It’s the final Moss Pit of the year and that means it’s time to name the best records, singles, new artists, live performances and soundtracks of 1996.

Best Records of 1996

10. Cake, Fashion Nugget

9. Downset, Do We Speak A Dead Language?

8. Sublime, Sublime

7. R.E.M., New Adventures In Hi-Fi

6. Rage Against the Machine, Evil Empire

5. Jars of Clay, Jars of Clay

4. Beck, Odelay

3. Gravity Kills, Gravity Kills

2. Gus, Gus

1. Local H, As Good As Dead

Best Debuts of 1996

10. Fountains of Wayne, Fountains of Wayne

9. Primitive Radio Gods, Rocket

8. Ruby, Salt Peter

7. Semisonic, The Great Divide

6. Ben Folds Five, Ben Folds Five

5. Refreshments, Fizzy, Fuzzy, Big & Buzzy

4. Chemical Brothers, Exit Planet Dust

3. Jars of Clay, Jars of Clay

2. Gravity Kills, Gravity Kills

1. Gus, Gus

Best Singles of 1996

15. “Boy Or A Girl,” Imperial Drag

14. “Not Today,” Rust

13. “Pepper,” Butthole Surfers

12. “All Wrong,” God Lives Underwater

11. “Flood,” Jars Of Clay

10. “Wild Ox Moan,” Big Sugar

9. “Jurassitol,” Filter

8. “So Low,” Self

7. “What Do I Have To Do?” Stabbing Westward

6. “In The Meantime,” Spacehog

5. “Just A Girl,” No Doubt

4. “High Fiving MF,” Local H

3. “Natural One,” Folk Implosion

2. “Glycerine,” Bush

1. “Sweet Lover Hangover,” Love & Rockets

Best Live Performances of 1996

10. Ruby, Lollapalooza

9. 311, Civic Center

8. Cake, M-Shop

7. Styx, Hilton Coliseum

6. Bush, Hilton Coliseum

5. Citrus, M-Shop

4. Local H, M-Shop

3. Beth Hart Band, Lollapalooza

2. Smashing Pumpkins, Hilton Coliseum

1. Gravity Kills, People’s

Best Soundtracks of 1996

5. Escape From L.A.

4. Super Cop

3. I Shot Andy Warhol

2. Dead Man Walking

1. The Crow, City of Angels

1996 was stuck full of coolness. But what about all the crap of the year.

Buzzkills of 1996

10. Country music. I tried to enjoy it, honest. Twang just isn’t meant for the human ear.

9. White Zombie’s “I’m Your Boogie Man.” There’s a reason we don’t remember this song from the ’70s. Because it sucks. Just listen to the chorus.

8. Michael Jackson becoming a father. We know he loves children, but it just doesn’t seem right.

7. Nada Surf. The ultimate in one-hit-wonders. If there was ever a good song on their debut, there’s not now. Can you say, “MTV saved our ass.”?

6. Fairweather Johnson. Even the fratboys were pissed off about Hootie’s rather pathetic follow-up record. Too much time hanging out at ESPN and not enough writing music.

5. Marilyn Manson. He had to cover Annie Lenox, of all people, just to get on the radio. The day I saw this man’s name on the top of the record chart was the day I decided not to have children.

4. Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen’s “Mission: Impossible Theme.” This song might have been cool the first time I heard it, but by the second time, it sucked. I still haven’t seen the movie simply because I don’t think I could stand to hear this song again without becoming suicidal.

3. Matt Pinfield. MTV ruined “120 Minutes” by naming this fat ass as the new host. He’s bald, he’s ugly and he talks like he’s been smoking since birth. The funny thing is, he loves everybody and every record. This man’s got his lips stapled to more asses than you could count.

2. Patrick Briggs of Psychotica. Here’s a guy that cut off his own penis to get out of male prostitution. I got an idea. Let’s give him a record contract, put him on the main stage of Lollapalooza and hang him from a cross, wearing a full body spandex space-suit.

1. Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Aeroplane.” By far the worst song of 1996. Now they’re going for a two- year sweep with “Rollercoaster.”

Well, there you have it. The Moss Pit review of 1996. Until next year…

Corey Moss is a freshman in journalism and mass communication from Urbandale. He is the assistant Lifestyles editor of the Daily.