Energetic music provides a boost during stressful finals week

It's the time in the semester when everyone wants to crack. Facing exams, papers and projects, we are all forced to carry a weight that even Atlas could not carry.

For these times, there are few things that aid the processes of studying and writing better than music. Music has the ability to soothe the soul while inspiring the mind. This quality, rare in nature, is often a key to successfully making it through some of the toughest weeks in the year.

So, I'm here to give you my selection of study music. "What makes you qualified to tell me what to listen to?" you may be asking. Well, I like music and I've made it this far because of it, so why not?

"What makes this list different from any of the others?" is another question you may be thinking. Actually, this list may not be different from many of the others. But in my eyes, these albums will motivate you when you need it, and relax you when you feel like you're about to bite the big one.

This band that played here about one week ago created a masterpiece when they left their label to produce this incredible album.

Thanks to numerous background sounds and noises that overwhelm the senses, in what some may call a wall of sound, Wilco's effort provides a new gift with each listen.

Tracks like "I'm Trying to Break your Heart" and "Kamera" are filled with a wide range of emotions. In "Kamera," lead singer Jeff Tweedy's tranquil vocals contradict the lyrics when he sings, "I smashed a camera/I want to know why/To my eye/Deciding which lies I've been hiding.""I'm the Man Who Loves You" and "Heavy Metal Drummer" provide the most energy on the album.

In "I'm the Man Who Loves You," amazing and almost random-sounding guitar solos lead Tweedy through the song, leaving any music fan in wonder. "Heavy Metal Drummer," a poppy piece about the past, is certain to cause toe-tapping while distracting listeners from their problems.

Alright, you got me. I'm a Wilco fan. But honestly, this album is worth as much, if not more, of a listen than Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Being There, Wilco's 1996 two-disc effort, features a much different sound than their latest album. Steel guitars, violins, organs, pianos, accordions, mandolins and fiddles give this album a sound unavailable anywhere else.

Riding the ever-popular "alt-country" genre that continues to be made popular today by artists like Ryan Adams, Wilco produces songs that are both lyrically and musically strong.

This London, England, based band created a rock album worthy of the ages with their debut effort. Mixing punk with straight rock, the band takes the under-produced, garage-type sound of The Strokes and creates music that would make The Clash's Joe Strummer proud.

For me, this album embodies every quality of the perfect finals CD. Quick, edgy and virtually impossible to understand, Up the Bracket will fire you up to get through studying for finals.

Regarded as one of the greatest independent bands of all time, Fugazi produced and intelligent and political album with Red Medicine. Through the use of fiery, esoteric lyrics, it creates an atmosphere conducive to studying. Songs written about corporate mergers, among other things, can't help but both instigate the listener to do something.

Tired of thinking? Want to sniff glue? If so, The Queers are your answer. Led by frontman and deep-sea fisherman Joe Queer, this band with an ever-changing line-up are the kings of pop-punk ala The Ramones. They sing about everything from liking girls to hating jerks and hippies.

Although any Queers album would suffice, tracks like "See You Later Fuck Face" and "Get Life and Live it Loser" are poppy enough to make you laugh and forget about your worries while also revving you up enough to finish your studies.

This precursor to the group's latest hit, Spend the Night, features the much younger, louder and, if you ask me, simply better version of the ladies singing about the same things guys do -- booze and, in their case, men.

Although this album seems a bit raunchy for MTV, it's the band in its truest form -- singing about life on the road.This album, much the Queers' Pleasant Screams, can do nothing except make you forget about the problems you're facing that day. After all, how can you be stressed when you're listening to four hot women sing about liking boys?

This piano-laden pop album is so poppy, it's almost annoying. Yet, I can't hate it. In fact, I love it.Kweller's songwriting skills show through on this debut effort, which features tracks so crafty that Martha Stewart should take note. Through word play and music that is sometimes a bit punk and other times a bit folk, the 20-something Texan masterfully produced an album that, even though I hate to admit, I like. And listen to.

Who said this Midwestern man couldn't like hip-hop? This full length LP, by popular hip-hop producers the Neptunes, mixes rock, funk and rap in a way that other artists should take note of.

The tracks about sex, drugs and ... sex are infectious."Tape you," a wonderfully produced plea to a girlfriend to find another girl and make a home video, is musically strong and lyrically hilarious. Personally, any song such as "Tape You" (take a listen and you will know exactly what I'm talking about) is reason enough to listen to the album. The entire effort is solid and worth a listen during this tumultuous week.

Famed for its ability to mix rap and rock without sounding like crap rockers Limp Bizkit, the Roots produced one of 2002's best albums with Phrenology.

With tracks ranging from the hardcore punk track "!!!!!" to the soulful "Break You Off," the Roots created an album that not only makes me want to work, but get up, run around, fight some evil-doers and write a thesis."Roll with the Heat," a head-bopping track that could make a dead man dance, is another one of those songs that you can't help but listen to over and over and over again.

If finding yourself in need of an energy boost, put down the Vivarin and pick up this album.

If you haven't noticed, I kind of like political music. This album, made by one of hip hop's most talented rappers, mixes street savvy rhymes with words so political they could make Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins blush.

Throughout the 18-track album, you will be forced to consider ideas often forgotten because our stressful, media-inundated lives don't allow it. Take one listen, and again you will be inspired to work and ready to bounce with Mos as he takes you through his lyrical joyride.

These are 10 albums I've deemed worthy enough to listen to over the next five days. While these bands and their albums pretty much cover all the bases in the music industry, look for more.

Because, if you ask me, it's only music that will be able to save us from the hell, fire and brimstone that is finals week.