Top 50 Albums of 2007: Part 3 (of 3)
Posted by Brian Berry on 01.04.2008
The Top 10 Albums of 2007 are revealed in the final installment of the countdown. Check in to see who joined Radiohead, Animal Collective and Spoon at the top of the list!
Welcome to my picks for the Top 10 Albums of 2007. I've turned into a hermit over the past four weeks, tirelessly spinning these records so I can deliver the best list imaginable.
Before getting into the final Top 10, these were the best live performances I saw this year (All shows took place in San Francisco unless otherwise noted).
Top 10 Live Shows of 2007
10. The Devil Makes Three @ Treasure Island Music Festival
9. Dinosaur Jr. @ Mezzanine
8. Wilco @ Greek Theatre, Berkeley
7. The Jesus & Mary Chain @ The Fillmore
6. M.I.A. @ Treasure Island Music Festival
5. Spoon @ Popscene
4. TV On the Radio @ The Fillmore
3. LCD Soundsystem @ Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View
2. Of Montreal @ Great American Music Hall
1. !!! @ The Fillmore
...now to the final Top 10 of 2007...
#10 The Shins-Wincing the Night Away: After 2005's lackluster Chutes Too Narrow and several weak live performances, I had given up on New Mexico's most popular band completely…that is, until the release of their 3rd album. The Shins return to creating near perfect ‘60s Brit-pop inspired classics, while touching on new familiar genres that they adapt well to. The dream-pop track "Split Needles" (more Cure than Kinks) and the jangly "Girl Sailor" (more Pretenders than Hollies) highlight this very good pop-rock album.
#9 Animal Collective-Strawberry Jam: Beneath the wacky effects, looping, and distorted noise, Animal Collective are making some really melodic music that is equally indebted to the pop sensibilities of The Beach Boys as it is to avant-garde artists like Captain Beefheart. The album opens with the jubilant single "Peacebone", and is aided on the strengths of the manic Panda Bear sung "Chores", the anthemic chant along of "For Reverend Green", and the ethereal love song "Fireworks". With Strawberry Jam, AC have moved an inch toward becoming more accessible while holding tight to their experimental musical constructions.
#8 M.I.A.-Kala: M.I.A.'s 2nd album makes me hella hyper. Mind you, I have nearly no rhythm, but as soon as the tribal bass of album opener "Bamboo Banga" hits I could fuck any dancefloor up. Kala contains samples and producers from all over the world. The result is an album that sometimes sounds like a Bollywood soundtrack, American hip-hop or electro, London grime, Jamaican dance hall, and a host of other non-Anglo influences. Her cool as ice, deadpan delivery of political and cultural subjects recalls the delivery of JJ Fad or E.S.G. but M.I.A. has so much more to say. This mixture of influences is like nothing I've heard before, and the world is lucky to have this young woman making such incredibly unique music.
#7 Spoon-Ga Ga Ga Ga: Spoon's Billy Joel/Ray Davies inspired easy-rock has never been groundbreaking. Their melodies and Britt Daniel's raspy voiced lyrics, however, are always far above par and Ga Ga Ga Ga presents their best work to date. They are a rare case of a band making better music with each successive album despite repeatedly using the same formula. Highlights include "You Got Yr Cherry Bomb", "Don't You Evah" and the single "The Underdog".
#6 Radiohead-In Rainbows: Less electronic than their last three releases, In Rainbows should please fans disenchanted by Radiohead's more experimental, post-OK Computer work. The hype surrounding how this album was released overshadowed a great set of songs, including a rather endearing, straightforward love song called "All I Need", which could play as a prom anthem for a future age.
#5 Wilco-Sky Blue Sky: When I heard Wilco's new album was going to be a return to their early roots-rock I was expecting a rocker like their debut A.M. or something Uncle Tupelo would've released. Surprisingly, Jeff Tweedy and company took an even simpler approach releasing an album of laid back, folky soul. Hell, before the bassline kicks in for the opener "Either Way" (you've heard it on Volkswagen ads), the music wouldn't be out of place on a Woodie Guthrie album. This is a good match for Tweedy's lyrics, which have improved exponentially over the years where they shine brightest here. Pay extra attention to the lead guitar: Nels Cline is one of the best musicians around and he takes the spotlight many times here. If the mainstream had taste then Wilco, not bland soft-rockers like Jack Johnson/James Blunt/John Mayer, etc., would be hanging platinum records on their wall.
#4 !!!-Myth Takes: On their 3rd full-length the Sacramento dance-punk heavyweights tightened the focus of their songs, which in the past sometimes jammed out a bit too long, to create ten tracks that light up the dance floor for rockers and ravers alike. While none of the songs rival the classic "Hello? Is This Thing On?," the whole of Myth Takes is better than the part. Tribal percussion, heavy synths, and deep bass lines to make the squarest of squares bust out their best David Byrne dance. This is the party album of 2007.
#3 Of Montreal-Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?: On Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?, Of Montreal's latest album, the Athens, Georgia band makes a dramatic departure from the flowery, lyrically surrealist, psych-pop found on previous albums. Seeing that they're in cahoots with the Elephant 6 music collective bands (e.g. Neutral Milk Hotel, Apples In Stereo, Olivia Tremor Control), this style of music is nearly impossible to avoid.
Released on January 23, the album takes on darker subject matter, with surprisingly straightforward lyrics, from frontman Kevin Barnes' pen. Barnes wrote the concept album about a separation from his wife shortly after conceiving a child in Norway. Hissing Fauna stands up against other, similarly intense, concept records on the subject of crumbled romances, such as Astral Weeks (Van Morrison), The Meadowlands (The Wrens), and the hip-hop classic Play With Toys (Basehead).
The incredible thing about Hissing Fauna is that, despite trading in ‘60s Britpop influences for an album whose first half is influenced by early darkwave (see: early New Order, Depeche Mode) and latter half sounds more like the deeper funk of Prince, Of Montreal still sounds like Of Montreal. Consider a more straightforward version of Beck's Midnight Vultures and you've got a loose idea of what the new album sounds like. Regardless, this set probably (err, hopefully) doesn't have any songs ready to be sold for an Outback Steakhouse advertisement.
#2 Les Savy Fav-Let's Stay Friends: Listen to half the albums on this list, and you're bound to hear the influence of Les Savy Fav on many of them. !!!, Bloc Party and Klaxons all steal from the plate of LSV, a band who hadn't released an album of new material since 2001. Their typical angular, dance-punk anthems see much diversity on Let's Stay Friends with tunes reminiscent of Joshua Tree outtakes ("Pots & Pans), the aggression of Drive Like Jehu ("The Equestrian"), the bassline of George Michael's "Faith" with Prince quotations ("The Year Before the Year 2000"), New Order ("What Wolves Would Do") and even dub ("Brace Yourself"). Les Savy Fav play with a level of energy and creativity only hinted at on previous albums, and if they weren't so defiantly independent (singer Tim Harrington created French Kiss records to protect their records), they'd be stars.
#1 Panda Bear-Person Pitch: If Brian Wilson were young again and had a laptop ‘n modern effects board he would probably make an album that sounds like Person Pitch. The Animal Collective member's (the one-man band's real name is Noah Lennox) album is so tranquil yet so alive and energetic. He freely loops his own melodic voice and found sounds from God knows where, into soundscapes both foreign and familiar. Person Pitch is a feel good record, hypnotic in approach and unlike any other record to come out in 2007. Lennox carefully weaves songs decidedly influenced by the best of ‘60s pop-rock ("Take Pills", "Bros") at one moment, Gregorian chanting the next ("I'm Not"), and then to a song with a hip-hop beat that wouldn't be out of place on an Animal Collective album ("Good Girl/Carrots").
once again, good choices. my favorite album of the year was Pneuma by Moving Mountains.
Posted By: City (Guest) on January 04, 2008 at 12:27 AM
a lot of people are choosing panda bear as cd of the year. i know this is not a trend following list and i think it is wonderful that everyone is coming to agreement on what is a wonderful album front to back...it's easily one I am happy to enjoy just finding out about it not to long ago...it's just sad that great, real music like this is ignored to the tripe shoved down the masses throats daily...great list!!!
Posted By: svg (guest) (Guest) on January 04, 2008 at 12:53 AM
i watched of of them vidoes and wow who made this this list? how the fuck are these horrible bands? every music writer on this site thinks its cool to write about bands nobody ever heard of and i hate that all them bands blew radiohead is ok but overrated get of the its cool to like bands nobody knows its lame whoever made this list fuck off
Posted By: rooster (Guest) on January 04, 2008 at 01:24 AM
wwho afre all these bands!! i only heard of 1 of em !! lol Mind you i dotn keep track of todays music..its mostly trash ....long live 60's,70's and 80's rock!!!!!
Posted By: Ian (Guest) on January 04, 2008 at 03:48 AM
what the hell? Does every writer on this site hate the Foo Fighters? In all these year end reports, I haven't seen one mention of the foo. What, did Dave Grohl slap all your momma's.
Posted By: steveo (Guest) on January 04, 2008 at 06:56 AM
With the exception of a couple of writers on this site, the music choices and reviews they do are pretty much sh*t
Posted By: songremainsinsane (Guest) on January 04, 2008 at 11:47 AM
Once again, thanks for proving that Rolling Stone reveiwers are the best. Who are these bands that had the so-called 'best albums'? I bet that most people reading this have never heard of 85% of the bands on the list. At least with Rolling Stone you get people that are older than 16 and have some idea of what a real 'best album' is.
Posted By: Chirs (Guest) on January 04, 2008 at 12:42 PM
JUSTICE-(cross) most important album of the year
Posted By: tigerthunder (Guest) on January 04, 2008 at 01:02 PM
Great list (especially Les Savy Fav...I like the heavier songs on the album personally)! Some of the commentors above here need (1) English lessons (2) an open mind (3) the ability to respect a unique opinion and (4) a fucking life outside of MTV.
Just because you've never heard of a band doesn't mean they aren't good...look at Nickelback and most of the shit rock on radio nowadays...everybody knows them and there isn't a creative bone in their collective bodies.
Posted By: Bonekrusher (Guest) on January 04, 2008 at 01:07 PM
wow, someone's e-peen needs a curbing.
first of all, 90% of modern rock radio is garbage. it's the truth, get over it.
secondly, mentioning a rolling stone critic in a positive light automaticly makes your own opinion null and void. so do try to avoid that dear.
lastly, wilco aside, if i were to make a top 50 albums of the year (in no particular order) this would pretty much be it. i enjoyed it immensely.
Posted By: Grantimus (Guest) on January 04, 2008 at 01:38 PM
Who the hell are all of these? I've never heard of any of them!
Posted By: J123 (Guest) on January 04, 2008 at 01:57 PM
Thanks for proving my point Grantimus. Maybe if people listened to real music experts like the ones who write of Rolling Stone, we wouldn't end up with list like this. This article with its 'faux hipster' heavy list is self flagilation to see how many unknown bands one list can contain. Just because you can name them doesn't mean they are any good. Every other list on this site has multiple people contributing yet on the music site we get one list.
One other thing, just because you reference them doesn't mean EVERY album is a tribute to Brian Wilson or the Beach Boys.
Posted By: Chris (Guest) on January 04, 2008 at 02:56 PM
same here, they're all obscure!
Posted By: luke (Guest) on January 04, 2008 at 02:57 PM
Why not, instead of complaining, give these bands a listen? I'd not heard of any of them either, but I've given some of them a chance and I'm really glad I did. Thank you Brian.
Posted By: Glenn (Guest) on January 04, 2008 at 03:11 PM
To Chris:
1. You say my point is "to see how many unknown bands one list can obtain"...have you never heard of Bruce Springsteen (a legend), Queens of the Stone Age (platinum selling act), Against Me (opening for Foo Fighters on their US tour), Amy Winehouse (one of the biggest selling artists of 2007) or Radiohead (one of the most popular touring bands in the world)--amongst others? They hardly qualify as obscure. This list was created solely from my opinion of my favorite albums of the year (out of hundreds that I listened to), pure and simple.
2. Since you hold Rolling Stone magazine in such high regard, if you look at THEIR Top 50 VS. MY Top 50 you'll find that their #1 album (M.I.A.-Kala) is my #8. Other albums shared between both my and Rolling Stone's list include their #2 (Springsteen), #4 (Arcade Fire), #6 (Radiohead), #7 (LCD Soundsystem), #9 (Against Me), #10 (Spoon), #13 (Lily Allen), #16 (Les Savy Fav), #31 (Kings of Leon), #40 (Amy Winehouse), #41 (Of Montreal), #42 (Wilco), #47 (Band of Horses). That's over 25% of my list of "faux hipster" albums. Further, how can you take Rolling Stone seriously when they list Britney Spears, Fall Out Boy, Melissa Etheridge, and Maroon 5 in their year end list?
3. This isn't the only music list for 411Mania/music. The Music Zone's year end list will be posted within the week. There you will see the contributions of several of our staffers.
Posted By: Brian Berry (Guest) on January 04, 2008 at 03:37 PM
Is this the hey nobody ever heard of these bands so they are super cool list because I have never heard of any of these bands but the list looks like garbage
Posted By: Kevin (Guest) on January 04, 2008 at 03:45 PM
where the hell is Alter Bridge's Blackbird?? that was thee greatest album of this year with its mix of heavy guitar playing and incredible vocals. also, the heroin diaries soundtrack is the the most beautiful album ive ever heard and should definetly be on this list
Posted By: Jcon (Guest) on January 04, 2008 at 03:57 PM
I love how people say that this list is crap, because they've never heard the albums. Some of the best music out there is songs that don't make it to main stream radio. And also, music is very subjective. Everyone has their tastes and aspects of music they prefer. Brian's taste are less mainstream, while Rolling Stone seems more mainstream. So What? Personally, I will be using this list to check out these bands. I'm always interested in hearing new music. Open your minds.
Posted By: Flyboy (Guest) on January 04, 2008 at 04:49 PM
I'm sorry, but thats a horrible list. I don't think that anyone who put an Amy Whinehouse CD over something by the Foo Fighters, Sum 41, The Used, or Linkin Park that came out this year has no clue what they're talking about.
Posted By: Andrew (Guest) on January 04, 2008 at 05:34 PM
Panda Bear and AC are the shit, hands down
They play their music with so much confidence and originality, we should all be so lucky to experience such a band
Posted By: camronz (Guest) on January 04, 2008 at 07:07 PM
I can't stand when people argue, 'This sucks because I've never heard of it'. Why don't you challenge yourself and give it a listen? I know your Nickleback and Godsmack is amazing, but seriously, do some homework. Anyways, onto the list, I'm a huge Radiohead fan and that ranking pleases me but the rest of the music doesn't really float my boat so I'm really not at liberty to comment too harshly. Well done, though.
Posted By: Morphyne (Guest) on January 04, 2008 at 07:53 PM
People really need to stop complaining about an album just because you haven't heard it. A staff writer is someone who is, by definition, obsessed with music to the point of writing about it weekly. Someone like that will obviously check out music beyond the major labels, and more often than your average casual fan. Hell, I spend more time READING about music than most people actually spend listening to it, let alone all of the music I actually do listen to, so it is natural for anyone with that much invested into music would know a lot more music on the scene than what gets scanned at Wally*World. Instead of making a remark about not knowing an album (as if that is somehow a bad thing), you should take it as an opportunity to check it out - After all, someone who cares enough about music to write about it weekly just sang its praises. What a great opportunity to hear something new!
Posted By: Dan Haggerty (Registered) on January 04, 2008 at 09:51 PM
Great list. I'm the music director of my college's radio station and outside of Animal Collective that is pretty much the best that's been released this year, save the lack of harder acts. A little light for my tastes, but still a great list.
Posted By: Will (Guest) on January 06, 2008 at 03:35 PM
Reading peoples responses to this list I think I can see a trend emerging.
The people who listen exclusively to the music that is spoonfed them by capitalist radio stations, magazines and MTV seem to be poo-pooing on the list simply because they haven't heard of these "obscure" artists.
And then there's the music fans who actually enjoy music enough to make the effort to look past the immediate mainstream shite that's shovelled down their throats - these peeps seem to dig the list.
I'm a part of the latter group. I too am a fan of music and as such I try to listen to as much of it as possible. This is why I've not only heard of the bands that people seem to be deemingg shit purely because they don't get the same kind of airplay that Fall Out Boy and Panic At The Disco do, but support their placement on the list too.
And just for shits and giggles, my Top 10 would look something like this;
10.Nine Inch Nails - Year Zero
9.M.I.A - Kala
8.Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
7.Bloc Party - Weekend In The City
6.Bruce Springsteen - Magic
5.Radiohead - In Rainbows
4.Clutch - Beale Street to Oblivion
3.Dinosaur Jr - Almost Ready
2.Panda Bear - Person Pitch
1.The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls in America
Posted By: Bob (Guest) on January 06, 2008 at 07:12 PM
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#10 The Shins-Wincing the Night Away: After 2005's lackluster Chutes Too Narrow and several weak live performances, I had given up on New Mexico's most popular band completely…that is, until the release of their 3rd album. The Shins return to creating near perfect ‘60s Brit-pop inspired classics, while touching on new familiar genres that they adapt well to. The dream-pop track "Split Needles" (more Cure than Kinks) and the jangly "Girl Sailor" (more Pretenders than Hollies) highlight this very good pop-rock album. 
#9 Animal Collective-Strawberry Jam: Beneath the wacky effects, looping, and distorted noise, Animal Collective are making some really melodic music that is equally indebted to the pop sensibilities of The Beach Boys as it is to avant-garde artists like Captain Beefheart. The album opens with the jubilant single "Peacebone", and is aided on the strengths of the manic Panda Bear sung "Chores", the anthemic chant along of "For Reverend Green", and the ethereal love song "Fireworks". With Strawberry Jam, AC have moved an inch toward becoming more accessible while holding tight to their experimental musical constructions.
#8 M.I.A.-Kala: M.I.A.'s 2nd album makes me hella hyper. Mind you, I have nearly no rhythm, but as soon as the tribal bass of album opener "Bamboo Banga" hits I could fuck any dancefloor up. Kala contains samples and producers from all over the world. The result is an album that sometimes sounds like a Bollywood soundtrack, American hip-hop or electro, London grime, Jamaican dance hall, and a host of other non-Anglo influences. Her cool as ice, deadpan delivery of political and cultural subjects recalls the delivery of JJ Fad or E.S.G. but M.I.A. has so much more to say. This mixture of influences is like nothing I've heard before, and the world is lucky to have this young woman making such incredibly unique music. 
#7 Spoon-Ga Ga Ga Ga: Spoon's Billy Joel/Ray Davies inspired easy-rock has never been groundbreaking. Their melodies and Britt Daniel's raspy voiced lyrics, however, are always far above par and Ga Ga Ga Ga presents their best work to date. They are a rare case of a band making better music with each successive album despite repeatedly using the same formula. Highlights include "You Got Yr Cherry Bomb", "Don't You Evah" and the single "The Underdog".
#6 Radiohead-In Rainbows: Less electronic than their last three releases, In Rainbows should please fans disenchanted by Radiohead's more experimental, post-OK Computer work. The hype surrounding how this album was released overshadowed a great set of songs, including a rather endearing, straightforward love song called "All I Need", which could play as a prom anthem for a future age.
#5 Wilco-Sky Blue Sky: When I heard Wilco's new album was going to be a return to their early roots-rock I was expecting a rocker like their debut A.M. or something Uncle Tupelo would've released. Surprisingly, Jeff Tweedy and company took an even simpler approach releasing an album of laid back, folky soul. Hell, before the bassline kicks in for the opener "Either Way" (you've heard it on Volkswagen ads), the music wouldn't be out of place on a Woodie Guthrie album. This is a good match for Tweedy's lyrics, which have improved exponentially over the years where they shine brightest here. Pay extra attention to the lead guitar: Nels Cline is one of the best musicians around and he takes the spotlight many times here. If the mainstream had taste then Wilco, not bland soft-rockers like Jack Johnson/James Blunt/John Mayer, etc., would be hanging platinum records on their wall. 
#4 !!!-Myth Takes: On their 3rd full-length the Sacramento dance-punk heavyweights tightened the focus of their songs, which in the past sometimes jammed out a bit too long, to create ten tracks that light up the dance floor for rockers and ravers alike. While none of the songs rival the classic "Hello? Is This Thing On?," the whole of Myth Takes is better than the part. Tribal percussion, heavy synths, and deep bass lines to make the squarest of squares bust out their best David Byrne dance. This is the party album of 2007.
#3 Of Montreal-Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?: On Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?, Of Montreal's latest album, the Athens, Georgia band makes a dramatic departure from the flowery, lyrically surrealist, psych-pop found on previous albums. Seeing that they're in cahoots with the Elephant 6 music collective bands (e.g. Neutral Milk Hotel, Apples In Stereo, Olivia Tremor Control), this style of music is nearly impossible to avoid. 
#2 Les Savy Fav-Let's Stay Friends: Listen to half the albums on this list, and you're bound to hear the influence of Les Savy Fav on many of them. !!!, Bloc Party and Klaxons all steal from the plate of LSV, a band who hadn't released an album of new material since 2001. Their typical angular, dance-punk anthems see much diversity on Let's Stay Friends with tunes reminiscent of Joshua Tree outtakes ("Pots & Pans), the aggression of Drive Like Jehu ("The Equestrian"), the bassline of George Michael's "Faith" with Prince quotations ("The Year Before the Year 2000"), New Order ("What Wolves Would Do") and even dub ("Brace Yourself"). Les Savy Fav play with a level of energy and creativity only hinted at on previous albums, and if they weren't so defiantly independent (singer Tim Harrington created French Kiss records to protect their records), they'd be stars.
#1 Panda Bear-Person Pitch: If Brian Wilson were young again and had a laptop ‘n modern effects board he would probably make an album that sounds like Person Pitch. The Animal Collective member's (the one-man band's real name is Noah Lennox) album is so tranquil yet so alive and energetic. He freely loops his own melodic voice and found sounds from God knows where, into soundscapes both foreign and familiar. Person Pitch is a feel good record, hypnotic in approach and unlike any other record to come out in 2007. Lennox carefully weaves songs decidedly influenced by the best of ‘60s pop-rock ("Take Pills", "Bros") at one moment, Gregorian chanting the next ("I'm Not"), and then to a song with a hip-hop beat that wouldn't be out of place on an Animal Collective album ("Good Girl/Carrots"). 
