We were honored to be asked to be a judge in this year's Fids & Kamily Awards (we did the same last year) and tossed out a ten-spot of our favorite albums from the past year. But first, and more importantly, the results of the voting, which reflect far more erudition in kids' music than any of us could bring to bear as individuals.

1. Justin Roberts, Pop Fly


2. Frances England, Family Tree


3. They Might Be Giants, Here Come the 123s


4. Secret Agent 23 Skidoo, Easy


5. The Terrible Twos, Jerzy the Giant


6. Barenaked Ladies, Snacktime


7. Recess Monkey, Tabby Road


8. Medeski, Martin & Wood, Let’s Go Everywhere


9. ScribbleMonster, Songs With No Character


10. Danielle Sansone, Two Flowers

Head on over to the Fids & Kamily announcement to read reviews of each one, check out a list of "Honorable Mentions" (the next ten), and a full list of all the albums offered up by any of the judges.

Here's the list we submitted. Albums not yet reviewed will be reviewed soon! If any of them sound interesting to you, follow their link to Amazon, where most of them have song samples you can listen to.

1. Okee Dokee Brothers, Kids With Beards: Awesome, funny, bluegrass-inspired music aimed squarely at kids. | Not yet reviewed


2. Various, Dream Songs and Night Songs from Belgium to Brazil: An international collection of nighttime songs, not necessarily lullabies. Unique and lovely, and part of an ongoing series. | Not yet reviewed


3. The Terrible Twos, Jerzy the Giant: Great pop/rock from a great kids' pop/rock band. | Review


4. Various, Let the Good Times Rouler: | French/Quebecois party music for kids. Sweet! | Not yet reviewed


5. Justin Roberts, Pop Fly: Just plain good. | Not yet reviewed


6. Various, Sesame Street Playground: Sesame Street songs from international versions of the classic children's show. There's no better way to put a new spin on music you really must share with your kids. | Not yet reviewed


7. Ellis Paul, The Dragonfly Races: Thoughtful, reverent music about nature and family. | Review


8. Stephen Simon, The Story of Swan Lake: A top-notch (and shortened) narrated version of the ballet little girls swoon over. Bonus non-narrated track and metal version included. | Review


9. Danielle Samsome, Two Flowers: Our favorite lullaby album of the year. Almost as good as Renee & Jeremy's 2007 not-exactly-lullaby-album It's A Big, Big World. | Review


10. The Hollow Trees, Welcome to Nelsonville: Kids' bluegrass for the whole family. | Review

Just for the history books, Let’s Go Everywhere is also a truly great album. It is the most danceable chunk of kids' groove music we've heard since the Sugar Free All Stars' Dos Ninos. (Yes, for those Quebecois and the Spanish-speaking, we are very lazy about tracking down those special characters.)

Congrats to all of the winners, and thanks to Stephen of Zooglobble, Bill of Spare the Rock, and Amy of The Lovely Ms. Davis for keeping this great awards process going for the third year straight. - Jeremiah