In my first year at the Star-Telegram, I probably saw more live music than I had in my entire life previous. Considering just how many shows there were (around 150 or so, including trips to South by Southwest and the Austin City Limits Music Festival), the consistent quality was remarkable. Here are the top 10 concerts I was fortunate enough to catch. 1.

Damien Rice, Majestic Theatre, Dallas (May 7) None of the other shows I saw at this favorite venue (including smoking sets from John Legend and Ben Harper) approached Rice’s raw power. Backed by a spare trio, he unleashed the warts-and-all fury of his ragged, lovesick voice. The show’s ending gave me chills: Rice stepped to the lip of the stage and performed Cannonball sans amplification. 2. Rufus Wainwright, Neko Case and A Fine Frenzy, Nokia Theatre, Grand Prairie (Aug.

10) For my money, this was the best front-to-back lineup to hit the Metroplex all year long, thanks to Wainwright’s exhausting, exhilarating two-hour-plus headlining set, Case’s slow-smoked, Southern Gothic country and A Fine Frenzy’s quirky, piano-pounding pop. 3.

The Polyphonic Spree, Granada Theater, Dallas (June 23) Celebrating the release of The Fragile Army, Dallas’ psychedelic symphonic pop collective tore the roof off the theater, first in their new, jet-black fatigues and then, in a 45-minute encore, wearing those trademark white robes and performing a raucous cover of Nirvana’s Lithium that rocketed past euphoric and approached transcendent. 4.