411 Music Presents...2007 Year In Review: Part 1.1 - Staff Picks, Vol. 1

Posted by Mitch Michaels on 01.07.2008

The 411 music staff looks back at some of their favorite albums and artists of 2007. What were the best CDs? Who made the biggest breakthrough? What songs made us want to drive an ice pick through our skulls? How many times will Radiohead appear in the column? Find out the answers to these questions and more, in this first part of our 2007 Year In Review!!!



PART 1.1: STAFF PICKS, VOL. 1

Well, folks, it's that time of year when every good music lover is making his or her lists and reflecting on the past 365 days of rock ‘n‘ roll. The esteemed staff here at 411 Music is no different. We've assembled all the 411 brothers and cousins for one last family holiday gathering. Put down your Wii controller for a moment (doesn't your fucking arm hurt yet?) and peep what really rocked our individual socks off this year.

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MITCH MICHAELS
(Editor, Reviewer, Conqueror, Guy that put this shit together)

Top Seven Albums of 2007:

1. Jason Isbell - Sirens Of The Ditch
2. The White Stripes - Icky Thump
3. Chris Knight - The Trailer Tapes
4. Foo Fighters - Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace
5. Kid Rock - Rock N Roll Jesus
6. Lucinda Williams - West
7. Josh Turner - Everything Is Fine

Honorable Mention: Collective Soul - Afterwords, Jay-Z - American Gangster, Rivers Cuomo - Alone: The Home Recordings Of Rivers Cuomo, Radiohead - In Rainbows, Danzig - The Lost Tracks Of Danzig, The Killers - Sawdust, T.I. - T.I. Vs. T.I.P.

While the rock world mainly churned out predictable radio anthems this year, the genre had its share of highlights. Many high points, on the other hand, came from different corners of music. Josh Turner put out what is possibly the country album of the millennium with Everything Is Fine, a throwback to the days of heartfelt Nashville songwriting and George Jones-style singing. Lucinda Williams quietly released another masterpiece over Valentine's Day with the introspective West.

While Kid Rock's Rock N Roll Jesus wasn't quite the revival it hoped to be, it did help put Kid back on the map and has grown on me with repeated listens. The Foo Fighters condensed back to single discs with the release of Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, which contained some of the band's loudest and most rocking single-material to date.

Chris Knight put out a brilliant set of early demos that sounded just as good as his studio efforts with Trailer Tapes. The White Stripes continued to prove why they're the best rock band out there today with the lo-fi Zeppelinesque Icky Thump. And Jason Isbell broke away from the Drive-By Truckers to release the solid roots rock of Sirens Of The Ditch, an album full of dark storytelling, professional arrangements and plenty of southern sensibility.

2007 wasn't a consistent year for studio albums, but it did provide plenty of bright spots.

Most Annoying Album of the Year: Daughtry. There was nowhere in the entire US you could go to escape the crap-rock of "American Idol" loser Chris Daughtry. Hell, even "American Idol" picked up on the album, and each week you'd have to hear "Home" during the montage of the latest axed participant. I can stand pop and I can stand pop-rock, but don't try to pretend you're an amazing Modern Rock act when all you are is a lukewarm fifth generation Creed clone.

Biggest Music News of the Year: Radiohead Does It For Themselves. Yes, Britney Spears appeared in the news approximately 5 million times over 2007, but the most talked about music news was how Radiohead circumvented the need for a label and released In Rainbows by themselves. Further, they made the new album available to fans for as much as anyone wanted to pay, including a big fat $0. All signs point to the method being a success (In Rainbows hit shelves on New Year's Day, 2008 and is on pace to sell pretty well), but even more amazingly, this "public domain" stands up as some of Radiohead's best music in years. There will always be talk of self-releasing now, and that conversation will always include the name Radiohead. How's that for being a pioneer?

Favorite Concert of the Year: Lucero with Bobby Bare, Jr.. I caught Lucero around Halloween in Richmond, Virginia. The show was on a weeknight and, to be honest, I wasn't expecting much out of it. To my surprise, Ben Nichols and company reignited my passion for live shows, something that had been waning thanks to a bunch of less than stellar big name concerts. At a small (shitty) club in Richmond and augmented by a keyboard player, the band gave the hot crowd everything they had, playing with a contagious zeal and fury. In a word, they rocked the fuck out of me, and all before 10:30 PM.

Biggest Disappointment of the Year: Virgin Festival. I was so insanely psyched for this two-day event, which included reunion sets by both The Police and the Smashing Pumpkins, that it was going to take a lot of shit to ruin it. And it was a lot of shit that I got. Aside from a great set by Amy Winehouse (probably her last live show before the shit hit the fan) and a fun outing by newcomer Paolo Nutini, Virgin was a complete bust. Extreme heat, a terrible crowd, high prices and few chances for relief made me think that even Nirvana headlining wouldn't be worth it. The best moment was when my brother and I made the choice to head home early after choking down an overpriced cheese steak and some lukewarm water.

Biggest Surprise of the Year: Led Zeppelin Reunion. While the two-month buildup towards Led Zeppelin's big reunion show in London was a little maddening, no one could have guess a year ago that Page, Plant and Jones would be playing a show at all in 2007. The floodgates opened for all sorts of Led Zeppelin rumors, but just knowing those guys can still get together and rock the fuck out at any given moment is enough to give the rock world a bit of peace in its heart.

Best Breakthrough Artist of the Year: Miley Cyrus. How do you ensure sales on your debut album? Couple it with an insanely successful tween TV soundtrack. The spawn of Billy Ray Cyrus parlayed her kid show stardom into major musical success this year, culminating in a sold out tour that had people lying about their fathers and suing fan clubs over. Better yet, Cyrus took it all in stride, without getting pregnant OR having naked pictures of her leak. It's yet to be seen if Miley can thrive without "Hannah Montana" to lean on, but as for 2007, she was the hottest new thing going.

Comeback Artist of the Year: Eagles. You could argue that the Eagles never really fell from success. You could also argue that the new album isn't really that great. The fact remains, though, that the band released their first new studio album in nearly 30 years and it sold like a motherfucker, destroying the "comeback" of Britney Spears in its first week. All this while only being available at Wal*Mart!

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DAN HAGGERTY
(Newsman, Ruler over Fact Or Fiction, Lord of the Mosh Pit)

Top Seven Albums of 2007:

1. Dimmu Borgir - In Sorte Diaboli. This thing smokes, and not just in the fire and brimstone of its purgatory bent riffs. There may be better riffs, more brutal assaults, and even greater performances lurking throughout 2007, but this combines a top notch showing in each category to combine into the hottest assault to cross my headphones. Many albums make you want to bang your head; this threatens to kick your ass if you don't.

2. Megadeth - United Abominations. Big Dave has finally kicked this institution into the beast it should be, an entity worthy of being one of the hallowed big four of thrash. This album is easily the best thing to come swinging and sneering out of the maestro of dueling solos since the early 90's. The band is tight and firing on all cylinders, pounding out more metal per gallon than any other machine on the road.

3. Candlemass - King Of The Grey Islands. After the triumphant return of Marcolin and 2005's self-titled awesomeness, a lot of people wondered about the direction of the doom powerhouse after the band split with the mad monk (again). No need to fear, as Robert Lowe of Solitude Aeturnus fame comes on board to deliver the operative voice while Edling delivers up another tough set of riffs to lift the mass into doom-riddled glory. My money is on this being the beginning of great run by the mighty Candlemass.

4. Trouble - Simple Mind Condition. Trouble have finally returned to their patented thumping doom-riffs and bong soaked journeys into traditional metal. Nothing fancy, just great Iommi inspired riffs to nod your head along with while the guys jam like it's the late 70's. Sometimes, metal is just about hanging out and banging your head to good old fashion rhythm.

5. Machine Head - The Blackening. From basics to bruising, Machine Head is just a big blade of metal upside the head. But the depth of the blow is what counts here, as Flynn and Co. delivers some intricate and winding platters to feast upon. Each track is a statement and a journey that delivers that punch long and hard. This one grew on me, every new listen unraveling more shrapnel and napalm that burns in interesting ways.

6. Arch Enemy - Rise Of The Tyrant. For a chick fronted band, Arch Enemy is a love or hate affair, with its Gothenburg death sounds and cries of poseur from growl aficionados. But this album wins thanks to: 1) The Amott brother's twin guitar assault. A combo built for melodic death that works on many levels, from rhythm to technical; and 2) the recording is basic and in your face. Not a lot of post production trickery on this. Angela was recorded on one track (!) and while the instruments are not piled up on top of each other. It's refreshing for a big budget band to keep it to basics.

7. Nightwish - Dark Passion Play. Nightwish has two things going against it in the music world today, even if they were the originators of both issues. 1) Symphonic power metal is quickly becoming an oversaturated market; and 2) Female fronted metal bands with soaring vocals are also becoming an overdose. But with Tarja out the guys bring in someone different enough to be unique and update their sound while similar enough to keep the course. For me, this is the best thing to happen to the band, even if less operatic or "artsy", warm and rocking wins the contest. Sometimes keeping it simple really is more, even if the symphonic and prog elements belie the idea of "simple".

Most Annoying Album of the Year: Otep - the_Ascension. Every time this album starts to get good, if finds away to screw it up. There is some good stuff here, but wading through everything that was wrong about nu-metal combined with the rejected Lifetime channel story ideas just makes the whole thing more work than needed. Add to that the fact the two best musical crunchers are "Breed" and "Confrontation"; the first is not even their song (a Nirvana cover) and the second has lyrics so childishly bad and dated it's embarrassing – I mean, I like a good topical anti-war lyric as much as the next guy, but can we at least pretend we understand the issues enough to not sit at the kiddy table next Thanksgiving? So much potential wasted.

Biggest Music News of the Year: Radiohead's "You Choose the Price For Their New Album". In the long run, I'm holding to this being the real story of 2007. It's a historical moment, the point when a group not only embraced the technology the rest of the industry is running from, but more importantly used it as a negotiation tool to walk away from their label. This is huge. More bands/singers will do this, and then the mushroom cloud will go off when an icon does it. Mark it down, Radiohead did it first in 2007 and started the industry's slow crawl into the next generation of music service.

Favorite Concert of the Year: Heaven and Hell w/ Megadeth & Machine Head. Wow, this one was real tough. Trouble was a great show, while the Black Tyranny Tour (Machine Head and Arch Enemy) was great and featured the best audience I've been in all year, but I'll have to go with Heaven and Hell for the whole package. Seeing Dio, Iommi, Butler, and Appice was surreal itself, but add in a long Megadeth set with 95% old material with Machine Head to open the thing and it was a great show. Since each can and does headline their own tours, you know you couldn't go wrong with them together in one evening.

Biggest Disappointment of the Year: No AC/DC Album. You can safely copy/paste this sentence for next year if the Aussies fail to deliver one more round of their patented boogie-riffs. It's been hinted and teased for years, but still only hints that it is coming. We got the DVD's this year; can we get a new album in 2008?

Biggest Surprise of the Year: Led Zeppelin Reunion. Led Zeppelin reunion all the way. It may be getting to the point of over saturation now, but no one would have guessed a Zep reunion at the beginning of the year. In fact, betting money was safe going against it. But here we are with a concert under their belts and rumors of more to come in 2008. In a world of frequent reunions, this surprised everyone and even managed to bump the Britney's off the front page for a while. Hear that noise? It's called "buzz" and my money says we will be hearing it for awhile.

Comeback Artist of the Year: Eagles. Twenty-five years between studio albums and they still pull out a #1 release, virtually going platinum the first week. It's moments like this that warm the heart and make you believe in the music industry.

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PATRICK ROBINSON
(Reviewer, Dweller of the 37th Chamber)

Top Seven Albums of 2007:

1. Chamillionaire – Ultimate Victory. Chamillionaire's second album managed to find a near perfect balance between social commentary and more accessible mainstream topics, all backed by incredible beats. Production was powerful and engaging and Chamillionaire's voice remains one of the clearest in the rap industry making the album extremely easy to listen to. Ultimate Victory ultimately didn't find mainstream success for Chamillionaire which was a true shame as it was one of the few albums out in 2007 that should have found crossover appeal easily. Here's looking to his third album making a splash both critically and commercially.

2. Kanye West – Graduation. Kanye has not only evolved significantly as a beat maker but has also developed a distinct rapping style over the years. From an occasionally awkward delivery, Kanye has become comfortable with his unorthodox style both behind the boards and the mic and Graduation merely solidified his status as one of the truly talented producers AND rappers. The only thing stopping Graduation being my #1 choice was that it was a little short and a couple of the songs dragged on a little. In the end though, it is only just below #1 and I'm eagerly anticipating his next album.

3. Lupe Fiasco – The Cool. In an alternate universe where the GZA's and Canibus' got the recognition they deserved both with the mainstream and the hip-hop heads, this album would have been #1 easily. Unfortunately, Lupe's rhyming and lyrically ability are way, way beyond anything else in the music business today, making it a little inaccessible to the average listener. Don't let that deter you though, if you have an open mind, you will LOVE this album, as it is a true treasure to listen to from start to finish. The production was excellent throughout the album and surprisingly didn't feature many ‘big time' producers or guest appearances either.

4. Ghostface Killah – The Big Doe Rehab. Similarly, this album also suffers from what makes it such a treat to listen to. Ghost's slang and frantic delivery deter some people, which is a shame as he's one of the most vivid and detailed rappers in the world today. He also has a fantastic ear for beats and this album is no exception. Production is either soulful, funky, hardcore or a wonderful blend of the three. Despite the internal problems of the Wu-Tang Clan, The Big Doe Rehab was an incredible effort with all the Clan members' guest appearances sounding reenergized. Ghost remains one of the most, if not THE most, consistently entertaining members of the Clan and this album should not be ignored.

5. Jay-Z – American Gangster. I found this album to be a truly enjoyable listening experience as Jay managed to recapture a lot of the magic that we saw on Reasonable Doubt, Blueprint and The Black Album. His flow was intact and the imagery he managed to create in each song was vivid yet simple and effective. Inspired by the movie of the same name, Jay detailed the rise and fall of The American Gangster with this album and, with the exception of one song, set the mood perfectly throughout the album. From the humble beginnings and working hard, to celebrating success, to paranoia, to ultimately the downfall, Jay left little to the imagination and delivered one of his best albums in years. Forget Kingdom Come, this is the album Jay should call his comeback album.

6. Pharoahe Monch – Desire. Pharoahe Monch is a rhyming BEAST. His vocabulary and delivery are not easily matched, nor would any aspiring rapper be foolish enough to try to. This was Monch's first album since 1999s Internal Affairs and it proved that despite being fairly quiet for nearly eight years, Monch still had the lyrical fire within him. Production was also a treat with this album, as Monch knows what beats suit his style and chose production accordingly. Desire also featured some of Monch's best lyrical performances from straight up battle rap, to storytelling to social commentary, he managed to find time to say almost everything he wanted to and still make it an easy listen.

7. Little Brother – Getback. With the departure of 9th Wonder, many thought the group would crash and burn given 9th's signature style is what turned many people on to them to start with. The duo proved the naysayers wrong and delivered an entertaining album from start to finish. The great thing about Little Brother is that they rap about things that people can easily relate to. Whether it's a one-night stand gone (going) wrong, or the "thrill" of new clothes, no topic is too "everyman" for them to tackle. Whilst there were some flaws holding the album back from placing higher, to me, it's probably the album I'll have listened to the most five years from now based on its wonderful simplicity and accessibility. For those who find rap too serious or misogynistic, give this a listen, you won't be disappointed.

Most Annoying Album of the Year: Bizarre - Blue Cheese & Coney Island. Simply put, this album is terrible. To go into more detail, imagine an album full of laughable attempts at "shock humor", inconceivably bad lyricism, a terrible flow and someone called King Gordy on every other track sounding like he's having his hair removed by the roots and you have Blue Cheese & Coney Island. Honestly, before I listened to this, I had Soulja Boy's album pegged as worst album of the year but this makes souljaboytellem.com look like Illmatic when compared to Bizarre's latest "effort". Amazingly, he's the only member of D12 (other than Eminem) to have two solo albums out and some of the others don't even have their first! Bizarre's verses on D12 songs are tolerable at best and so an entire album of him is, well I can't seem to stress enough how bad it is so just take my word for it. Stay away. FAR. AWAY.

Biggest Music News of the Year: 50 Cent vs. Kanye West – September 11 Sales Battle Never before in recent memory have two mainstream giants gone head-to-head in the hip-hop world like this. Many felt that 50 would win given his incredibly impressive track record of first week sales for his previous albums. However, one lackluster single after another proved to be his downfall. Even threats that he would retire if Kanye outsold him couldn't save his sales as Kanye easily outsold him by nearly 300,000 copies. On a more subtle note, many people perceived this as the winner indicating the ‘new' direction for hip-hop. The last few years we've suffered from the clichéd and fairly pathetic G-Unit albums and seen Eminem go from a lyrical machine to a wannabe gangsta rapper. Hopefully, this new direction will mean a change in quality and a focus on lyricism rather than gangsta posturing.

Biggest Disappointment of the Year: Wu-Tang Clan - 8 Diagrams. The biggest disappointment for me was the Wu-Tang Clan's album, 8 Diagrams. Rumors of internal bickering and RZA's production style changing drastically seemed to be true when the album was released. The chemistry that the clan once prided itself on seems to be fading with Ghostface Killah and Raekwon beginning to distance themselves from the rest of the Clan. It's been more than five years since their last album and given that Ghostface Killah's and Wu-Tang affiliate Cilvaringz' albums were significantly better (with the latter featuring a lot of the "classic" Wu-Tang sound many were expecting to hear on 8 Diagrams), it was just a disaster waiting to happen.

If anything good comes of this release, it's that Method Man and U-God have truly and noticeably stepped their game up and I'm looking forward to releases from them within the coming months.

Biggest Surprise of the Year: Lupe Fiasco sells more than 140,000 in his first week. Well the fact that K-Fed seems to be the better parent was a surprise but in more hip-hop related news, this was certainly a nice surprise. In an age where declining sales are running rampant and most artists are finding it hard to crack 100,000 in their first week, Lupe comes along and truly makes a splash on the mainstream charts. Despite having a rough year, Lupe came through with one of the best albums of 2007 and contradicting my comments above, it appears that more people ARE willing to give the young Chicago native a try than I'm giving them credit for. I hope that we'll see the decline of the ringtone rapper in 2008 and the rise of a more focused and intellectual rapper like Lupe. Well, one can dream anyway.

Breakthrough Artist Of the Year: Soulja Boy. I hate to say it, but there's not many newcomers in 2007 that made an impact like the young 17 year-old has. If anyone saw the BET awards, you would have noticed nearly the entire room doing the Soulja Boy dance at the end of the show. The fact that most wrote him off as a ringtone rapper, despite his debut album achieving gold status last week (without signs of sales slowing down either) is phenomenal in an age where a rapper is really only as good as his lead single. Whilst we might not be able to stand the guy or his dance, you can't deny the fact that he's had an incredible run in 2007.

Comeback Artist of the Year: Pharoahe Monch. Pharoahe Monch only just beats Redman for this spot as Redman's album was slightly hampered by being a bit long. Pharoahe Monch has been away from the game for nearly eight years and whilst Redman has made the occasional appearance on other people's albums, Monch has been quite happy to remain quiet. For Pharoahe to come out in 2007, show virtually no signs of lyrical rust or slowing down, AND deliver one of the best albums of the year is a testament to his raw abilities as a rapper. Hopefully we won't have to wait another eight years for the next album.

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Dan Marsicano
(Newsman, What The Hell Happened To Guy)

Top Seven Albums of 2007:

1. Between The Buried and Me - Colors. I can't say enough positive things about Colors. I'm not going to go into a detailed analysis of the album, but I'll just say that this is an album that will leave an impact on you. For me, all I could say when I heard this album from front to back for the first time was "Wow." Colors is an album that is meant to be listened to in one sitting and that's the way I have listened to it since that first time. Colors is an achievement in progressive metal and an album that I'm proud to say is number one on my list.

2. Dream Theater - Systematic Chaos. If Between the Buried and Me didn't release Colors, Systematic Chaos would be number one. The album shows Dream Theater going into a heavier sound, while retaining their progressive roots. If you're looking for fast riffs and crazy guitar solos, this is the album for you. That's not to say that it's all heavy; like most Dream Theater albums, there are some brilliantly epic tracks. "In The Presence of Enemies" is split into two parts, but when put together, is one of Dream Theater's best tracks. My personal favorite is the trio of "Forsaken," "Constant Motion," and "The Dark Eternal Night," which is twenty minutes of superb progressive metal.

3. Porcupine Tree - Fear Of A Blank Planet. I had just heard of Porcupine Tree earlier in the year and a friend got me into the title track of the album. After hearing that song, I fell in love and purchased the album almost immediately. Like Colors, Fear Of A Blank Planet should be listened to from front to back, as it is one long 50 minute song broken up into six parts. I can't praise this album enough; just listen to the almost eighteen minute "Anesthetize" or the absolutely hauntingly beautiful "Sentimental" and you will be hooked like I was.

4. Alter Bridge-Blackbird. This band gets a bad rap around these parts, but Alter Bridge has become one of my favorite bands. Any criticisms of the band being a Creed clone have disappeared with the release of Blackbird. It took three years and a label change, but Alter Bridge avoids the sophomore slump and kicks some major ass along the way. With lead singer Myles Kennedy having more of a role in songwriting, the band sounds more cohesive than ever before. It also helps that Kennedy can play guitar, which creates a dynamic between himself and Tremonti. Alter Bridge will always have that Creed shadow around them, but I hope that Blackbird will lessen the shadow greatly and show people what the band is really made of.

5. Machine Head - The Blackening. This album is special to me, for a few reasons. First of all, it kicks maximum ass and shows the band at their best both musically and lyrically. Second, I wrote my first review for 411mania with The Blackening, so in my mind, that makes the album important to me personally. However, even if it wasn't my first review, The Blackening would be on my top seven list. I love that the band decided to make longer songs that are packed with riff after riff. The songs go in so many different directions and the guitar work of Robert Flynn and Phil Demmel harkens back to 80's Violence. I can't forget about the stellar rhythm section of Adam Duce and Dave McClain, who tear through the songs with energy I haven't heard from the band in over ten years.

6. Evile - Enter The Grave. Talk about a band coming out of left field! Evile, a thrash metal band from the UK, has hit American soil with a bang with the release of Enter The Grave. If anybody thought thrash metal was dead, all they had to do was listen to this beast of a record and they'd become believers again. It is like 1983 all over again, with blazing tracks such as "Thrashers" and "First Blood." Head banging to these songs is a requirement. The young band even knows how to pull out an epic or two, with "We Who Are About To Die" and "Man Against Machine." Now tour America guys!

7. Coheed and Cambria - No World For Tomorrow. Even with turmoil in the band, Coheed and Cambria is able to pull out another great album. The band experimented with their sound on their last album, adding more guitar solos and progressive elements. On No World For Tomorrow, Coheed and Cambria continues in this direction, while making the album more focused than their previous one, which lasted almost 75 minutes. No World For Tomorrow has some of the best songs the band has ever written, including "Running Free," "Gravemakers & Gunslingers," and the entire End Complete saga.

Most Annoying Album of the Year: Solja Boy Tell'em - Souljaboytellem.com. Not only do I think Souljaboytellem.com is the most annoying album of 2007, I also think it's one of the most annoying albums of the decade. Now, I respect that the kid is only 17 and he produced his own music, but that doesn't mean shit if you can't write decent raps or don't have any solid beats. It really must take an intellectual person to write a four minute song about their Sidekick and have the chorus basically repeating "Sidekick" over and over again. Soulja Boy needs to quit while he is ahead and take his money and run. It's a shame the album has sold five copies, let alone 600,000.

Biggest Music News of the Year: Led Zeppelin Reunites For Live Show. Ah yes, Led Zeppelin reuniting. Zeppelin reunited on December 10th, 2007 for a tribute concert for label execuctive Ahmet Ertegün at The O2 in London, England. It has been a dream of mine ever since I first heard the opening riff to "Whole Lotta Love" to see Led Zeppelin reunite. While I couldn't physically go, being that it occurred overseas in Europe, I have seen the video and heard the audio from the live show. The band, with drummer Jason Bonham taking over for his father, sounded as tight as they ever have. Here's hoping for a live tour in America.

Favorite Concert of the Year: Tie between Porcupine Tree and
Dream Theater. I had to do a tie, since both of these concerts were absolutely amazing. I got to see Porcupine Tree rock the house down for two hours and Dream Theater get the crowd going crazy for over two hours. Both of these concerts happened in the summer and were probably my favorite moments of the summer (sad, isn't it?).

Biggest Disappointment of the Year: Hellyeah - Hellyeah. I was excited about this album, with members of Mudvayne and Vinnie Paul Abbott involved. I was a fan of both Mudvayne and Pantera/Damageplan, so I was interested to see what the combination could do. It's a shame that it resulted in an album that sounds like any other band out there today. Sure, there is some country elements included to make it a little bit different, but these moments are done in a clumsy fashion. I remember listening to the album for a review on 411mania and feeling disappointed at what I was hearing. I got through it for the review and then never listened to it again. Hellyeah is not what I expected and it's probably not what most people expect either.

Biggest Surprise of the Year: Van Halen Successfully Reuniting With David Lee Roth. Van Halen actually reunited with David Lee Roth for a tour. That's not the most surprising thing though. They actually got through the tour…and are going back out in 2008! Not only that, but the band actually sounded good…and Eddie Van Halen was sober throughout! It was like an early Christmas miracle for Van Halen fans as the band looked and sounded as good as they did 25 years ago.

Best Breakthrough Artist of the Year: Between the Buried and Me. Before Colors, Between the Buried and Me had gotten some success with Alaska and some recognition among the metal community for mixing progressive, metalcore, and death metal. However, they were still considered an underground band, playing as the support act in clubs. With Colors, they got onto the Billboard charts and were praised by critics and fans alike. Even Mike Portnoy, drummer for Dream Theater, named the album his favorite of 2007. Because of this, Between the Buried and Me are going on tour with Dream Theater, Opeth, and 3 in what will probably be the best show of the year and will only increase the popularity of Between the Buried and Me.

Comeback Artist of the Year: Eagles. The Eagles were a huge band in the 1970's, but broke up in 1980 over conflicts between the members. However, they reunited in 1994 and have been performing live shows since then. It wasn't until this year that the Eagles released a new album. Long Road Out Of Eden is the band's first record in 28 years and shot up to #1 on the charts. The most surprising thing was that the album was only released on the band's website and at Wal*Mart. Yet, the record has sold over 2.5 million copies in the U.S. alone. That is absolutely insane and shows that the Eagles still have an audience. If this is the band's last studio album, it is a hell of a way to go out.

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Ian Wright
(Indie Architect, Man of few words)

Top Seven Albums of 2007:

1. The National - Boxer
2. Sunset Rubdown - Random Spirit Lover
3. Panda Bear - Person Pitch
4. Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam
5. The Hold Steady - Boys And Girls In America. Released in Europe in February.
6. Liars - Liars
7. Cathy Davey - Tales Of Silversleeve

Most Annoying Album of the Year: The Artic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare.

Biggest Music News of the Year: Radiohead's "pay what you want" model for the release of In Rainbows..

Favorite Concert of the Year: Dan Deacon.

Biggest Disappointment of the Year: Primavera Festival.

Biggest Surprise of the Year: Animal Collective, putting out an album that enchanted me.

Best Breakthrough Artist of the Year: Noah Lennox, (Panda Bear, Animal Colective)

Comeback Artist of the Year: Radiohead. Well they had been gone for four years and then released their finest album since Kid A.

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Hey, you're only halfway done! Make sure to check out PART TWO of the 2007 Year In Review Staff Picks!