Best Music of 2007

It's my Top Ten for 2007...finally!

I realize I said this for 2006 too, but last year was a fantastic one for music. So much so that I struggled for a month deciding which albums would make it into my list. Usually each year I try to write up a review of my top albums, but it's February now and I haven't found the time yet. Since I don't see that changing anytime soon, I give up. Here's my list, straight up:

Top Ten Albums for 2007

1. In Rainbows - Radiohead
   
2. Year Zero - Nine Inch Nails
   
3. Sound of Silver - LCD Soundsystem
4. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga - Spoon
   
5. The Shepherd's Dog - Iron & Wine
   
6. From Here We Go Sublime - The Field
   
7. And Their Refinement Of The Decline - Stars of the Lid
   
8. Kala - M.I.A.
   
9. Untrue - Burial
   
10. Goodbye - Ulrich Schnauss
    

Honorable Mentions:

• Walls - Apparat
  
• Person Pitch - Panda Bear
  
• Oblivion With Bells – Underworld
  
• Consequence Music – Dextro
  
• Fur And Gold – Bat For Lashes
• I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead – El-P
• In Our Nature - José González
• The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust! – Saul Williams
• Language Barrier – Lusine ICL
• We Can Create – Maps
  

Yeah I know that's a lot of runners up, but there were way more than ten great albums this year!

And now as a bonus for all those of you who so patiently , here's the bonus round:

Song of the Year

• "Stars"* - Goodbye - Ulrich Schnauss

Best Live Album of 2007

• Live Session (iTunes Exclusive) - k-os

Best DJ Mix of 2007

• Live'r Than You'll Ever Be - Bestival 2007 - The Kleptones

Best Album of 2006 That I Didn’t Discover Until 2007

• Carnavas - Silversun Pickups

Biggest Disappointment of 2007

• Atlantis - k-os
  

Agree? Disagree? Just feel like commenting? Let me know what you think!

('*' = not a DRM-free link)

See also:
Review: "Year Zero" by Nine Inch Nails (that's right – the only top ten review I managed to get done)
Top Ten Albums of 2006: Recap (+ Bonus Round!)

Tops of My Pops for 11/11/07

A weekly look at what I'm listening to, from my Last.fm user stats:

Top Artists for the week ending November 11, 2007
1. Iron & Wine
2. David Bowie
3. Lee "Scratch" Perry
4. Tim Hecker
5. Rockers Hi-Fi
6. The Sea and Cake
6. Killing Joke
8. Faith No More
8. The White Stripes
8. Brian Eno
8. DJ Shadow
8. Nine Inch Nails
8. The Field
8. Everything but the Girl

(Editor's Note: all commentary is suspended until John manages to catch up on his weekly postings.)

See also:
The 'Tops of My Pops' archives

Tops of My Pops for 9/30/07

A weekly look at what I'm listening to, from my Last.fm user stats:

Top Artists for the week ending September 30, 2007
1. Simple Minds
2. Iron & Wine
3. Ulrich Schnauss
4. Klaxons
5. Underworld & Gabriel Yared
6. Wire
6. Cepia
6. Maps
9. Spoon
10. Beastie Boys
10. Josh Rouse

The grind to catch up with my real-time listening continues... I will pause briefly to reflect on the ongoing tidal wave of musical goodness that is 2007: fantastic albums from Iron & Wine and Klaxons enter the fray this week, upping the current tally for my year-end Top Ten to around two dozen contenders.

Worries about Sam Beam selling out on The Shepherd's Dog turn out to be entirely unfounded. While there are more instruments and more musicians and even more singers on this one, he's continuing to refine that exquisite pastoral melancholy that we all know and love.

Klaxons were this year's Mercury Prize winners for their debut Myths Of The Near Future (technically a 2006 release, but only just now making it over the Atlantic). On it they've delivered a reckless, brilliant, modern, electrifying UK rock sound the brazenly reaches across the gap between the quirky indie camp and the stadium rockers. They're hooky and perplexing as you might imagine, but there's a hot swagger to it that rivals anything Bobby Gillespie ever aspired to. Listen to "It's Not Over Yet" before you tell me I'm wrong.

Finally, I can hear you all asking: what the hell is Simple Minds doing at the top of this week's chart? Before all the Breakfast Club mega-stardom rotted their brains and begat all the sonic garbage that followed, the band released five bold, experimental and ultimately cinematic masterpieces of pop music in four short years: Empires And Dance (1980), Sons and Fascination / Sister Feelings Call (two EPs released in 1981 and later combined on CD), New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) (1982), and Sparkle in the Rain (1984). Lo and behold, all have been remastered and the first three are now available in iTunes Plus format. I have proudly (re)purchased the 1981-82 releases and listen in awe and respect. So there.

See also:
The 'Tops of My Pops' archives