just looked back thru the posts. see now that reinventing the steel was mentioned before i stormed in, tripping out.
anywayz, i think i got mine:
pain of salvation - the perfect element
spiral architect - a sceptic's universe
spock's beard - V
symphony x - V: the new mythology suite
transatlantic - SMPTe
a perfect circle, bozzio levin stevens, CAB, fates warning, greg bissonette, nevermore, pantera, planet x, platypus, and radiohead in a 10 way tie for 6th place, cuz picking a top 5 turned out to be way easier than picking a top 10.
also: the smashing pumpkins were hit n miss that year, but i really like half the tracks.
tool's salival was damn good, but it didn't feel right for the list.
i still haven't fully embraced lightbulb sun, but it's coming (only ever checked out the album in the past 2 years).
i could see getting way into the ozric tentacles album from that year (or any year), but i haven't spun it yet.