Music doesn't come more touching than Parachutes. With their debut single alone, the emotion-fortified "Shiver", Coldplay proved they could shift between elated and crushed in a breath as singer Chris Martin poured out music's oldest chestnut (unconditional yet unrequited love) with the shakiest of voices and a backdrop of epic guitars that rouse and tug at the heart strings. For 10 tracks on Parachutes, he comes out with these, adding new-found meaning to the most tired and overused rock sentiments—love found, love lost, love unrequited, hurting the ones you love and the struggle that is life—over acoustic guitars and emotionally fraught rock. And for once, all the clichés ring true, thanks to Chris Martin genuinely sounding like a man picking over the bones of his life and soul, coming up with equal parts reasons to be cheerful and seriously depressed. Not that Parachutes is a depressing album; there's too much conviction to the guitars and hope in Martin's words for that. Instead it's a beautifully tender balance that comes as close to perfection as anything that's come before it. --Dan Gennoe

• Artist: Coldplay
• Label: EMI
• Genre: Alternative Rock, Pop

1. DON"T PANIC
2. SHIVER
3. SPIES
4. SPARKS
5. YELLOW
6. PARACHUTES
7. HIGH SPEED
8. WE

• Format: Audio CD
• Dimensions: 14.1 x 12.5 x 1.19 cm; 92.13 g