- Christopher Bahn
- Andy Battaglia
- Aaron Burgess
- Andrew Earles
- Scott Gordon
- Marc Hawthorne
- Jason Heller
- Steven Hyden
- Trevor Kelley
- Genevieve Koski
- Gregg Lagambina
- Michaelangelo Matos
- Chris Mincher
- Josh Modell
- Noel Murray
- Sean O'Neal
- Keith Phipps
- Nathan Rabin
- Kyle Ryan
STEVEN HYDEN
1. Wilco, Sky Blue Sky (15)
"Could anybody imagine the Wilco record that would make everybody happy?" Jeff Tweedy wondered in an A.V. Club interview earlier this year. That record certainly wasn't Sky Blue Sky, derided by some as "too mellow," "too jammy," or simply "boring." Eschewing the dissonance of Wilco's recent work, Sky Blue Sky sprawls like its namesake, but don't mistake the warm classic-rock glow for easy contentment. Underneath the subtly tricky arrangements and guitarist Nels Cline's epic soloing is a man trying to keep his life (and marriage) together as middle age looms. Funnier and looser than he has been in years, Tweedy produced some of his most moving songs for Sky Blue Sky-"Impossible Germany," "Side With The Seeds," and "Hate It Here," to name three—and that's saying a lot.
2. Amy Winehouse, Back To Black (15)
3. The Sadies, New Seasons (15)
"The Trial" by The Sadies
From The Band to Neil Young to Joni Mitchell, some of the finest purveyors of American roots music over the years have hailed from Canada. Add frequent Neko Case collaborators The Sadies to the list—New Seasons tones down the surf and spaghetti Western influences heard on past Sadies releases, settling into a murky, psychedelic country sound that recalls the late '60s "cosmic American music" of Gram Parsons and The Byrds. Ex-Jayhawk Gary Louris' production is perhaps a little too murky, but the simple elegance of the songwriting and beauty of the harmonies (courtesy of brothers Dallas and Travis Good) still shine through brilliantly.
4. Band Of Horses, Cease To Begin (15)
Band Of Horses is often described as an amalgam of other bands: a little My Morning Jacket, a little Built To Spill, maybe some Flaming Lips and Shins. On its sophomore effort, Cease To Begin, Band Of Horses sets itself apart by being more emotionally direct than its influences. No longer burying his voice in reverb like he did on the band's 2006 debut Everything All The Time, singer-songwriter Ben Bridwell positively swoons on gorgeous slow jams like "No One's Gonna Love You" and "Window Blues." The lack of self-consciousness on Cease To Begin links Band Of Horses with the great Southern-rock bands of old, as it embraces the simple pleasures of being young and alive—without air quotes.
5. Ween, La Cucaracha (15)
Though it's Ween's best record in 10 years, La Cucaracha probably won't convert anybody who hasn't caught on to Gene and Dean's freewheeling mastery of every genre that interests them before now. But if you're on Ween's wavelength, La Cucaracha might be the most purely enjoyable album of the year. Ween is funnier than ever—love the techno and reggae songs, guys—and just as dark, with "Object" taking its place between Randy Newman's "Suzanne" and Neil Young's "Cortez The Killer" on the list of great songs about sociopathic murderers.
6. Okkervil River, The Stage Names (4)
"Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe" by Okkervil River
Download MP3 (right-click and save)
While The Stage Names ostensibly is about how the songs and movies we love set us up for disappointment in real life, it doesn't seem like Okkervil River singer-songwriter Will Sheff really believes that. There's nothing phony about the songs on The Stage Names, which are packed with keenly observed details of mundane lives led by flesh-and-blood (and deeply flawed) characters. For Sheff, art doesn't merely reflect life, it blurs the distinction between the real world and a more elusive, poetic reality.
7. Paul Duncan, Above The Trees (4)
8. The National, Boxer (4)
9. Radiohead, In Rainbows (4)
10. Ryan Adams, Easy Tiger (4)
11. Dungen, Tio Bitar (1)
12. Paul McCartney, Memory Almost Full (1)
The most surprising record of the year—as in surprisingly great—Memory Almost Full finds notorious pothead Paul McCartney as weird and scatterbrained as ever, as he takes the melodic pieces floating around his brain and crafts them into the irresistible mini-suites that have long been his calling card.
13. LCD Soundsystem, Sound Of Silver (1)
14. The Midwest Beat, The Midwest Beat (1)
Madison power-pop band The Midwest Beat do right by their influences—Beatles and Kinks, and every no-name mid-'60s jangly rock combo that ripped them off—on this addictive six-song EP. Yes, it's picked-over territory, which makes the freshness The Midwest Beat brings to the sound all the more impressive.
15. Page France, …And The Family Telephone (1)
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Arcade Fire, Neon Bible
Bright Eyes, Cassadaga
Call Me Lightning, Soft Skeletons
Deerhunter, Cryptograms
Fountains Of Wayne, Traffic And Weather
Robbie Fulks, Revenge!
The Goodnight Loving, Crooked Lake
The New Pornographers, Challengers
Spoon, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Bruce Springsteen, Magic
FAVORITE SONGS
brakesbrakesbrakes, "Mobile Communication"
Arcade Fire, "My Body Is A Cage"
Paul Duncan, "Parasail"
Dungen, "Familj"
The Goodnight Loving, "Another Foggy Yesterday"
The National, "Fake Empire"
Oakley Hall, "I'll Follow You"
Okkervil River, "A Girl In Port"
The Sadies, "The Land Between"
Spoon, "Don't You Evah"
Bruce Springsteen, "Gypsy Biker"
T-Pain, "Buy U A Drank"
Ween, "Object"
Wilco, "Impossibly Germany"
Amy Winehouse, "Love Is A Losing Game"
SORRY I MISSED YOU IN '06
Like most music fans, I didn't only listen to music that came out in 2007 this year. I'm still catching up with all the great music that came out in past years. In 2007, I dug deep into five records from 2006 that could have made last year's list: singer-songwriter Ray LaMontagne's haunted Till The Sun Turns Black, Lupe Fiasco's addictive Food & Liquor, power-pop masters The Figgs' splendid Follow Jean Through The Sea, Comets On Fire's raging psychedelic rock record Avatar, and Lucero's southern-fried Rebels, Rogues, And Sworn Brothers.
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