Bach performance.

2. Anne-Sophie Mutter and the BSO, "Previn Violin Concerto" (DG). Demonstrates that the Mutter-Previn marriage was made in heaven.

3. Juan Diego Florez, "Una Furtiva Lagrima" (Decca). Proof that the tenor sensation from Peru is the real thing.

4. Lang Lang and Daniel Barenboim, "Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto" (DG). An old favorite reinvigorated for a new generation.

5. Arcadi Volodos and Seiji Ozawa, "Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto" (Sony Classical). Ditto, plus the unsurpassable Berlin Philharmonic.

6. Gil Rose, "Lukas Foss: `Griffelkin' " (Chandos). An American classic as revived by Rose's Boston Modern Orchestra Project.

7. Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Aka Pygmies, "African Rhythms" (Teldec). Classical meets world, with astonishing results.

8. Gidon Kremer and Kremerata Baltica, "The Russian Seasons" (Nonesuch). Kremer and company teach old scores new tricks.

9. Susan Graham, "Susan Graham at Carnegie Hall" (Erato). A generous, joyous disc that's also a preview of the mezzo's upcoming Boston recital.

10. Gil Rose, "Barber's `Vanessa' " (Naxos). Rose, again, plus a local cast that's practically peerless.

BRETT MILANO

1. Drive-By Truckers, "Decoration Day" (New West). The South has risen.

2. Paula Kelley, "The Trouble With Success or How You Fit Into the World" (Kimchee). Local disc of the year.

3. New Pornographers, "Electric Version" (Matador). Subversive pop you can dance to.

4. Guided by Voices, "Earthquake Glue" (Matador). Just another slice of twisted brilliance.

5. Throwing Muses, "Throwing Muses" (4AD). Will the Pixies reunion be this good?

6. Neil Young, "Greendale" (Reprise). Bugged a lot of his fan base; good for him.

7. Gov't Mule, "The Deepest End" (ATO). This ain't no hippie jam band.

8. Steve Winwood, "About Time" (SCI). Only his best in about 30 years.

9. The Strokes, "Room on Fire" (RCA). Did they steal it all? Who cares?

10. Steve Wynn, "Static Transmission" (DBK). One of the sharpest songwriters out there.

BOB YOUNG

1. Yerba Buena, "President Alien" (Razor & Tie). Modern Latin funk with an electric edge.

2. Leah Callahan, "Even Sleepers" (Baraca). Sweet-voiced Boston singer lays down jazzy punk cabaret.

3. Avishai Cohen, "Lyla" (Razdaz). The multi-instrumentalist pushes definition of jazz in fresh directions.

4. The Slackers, "Close My Eyes" (Hellcat). Ska and reggae charged with attitude.

5. Red Holloway, "Coast to Coast" (Milestone). Creamy soul jazz from a master.

6. Daude, "Neguinha Te Amo" (Real World). Soulful vocalist female adds zing to Brazilian pop.

7. Peter Malick Group with Norah Jones, "New York City" (Koch, EP). Wonderfully bluesy vocalizing from Jones, just before she hit the big time.

8. All Mighty Senators, "Music Is Big Business" (Dog Eat Dog). Raucous groovers incite a fun party.

9. Miroslav Vitous, "Universal Syncopations" (ECM). Major-league friends help fuel bassist's inspired forays.

10) Jane Bunnett, "Cuban Odyssey" (Blue Note). Reed player continues her inventive marriage of genres.

DANIEL GEWERTZ

1. Joan Baez, "Dark Chords on a Big Guitar" (Koch). Beautifully brooding, sleekly contemporary, with shrewd song choices.

2. The Wayfaring Strangers, "This Train" (Rounder). Bluegrass- jazz experimentalism meets vocal soul and swinging heat.

3. Be Good Tanyas, "Chinatown" (Nettwerk). A hip, haunting, eccentric and sexy reinvention of traditional folk.

4. Jay McShann, "Goin' to Kansas City" (Stony Plain). The 87- year-old blues-piano great in sublime form.

5. Emmylou Harris, "Stumble Into Grace" (Nonesuch). A country giant progresses as a songwriter with music both deep and catchy.

6. Rani Arbo & Daisy Mayhem, "Gambling Eden" (Signature Sounds). Ancient roots music sparks a modern folk fusion.

7. Martin Simpson, "Righteousness & Humidity" (Red House). English folk master's unique take on blues and Southern folk.

8. Kris Delmhorst, "Songs for a Hurricane" (Signature Sounds). Folk-country torch songs done Cambridge-style, rich with intellectual metaphors.

9. Hot Club of Cowtown, "Continental Stomp" (Hightone). The year's most joyful live CD is a stylish Texas string spree.

10. Chris Smither, "Train Home" (Hightone). Mature, seductively intimate blues-folk.

KEVIN R. CONVEY

1. Bettye Lavette, "A Woman Like Me" (Blues Express). Forgotten soul-blues diva produces an opera of pain, guilt and rage.

2. Josh Rouse, "1972" (Rykodisc). Candy-colored pop time machine makes the '70s sound better than they did at the time.

3. The Jayhawks, "Rainy Day Music" (American). Heartland roots- rockers ditch pop aspirations in cornfed return to form.

4. Al Green, "I Can't Stop" (Blue Note). Thirty years later, the crown prince of Memphis soul reclaims his kingdom.

5. Branford Marsalis, "Romare Bearden Revealed" (Marsalis Music/ Rounder). Searching for a Harlem Renaissance artist's inspiration, New Orleans jazz reedman finds his own at last.

6. Old Blind Dogs, "The Gab O Mey" (Green Linnet). Old Dogs' new tricks enliven well-worn Celtic traditions.

7. Evanescence, "Fallen" (Wind-up). Pop-wise material, snarling guitars and Amy Lee's stunning pipes give goth-metal a good name.

8. Various artists, "Deacon John's Jump Blues - Music From the Film" (VCC). New Orleans jump-blues time capsule explodes in a shower of brass and all-star virtuosity.

9. Joe Jackson Band, "Volume 4" (Ryko). Erstwhile angry young New Waver reminds us why he once mattered - and why he still does.

10. Dwight Yoakam, "Population Me" (Audium). Bakersfield acolyte defines mastery with this off-handed country gem.

DAVE WEDGE

1. Basement Jaxx, "Kish Kash" (Astralworks/XL). Funky vocal house to save your next party.

2. Atmosphere, "Seven's Travels" (Rhymesayers/Epitaph). Another gem from Minneapolis' hypest underground rapper.

3. Type O Negative, "Life Is Killing Me" (Roadrunner). Who knew depression could be so much fun?

4. G Unit, "Beg for Mercy" (Interscope). 50 Cent's crew comes correct.

5. OutKast, "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below" (La Face). A double CD and it's all good. Period.

6. Freeway, "Philadelphia Freeway" (De Jam). Ill rhymes and fresh beats make this Jay-Z protege an instant star.

7. Marilyn Manson, "The Golden Age of Grotesque" (Interscope). Still stirring things up with his filthy industrial disco punk.

8. Deftones, "Deftones" (Maverick). Put on headphones, turn up the volume.

9. Obie Trice, "Cheers" (Shady/Interscope). Eminem's homie busts out with style.

10. Cage, "Weatherproof" (Eastern Conference). Brooklyn dust- fiend rapper strikes again.

LINDA LABAN

1. The Flaming Lips, "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots" (Warner Bros. CD/DVD). How does a 2002 CD becomes 2003's best release? By adding a DVD that brings you rock's supreme beings of pleasure in glorious day-glo sound and vision.

2. Mars Volta, "De-Loused in the Comatorium" (Universal). The tragedy, the glory, the drugs.

3. Dashboard Confessional, "A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar" (Vagrant/Interscope). The girls, the girls, the girls that broke Chris Carrabba's heart but fed his soul.

4. My Morning Jacket, "It Still Moves" (ATO). Midwestern rootsy rock with an inner pop fire.

5. The Walkmen, "Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me Is Gone" (Elektra). Dour title, great indie rock from former Jonathan Fire Eater chaps.

6. Party of One, "Caught the Blast" (Fat Cat). Brilliantly taut indie release, recorded on eight-track, from leftist Minnesota troupe.

7. Cub Country, "High Uinta High" (Jade Tree). Superb languid Americana.

8. We Ragazzi, "The Ache" (SelfStarter). Post-Pumpkins post- indie.

9. The Shins, "Chutes Too Narrow" (Sub Pop). Jon Poneman does it again: great guitar pop. All is forgiven for giving us Hot Hot Heat.

10. The Dandy Warhols, "Welcome to the Monkey House" (Capitol). It's all about grooving and not taking yourself too seriously.

BRIAN COLEMAN

1. Various artists, "The American Song-Poem Anthology" (Bar None). Proof that you don't have to have talent or even be sane to write great songs. You just have to say what's on your mind. And these wackos most certainly do.

2. Ms. Dynamite, "A Little Deeper" (Interscope). Solid rap soul by UK siren.

3. Akrobatik, "Balance" (Coup D'Etat). Best local album this year, hands down.

4. Consonant, "Love & Affliction" (Fenway). Next-best local album.

5. Lyrics Born, "Later That Day" (Quannum). Deep, decisively dope West Coast business.

6. Madlib, "Shades of Blue" (Blue Note). Tweaked and freaked jazz, the way it should be.

7. Lightning Bolt, "Wonderful Rainbow" (Load). Because they are Lightning Bolt.

8. Keziah Jones, "Black Orpheus" (EMI UK). Someday Britain's folk soul king will rule the world.

9. Datsuns, "The Datsuns" (V2). Catchiest hard-riff pop this year.

10. Teenage Fanclub, "Four Thousand Seven Hundred & Sixty Six Seconds" (Jet Set). Because it just feels good.