Favorite CDs of the '00s -- #30 to #26

30. KALAN PORTER - "Wake Up Living"
(Sony BMG/Canada, 2007)

"The Little Prince" (so nicknamed for his resemblance to the literary character), who won the second season of "Canadian Idol", is probably my favorite "Idol" alumnus, foreign or domestic. Not only are his songs fantastic -- particularly "Karma King", "Destination", and the rocking kiss-off "Hurray" -- but there's just something about that big, beefy voice coming out of such a thin, cherub-faced body, that makes him all the more interesting.

29. DURAN DURAN - "Red Carpet Massacre"
(Epic, 2007)

Featuring guest appearances and production by such hitmakers as Timbaland and Justin Timberlake, this is Duran Duran's best album -- and the farthest ahead-of-their-time that they've sounded -- in a decade and a half. Spellbinding tracks like "Falling Down", "Dirty Great Monster", "Box Full O'Honey", "The Valley", and "Last Man Standing" prove that the joining of these two pop music forces was a match made in heaven.

28. STEPHEN GATELY - "New Beginning"
(Polydor/UK, 2000)

I've always been annoyed that his bandmate Ronan Keating has had the longer and more successful post-Boyzone discography ... but that's okay, 'cause I've enjoyed Steo's one and only solo album more than all of Ronan's combined. The beautiful ballads like "I Believe" and "Where Do We Go", and fine upbeat tracks such as "Stay" and "Coming Back", are made all the more enjoyable with the late Mr. Gately's sweet-as-honey vocals.

27. RYAN CABRERA - "Take It All Away"
(Atlantic, 2004)

I got clued into his charms a few months before the rest of the world did -- and met him in person (nice guy!) -- after picking up a free 3-track promotional disc. He would later fall victim to media overexposure, a silly haircut or two, and a sophomore album plagued with boring, whiney ballads, but his major-label debut was a sunny, catchy, well-crafted thing of pop-rock beauty, thanks to a helping hand from Goo Goo Doll John Rzeznik.

26. PHANTOM PLANET - "The Guest"
(Epic, 2002)

After a promising but little-noticed debut -- but before they descended into emo-punk junk on their third album -- these guys hit their peak with this power-pop magnum opus, which gave them a huge boost in popularity thanks to the use of its melancholy track "Lonely Day" on various TV soundtracks and, of course, the smash hit single "California" being chosen as the theme song to the hit TV series, "The O.C.".