1. Audra McDonald, ''Way Back to Paradise'' (Nonesuch)
2. Audra McDonald, ''Ragtime: The Musical'' (BMG)
Not since Julie Andrews and ''My Fair Lady'' have a musical and its star burst on the scene with the power of ''Ragtime'' and Audra McDonald, who also championed several new composers on the new musical front in her debut CD.
3. Bob Dylan, ''Bob Dylan Live 1966: The `Royal Albert Hall' Concert'' (Columbia)
Dylan aficionados waited more than 30 years for the release of a clean, complete record of his confrontation with the folkie faithful. Electric in every sense.
4. Gidon Kremer and Kremerata, Astor Piazzolla's and Horacio Ferrer's ''Mar i a de Buenos Aires'' (Teldec)
Everyone does Piazzolla these days, but nobody better than Kremer, and this ''tango operita'' is the best of all, despite Ferrer's pretentiousness.
5. ''Ives and Ruggles,'' Cleveland Orchestra, Christoph von Dohnanyi, conductor (London)
Scorching 20th-century American music, played by a great American orchestra.
6. Angelique Kidjo, ''Oremi'' (Island)
Kidjo soars to world-music heights in her first look at the African diaspora, blending her beautiful beat with hip-hop.
7. Leonard Bernstein, ''Bernstein Century'' (Sony Classical)
Sony atones for the hideously packaged ''Royal Edition'' Bernstein recordings, featuring re-releases and new gems from the vault.
8. Lauryn Hill, ''The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill'' (Ruffhouse)
The former Fugee blends rap with reggae and R&B, breaking down barriers the way McDonald and Kidjo do in their idioms.
9. Pulp, ''This Is Hardcore'' (Island)
Like the other bands on the ''Trainspotting'' soundtrack, Pulp restores one's faith in contemporary rock.
10. Emerson String Quartet, Edgar Meyer ''Quintet'' and Ned Rorem ''String Quartet No. 4''(Deutsche Grammophon)
The Kronos Quartet came out with the big box of 20th-century classical music, but no group is classier than the Emersons.
