Ryan Osborne

I figure I happen across most of the music I listen to three ways: 1) whatever VH1/MTV Europe plays a lot of, which means the likes of Nicole Scherzinger (good) or RHCP (not good); 2) whatever iTunes tells me is “Just for [me]”, which means Ryan Adams’ third album of the year (fine, if not a tad inconsequential) or Bell Biv Devoe’s “Poison” (thanks, I’ll buy one); or 3) whatever music my friends tell me is good music. The latter is probably why much of this list has appeared elsewhere below. I do appreciate these lists actually, and have made fresh purchases as a result. Below are songs and albums that sound nice to listen to.



Albums

1. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga – Spoon / “Finer Feelings” & “Black Like Me”

Sublime music. If it was a woman, I’d be flirting with it, using all my best moves.

2. In Rainbow – Radiohead / “House of Cards”

The last 10 or so years have been rough on our relationship, but the love is back, and we are renewing our vows.

3. Challengers -- New Pornographers / “My Rights Versus Yours”

Yes, I thought this was nerdy when I first heard it, but I’m not afraid to change my mind and admit the truth of the beauty within.

4. Sky Blue Sky – Wilco / “Either Way”

Jeff Tweedy could make a fart noise with his mouth and I’d think it was the best album.

5. The Reminder – Feist / “My Moon My Man”

Something I thought was a secret find a while back, which clearly was not.

6. Raising Sand -- Robert Plant & Alison Krauss / “Please Read the Letter”

The product seems so obvious and effortless, I should have thought of combining them long ago.



Singles

1. Faithless – “Music Matters”

Also try “A Kind of Peace”, with Cat Power.

2. Gwen Stefani ft. Akon – “The Sweet Escape”

3. Kelis – “Lil Star”

4. Nelly Furtado – “Say it Right”

I must say, I have no idea what this song is about, but I’ve listened to it, quite intentionally, about 400 times.

5. T.I. – “Big S**t Poppin”

Glad to see a good scrawny rapper representing.

6. Robbie Williams – “She’s Madonna”

7. Mark Ronson – “Stop Me”

8. Rihanna ft. Jay-Z – “Umbrella”

9. Bright Eyes – “Four Winds”

A reasonably accessible B.E. song, which took me a bit by surprise.

10. Ryan Adams – “Two”

11. Katherine McPhee – “Over It”

You have something to say, say it to my face.

12. Timbaland – “The Way I Are”

The way I am, Timba, the way I am.

13. Tracy Thorn – “Raise the Roof”

14. Peter Bjorn & John – “Young Folks”

15. Kelly Rowland – “Like This”

Perhaps the best former Destiny’s Chile?

16. Amy Winehouse – “Tears Dry on Their Own”



Non-2007 Singles

Mass Appeal – Gang Starr

Hand on Your Heart – Jose Gonzalez

Open Your Eyes – Bobby Caldwell

One Step Up – Bruce Springsteen

Rise – Herb Alpert

Amber Friesen

as usual, my list is only top 10 songs, picked from my favorite albums
of the year, from among the songs that were most meaningful or
significant to me. when i love an album i kill it -- playing it out
completely so that i only go back to it months later -- and each of
these songs takes me back to a specific set of days or emotional
texture or space in my life. i've limited myself to songs from albums
released in 2007, though honestly, some of my favorites this year were
older than that. but i do think this list is representative of what's
mattered to me in music in the last year.

1- sleeping lessons -- the shins
2- go places -- the new pornographers
3- back to black -- amy winehouse
4- slow show -- the national
5- keep the car running -- arcade fire
6- please read the letter -- robert plant & alison krauss
7- resurrection fern -- iron & wine
8- amsterdam - peter bjorn & john
9- midnight coward -- stars
10- welcome, ghosts -- explosion in the sky

incidentally, if i were to make a top 10 list of albums, which i'm not
doing, the shins would be at the top. followed by the national,
followed by the new pornographers, which i guess amounts to a top 3
list of albums. heck, i'd even throw robert plant & alison krauss on
there to make it an even four.

Rick Sieber

I can’t keep tweaking forever, so here are my lists as they currently stand. To me, 2007 was an exceptionally good year for music – way better than last year – so these were not easy decisions (hence the delay). My list contains many of the usual suspects (Spoon, Radiohead, LCD Soundsystem), but I finally settled on Field Music as my album of the year, and not just for variety’s sake. This was the album that most captured my imagination this year – quirky and deceptively complex arrangements, new wave zip and prog ambition, and still catchy as all get out. The Shins slightly edged the New Pornographers in my battle of the indie pop titans, and both groups should be applauded for pushing forward into subtly new territory. If Paul McCartney were hipper, and hadn’t recently written the godawful “Freedom,” more people would realize that he’s in the midst of a very strong run of albums, this year’s offering being a late career peak. The slick production isn’t for all tastes, and it isn’t always easy to get past Paul’s cheesy optimism, but for well-crafted studio pop it doesn’t get much better. Paul also gets my award for best bassline of 2007: “See Your Sunshine”. The man can still play. Without further ado, the lists:

TOP 10 ALBUMS:

1. Tones of Town – Field Music
2. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga – Spoon
3. In Rainbows – Radiohead
4. Sound of Silver – LCD Soundsystem
5. Wincing the Night Away – The Shins
6. Challengers – The New Pornographers
7. Memory Almost Full – Paul McCartney
8. The Good, the Bad, & the Queen – The Good, the Bad, & the Queen
9. White Chalk – PJ Harvey
10. The Far Now – David Kilgour



Bubbling Under:

* Friend Opportunity – Deerhoof
* God Save the Clientele – The Clientele
* Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? – Of Montreal
* Neon Bible – Arcade Fire
* On the Wing Now – Foreign Born
* Turn My Teeth Up! – Baby Elephant



TOP 20 TRACKS:

1. “Ever Present Past” – Paul McCartney
2. “No Cars Go” – Arcade Fire
3. “North American Scum” – LCD Soundsystem
4. “Disaster” – The Besnard Lakes”
5. “Plasticities” – Andrew Bird
6. “+81” - Deerhoof
7. “Myriad Harbour” – The New Pornographers
8. “Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse” – Of Montreal
9. “Horse Riding” – Euros Childs
10. “Brace Yourself” – Les Savy Fav
11. “My Moon, My Man” – Feist
12. “The People” – Common
13. “Give It” – X-Press 2 (featuring Kurt Wagner)
14. “Suddenly It’s a Folk Song” – Future of the Left
15. “Someone to Love” – Fountains of Wayne
16. “Paper Planes” – MIA
17. “Mammoth” - Interpol
18. “Good Life” – Kanye West (featuring T-Pain)
19. “Crack Addicts in Love” – Baby Elephant (featuring Nona Hendryx)
20. “Cryptograms” - Deerhunter



Bubbling Under:

* “Don’t You Evah” - Spoon
* “Finer Feelings” – Spoon
* “Grace Kelly” - Mika
* “A House Is Not A Home” – Field Music
* “I Call On You” – The Trolleyvox
* “If I Don’t” – Amp Fiddler (featuring Corinne Bailey Rae)
* “Sea Legs” – The Shins
* “Someone Great” – LCD Soundsystem
* “Tame the Savage” – Celebration
* “They Follow You” – Siouxsie
* “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi” – Radiohead
* “You Know I’m No Good” – Amy Winehouse