1. Loch Lomond, "A String" 
Layered, lush sweetness

2. Blind Pilot, "Umpqua Rushing" 
Cascadia on a heart monitor

3. Laura Veirs, "When You Give Your Heart" 
Intimate folk ... with stampeding buffalo

4. Richmond Fontaine, "Glisan Street" 
Heart-crushing alt-country

5. Quarterflash, "Harden My Heart" 
Our city’s contribution to ultimate ’80s cheese

6. The Decemberists, "Red Right Ankle"
Portland’s indie kings get specific.

7. Elliott Smith, "Waltz #2 (XO)" 
Tragic iconhood in three-four time

8. Laura Gibson, "Milk-Heavy, Pollen-Eyed" 
Tender loveliness from our local troubadour

9. The Weather Machine, "Back O’er Oregon"
Meditating statewide

10. Musée Mécanique, "O, Astoria!"
Our coastal cousin in soaring folk celebration

11. Horse Feathers, "Elegy for Quitters" 
For losers everywhere

12. Menomena, "Queen Black Acid" 
Plaintive goes big

13. M. Ward, "Paul’s Song" 
Portland rain at its most romantic