Goapele's top 10

1. Prince, San Jose Arena

2. OutKast, The Love Below (Arista)

3. Martin Luther, Rebel Soul Music (Image)

4. Anthony Hamilton live anywhere, but especially House of Blues, Los Angeles

5. Me'Shell Ndegéocello, Comfort Woman (Maverick)

6. Dwele, Rize underground CD

7. Meeting Stevie Wonder and sharing music with him

8. Hearing more local music on KMEL-FM, like E-40, Frontline, the Team, and Federation

9. Zion I live shows anywhere

10. Rahsaan Patterson album-release show in Long Beach featuring Rachelle Ferrell, Ledisi, Lalah Hathaway, and Legally Blynd
Bay Area R&B artist Goapele's latest album is Even Closer (Skyblaze/Red/Sony).

Vice Cooler's top 10

1. Hearing people internationally speak of Paul Costuros in the same sentence as Kurt Cobain.

2. A house show starting with a five-foot-tall woman kicking a hole in the wall, pulling a six-foot-tall man by his hair to the second floor, and then pouring vodka in his eyes. She ran downstairs and hit the floor so hard that she got a concussion, all while these two dudes were destroying the furniture at the house, almost knocking me and my friends from the second floor, and beating each other up. This was Cock ESP at Grandma's House, Oakland, November. It lasted about 30 seconds.

3. The discovery of Maggie Mudd's vegan ice cream. If I were a rich kid, I would buy this for all my friends every day.

4. Thurston Moore crowd-surfing at the Fillmore. Some boy genius thought it would be a good idea to steal his guitar strap. It was funny to see such a giant on top of a bunch of 13-year-olds. July.

5. Altamont II in Oakland (Deerhoof! Numbers! Bobby Conn!!!). Homecoming, March.

6. Brontez

7. Eating at Thai Temple in Berkeley every Sunday with Pete, Chen, and Steve (and sometimes Liz, Kristy, and Gabe).

8. Oakland importing the Posi scene from around the world. The presence of Rob Fisk, Kelly Fisk, Layla Gibbons, Yellow Swans, etc., has forever changed my life for the better.

9. There had been 1 million bands by the time Fat Worm of Error was set to headline at Grandma's. On this Fourth of July night, we all watched the neighbors' house burn down during Growing's set and almost got a seizure during Gerrets' awesome 10 minutes. Everyone was tired. Right before Fat Worm played, some woman came running in, yelling, "Can I get a 'Fuck yeah?!' " Everyone was instantly psyched as she did the ass quake for almost all the 20-minute set. She kept grinding on all the members between songs and shouting, "Bring that beat back!" I thought this was the greatest idea for a touring band – bring a plant who pumps the life back up when times get dry. But just as quickly as she showed up, she disappeared into the Oakland night, leaving everyone asking, "What the fuck just happened?"

10. Wives and Mika Miko's takeover of the Bay Area for three days. The three best shows of the year.
Vice Cooler is a Bay Guardian contributor and the vocalist for XBXRX and Da Hawnay Troof.

Jolie Holland's top 10 favorite local artists

1. Wink Pain (a.k.a. Freddi Price)

2. Rube Waddell

3. Jake Fussell

4. Garth Steel Klippert

5. Sonny Smith

6. The Iron and the Albatross (Ara Anderson's band)

7. Sean Hayes

8. Michael Musika (formerly of Boneless Children's Foundation)

9. The Speakers

10. Kate Klaire
Bay Area singer-songwriter Jolie Holland's latest album is Escondida (Anti).

Devendra Banhart's top 10

1. Vetiver, Vetiver (DiCristina)

2. Joanna Newsom, The Milk-Eyed Mender (Drag City)

3. Animal Collective

4. Bobby Charles reissued

5. Currituck Co., Ghost Man on First (Lexicon Devil)

6. R. Kelly, Happy People/U Saved Me (BMG)

7. White Magic, Through the Sun Door (Drag City)

8. Josephine Foster and the Supposed

9. Comets on Fire, Blue Cathedral (Sub Pop)

10. The Liars, They Were Wrong So We Drowned (Mute)
Devendra Banhart is a Bay Area blues-folk singer-songwriter.

Cory Brown's top 15 new records

1. Xiu Xiu, Fabulous Muscles (5RC)

2. Arcade Fire, Funeral (Merge)

3. Deerhoof, Milk Man (Kill Rock Stars)

4. Animal Collective, Sung Tongs (Fat Cat)

5. Joanna Newsom, The Milk-Eyed Mender (Drag City)

6. Antony and the Johnsons, Antony and the Johnsons (Secretly Canadian)

7. The Futureheads, The Futureheads (679)

8. Hidden Cameras, Mississauga Goddam (Rough Trade)

9. Subtle, A New White (Lex)

10. Man Man, The Man in a Blue Turban with a Face (Ace Fu)

11. Björk, Medulla (Elektra)

12. Feist, Let It Die (Arts and Crafts)

13. Walkmen, Bows + Arrows (Record Collection)

14. The Hold Steady, Almost Killed Me (French Kiss)

15. Langhorne Slim, Electric Love Letter (Narnak)
Cory Brown is the owner of Absolutely Kosher Records.