Top Ten Albums? of 2007...

In this day and age of Itunes and legal (and illegal) downloads, many are predicting the death of the album. Looking back on this past year one would be forced to argue with that prediction. While perusing my Itunes to develop this list, I was struck immediately at how difficult it would be to narrow down to a top ten. This was easily the most difficult year I've had striking albums from the "Ten". It could have easily been a top twenty, but tradition won out and forced me to weed out the absolute ten gems that I saw as the primary releases of the year. I've included the "honorable mention" section again for this reason. Three restrictions. No soundtracks, no "hits" records and they didn't neccesarily HAVE to be released THIS year, just recently. So without further ado...



"Let me come over I can waste your time I'm bored
invite me to the war every night of the summer
and we'll play G.I. blood, G.I. blood "
- Gospel


1) The National - Boxer - In keeping with my list of best songs to close an album, "Gospel" would easily make that list. Not to say that's the only highlight. Far from it. Every song works in the context of the album to create a restrained and beautiful effort from start to finish. Grand.














"You used to be alright
What happened?
Did the cat get your tongue?
Did your string come undone?"
- 15 Step


2) Radiohead – "In Rainbows" - What more can be said about this release? A little bit was lost in the hype surrounding the method of release for this. Musically, it's the "warmest" Radiohead album I've heard. It's downright beautiful and hopeful in spots. Typical Radiohead, stunning and imaginative, from the physical product to the way of getting it to the people.









"I don't know what I believe
but if I feel safe, what do I need?"
- United States

3) The Smashing Pumpkins – Zeitgeist - Most criticisms of this album started out with either A) "What an arrogant thing to name an album" or B) "Billy Corgan is an egomaniac". Great reviewing by an always dependable music media. Pathetic. David Fricke of Rolling Stone gave it a 4/5 star review and that's good enough for me. Classic Pumpkins sound with some added flourishes for good measure. What every REAL Pumpkins fan had been waiting for and seemingly the start of another era for SP. Bloody hard and fantastic.









"Encircle me,
I need to be taken down."
- The Con


4) Tegan and Sara – The Con - Produced by Chris Walla of Death Cab for Cutie, this is a strong record from front to back. Downright raucous in spots to pure pop beauty in others, it runs the gamut. Something for everyone while maintaining it's form as a complete whole.














"And she may cry like a baby
And she may drive me crazy
'Cause I am lately lonely"
- Elephant


5) Damien Rice – 9 - The final installment for Damien and his muse, Lisa Hannigan, this is a less melancholic and much more outright angry record. It will be very interesting to see how his music works without Lisa's input. Highlights are the sad "Nine Crimes" and the elegant "Grey Room". What an artist. Along with his previous effort "O", both are definite "deserted island" discs.











"These twin city kisses.
sound like clicks and hisses.
and we all come down and drown in the mississippi river."
- Stuck Between Stations

6) The Hold Steady – Boys and Girls In America - The winner of Scott's favorite new favorite band, this record is rocking from start to finish. I read somewhere once that they were referred to (not so kindly) as "a modern day Soul Asylum as fronted by Charles Nelson Reilly". Well that sounds pretty damn good to me. "Stuck Between Stations" is one of the strongest songs to EVER open an album. The lyrics make you want to move to Minneapolis and take up partying as a full time occupation. Even though they make their home in New York, these guys are First Avenue to the core.









"When will we get,
the time to be,
just friends"
- Just Friends

7) Amy Winehouse – Back to Black - Before she became the tabloid fodder that she has become, she made a great soul record in the tradition of the old order. This record bleeds Motown and Stax. There's a reason "You Know I'm No Good" became a huge hit, it's just simply good soul music, as is every other song on this collection. Poised to be a big star before her umm.. issues, let's hope she gets her act together and keeps making records like this.












"Give me your hand,
lets jump out the window..."
- Australia

8) The Shins – Wincing the Night Away - On record The Shins just do not disappoint. From the jangly Beatle-esque pop of "Australia" to the Paul Simon-ish "A Comet Appears" what drives this album is songwriting as all other Shins records. Evidently they're not capable of making a half assed effort.














"Maybe it's time we give something new a try..."
- "No I In Threesome"


9) Interpol – Our Love To Admire - I'm not a big fan of the term "shoegazer" but it aptly sums up what these guys do. While my favorite CD is still "Turn On the Bright Lights", this is a close second. Darkness rarely sounds this brilliant.
















"You got no fear for the underdog,
that's why you will not survive"
- The Underdog


10) Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga - Every so often I hate a band when I first hear them. To name a few, Jeff Buckley, Janes Addiction, Primus and of course those hacks, the Smashing Pumpkins. Now these are all staples in my collection and some of my favorite bands. Spoon is the latest entrant in this ridiculous habit of mine. This pretty much guarantees that Spoon will be my favorite band for the next year and a half. It doesn't hurt that they put out such a great release. The word being thrown around is minimalist when referring to this band and that's a pretty fitting label. This music breathes and has a lot of open spaces that make the songs work as much as the various instrumentation. "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb" and "The Underdog" are as fine as popular music gets.



Honorable Mention:

1) Arcade Fire – Neon Bible
2) Pearl Jam – Pearl Jam
3) Nine Inch Nails - Year Zero
4) Rilo Kiley – Under The Blacklight
5) The Decemberists – The Crane Wife
6) Feist – The Reminder
7) Queens of The Stone Age – Era Vulgaris
8) Explosions in the Sky - All of A Sudden, I Miss Everyone
9) Ryan Adams – Easy Tiger
10) Allison Krauss & Robert Plant - Raising Sand

Better luck next time:

As good as the previous twenty were, there's always a few missteps by bands I respect. Here they are from this year.

1) Wilco – Sky Blue Sky
2) The Killers – Sams’ Town
3) Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare
4) Linkin Park - Minutes to Midnight
5) The Mars Volta - Amputechture