1 RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE The Battle of Los Angeles (Epic). Because Tom Morello--who can make his guitar sound like a harmonica, a pair of turntables or a street uprising--is the most thrilling guitarist in rock today. Because rapper-singer Zack de la Rocha mixes poetry and polemics into song lyrics that would do Chuck D or Bob Dylan proud. Because in a year in which a riot of rockers copped beats from hip-hop, no other band made the rap-rock union resonate with such ferocity and intelligence.
2 THE ROOTS Things Fall Apart (MCA). This Philadelphia-based band named its CD after a...