The following ten groups released albums or EPs that we believe launched them far above the roiling masses making up the Chicago music scene. While these are our favorites it should be noted that this was an amazingly strong year for the local scene, and we could have easily made a top 50 list without much of a problem. In fact, just reviewing the bands while making this list we realized how thankful we are to be located in such a musically fertile city! more ›