Jim Farber likes the sound of Alex Cuba, ZZ Ward, Jeff Lynne

1

Alex Cuba “Ruido en el Sistema” Canadian-Cuban singer Alex Cuba delivers the kind of delicate Latin-rockpop melodies that swoon with sensuality.

2

ZZ Ward “Til the Casket Drops” Two-fisted blues singer ZZ Ward infuses her rootsy music with sharp hip-hop inflections. Think: Amy Winehouse, lost in America.

3

Black Prairie “A Tear in the Eye Is a Wound in the Heart” Portland, Ore.’s Black Prairie makes an improbable connection — between old timey American country music and flinty East European folk, blended by Annalisa Tornfelt’s floating vocals.

4

Jeff Lynne “Long Wave” Every rocker of a certain age does standards. Jeff Lynne does something unique with them, lending age-old songs the lushly layered ELO treatment.

5

Very Be Careful “Remember Me From the Party?” Colombian vallentano music gets a rhythmically buoyant twist from these Hispanic Los Angelenos. Accordion-driven music never had more zest.

6

Egyptian Project “Ya Amar” French producer Jerome Ettinger laces mournful traditional music from the land of the pharoahs with a modern electric flourish.

7

Tim Maia “Nobody Can Live Forever” This best-of collection from one of the seminal figures in progressive Brazilian music rates as a psych-funk classic.

8

Tim Eriksen “Josh Billings Voyage” Nasal-voiced Tim Eriksen creates Celtic ballads haunted by hints of African and Mexican folk to create its

own mysterious sift.

9

Jamey Johnson “Living for a Song: A Tribute to Hank Cochran” Johnson’s take on the Cochran classics lends them his own, lived-in authority.

10

The Beach Boys “Fifty Big Ones” To toast the ultimate California Boys’ 50th anniversary, this double CD collects one of their harmonic wonders for every year.