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"B.B." is the sound of musicians going about things in a deliberately different way, and discovering a kind of enchanted forest in the process. The song's pulse, when it finally arrives, is a cool breeze from a more delicate era — with hints of cresting jazz polyrhythm but, thankfully, no jazz pretensions.

On David Crosby's "Song with No Words (Tree with No Leaves)," a piano gently rumbles, while vocal harmonies, stacked atop each other for maximum choir effect, melt over the instruments. The result is part choral music, part stoner rock; it's easy to imagine the joint being passed from one musician to the next.

Damien Jurado has experimented with everything from rollicking rock to electronic beats to found sound, but his stock in trade remains painfully intimate folk music. Traversing barren and dusty acoustic hellscapes, Jurado makes music that seems painstakingly constructed for consumption at 4 a.m.

Most famously known as Cat Stevens, the folk songwriter returns under the name Yusuf Islam. On An Other Cup, his first album of pop songs since 1978, it's as if the man who wrote "Morning Has Broken" never missed a step.

Dropping references to "8-balling," "jonesing" and "feeling like a junkie," Amp Fiddler's intoxicating "Dope" captures the euphoria and entropy of letting love take over to dangerous extremes. Fiddler rouses the otherwise comely melody with dissonant wails, shrill sighs and cracked notes.

The Long Winters, the indie-pop vehicle for singer-songwriter John Roderick, has included members of likeminded Pacific Northwest bands such as Death Cab for Cutie, Built to Spill and The Posies. Having toured all over Europe and North America, the group has become known for its smart, evocative lyrics and sharp rock instincts.

Marc Broussard is a self-proclaimed "white boy singing soul music," but that playfully dismissive tag doesn't do him justice. His music radiates soulful Louisiana blues, but his songs blend those influences with raucous rock 'n' roll to create unique and infectious music.

It's hard to define Aaron Neville's music — he's been nominated for Grammys in country, R&B, pop and gospel — but it's hard to argue with his success. The third of the four brothers in the New Orleans musical powerhouse Neville Brothers, Aaron has been the most successful Neville when it comes to transitioning to a solo career.

The band's music is generally classified as indie-rock, but its songs incorporate old and new elements of punk, hip-hop, techno and pop. The recent The Return to Cookie Mountain stands as one of 2006's most enthusiastically reviewed albums.

John Richards, morning DJ for NPR station KEXP in Seattle, shares his picks for the year's best albums. Richards recently appeared as a guest on NPR's live online, call-in edition of All Songs Considered to help count down listener picks for the top ten CDs of 2006.