Finally, here is your top 30 albums of 2007, according to moi.


1. Bloc Party – A Weekend in the City –A grower if there ever was one in music. At first, I disliked the lack of post-punk goodness that Silent Alarm perfected, but I have come to love this far more mature and powerful sophomore disc. They evolved a lot, but the departure from their old sound is all right with me, as no 2007 album created as brilliant an experience as the roaring up and downs that Bloc Party unleashed this year.

STO: Hunting For Witches, Waiting for the 718, SXRT

2. Arcade Fire – Neon Bible – I almost expected a bomb after how heralded and important Funeral is to me, but Neon Bible is close to being an even better album. They cranked up the rock as well as the emotion, to create an album that’s far more powerful and less subdued, for brilliant effect.

STO: Intervention, No Cars Go, Black Mirror

3. The Weakerthans – Reunion Tour – No one makes rock music like the Weakerthans, with their amazing blend of superb lyricism, punk ethos, and pop rock values, I’ve always liked them, but this album took it to a new level of love.

STO: Relative Surplus Value, Tournament of Hearts, Night Windows

4. Jimmy Eat World – Chase This Light – This might be personal bias, but Jimmy Eat World still move me more then almost any other band. Sure its derivative of the far superior Futures, but its still an amazing collection of poppy emo songs, which seem to be my kryptonite.

STO: Big Casino, Chase This Light, Firefight

5. The Klaxons – Myths of the Near Future – The best new band of the year (even though I was listening to them in 2006, I’m a filthy hipster!), Klaxons kicked music in the ass this year, with music that sounds so unique, yet not jarring or weird.

STO: Magick, Gravity’s Rainbow, As Above, So Below

6. The Hives – Black and White Album – The most fun album of the year, as The Hives just make the biggest and potentially best rock and roll around. They might be the best band in the world, and this album introduced hip-hop production and technique to their amped up garage rock for amazing effect.

STO: Hey Little World, Tick Tick Boom, Try It Again

7. LCD Soundsystem – Sound of Silver – Repetition can be good. This album takes electronic repetition and makes it something completely different, fusing it with rock and pop song writing styles, there is more emotion and meaning in any of the loops on this disc then in most musical compositions.

STO: North American Scum, Sound of Silver, Someone Great

8. Hard-Fi – Once Upon a Time in the West – While not as good as Stars of CCTV, this album has hit after potential hit on it. They’re hard to pin down, as they create some amazing music, without managing to truly break out yet, like so many of their peers have done.

STO: Suburban Knights, We Need Love, Television

9. Kanye West – Graduation – This album is so good that Kanye transcended genre, creating music that appeals to almost anyone, despite their musical preferences or preconceived notions. This was Kanye’s year; he was by far and away the biggest news story (that wasn’t a paparazzi meltdown like Britney).

STO: Cant Tell Me Nothing, Stronger, Good Morning

10. Tegan and Sara – The Con – Another album that transcended my own established preferences, as after loathing their last album, I thought The Con was a revelation. It’s catchy, but still moody, with some great lyrics, and wasn’t the first bit annoying as I expected it to be.

STO: Hop a Plane, Back In Your Head, Call It Off

11. Anberlin – Cities – This is a band that has improved by leaps and bounds since their last disc. Every song builds towards a cohesive and impressive sound, creating an album that has some superb singles, but works best when listened to start to finish.

STO: Dismantle.Repair, Reclusion, Fin

12. Thrice – Alchemy Index Volume 1 – It’s a bizarre concept, but Trice make it work, especially the Water EP, which captures the tone and feel of H2O for a spellbinding and hypnotic sound. Technically, it’s incomplete with the second volume due in April, but so far, I feel the AI experimentation is a welcome addition to the Thrice discography.

STO: Firebreather, Lost Continent, Night Diving

13. Feist – The Reminder – All commercialism aside, this is a wonderful collection of pop that makes me feel old. Feist’s voice is amazing, and she really hit the mark with her songwriting on this album.

STO: Brandy Alexander, My Moon, My Man, One Two Three Four

14. Against Me! – New Wave – They took their punk roots and fused it with classic rock guitar riffs, and created an amazing album. I haven’t liked much of their older stuff, but New Wave left a definite impression on me this year.

STO: Thrash Unreal, Stop, New Wave

15. Gallows – Orchestra of Wolves – The best punk album of the year, and the angriest collection of music in a long time, it’s a real breath of fresh air in punk music.

STO: Belly of a Shark, Kill the Rhythm

16. Interpol – Our Love to Admire – It lacks the emotion of Turn on the Bright Lights and the explosiveness of Antics, but it’s a moody and haunting disc that seems to breaking them into the mainstream, despite it being their least-accessible album.

STO: Rest My Chemistry, No I in Threesome, Heinrich Maneuver, Wrecking Ball

17. The Atari’s – Welcome the Night – Although most people hated the extreme departure from their old sound, I thought this dark and moody attempt to create shoe gazer yet rocking music was exquisite.

STO: And We All Become Like Smoke, The Cheyenne Line, Whatever Lies Will Help You Rest

18. Voxtrot – Voxtrot – Lush and expansive indie rock with a lot of unique and experimental sounds, but still laced with all the right hooks and catches.

STO: Kid Gloves, Blood Red Blood, Introduction

19. The Enemy – We’ll Live and Die In These Towns – If this first effort from this anthemic rock group is any indication their next few efforts should be nothing short of amazing.

STO: Aggro, Its Not OK, You’re Not Alone

20. Gob – Muertos Vivos – Perfectly blending the worlds of pop and punk, without being annoying and juvenile like most “punk” bands of this era.

STO: Wake Up, We’re All Dying, Banshee Song

21. The Color Fred – Bend to Break – I’m a sucker for the dueling vocalist style, and Fred took it from TBS and moved into folkier realms for a solo disc that rocks a lot more then most solo discs.

STO: Get Out, If I Surrender, Hate to See You Go

22. Funeral For a Friend – Tales Don’t Tell Themselves – They’ve altered their sound a lot since the last record, moving more into epic rock anthems while leaving the screaming in their past, in one of the year’s most underrated discs.

STO: Walk Away, Into Oblivion (Reunion), The Sweetest Wave

23. Attack in Black – Marriage – A great first record that reminds me if the Hold Steady were a punk band; AiB are going to be a big band some day soon.

STO: Chimes and Church Bells, Hunger of Young, Young Leaves

24. Shout Out Louds – Our Ill Wills – A lush pop rock record that reminds me a lot of what the Smiths would have been like if Morrissey was happy.

STO: South America, Impossible, Tonight I Have to Leave It

25. The Reason – Things Couldn’t Be Better – Just a fun rock record that’s great when it works (about 2/3 of the disc), but awful when it fails (the dumb “Unquestionable”).

STO: We’re So Beyond This, This Is Just the Beginning, All I Ever Wanted

26. The Bravery – Sun and the Moon – Toning down the image and the synth, but adding improved guitar work and natural imagery made for an improvement (but they still seem to be chasing The Killers).

STO: Believe, Bad Sun, Time Wont Let Me Go

27. Nurses – Hanging Nothing But Our Hands Down – Perhaps the weirdest thing this year, but beneath the eclectic-ness is some fine rock music.

STO: Hungry Mouth, Curse of Marjorie, Way Up High

28. Motion City Soundtrack – Even if It Kills Me – Even with the energy and happiness cranked down, they’re still one of the most fun bands around.

STO: This Is For Real, Antonia, Even If It Kills Me

29. Poison the Well – Versions – A great return that broke the formula, thanks to cranking up the guitars, for a classic rock meets hardcore vibe.

STO: Letter Things, Naïve Monarch, Breathing’s For the Birds

30. Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga – Minimalist pop rock that makes the most out of the little noise it creates.

Standout Tracks: You Got Yr Cherry Bomb, Don’t Make Me a Target, Ghost of You Lingers

Honorable Mentions:

The National – Boxer, Matthew Good – Hospital Music, Yellowcard – Paper Walls,

The Strangers Six – A Date With Daylight, Editors – An End Has a Start