Dryvetyme Onlyne

Well, I guess that it’s time for me to post my Top Ten albums of 2007. In earlier years, I’ve simply written one post that covers all of my thoughts on music, cinema, & my life in general over the year. However, since I’ve significantly upped the quantity of music that I intentionally review, I decided to compose a post dedicated solely to the music of substance and worth that was released during the year 2007. Moreover, this is also the first year where I specifically rate my Top Ten favorite albums (in order!) along with mentioning other great records. Thus, with all that being said, here are my picks for the best music in 2007.

This year’s Top Ten albums are:
**Drum Roll Please**

1) LCD Soundsystem – Sound of Silver

If you are unable to dance to the amazing beats or relate to the rather grown-up lyrics of Mr. James Murphy, then you really don’t have much of a soul left.

2) Of Montreal – Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?

This is what break-up/separation albums should sound like — raw, honest, angst-filled introspection over brilliant pop music. No need for mopey acoustic folk anymore!

3) Deerhoof – Friend Opportunity

While the high-pitched vocals might not work for some people, the incredibly frenetic pace and texture of the songs on this album strike a chord within me.

4) Arcade Fire – Neon Bible

Sure, Win, Regine, & the gang might have a penchant for apocalyptic ruminations on a grand scale, but they certainly do it very well.

5) Battles – Mirrored

For everyone who thought that progressive rock music is the sole bastion of bands like Dream Theater (as good such bands may be), Battles has crafted a dark, complex, and math-y album that is still ridiculously fun and engaging.

6) Maylene & The Sons of Disaster – II

The one wild card on this list — I simply love this band. They’re amazing live and they actually make me proud to call myself a Son of the South. This is the top Southern metal band out there.

7) Burial – Untrue

And for everyone who likes their dance music to be less than over-the-top, I bring you Burial – an iconoclastic, mysterious British producer who is tops in the dubstep/grime scene. Brilliant music is being created here.

8 ) Broken Social Scene Presents: Kevin Drew – Spirit If…

This album might be regarded as a “solo” album (what with Leslie Feist being understandably heralded for her outstanding pop album The Reminder), by BSS leader Kevin Drew, it stands as a classic BSS album, full of dreamy songs both blissful & fevered in nature.

9) Justice – Cross Symbol Thingy

What do you call a dance-y, electro-clash-y record made by two young French kids? Awesome!

10) Radiohead – In Rainbows

Granted, this album probably received more notoriety for how it was released (aka for whatever price the buyer wanted to set for it when purchasing it online) than for the actual content of the songs. Nevertheless, this record places Radiohead back on track to making some of the best music in history. Few groups make music as dense, accessible, and artful as Radiohead.

Honorable Mentions Include (in alphabetical order):

Animal Collective – Strawberry Jam
Blonde Redhead – 23
Dizzee Rascal – Maths + English
El-P – I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead
Feist – The Reminder
The Field – From Here We Go Sublime
Iron & Wine – The Shepherd’s Dog
Menomena – Friend and Foe
MGMT – Oracular Spectacular
M.I.A. – Kala
The National – Boxer
Joanna Newsom & the Ys Street Band – The Ys Street Band EP
Panda Bear – Person Pitch
Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
UGK – Underground Kingz
Kanye West – Graduation
The White Stripes – Icky Thump

Other Notable Releases Include (also in alphabetical order):
Arctic Monkeys – Favourite Worse Nightmare
The Black Swans – Change!
Blitzen Trapper – Wild Mountain Nation
Bloc Party – A Weekend In The City
Bright Eyes – Cassadaga
Common – Finding Forever
The Deadly Syndrome – The Ortolan
Deerhunter – Cryptograms
Joe Henry – Civilians
Kingsbury – The Great Compromise
Lewis & Clarke – Blasts of Holy Birth
The New Pornographers – Challengers
T.I. – T. I. vs. T.I.P.
Timbaland – Timbaland Presents Shock Value
The Twilight Sad – Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters
Wilco – Sky Blue Sky

Thoughts? Comments? Concerns? Care to engage in a debate because you happen to disagree with my choices? Well, then leave a comment!