Hey Guys! It’s that time of year again. What are your top 10 of the year?
Honerable Mentions- Avett Bros, Band of Horses, New Pornographers, The National, Office, Battles
meh…none
really? nobody wants to play this game? Don’t you guys like music?
(10) Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?
Another record that blurs the lines of genres.
All dance party with quirky lyrics, surrounding harmonies and amazing production.
Check out Labyrinthian Pomp to hear how ridiculous this band really is and how much they don’t sound like Prince. 
(09) Georgie James - Places
What you are gonna get here are perfect Pop songs.
The debut from the duo has some of the tightest and catchy songs I have heard in quite some time.
If you don’t like Pop, this record is not for you.
(08) Miracle Fortress - 5 Roses
Again, another album with amazing harmonies and stellar production.
Graham Van Pelt plays every instrument on this album, creating song structures that are fresh and delivering lyrics that are as genuine and in-your-face as they come.
This might be my favorite “Headphones Album” of the year.
(07) Gruff Rhys - Candylion
The SFA frontman comes back with a completely different album than his first solo release, Yr Atal Genhedlaeth.
A perfect Pop/Rock mixture, this album is bound to put you in a good mood by the second track.
It’s stripped down, yet huge in sound and production.
Also, it was all written in 2 weeks.
(06) Luke Vibert - Chicago, Detroit, Redruth
Here is classic Vibert for ya.
Blending D 'n B, Acid & Trip-Hop, his style brings me back to a 15 year old Aug going to parties in BK dancing my LSD-laden face off until 7AM.
Constantly putting out the goods, this album is another killer attached to his name.
(05) Lily Allen - Alright, Still
Pop with crass lyrics.
Some may call this a “guilty pleasure” album, but I really love it.
No shame here.
Full off top notch production, she takes each track and tells a vivid story over each.
Steal your girlfriend’s copy and go for a cruise.
(04) Radiohead - In Rainbows
While not my favorite RH album, it surely is one of the best records to come out this year.
From hearing the majority of these over a year ago, it’s nice to see how much they changed once they got into the studio.
In a way, it’s similar to Kid A, in that it returns to a minalmist approach.
Less is more with their latest release.
(03) Akron/Family - Love Is Simple
This album absolutely knocked my face off.
It’s kinda Folk that’s walking through some dusty town in the middle-of-nowhere.
Also, it is on heavy psychedelics.
A complete mind-fuck occurs when listening to this perfect from start-to-finish album.
Good Luck.
(02) LCD Soundsystem - Sound Of Silver
This would have been my #1 of 'o6 since it was leaked months before it’s Jan. 'o7 release date.
Solid songs from the Dance/Punk outfit are found on this record, which also oozes of confidence.
No longer the band that sounds like Talking Heads, they have truly found their voice this time around, turning clubs and theaters into the sweatiest dance hall you have ever seen.
(01) Super Furry Animals - Hey Venus!
This album is also #1 on my list of “Ugliest Album Covers of 2007”.
After a brief step back with Love Kraft, SFA come back with their most accessible and focused album yet.
Unbelievable harmonies and flawless song structure pack this disc to the gills.
I was completely blown away and elated that they came back so strong.
Truly a perfect album.
I made a playlist of 60 of my favorite tracks from this year.
http://www.projectplaylist.com/static/user/9168516.html
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It honestly took me until #5 to figure out if you were listing band names first or last.
#1 WEEN - La Cucaracha
That’s all that really matters to me.
Sorry. Someone actually pays me for my knowledge of (semi) obscure bands.
no order:
Ween - La Cucaracha
Bad Religion - New Maps of Hell
Talib Kweli - Eardrum
Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam
Senim Silla - The Name The Motto The Outcome
Radiohead - In Rainbows
The Pietasters - All Day
Madlib - Beat Konducta Vol. 3-4 India
Cunninlynguists - Dirty Acres
Trey - Horseshoe Curve
it was a fantastic year for hip-hop.
^ooo. That new Pietasters is pretty fantastic too. Good call!
Have you heard Deal’s Gone Bad? If you like Pietasters, you will love that shit
http://www.myspace.com/dealsgonebad
It was a ridiculously good year for music. I haven’t even heard some of the releases that have a high score on MetaCritic yet. Gimme some time and I’ll formulate a list anyway.
eh the only one i really can say comes to mind was Modest Mouse ‘We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank’
good album
Animal Collective- Strawberry Jam
Not only is this the best thing the Animal Collective has ever done, but it perfectly balances their art/noise/pop/folk/electronica sides with a healthy dose of pop and melody. Though the songs will never be confused with pop songs, they have a striking memorability and catchiness that I find inexplicably cool and affecting.
Arcade Fire- Neon Bible
If you’re looking for the big modern rock album of 2007, it’s Neon Bible. Opinion is split on this album, but in my book it’s better still than Funeral.
Battles- Mirrored
Imagine a band that combined math rock/prog rock and healthy doses of looping, but with an undeniable groove at the same time. That would be Battles. These guys are fucking awesome live and every member of the band is a brilliant musician.
LCD Soundsystem- Sound of Silver
I never thought an album like this would be so high on my list, but there’s no arguing how fucking great this album is. I used to jog to this over the summer, but it’s equally good for dance floor throw downs and drunken, introspective nights. Imagine a great mix of anthemic rock and bumping club beats and you’ve, vaguely, got what makes this album so great.
Deerhoof- Friend Opportunity
What can I say?? Deerhoof are among my favorite bands right now, and while I may prefer The Runners Four I can’t let this top 10 go without this album, which both expands and refines Deerhoof’s sound, distilling their genius down into a solid half hour of power.
Okkervil River- The Stage Names
I am a recent convert to the Okkervil River team. Somebody sent me a mix CD with their single ‘The President’s Dead’ on it, and I immediately drove to the record store and bought this album. I don’t know how to describe their sound adequately, except that they’re a fucking great rock band (Lou Reed loves them) and their vocalist has one of those voices that instantly gets inside you.
Field Music- Tones of Town
While I hate to make this kind of comparison, Field Music out did the Shins this year in the genre of indie-pop. Tones of Town is a compulsively, addictively listenable album that is catchy as hell on first listen but still rewards you on the 10th spin. Easily the best pop album of the year.
The Field- From Here We Go Sublime
I remember thinking that I didn’t care about techno anymore, and then I heard this album, and I was like “holy shit this is so good.” I couldn’t believe that this album rode the top spot on MetaCritic’s rankings for most of the year, but then I finally got it and I knew why. Imagine a techno album that has the same warmth/noise feel that My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless does and you are halfway to understanding why this album is so damn good.
Of Montreal- Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?
I was perfectly content to view Of Montreal as one of those Elephant 6 related bands who released interesting albums every year or so but never reached the artistic peaks of Olivia Tremor Control and Neutral Milk Hotel. But then they dropped Hissing Fauna earlier this year and I was like “god damn!!” Then I saw their amazing, sexual, bizarre, Flaming Lips-esque stage show at Pitchfork this summer and I was like “god damn!!” again. An amazing album that somehow makes indie rock sound sexy–admittedly by borrowing heavily from funk, R&B, and dance music.
Do, Make, Say, Think- You, You’re A History In Rust
I couldn’t have picked an album that contrasted more with Hissing Fauna, but Do, Make, Say, Think are a Canadian post-rock band involved with the members of the Broken Social Scene who somehow released an album that combines pastoral, rusting folk with space rock/post-rock majesty. You, You’re A History In Rust is a thoroughly cinematic and evocative album, and you’ll find melodies and memorable bits tucked away into the most suspicious of places over its length. Highly recommended.
Honorable Mentions
Andrew Bird- Armchair Apocrypha (the best singer/songwriter album of the year, unless you count Elliott Smith’s posthumous New Moon collection)
Besnard Lakes- Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse (two words: sweeping and majestic…this band could really go places)
Frog Eyes- Tears Of The Valedictorian (I love Frog Eyes, and ‘Bushels’ is the best song they’ve ever written, but they still haven’t produced year’s best material yet)
Liars- self titled (their “rock” album insofar as it borrows from 60s/70s rock with a heavy experimental bent…think Can meets Led Zeppelin, kinda)
Menomena- Friend and Foe (I really wanted to love this album, but cool artwork aside, I think they’ve got another album or two before they really hit their peak)
Panda Bear- Person Pitch (this would have been my number 2 pick, but since it’s from a member of Animal Collective, I didn’t think it was fair to stick it up there…psychedelic loopy techno meets Beach Boys harmonies)
Radiohead- In Rainbows (it’s Radiohead; even if they aren’t my favorite band anymore, this is still an amazing album)
The Shins- Wincing The Night Away (not as “bleh” as people say, but once I heard Tones of Town it was hard to go back)
Spoon- Ga Ga Ga Ga (I haven’t given this enough spins, but every Spoon album is more or less another fresh batch of indie rock/pop that never feels the same as what they did before but for all intents and purposes it is)
Sunset Rubdown- Random Spirit Lover (haven’t given this enough spins either, but it’s got some great ideas and songs…can’t wait for the Wolf Parade album)
Wilco- Sky Blue Sky (this would be my #11…initially it’s a disappointment because it feels like a retreat into traditional rock, but then the songs and carefree playing get into your skin and never let go)
I liked Animal Collective, Radiohead and exspecially Mirah and Spectratone International’s Share this Place. Anyone else like Mirah? She’s a hottie.
i really haven’t listened to much new music this year. I haven’t even listened to the soundtrack that Vedder did that gamecat sent me…and i’m usually all over new Pearl Jam and Pearl Jam related releases (if we’re counting the Gorge release that’s all i might talk about).
so i’ll break it down like this…
2007 albums i’ve listened to and liked:
The Good The Bad & The Queen
Horseshoe Curve
Page
Songlines by the Derek Trucks Band
2007 albums i want to hear but haven’t heard yet:
Vedder - Into the Wild (have it but haven’t heard it yet)
Levon Helm - The Dirt Farmer
Springsteen - Magic
Neil Young’s new one
i have Paul McCartney’s new one but i haven’t heard much of it
not a huge Radiohead fan but i do like them
2007 albums i haven’t actually heard but know the material from seeing the bands live:
Wilco - Sky Blue Sky (and it sounds like the best Wilco yet, as my brother has confirmed)
Gov’t Mule - High & Mighty
i know this looks like a list of tried and true acts but really nothing else i’ve come across lately has really excited me.
HM’s…
(15) M.I.A.- Kala
Dirty beats and creative lyrics from the British artist.
While not as good as her last album, Arular, it still bangs from front-to-back.
Is it Hip-Hop? Is it Pop? Is it BALM?
Yes it is.
(14) Jens Lekman- Night Falls Over Kortedala
Not for Morrissey or Rufus Wainwright haters.
This album changes so much from track to track, but never loses focus.
Lyrically, Jens is deranged, singing love songs with brutal honesty.
Production-wise, this album could have been made in the 50’s.
It is slick, but has that throwback style that makes it all come together.
(13) !!! - Myth Takes
I flip-flopped on this album and Louden Up Now for a while.
I give the edge to Louden Up Now, but that doesn’t discredit how dope this effort is.
It’s really a psychedelic album and a little more focused that it’s predecessor.
Heavier on the rock and mixed with dance grooves, this album makes you “Shake That Butt”.
(12) White Rabbits - Fort Nightly
A fantastic debut from the NYC multi-instrumentalists.
Two drummers beef up their already tight Rock/Calypso sound.
Harmonies like “Whoa” and fresh songwriting make their first release a must hear.
(11) Heliocentrics - Out There
Malcolm Catto is one of the best drummers out there right now.
If you didn’t know that this is a live band, people would assume that this was another Downtempo/Jazz record made lively.
It’s not. To me, it reminds me of DJ Spooky vs. Thievery Corporation, but ALL LIVE!
Truly an album that blew me away this year.
Favorite tracks of the year…
Jens Lekman - “Postcard To Nina”
Andrew Bird - “Armchairs”
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I was just gonna post about Jens Lekman. Good call a!
Well here goes…
Not “Best”, art is more about being the best YOU can be.
I like to keep competition of better then to sports.
That being said, my favorites this year are:
What Happened to TV? - Greyboy Allstars
Writer’s Block - Peter Bjorn and John
Grand National - John Butler Trio
The Shepherd’s Dog - Iron & Wine
Raising Sand - Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
White Moth - Xavier Rudd
Eardrum - Talib Kweli
No Place Like Soul - Soulive
Cease to Begin - Band of Horses
Ricky Skaggs & Bruce Hornsby - Ricky Skaggs & Bruce Hornsby
The never cease to amaze me award goes to:
Echoes, Silence, Patience, Grace- Foo Fighters
Dave Grohl is a genius. I’m pretty sure this guy can write any type of song and knock it out of the park. He’s growing up and writing fantastic songs and still rocking out.
Live Album releases:
Neil Young - Live @ Massey Hall
Thelonious Monk - Live @ 1964 Monterey Jazz Fest
Umphrey’s McGee - Live @ The Murat
Soundtrack:
Into The Wild - Eddie Vedder
Re-issue/compilation:
New Moon - Elliott Smith <- Beautiful. Mostly demos and unreleased stuff. For hardcore Elliott fans.
2007 was the year of breaking free of the jam band year.
I got into My Morning Jacket (all of their albums would be in my top 10), I got into Wilco (all of their albums are in the top 10 as well) and I also got into Modest Mouse.
I would recommend any of their albums.
Not as good as The In Sound From Way Out but it’s silky smooth.
boom.