Best Albums of 2007

50. Apparat - Walls

My favorite music background music this year: subtle enough not to distract often but with hopeful moments that make me simply sit back, listen and slip into stream of consciousness:

The organic weeping of string instruments layered over soft and quick electronics. The unintelligible and sparsely used vocals bridge different movements that fade as differing shades of light on the black backs of my eyelids.
- Austin


49. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Is Is E.P.
Yeah, Show Your Bones had it’s moments, but hearing Karen O rip out in “Rockers to Swallow” is like hearing a dear old friend say hello for the first time in years. It’s the scream, that full bodied tear breaking over a wave of distorted guitars and drums that first attracted me in the first place. And for the most part, that’s what this album delivers. It’s not quite the cold classic of their self-titled e.p., or even their roaring first album, but it shows what we missed when they decided to be just a tad quieter. Sounds sad, but sometimes youthful bashing of instruments really does mean more.
- Nick
48. Ratatat - Remixes Vol. 2
Back in 2004, the first Ratatat mixtape was one of my most listened-to albums of the year, but I didn't include it on my year-end list because I didn't think of it as a legitimate release, a simple album of remixes. In this year of mixes, mixtapes, and compilations, I no longer believe that a mixtape is excluded from “real” releases. In my eyes Ratatat's remixes far outweigh their original tracks; they have a way of restructuring the rhythms of mainstream rap songs to make them sound new if they're old, fresh if they're dull. And if the song in question is Biggie, well, anything can happen. As I see it, the boys in Ratatat can give Siegel, Bun B, etc the guitar-powered fuel they need, and, perhaps more importantly, rap gives Ratatat the edge they need to keep from sounding like video game music.
- Michael
47. !!! - Myth Takes
What I love about Myth Takes is its kind of amateurish vibe. He can't really sing very well, for one. And the band doesn't seem all that good about realizing when they've got a good hook on their hands--they often throw one away when they should be basing a whole song around it. Instead, the tracks are crowded with too many ideas, too many new beats and directions, not enough focus. But that's also the reason I like it--all this adds up to exuberance, and if not exuberance, an infectious ADD. Horns duetting with retro-sounding synths over a disco beat? The album pulses with life. But then they do stupid things like spend 8 minutes on "Bend over Beethoven," a relatively uninteresting bit of music, and chop off the next track, "Break in Case of Anything," at 4 minutes, when it should have been built into an epic event. Ah well.
- Blake
46. Patrick Wolf - The Magic Position
Something made little Patrick happy. My guess is he got laid. What’s hilarious, methinks, is that while the title track and the following one, ‘Accident and Emergency,’ are decidedly upbeat a shadow gradually is cast over the rest of the album. You can almost hear the internal demons creep back into his voice.

The way he battles against them makes this album intriguing.

Favorite Track: Overture
- Austin
45. The White Stripes - Icky Thump
There seems to be two camps with this album. One believes this to be the Stripes fall from grace after two hit albums. The other that this is their best album since White Blood Cells. But I guess that depends on whether you like your favorite brother and sister combo rocking seriously or just cracking cruel jokes with guitars blazing and nothing but pure spite to fuel the fire.

Count me in the later. Nothing is better then when White gets all preachy about the lost morals of today's youth, while he layers on distortion three miles thick. Ah! How I missed being yelled at. And I especially missed the creepy sibling tales. Sure, the album is not near as solid as their breakthrough, and they did miss out on their folksy, acoustic side. But I'll always take the smart ass White to the one that gets his videos played on VH1. I know, it's snobbish. But there was a time when the weirdness of the Stripes seemed like commercial suicide. I remember it so well.
- Nick

44. Black Kids - Wizard of Ahhs EP
Create a flawless four-song EP with ridiculous potential, and make it exceedingly fun--that’s an immediate place on my list. These guys are apparently blogworld darlings, going from nothing to hype in no time flat, but I don’t read that many music blogs. I don’t remember how I ended up with it, but I’ve listened to all four songs too many times and can’t wait for their album. I’ll admit that they’re a half-formed thing at best, but there’s something in the freewheeling spirit that is really exciting. Kind of like a Clap Your Hands Say Yeah that you can understand. Maybe they’ll put out a good album and then utterly fail like that other conspicuously hyped band. But for now, take really great pop songs, make things a bit fuzzy with echo, add caffeine, and throw in 80s synths. Imagine a yelp like the Cure's Robert Smith, without the whine. That’s this EP.
- Blake
43. Bright Eyes - Cassadaga
I wanted to adore this album like I had with “I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning”, but it’s shiny veneer is hard to get through. Where that previous release felt warm and inviting, this one is glossy and slick. It makes some of his acoustic songs feel insincere.

Fortunately, he didn’t write an album of acoustic pleas, and when he strays from that formula some beautiful things start to happen. Who knew Connor could pull off a mid-tempo sixties pop gem like “Make a Plan to Love Me”? Or that he could finally get the jagged electronic beats to do something for him with “Coat Check Dream Song”?

Sure, I still like “Four Winds” and "If the Brakeman Turns My Way", but this album shows his restlessness is what makes him interesting, and why he still sounds like he has so much more to find.
- Nick
42. Various Artists - I'm Not There
Like I needed another reason to get heavily into Bob. It’s becoming a yearly occupation and each time I get a little further in. Last year it was No Direction Home, and now I have this: a covers album of mostly obscure Dylan songs that is consistently, and mind-bogglingly solid. This is strange. These random artists are taking lesser Dylan songs, covering them (mostly) faithfully and ending up with an album that pays homage to the classics but still sounds modern. Honestly, it could have been so bad.

It's still to big of a beast to fully plow through. I have my favorite (everything by Yo La Tengo, Maulkmus, and "Just Like A Woman" sung by Charlotte Gainsbourg). But I need more time. It's an album of as much pleasure as you have time to give, which you can definitely say about the man behind the whole project.
- Nick

41. Fall Out Boy - Infinity on High
A conversation with myself:

This may negate my entire list and I definitely feel guilty about it but…don’t pretend to feel bad about this…what…you unabashedly like this band and their borrowed, factory-made music…well you have to admit it takes a certain craft to patch together such pitch perfect pop with a splash of soulful vocals…it just takes good producers, a million vocal takes, and healthy dose of low musical morals…okay, look you don’t have to like it…who said I didn’t like it?

Favorite Track: I’ve Got All This Ringing In My Ears and None On My Fingers
- Austin
40. Handsome Furs - Plague Park
I thought it would be cute to put these albums together, but I actually do think that the two Wolf Parade solo records complement each other well. On the one hand, Spencer Krug's album (that's Sunset Rubdown) is so willfully obscure and full of bizarre imagery, but still manages to sound totally tragic (probably because of Krug's voice). On the other hand, Dan Boeckner's album is straightforward, nostalgic, and absolutely heartbreaking. Boeckner's lyrics verge on melodrama, Krug's on willfull obscurity. But they are both hugely affecting for me, and they go well together, kind of like this band I used to listen to... Musically, I find the simple synth/drums of Handsome Furs more easily digestible if less ambitious than the clanging symphonies of Random Spirit Lover. If I had to pick a favorite of the two, I might just pick Handsome Furs, maybe to be ornery, maybe because I saw a fantastic show by Boeckner et al here in Berlin, with all of maybe 20 people in attendance. But nevertheless both albums stand well on their own and together, and make me drool at the thought of a new Wolf Parade album (next year!).
- Michael
39. Bruce Springsteen - Magic
This album breaks my heart. I've been a huge Boss fan for years now, and I'm no longer scared to admit it. I used to listen to "Born to Run" with the bedroom door locked, quietly pumping my first in the air with all the teenage rage of his greatest characters. And here is an album with Springsteen completely unhinged, gunning for his former glory. The songs are drenched with some of his saddest images --I think of the flag flying over the courthouse and the clouds of grey on election day--and some rocking tunes to back them up.

But the production sucks. Every electric guitar is reverbed, all the acoustic guitars chime, and echo coats all his vocals in syrup. Instead of the wall-of-sound of Born to Run, he's made a polyphonic spree. Instead of poignant, the songs feel sappy. It's a sad fact that masks one of his best efforts with a sheen of irrelevance.

Fortunately, half the songs get to shine through the Disney strings, and make a difficult album perfectly bearable instead of a slog.
- Nick

38. Aesop Rock - None Shall Pass
In a year where I found myself listening to old favorites with new releases I purposely avoided this album. Aesop and I had had a long relationship and I really wanted to get into Dalek—I thought I needed another semi-underground hip-hop act to follow.

But, falling prey to a lazy afternoon, I obtained this album and almost immediately fell in love. Maybe I’m just a sucker for his flow and slick turns of verse. Nothing on this album, of course, reaches the heights of ‘Daylight’ but he comes awfully close with more than a few tracks.

Sorry Dalek.
Favorite Track: Keep Off the Lawn
- Austin

37. Justice - Cross
OK, there was no way that Justice were going to live up to the hype they had built up for themselves. And yes, the group is totally influenced by/successful because of image and hype. But I love it, and, unlike their hype equals the Klaxons, they made a really impressive try at delivering that mind-boggling album this summer. They could have just shit out some more brutally loud sunth-based bangers and placed them around “Waters of Nazereth,” and I would have listened to the album, enjoyed it, and set it aside for the next SCHOLARTRON. But instead they made a real album, with rises, falls, and (maybe) depth. It's not just bangers. And I know that Justice knew that EVERYONE wanted just bangers, so big ups to them for that self control. And like Dan, I think that this album is comparable to my boi Boys Noize. I actually think that Cross works better as an album, though, while Boys Noize delivers the single jams. So, if you're keeping track, that's Remixes: Justice (close); Singles: Boys Noize; Album: Justice.
- Michael
36. Paul McCartney - Memory Almost Full
Its no longer accurate to say Paul makes bad solo albums. He’ll probably never make anything as convincing as his Beatle compositions, or even the fantastic Ram, but he’s made five solid solo albums in a row. That’s impressive. They haven’t been classics, but for someone (rightly) demonized for thirty odd years for making mediocre shlock it is a feat.

I don’t really feel right ranking these new achievements, but if I had to pick I’d probably settle on this one. It shows a rejuvenated Paul taking his best shot at pop music since his early 70’s pinnacle, and mostly succeeding.

I’ll always be that guy fighting for Paul. He’s my favorite Beatle, and I cringe when people continue to belittle his contributions to modern music. It’s just nice to have something to show for my side. This helps.
- Nick
35. Various Artists - After Dark
Including this album is totally cheating, since it's a way of praising so many of the singles that I already had gotten from “the blogs” (discobelle, risky bizness, fluokids, palmsout, etc) in the months before this compilation. But you have to admit that Italians Do It Better do a really good job of using their artists to create a really singular sound that really helps define the year's fads in dance music: 80's sounding fake-disco-soul. I made such a mix for Chuck for Mixster (Easter Mix Exchange), consisting only of 2007 songs that could be used in a re-filming of Miami Vice, washed out early-80s kitsch. In April there were already too many such songs to make the mix; I know that at least 2 songs from After Dark were in the running (“Running Down the Hill” and “Last Night A DJ Saved My Life”). I love this shit, and this album is like the readymade disco-complement to Miami Vice: Charleston. Only possible improvement: Kavinsky on the list.
- Michael
34. Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha
As you all know, Andrew Bird's last album floored me completely and was second only to Sufjan in 2005's list. His highly intelligent writing style, personal aesthetic, and overall ear for melody and harmony has always impressed me. This time around all these gifts are present, and he seems also to be aiming persistently for accessibility. You get a sense that these songs are more radio-friendly, a little more traditional in structure, and, for that reason, only just slightly less personally authentic. I listened to this album over and over, waiting for the spell that overcame me listening to Mysterious Production of Eggs; it never came. This record has some unbelievable highlights. Scythian Empires is a gorgeous, quietly political song with a repeating one-handed piano piece and plucking violins; his gentle philosophizing lyrics in Dark Matter are still here ("Do you wonder where the self resides / Is it in the head or between your sides / And who would be the one who will decide / Its true location?"). So liked this album very, very much, but never passed over to love. There's still no one doing anything like Andrew Bird.
- Blake
33. No Age - Weirdo Rippers
It takes about almost two and a half minutes into the first song for this L.A. punk band to do much of anything but create fuzz. There are two sheets of guitar sound swaying back and forth, one calming and watery, the other persistent and melodic. A symbol gets agitated here and there, and the stray drumbeat enters (the band has no bass player). It sounds shoegaze, but there's a potent jaggedness to things. Then out of the blue they rip into this guitar-and-drum thing and yell some stuff using processed vocals, and quit a minute later.

It sounds like an indulgent, stupid project, but instead it's really good. Throughout the rest of their 32 minute album, the tidal guitars of shoegaze are crunched up and juxtaposed with punk drumming, and the results are strangely brilliant. Their big sprawling epic, Dead Planes, clocks in at a long-winded 4:12, and the first 2/3 of the song is spent creating a formless mess of guitars and disconnected drums. But it's the perfect example of their long-drone-short-burst aesthetic that works so well, and when the song comes together, it all seems inevitable.
- Blake

32. Battles - Mirrors
What the...? I still have no idea what is going on in this album and I suppose I never will. The rhythms are too tight, the vocals too scattered, and the guitars...where to begin. As out of control and chaos-tinged, it's still maddeningly methodical and never overbearing. Much has been made about how this is indie-rock's stab at prog, but no song stretches past the 10 minute marks and (I don't believe) anyone breaks out in three part harmony. Just some insane rock made by people too talented to do anything else. I think it has much more in common with freak folk than Yes, but I suppose that's because I actually enjoy this stuff.
- Nick

31. Caribou - Andorra
Caribou/Manitoba's weirdest album yet? You bet; no longer spectacular electronic pop experiments, this album goes all out at trying to find that lost 60's sound by combining electronic music with psych electric guitars. Snaith's best record? I think so. Andorra shows a real sense of nostalgia and historicity, shows a feeling of longing for something that none of us really know except in old movies and Nuggets: 1960s garage psychedelia. In their live show this month, the group projected fluorescent images of flowers blooming, etc, onto the stage while everyone went apeshit on the drums. This is Andorra in a nutshell to me: 60s kitsch projected onto proggy electronic music. The emotions that I feel about the album, I think, stem from the contrast of the two. The album at once sounds so powerful and so delicate.
- Michael
30. Grinderman - Grinderman
As aging hero of independent music, I think that Nick Cave is totally underrated. While other old rock badasses Tom Waits and Thurston Moore get superstar treatment with us rock kids (they should), Nick Cave often goes relatively overlooked. Why is that? I have no theories. What I do know, though, is that the Birthday boy himself is at least as reliable as those other two to turn out albums that show up on my year-end list. Abbatoir Blues from a couple years ago was fantastic, taking Mr. Cave down paths he had never been down before, namely nice-sounding music. With Grinderman, he's back to mean Mr. Devil, and I love him all the more for it. And the restraint on this album helps Nick to sound as nasty and powerful as he has since Let Love In. That's saying something.
- Michael
29. Various Artists - Kompakt Total 8
I'm not sure why this album from the always-reliable Kompakt label flew under the radar in a year that saw techno's coming-out party for the indie rock crowd. Maybe because the mix isn't as “pure” techno as the previous Totals? Certainly, Kompakt did branch out more into pop and house this year, for better (“Beautiful Life”) or worse (the Supermayer album). This album covers that gamut too, ranging from standards Superpitcher and Jorg Burger to Berlin hometown heavy-house fave Rex the Dog. The genius of this album, though, is that Kompakt makes all of these elements work together, making a mix that is both cool and fun, embodying the best of the Berlin party scene that is so omnipresent in my life right now. In 20 years, when I want to look back and remember what my time in Berlin was like, I will probably put this mix on, and be transported to so many parties.
- Michael
28. Liars - Liars
The Liars convinced me of their greatness with their last album, Drum's Not Dead, an experience of sheer power. It still gives me chills. Shapeless and unformed, it was nonetheless acutely emotional and wrenching. I loved it for its abstract qualities, its hugeness and its violence. If a band can go from sprawling abstractness to straightforward rock song structures, as they do with this year's release, Liars, without losing any of their power, it's a serious achievement. The probably dared each other to write regular songs and see what happened. This happened. The first track is loud and angry, incredibly good, but a fairly normal song, though made to sound powerful and desolate by the nature of the band playing it. But then "Houseclouds," the second track? It's a pop song. Who is this, Beck? Nevetheless, this two-punch is among the best moments on an album in 2007. Throughout, the songs are pretty paced, and they don't indulge in long instrumental sections, staying true to some variation of punk, garage, or pop rock form. But the fact that it's the Liars performing them makes all the difference. They can't help but do it better than anyone else.
- Blake
27. The Dirty Projectors - Rise Above
I didn’t know what to make of this album at first. After a couple listens I decided it wasn’t a grower, either you liked it or you didn’t and I was definitely in the latter group—I couldn’t get past his voice.

And then, and don’t ask what possessed me to listen to it again, it was beautiful. It’s something, maybe the mixed vocals, the instrumental moments of chaos, something about the album’s ode to Black Flag, something…who knows?

Please just listen to it several times.

Favorite Track: Rise Above
- Austin
26. Lil Wayne - Carter 3
One of the perks of the slow demise of the album as a concept is the rise of the mixtape. Who cares where music first appears anymore? No more primacy placed on the “original,” as if that every existed in the first place (the original song, not the primacy). So here we have Weezy, releasing a (good) studio album (Da Drought 3) consisting of mostly covers and remixes, and a fantastic mixtape sampling everything in sight. And man this mix is joyous! Wayne spits rhyme after rhyme at me so fast, he sounds out of breath, and soon so do I too. Weezy is the coyote of the rap world right now; he can sound as angry, sad, dangerous, or sexual as anyone out there, sometimes on the same album. Of course, he also has the maturity and patience of a child, which explains the stupid jokes, as well as his inability to finish one song before starting the next one. Of course, these “flaws” just add to Weezy's charm, and also help me feel childlike and giddy while listening to this mix.
- Michael
25. Daft Punk - Alive 2007
The most important music group of our generation (I said it) further secures its legacy by combining the best aspects of rock and roll (the live show) and electronic music (the remix). They deftly address both their own music and their live environment and audience in groundbreaking ways. They totally redeem the disappointing Human After All. They rock out to “Music Sounds Better With You.” What more could you ask from everyone's favorite sexy-robot music duo? Answer: another album, another tour.
- Michael

24. Iron and Wine - The Shephard's Dog
Around this time two years ago I wrote that Iron & Wine should only release EPs, because his sound and unaffecting voice can’t support the weight of a full-length LP. Thankfully, Sam Beam has proved me wrong. He finally harnessed the energy and immediacy of his Woman King EP and his work with Calexico and, with some training, gave it endurance.

I kept waiting for this album to get old and it never did. It definitely has staying power.

Favorite Track: Boy with a Coin
- Austin

23. Yeasayer - All Hour Cymbal
I swear the first time I heard this, I thought it was a lost Talk Talk album. That blend of high-pitched vocals, frail and yet full of lung power, the spaciousness, the indescribable communal feeling that you also get when listening to Animal Collective, especially Sung Tongs. Then "2080" came on, the third track, and my mouth dropped. The verse carried on by a persistent bass drum and tinny guitar, and then all of a sudden the chorus, "Its a new year I'm glad to be here," and the song has become achingly beautiful. THEN, at 2:50, everything gets even bigger, and they band starts to sound like they're singing around a campfire, and other people are hearing the music and joining the anthem. There's this whole gospel element to it. And just when you think it can't get any larger and more joyous, a group of children start singing, and the song ends in this quiet denouement.

I know this is more a review of that song that anything else, and it's certainly the highlight of the album, but if you're a fan at all of Talk Talk, Peter Gabriel, and like songs that possess a stunning melodicism with some tribal sounds and overall utter originality, please listen to this.
- Blake

22. Sondre Lerche - Phantom Punch

Sondre Lerche’s testicles finally dropped. Don’t worry he still has that beautiful, seducing tenor, but he finally dropped his old, too-sweet-sounding-for-more-than-a-song-at-a-time music in favor of scissor-kicking-maybe-I-could-kick-you-ass-if-really-really-really-angry music—the results are astounding.

I’ve not found this album on any of the top album lists I’ve read but I don’t care. Throughout the turmoil that has been my top ten this album has been the one constant. I just keep listening to it.

Favorite Track: The Tape

- Austin
21. Studio - Yearbook 1
It's hard for me to explain just why I like this album as much as I do. I mean, it's Swedish, and beautifully produced, and a mix between electronic music and pop, and has subtly funky beats. And it varies between the tiny pop of “No Comply” to the grandiose dub of “Out There.” And I can listen to it on repeat for hours on end without getting bored or sick of it. Yeah, that's why I love this album.

- Michael

20. Beirut - The Flying Club Cup
Sorry I’m just a sucker for this type of music, I admit it. I don’t think about any of the gimmicky pitfalls of music like this, and I don’t care that Zach Condon is only twenty-one—this album is brilliant, especially when you take it together with the Lon Gisland EP released earlier this year.

This album reminds me that blank spaces used to exist on the map. It reminds me of a time when the unknown actually existed.
Illogical, rambling emotional impacts aside, this album marks an incredible progression for this band. Musically the song are much more distinguishable, and to emphasize this fact Condon seems to have intentionally utilized a single lyrical theme.

It’s the most listened to album on my ipod.
- Austin

19. Rufus Wainwright - Release the Stars
I think I’m the only person in the world that loved this album. I know for a fact I’m the only person in Columbus, Ohio who knew the words to all the new songs. When I saw him this fall I belted every song, and everyone looked around like they had no idea what was going on. I remember seeing Rufus in New York during his Want II and just feeling completely surrounded by love. And there I sat in the midwest with a bunch of people that didn’t care.

Why did I care? Because he delivered an album of romantic gems set to completely over the top productions that swept me up in a fever of bittersweet nostalgia (the best possible kind). Why doesn’t any one else care?

I know that answer, too. The album is a little campy, bloated, and not nearly as strong as his first two albums. Sure, I’m forgiving. I gave the Smashing Pumpkins nearly four albums before I jumped ship. But I have jumped ship, and am now privy to anything Rufus wants to do. Luckily he’s not bitter or jaded, and is making romantic albums full of tortured lovers, forbidden loves, and that voice to carry it all.
- Nick

18. The Tough Alliance - A New Chance
A mix of unpredictable beatscapes and youthful vocals made this album irresistible the first time I heard it; its appeal has only increased. The unusual vocal sampling and instrumentation have yielded more unexpected surprises with every listen. There's something about dancepop that's impossible for me to dislike. This is a Swedish duo of childhood friends, who are Jens Lekman's favorite band, which is good enough for me. They're also famous for their somewhat confrontational personalities and aggressive, supposedly Situationist politics. That all seems to be lost on me, and perhaps lost in the carefree music--Situationist ideas were always a pose anyway. They've also been accused of promoting anarchy and violence, which just seems absurd. Perhaps this line from "Neo Violence" is apt: "Truly sorry thought you'd get the wink, it's in our nature to be out of sync."
- Blake

17. Kanye West - Graduation
I understand it. I was ready to ditch the Kanye bus, too, until he dropped a party animal with exactly one bad track (Drunk and Hot Girls). No skits, no sappy ballads with Brandy, and at least three phenomenal end of the year chart toppers (Stronger, Good Life, Flashing Lights) that equal anything he’s put out before. I was ready to hate. I am still not impressed with his flow. But I am impressed with an album loaded hits that makes the stunning Late Registration look slightly stale.

It all has to do with Kanye the producer, who took back control and played it exactly the way he wanted to. Late Registration felt like the edges were smoothed over, but Graduation hits hard and often with miraculous sounds that are innovative and quirky.

I’ll never trade his rhymes for Hova’s, but in a year that saw American Gangster look back to past strengths, Kanye looked straight ahead and put together a staggering modern American hip hop record.
- Nick

16. The Field - From Here We Go Sublime
My list this year seems to be littered (delicately sprinkled?) with largely wordless, instrumental music. Perhaps it’s a sign that I will soon start listening to instrumental smooth jazz covers of 1990s top 40s? I just threw up in my mouth.

I listened to this album on the 5 a.m. train from Providence to Boston with my head pressed sleepily against the windowpane watching the snow spit in the blue winter dawn. The album’s title seemed possible.

Favorite Track: The Silent
- Austin

15. Sunset Rubdown - Random Spirit Lover
This isn’t so much an album as an opera. These aren’t songs but movements weaving a modern mythology of characters epically struggling against tenuous everyday existence and the underage temptations of vodka.

Spencer Krug’s arrangements, like Mozart (there I said it), are frustratingly complex yet simple. Krug’s frail voice makes everything sound dramatic, his guitar lines blend together like a string section.

I hope he continues to be as prolific as he has been past couple years. He’s the best composer working these days. There I said that too.

Favorite Track: The Courtesan Has Sung
- Austin

14. M.I.A. - Kala
I didn’t expect this. Arular was fantastic and all, but every single freaking song on this album is a gangbuster ready to make the dance floor move. Where did those beats come from? Before, the caged beats sounded futuristic and threatening, and now they sound downright earth shattering. And instead of some chanting she’s crafted some perfect songs.

I still, honestly, can’t pin down exactly what moves me about her. Her tone-deaf delivery isn’t exactly revelatory, and while her lyrics are interesting, they aren’t poetry. And her politics, like nearly everyone has mentioned, are rather disturbing. This isn’t the power-of-the-people vibe, this is radical and dangerous. I wouldn’t mess with her. Sure, it could be a huge facade that she’s put on to sound more dangerous. But I don’t buy it. I’m scared of her. Honestly, if I saw her on the street I’d walk the other way. God knows what she’d do to me. Ask for an autograph? Forget about it.

Perhaps that’s the attraction...that and the 12 or so unbelievable singles piled up here.
- Nick

13. Ryan Adams - Easy Tiger
Delicately understated and sincere. Gone is the self-indulgent Adams who thought everything he quickly shitted belonged on tape.

I can’t put a finger on the prevailing “theme” of this album—it’s not like “Heartbreaker” where everything’s about loss, or “Love is Hell” which deals with angst—but I think that adds to the attraction. The emotions range over top a landscape of just good, good music

It does almost act like a greatest hits album.

Favorite Track: Two
- Austin

12. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
Indie rock kids have been trying for years to sound like Bruce Springsteen. It’s cute. But no one ever figured out that there has to be something to fight for, some strife to get over. It’s not about rocking with abandon, it’s about breaking away, cutting your loses, and starting over, even if that’s an impossibility. Arcade Fire are the first band to actually come close. It’s no accident that he invited them on stage to sing “Keep the Cars Running”, this is mimicry on the highest level.

But it’s still mimicry, and that’s the only reason this album doesn’t have the dark intricacies and rambling confusion of their fantastic debut. This album is streamlined, obvious, and, at times, rather clumsy. The lyrics are weighty and overbearing. But their heart is there, and the rage they conjure up is real.

Ironically, my favorite songs are the ones that stray furthest from the Funeral multi-suite template. (Antichrist Television Blues) is straight verse chorus the whole way through, yet they manage to weave a twisted tale of money, god, and power into one of the catchiest 5 minutes in 2007. The title track is a simple 2 minute lullaby played as quietly as 7 talented musicians possibly can. It's theses new fantastic directions that get me the most excited, and what kept these songs close to the top-played list all year long.
- Nick

11. Feist - The Reminder
It’s always hard figuring out where to put your long-haul favorites from the year, those albums that you got into early on and which, though they might lack the shiny appeal of bands you’ve discovered in the last month in the all-out listening-sprint that is required for writing a top 25 list, are nonetheless great. I’ve loved Feist since Let It Die showed up at WGRE in 2004, to when I saw her with like 50 people in 2005, to when I saw her with 5000 people in Williamsburg this year. She makes totally delightful yet lasting music that goes down easy but has enough charm to stick around. And that voice. Airy, heady, weathered and surprisingly expressive, especially on cuts like Intuition and So Sorry, the more low-key minimal-production tracks. But who could deny that 1,2,3,4 isn’t one of the most fun songs of 2007? Clean fun! She’s all over my top 25 most played of 2007, and for good reason.
- Blake

10. Okkervil River - The Stage Names
Unlike Mike and Austin, I didn't love Black Sheep Boy, despite its supposed positive qualities like wrenching heartbreak and authentic depression. Both Nick and I tried to get into it, but the only song we seemed to like was the opening track, a quiet little ditty that the band didn't even write. Maybe it was the exuberance of living in New York, where depression doesn't manifest itself quietly, but in loud, self-destructive behavior, Walkmen's "The Rat" style. The album just seemed dusty and distant. So it was a relief when the opening cut on The Stage Names began with the sound of palm-muted guitar strings keeping a quick beat, which gives way to loud, raucous singing and the occasional "woo hoo!" The second song doesn't slow down either, and suddenly Okkervil River is a confident band with gusto, without losing any of the literary qualities--there are characters and personas all over the album. Generally the idea of a literary songwriter bugs me--it comes off pretentious and fake and just hackneyed, but I really don't feel that way about Okkervil River. It's honest rather than pretentious, while maintaining the mystery of storytelling which is the reason we're drawn to it in the first place.
- Blake

9. Burial - Untrue
I recently read Derrida's Spectres of Marx, and I'm not sure how much “sonic hauntology” actually applies to this album. I understand that Untrue shows lots of “traces;” I'm just not sure how much different it is from, say, a Lil Wayne album with billions of samples, or the Go! Team. I fear that people just get excited because no one knows who Burial is and the album sounds spooky. Still, though, this is an album worthy of serious attempts at interpretation; it achieves feelings of loneliness and creepiness that I want to think more about, and the mood is one that makes me think of important questions of identity. I never could get into Burial's first album very much, but Untrue has blown me away; I've listened to this album more than any other in the past two months.
- Michael

8. Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam
Was Animal Collective seriously on Conan O'Brien? National television?

As much of a mystery as Animal Collective is, this year provided some glimpse into their music-making process with the solo releases of Avey Tare and Panda Bear, their two lead singers. After Person Pitch came out, we were all astounded, and thought that maybe Panda Bear really was the genius in AC. Avey Tare's solo album with wife was fine, but nowhere near as astounding as Panda Bear's. But then out came Strawberry Jam, and Avery Tare is all over it. His vocals are the most compelling part and carry the album, not to mention anchor "For Reverend Green," the albums centerpiece.

"For Reverend Green. " Enough said. Just keep listening to that song over and over, until it becomes a spiritual experience. When I saw them play it live at South St. Seaport with the sun setting and the Brooklyn Bridge behind them, it did for me. But seriously, that song is ridiculous. It established why Avey Tare is such a talented vocalist, for one, (or at the very least totally original) because he makes that song work and no one else could ever sing it. Panda Bear somehow comes through with more astonishing tracks: I love "Derek," the lost Person Pitch song, a song which codified the feelings I had toward my childhood golden retriever, and her death two years ago. #1, the song they played on Conan, demonstrates well why AC needs both singers: the airy Panda Bear background as a setting for the rough-edged snap of Avey Tare. I think this is their best behind Sung Tongs, which will always astound and inspire me because it was the first thing I heard and when I realized music could do things I'd never realized.
- Blake

7. Jay-Z - American Gangster

I always wondered how long it would be before some ambitious rapper would take the 1970s brassy soul that has littered some of the most critically successful rap songs of the past few years and decide to use it as an entire sonic palette. Never in my wildest dreams did I hope that the one and only Hova would be the one to step up to the plate. In my mind it is this big-band/soul sound itself that is the “concept” in this pseudo-autobigraphical concept album.
- Michael

6. The National - Boxer
Climbed higher on my list with each listen. Their sound must originate from some smoky, basement bar in the middle of country where smoking inside is still legal. Matt Beringer’s voice is unshakable, the apocalypse could be raining down around him and I don’t his cadence would change.

Also since Sufjan didn’t release an album this year this is the closest I could get—he plays piano on the outstanding ‘Ada.’

Favorite Track: Slow, Slow
- Austin

5. Radiohead - In Rainbows
Dear Radiohead,

I’m sure you thought you would be first, and by all rights you should be. Without you this list wouldn’t exist. You’re the reason I love music.

You’ve definitely tested my faith over the years. Yes, eventually, all the albums were enjoyable but nothing approached the complete immersion, the complete escape I achieved with The Bends or OK Computer.

I kept waiting for an album I didn’t have to wrap my mind around, an album I liked immediately and could play for others and they would like it immediately instead of just asking me to play ‘Creep.’

As I waited, my music tastes matured and expanded thanks to the training you had given me. I had patience for music, I let it grow and build and glow in my ears. Months passed when I didn’t listen to a single one of your songs.

Then, when I wasn’t even paying attention, when I wasn’t obsessively guessing what new songs would make the album cut, you released this. After the misleading intro of ’15 Steps’ you launch into a simply blissful album. One after another the wonderful, accessible but complex, rolled across my ears—it was the album I had been waiting for, everything I had wanted.

So why aren’t you number one? I’m not sure, there are all these conflicting feelings, I’m so confused. After finally getting all that I wanted I’m not experiencing the complete endorphin rush of fulfillment I had expected.

I’ve decided we need to see other people, so I’ve put you at two. I hope we can we still be friends.

Best,

- Austin

4. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
As much as I loves James Murphy's early singles, I wasn't blown away by the first LCD album; it seemed too thrown together, lacking cohesion or other album-qualities. Boy, he fixed that problem for his sophomore release. Sound of Silver flows from beginning to end, maintaining a consistent sound that never gets old. Of course this album also contains some of the most socially relevant songs for our zeitgeist, from everyone's favorite “All My Friends” (mine too) to the subtle “Get Innocuous.” And “North American Scum” can lead me to do embarrassing things on a European dancefloor.
- Michael

2. Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala and Panda Bear - Person Pitch
One of the stranger experiences in life is when I happen to fall asleep watching a movie I’ve seen many times before. I know the plot, know the characters, but in the haze of sleep these events line up to create a completely new experience. Strange scenes that never existed before appear, and characters start breaking from the script. None of it ever makes sense, but this new world is beautiful and strange. I’m always curious to see where it goes, before I drift off again.

I’ve never heard an album as completely bewitching and dreamlike as this one, and never one that reminded me of this phenomenon. Each time I sneak in it feels like a completely new experience, one that can never be replicated. Because there are no verses, no choruses, just waves of samples looping around itself, there is no entry point except the beginning. If you drop in the middle it’s disorienting and alarming, but always beautiful and often sublime.

The album will always be about the random, the unexpected, the new turns I didn’t know existed. It will be me rambling around Brooklyn half awake with headphones through the trees back to my old apartment at a late hour. It will always be the unknown, and that’s why I can’t stop listening to it on repeat waiting for unexpected to happen.
- Nick

I heard "Bros" last year and forced Nick and Austin to listen to it when we played our top five songs of 2006 for each other. I think it came after Austin played some fast, beat-heavy song that he used to work out to. Then I put on "Bros," that starts with an owl hoot and needless to say, we didn't make it through all 12 minutes of it.

I think I know what the problem was--you're supposed to listen to Panda Bear alone. Yes, it's a headphones album, so that contributes. But all my feelings about this album are tied to very private experiences. "Bros" reminds me of snow falling, which is probably because the first time I heard it, I was walking around some Brooklyn brownstones at night and snow was falling softly all over the city, Joyce-style. It was one of the most beautiful and profound moments I've ever had in New York City. I felt utterly alone and utterly connected to the universe, etc., etc.. Another time I was alone one night and put "Ponytail" on repeat and fell asleep to it, and had dreams that were dreams I needed to have, and I woke up with a better understanding of myself. Last month, I woke up in the middle of the night having a bizarre panic attack while traveling, and feeling very, very confusedly unsettled. Nothing would put my mind to rest but "Search for Delicious."

I don't know why this is, why Panda Bear and Animal Collective in general are able to create these musical moments. Perhaps they just give us an abstract musical space to project our own fears, thoughts, dreams. But they really are artists, and this is really meaningful music.
- Blake

Do you remember when it took a few listens to warm up to Jens Lekman albums? I would tell a friend about I Want to Be Your Dog: “It sounds like boring mopey lo-fi music, but he actually writes profoundly affecting songs; just give it a try.” With Night Falls Over Kortedala, all you need is one listen and you're hooked. The arrangements are grandiose, the samples are over-the-top fun, and it has killer beats—seriously. And yeah, the lyrics are really simple and straightforward, but that Lekman's schtick; he has an album persona straight from a Capra film, one which is to me the most moving of modern rock persona's, only matched by the overwhelming personalities of Weezy or Ghost. And even though he's being really genuine and all that, Lekman tells great stories, and can make me as emotionally involved in his dilemmas as he apparently is. I think that Lekman's development as a producer and arranger (he could always write songs) has been one of the best pop/rock stories of the past few years, and Lekman has become quite possibly my favorite singer/songwriter of this generation.
- Michael

1. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Truthfully I’ve always listened to Spoon out of a sense of obligation. The same sense that makes you buy the Economist when you really want the Maxim with Buffy on the cover. I’ve always appreciated Daniel’s perfection of song craft, and the band’s virtuous use of negative, silent space within their songs, but the seemed songs too obviously crafted, too deliberate.

But then came this album.

It’s hard to write about. It’s flashes of independent brilliance delicately strung together. It is perfectly etched but strikes imperfect emotional chords. I don’t know how they wrote ‘Finer Feelings’ or where the bass line in ‘Don’t you Evah’ comes from or how they devised the handclaps on ‘Underdog.’ I’ve listened to it repeatedly.

It never gets old. Never ceases to amaze.

Favorite Track: Finer Feelings
- Austin