Lots of people create best-of lists for the year that’s about to end. I find that these lists aren’t always true to their title.
“Top 10 albums of 2008″
“Best movies of the year”
“Books from 2008 that you should’ve already read”
Some of the winners on these lists really are amazing and are absolutely in the top 10. Many others are only on the list because of all the hype around them and whoever created the list wanted to look like he or she was totally with it. Often I find that when the buzz dies down I’ll throw some album that was on my top 10 list on my CD shelf and not pull it down ever again–the album just doesn’t hold up over time.
That’s why I’m going to talk about the best albums (in my opinion of course) of 2007 and postpone my 08 list for a year. These are albums that I still put on and enjoy. It’s only been one year but I like to think that if I’m still listening to these albums after one year I’ll be listening to them still in 10. We’ll see… we’ll see…
In no particular order…
1. The Bird of Music by Au Revoir Simone
I was introduced to Au Revoir Simone by my old co-worker and member of the music cognoscenti, Michael Hill. Each one of these tunes are gems with melodies that stick in your head and come to surface when you’re least expecting.
Fallen Snow
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2. Get to the River Before It Runs Too Low by Sea Wolf
Stumbled across this one at my old job while going through some donated CDs. All I can say is that this EP is perfect in every way. It’s almost impossible to decide which track to put up but I guess I’ll go with this one… but seriously, do yourself a favor and get this. Unfortunately, I find their full-length album lacking but this EP still kicks ass.
Sea Monuments
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3. Mirrored by Battles
Do I really need to say anything about this album? How about awesome awesome awesome.
Snare Hanger
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4. Armchair Apocrypha by Andrew Bird
He’s done it again. Mr. Bird has created a beautiful cohesive unit that can be broken up into equally beautiful smaller units (also known as tracks). He’s also revisited older songs of his in a way that builds off of where they already were. And I almost forgot, Andrew Bird is really smart.
Cataracts
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5. The Complete On The Corner Sessions by Miles Davis
On The Corner has never grown old and the complete box set with all the previously unreleased recordings is 6 discs of pure gold! I could listen (and I have listened) to this for hours and hours.
Rated X
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6. Parades by Efterklang
I’ve written about these guys before in one of my Ohrwurm posts. The musicianship on this album is amazing. The orchestrations are lush and the songwriting is musically interesting.
Caravan
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7. The Reminder by Feist
Sure, this one was hyped out the wazoo but I feel like this really is going to be a timeless album. So many approachable and rewarding songs on this one.
Past in Present
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8. In Rainbows by Radiohead
These guys never cease to amaze me. This album has probably grown on me the most over this past year of all these albums. This one’s a bit less “experimental” compared to Hail to the Thief and more just good songwriting that’s come to be expected from Radiohead.
Nude
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9. Friend Opportunity by Deerhoof
To be honest, I’m not really a big Deerhoof fan. The Runners Four doesn’t really click with me though technically it is an amazing album. Friend Opportunity, on the other hand, clicks on all levels. There’s enough pleasing harmony to balance the discord and there are some really catchy melodies thrown in there too.
Cast Off Crown
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10. Rykestraße 68 by Hanne Hukkleberg
Though I wouldn’t say it’s had as much of an impact on me as her album Little Things, there’s still so much that can be said about Hanne Hukkleberg’s sophomore album. This album is a bit more mature… a bit darker and more serious. It’s sort of like (and maybe I just get this from the wind-like sounds on the first track) a storm that whips around your house late at night–intense and beautiful.
The Pirate
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Well, that concludes my best albums of 2007 list. I hope you’ve enjoyed listening and reading. I’m curious which albums you all think have held up through this past year and which ones were all hype.
