MOG

Ah, good ... I was hoping we'd see you back here. Thanks for compiling these; right off the bat I see a handful that I've perhaps mistakenly overlooked, or should give another chance. Nice to see Twilight Sad in the top 20 on Stylus (even though it doesn't matter much to me exactly where any particular album is placed within a list) but it's cool when the underdogs get some attention. I'll be referencing this in the coming months. Cheers!

Wow, I expected to see New Young Pony Club somewhere in there. Thanks for the lists F-N-B!

MOJO Best of 2007
I do like Neon Bible more than the first Arcade Fire album, but it's still spotty. Like the last Killers album, its homages to Springsteen are both clumsy and charming. The result is a merely decent album, but happens to appeal to a broad enough spectrum that it's sitting near the top of almost every list. So again the more interesting stories are buried below the top 10s. Well, actually there's not much of interest there either in MOJO's list. Plant/Krauss, Lowe and Young are the requisite geezer entries after The Boss. I haven't heard the Joni Mitchell, Pissed Jeans, Linda Thompson, Seasick Steve, Willy Mason, Edgar Jones, Amiina or Gravenhurst.

1. Radiohead - In Rainbows
2. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
3. Bruce Springsteen - Magic
4. Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare
5. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
6. The Good, The Bad & The Queen - The Good, The Bad & The Queen
7. The White Stripes - Icky Thump
8. PJ Harvey - White Chalk
9. Robert Wyatt - Comicopera
10. Kings of Leon - Because of the Times
11. Klaxons - Myths of the Near Future
12. The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls in America
13. Rufus Wainwright - Release the Stars
14. The Shins - Wincing the Night Away
15. Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha
16. Bright Eyes - Cassadaga
17. Field Music - Tones of Town
18. Grinderman - Grinderman
19. Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - Raising Sand
20. Nick Lowe - At My Age
21. Neil Young - Chrome Dreams II
22. Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
23. Efterklang - Parades
24. Björk - Volta
25. Joni Mitchell - Shine
26. Pissed Jeans - Hope for Men
27. Linda Thompson - Versatile Heart
28. The Cinematic Orchestra - Ma Fleur
29. Iron & Wine - The Shepherd's Dog
30. Thurston Moore - Trees Outside the Academy
31. Gruff Rhys - Candylion
32. Panda Bear - Person Pitch
33. Seasick Steve - Dog House Music
34. Willy Mason - If the Ocean Gets Rough
35. Bettye LaVette - The Scene of the Crime
36. Tinariwen - Aman Iman: Water Is Life
37. Edgar Jones and The Joneses - Gettin' a Little Help
38. The Besnard Lakes - Are the Dark Horse
39. Battles - Mirrored
40. Yoko Ono - Yes, I'm a Witch
41. Amiina - Kurr
42. Gravenhurst - The Western Lands
43. Interpol - Our Love to Admire
44. Les Savy Fav - Let's Stay Friends
45. Matthew Dear - Asa Breed
46. Kevin Ayers - The Unfairground
47. Edwyn Collins - Home Again
48. Babyshambles - Shotter's Nation
49. Voice of the Seven Woods - Voice of the Seven Woods
50. Alasdair Roberts - The Amber Gatherers

The Clash Magazine Rock/Indie 1. Kings Of Leon - Because Of The Times 2. Cold War Kids - Robbers And Cowards 3. Arcade fire - Neon Bible 4. Jamie T - Panic Prevention 5. The White Stripes - Icky Thump 6. Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare 7. Radiohead - In Rainbows 8. The Enemy - We'll Live And Die In These Towns 9. Bloc Party - A Weekend In The City 10. Babyshambles - Shotter's Nation

Leftfield Albums 1. Benga - Diary Of An Afro Warrior 2. Battles - Mirrors 3. Apparat - Walls 4. New Young Pony Club - Fantastic Playroom 5. Skream - Skreamism III 6. MIA - Kala 7. Mum - Go Smear The Poison Ivy 8. Matthew Dear - As Breed 9. Tunng - Good Arrows - Full Time Hobby 10. Maps - We Can Create

Alternative Albums 1. Feist - The Reminder 2. LCD Soundsystem - Sound Of Silver 3. Radical Face - Ghost 4. Klaxons - Myths Of The Near Future 5. Iron And Wine - The Shepherd's Dog 6. Andrew Bird - Armchair Apochrypha 7. Elvis Perkins - Ash Wednesday 8. Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam 9. Richard Swift - Dressed Up For The Letdown 10. Carbon/Silicon - The Last Post

Kings Of Leon seems to be coming out of nowhere and topping a lot of lists. The album is certainly more interesting than their previous work, but I don't think it's as good as, say, the QOTSA. Their categories are pretty muddled. They should have just done a top 50. I'll be checking out Benga, Apparat, Radical Face and Carbon/Silicon this weekend.

Drowned In Sound 1: LCD Soundsystem – Sound Of Silver 2: Battles – Mirrored 3: Panda Bear – Person Pitch 4: M.I.A. – Kala 5: Jamie T – Panic Prevention 6: Modest Mouse – We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank 7: Liars – Liars 8: No Age – Weirdo Rippers 9: Radiohead – In Rainbows 10: HEALTH – Health 11: Deerhunter – Cryptograms 12: The National – Boxer 13: Les Savy Fav – Let’s Stay Friends 14: Aesop Rock – None Shall Pass 15: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – Some Loud Thunder 16: The Maccabees – Colour It In 17: Animal Collective – Strawberry Jam 18: Klaxons – Myths Of The Near Future 19: Arcade Fire – Neon Bible 20: The Shins – Wincing The Night Away 21: Grinderman – Grinderman 22: Blonde Redhead – 23 23: PJ Harvey – White Chalk 24: Efterklang – Parades 25: Justice – Cross 26: Black Lips – Good Bad Not Evil 27: Deerhoof – Friend Opportunity 28: Clipse – Hell Hath No Fury 29: Field Music – Tones Of Town 30: Bloc Party – A Weekend In The City 31: The Cribs – Men’s Needs, Women’s Needs, Whatever 32: !!! – Myth Takes 33: Andrew Bird – Armchair Apocrypha 34: Arctic Monkeys – Favourite Worst Nightmare 35: Electrelane – No Shouts, No Calls 36: Thurston Moore – Trees Outside The Academy 37: Beirut – The Flying Club Cup 38: Future of the Left – Curses 39: dälek – Abandoned Language 40: The Sea & Cake – Everybody 41: Mathew Sawyer and the Ghosts – Blue Birds Blood 42: Eugene McGuinness – The Early Learnings Of… 43: Von Südenfed – Tromatic Reflexxions 44: Prefuse 73 – Preparations 45: Pinback – Autumn Of The Seraphs 46: of Montreal – Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer 47: Yeasayer – All Hour Cymbals 48: The Twilight Sad – Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters 49: Jen Lekman – Night Falls Over Kortedala 50: Feist – The Reminder

It's interesting that this poll is only the second to include Yeasayer, which is definitely in my top ten. The Maccabees and Health are also good choices that aren't on many lists. I haven't listened to the whole Jamie T album yet -- but so far it teeters between fresh and annoying.

NME 50 Beirut - The Flying Club Cup 49 Interpol - Our Love TO Admire 48 The View - Hats Off To The Buskers 47 Enter Shikari - Take To The Skies 46 Kaiser Chiefs - Yours Truly Angry Mob 45 !!! - Myth Takes 44 Gruff Ryhs - Candylion 43 Foo Fighters - Echoes, Silence Patience and Grace 42 Patrick Wolf - The Magic Position 41 Menomena - Friend and Foe 40 EL-P - I'll Sleep When I'm Dead 39 Jeffery Lewis - 12 Crass Songs 38 Justice - † 37 Jamie T - Panic Prevention 36 Holy Fuck - s/t 35 Super Furry Animals - Hey Venus! 34 New Young Pony Club - Fantastic Playroom 33 Simian Mobile Disco - Attack Decay Sustain Release 32 Grinderman - s/t 31 The Pigeon Detectives - Wait For Me 30 QOTSA - Era Vulgaris 29 Lethal Bizzle - Back To Bizznizz 28 Bright Eyes - Cassadaga 27 The Horrors - Strange House 26 Kate Nash - Made of Bricks 25 The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls In America 24 The Maccabees - Colour It In 23 Maps - We Can Create 22 Black Lips - Good Bad Not Evil 21 The Enemy - We'll Live and Die In These Towns 20 Bloc Party - A Weekend In The City 19 Richard Hawley - Lady's Bridge 18 The Good, The Bad & The Queen 17 Future of The Left - Curses 16 The Coral - Roots and Echoes 15 The White Stripes - Icky Thump 14 Babyshambles - Shotter's Nation 13 PJ Harvey - White Chalk 12 The Shins - Wincing The Night Away 11 LCD Soundsytem - Sound Of Silver 10 Battles - Mirrored 9 The Cribs - Man's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever 8 Biffy Clyro - Puzzle 7 MIA - Kala 6 Kings of Leon - Because Of The Times 5 Les Savy Fav - Let's Stay Friends 4 Arcade Fire - Neon Bible 3 Radiohead - In Rainbows 2 Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare 1 Klaxons - Myths of The Near Future

With four good tracks and the rest falling flat, at least the Klaxons is an improvement over last year's Arctic Monkeys debut, which had about two decent songs. I bought Myths on the strength of those four songs, and sold it a month later, bored to tears. The sophomore albums by Maximo Park and The Rakes blow it away, not to mention the Good Shoes debut and about 140 other albums. I don't even know what to say about Biffy Clyro, other than I couldn't make it through the whole album. There's seriously probably a thousand albums better than that one this year. Les Savy Fav is at least somewhat unexpected. Lethal Bizzle, Jeffery Lewis and Enter Shikari are unfamiliar.

Muzzle Of Bees 30 Bowerbirds Hymn For a Dark Horse 29 Pale Young Gentlemen Pale Young Gentlemen 28 Six Parts Seven Casually Smashed To Pieces 27 Land of Talk Applause Cheer Boo Hiss 26 Sunset Rubdown Random Spirit Lover 25 Interpol Our Love to Admire 24 Feist The Reminder 23 Richard Hawley Lady’s Bridge 22 Moviola Dead Knowledge 21 Broken Social Scene Presents: Kevin Drew Spirit If… 20 Lewis & Clarke Blasts of Holy Birth 19 Menomena Friend and Foe 18 Phosphorecent Phosphorecent 17 Besnard Lakes The Besnard Lakes Are A Dark Horse 16 Iron & Wine The Shepherd’s Dog 15 Wilco Sky Blue Sky 14 Arcade Fire Neon Bible 13 Bill Callahan Woke on a Whaleheart 12 Band of Horses Cease to Begin 11 Of Montreal Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? 10 Jens Lekman Night Falls Over Kortedala 09 LCD Soundsystem Sound of Silver 08 Spoon Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga 07 New Pornographers Challengers 06 Great Lake Swimmers Ongiara 05 The Rosebuds Night of the Furies 04 Bon Iver For Emma, Forever Ago 03 Radiohead In Rainbows 02 Beirut The Flying Club Cup 01 The National Boxer

Gorilla Vs. Bear 17 Arcade Fire - Neon Bible 16 Menomena - Friend And Foe 15 Glass Candy - Beatbox 14 The Besnard Lakes - ...Are The Dark Horse 13 Cass McCombs - Dropping The Writ 12 Santogold - I Believe In Santogold 12" + assorted Internet jams 11 Oh No - Dr. No's Oxperiment 10 M.I.A. - Kala 09 Bodies Of Water - Ears Will Pop & Eyes Will Blink 08 Lil' Wayne - Da Drought 3 07 Black Lips - Los Valientes Del Mundo Nuevo06 Radiohead - In Rainbows 05 St. Vincent - Mary Me 04 Burial - Untrue 03 Marissa Nadler - Songs III: Bird On The Water 02 White Denim - Let's Talk About It 01 Panda Bear - Person Pitch

Fact Magazine 1. Panda Bear - Person Pitch 2. Burial - Untrue 3. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver 4. M.I.A. - Kala 5. Studio - West Coast 6. Klaxons - Myths of The Near Future 7. Matthew Dear - Asa Breed 8. Fiery Furnaces - Widow City 9. Holy Fuck 10. Justice - † 11. Robert Wyatt - Comicopera 12. Battles - Mirrored 13. Iron & Wine - The Shepherd's Dog 14. Pantha Du Prince - This Bliss 15. Liars 16. Mode Selektor - Happy Birthday 17. Chloe - The Waiting Room 18. Ricardo Villalobos - Fabric 36 19. Aliens - Astronomy For Dogs 20. Durrty Goodz - Axiom

This is where list fatigue begins to set in. The more mainstream lists all start blending together as Xmas approaches.

The Onion I'm on vacation, so I don't know why I'm punishing myself, but I read nearly all 600+ comments on The Onion's list page. Complaints mainly focused on the lack of hip-hop, and the exclusion of Panda Bear, Of Montreal, and a few other albums that really are no less whitebread (Shins, New Porn, Andrew Bird, etc.) than the interchangeable selections they're kvetching about. Two good things came of it. I found a list with three Finnish albums I hadn't heard of (I've been having these reocurring dreams set in the dark forests of Finland and for some reason it makes me want to make a soundtrack for it), and I was reminded to pick up El-P's I'll Sleep When You're Dead. It just might be better than his first album, not sure why I forgot about it.

1. Arcade Fire, Neon Bible (81 points] 2. The National, Boxer (66 points] 3. Radiohead, In Rainbows (63 points] 4. LCD Soundsystem, Sound Of Silver (61 points] 5. Band Of Horses, Cease To Begin (56 points] 6. M.I.A., Kala (54 points] 7. Amy Winehouse, Back To Black (42 points] 8. Tegan And Sara, The Con (37 points] 9. Wilco, Sky Blue Sky (36 points] 10. Bloc Party, A Weekend In The City (36 points] 11. Spoon, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (35 points] 12. Jesu, Conqueror (30 points] 13. Modest Mouse, We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank (29 points] 14. PJ Harvey, White Chalk (29 points] 15. Les Savy Fav, Let's Stay Friends (28 points] 16. The White Stripes, Icky Thump (27 points] 17. Low, Drums And Guns (26 points] 18. Ted Leo, Living With The Living (25 points] 19. Against Me!, New Wave (25 points] 20. Rilo Kiley, Under The Blacklight (25 points] 21. Grinderman, Grinderman (23 points] 22. Bat For Lashes, Fur And Gold (22 points] 23. Fall Out Boy, Infinity On High (22 points] 24. James Murphy & Pat Mahoney, FabricLive 36 (20 points] 25. Iron And Wine, The Shepherd's Dog (20 points]

SPIN I guess I should get around to listening to Against Me and Fall Out Boy sigh. I'm drawing the line at Bright Eyes, I'd heard enough of him. Do grownups really like that stuff? Are Bonde De Role and Brother Ali worth hearing? I didn't even know Wildhearts and BRMC had new albums.

40. Rilo Kiley, Under The Blacklight 39. Turbonegro, Retox 38. Dizzee Rascal, Maths + English 37. Ted Leo & The Pharmicists, Living With The Living 36. Bonde Do Role, With Lasers 35. Say Anything, In Defense Of The Genre 34. Bat For Lashes, Fur And Gold 33. The Wildhearts, The Wildhearts 32. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Baby 81 31. Handsome Furs, Plague Park 30. Brother Ali, Undisputed Truth 29. Panda Bear, Person Pitch 28. Iron And Wine, The Shepherd's Dog 27. Band Of Horses, Cease To Begin 26. Bright Eyes, Cassadaga 25. Queens Of The Stone Age, Era Vulgaris 24. The Shins, Wincing The Night Away 23. Peter Bjorn & John, Writer's Block 22. Elliott Smith, New Moon 21. Modest Mouse, We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank 20. of Montreal, Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? 19. Arctic Monkeys, Favourite Worst Nightmare 18. Feist, The Reminder 17. The National, Boxer 16. Lily Allen, Alright, Still... 15. Justice, † 14. Bruce Springsteen, Magic 13. The Hives, The Black And White Album 12. Prince, Planet Earth 11. Lil Wayne, Da Drought 3 10. The White Stripes, Icky Thump 9. Spoon, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga 8. Jay-Z, American Gangster 7. Amy Winehouse, Back To Black 6. Radiohead, In Rainbows 5. M.I.A., Kala 4. Kanye West, Graduation 3. LCD Soundsystem, Sound Of Silver 2. Arcade Fire, Neon Bible 1. Against Me!, New Wave

I put Panda Bear on my MP3 player and listened to it again on the plane today. It's confirmed, the vocals really bug me. They sound distant and puny, unintelligible and annoying. Garbled vocals can sometimes work, like with Burial. But on Person Pitch the only emotional impact is irritation.

More pleasantly, I enjoyed these: Modeselektor - Happy Birthday Chloe - The Waiting Room Muscles - Guns Babes Lemonade Apparat - Walls Matthew Dear - Asa Breed Dan Deacon - Spiderman of the Rings

I think I might end up preferring them all over the LCD Soundsystem, Justice, and even The Field. I picked up a Rolling Stone at the airport for some mindless reading, to laugh and cry at their top 50 albums. I'll let someone else type that atrocity in, but for now, The Good 'n' Bad, Idolator stylee-

Good - Er...No real pleasant surprises until you get all the way to 16, Les Savy Fav, and 23 1990s. I nearly forgot about that album, good times. Of Montreal 41. But I listened to it again, and it's not that great either.

Bad - Let me count the ways. In a transparently insincere bid to remain hip and relevent, M.I.A. is 1. Rilo Kiley, Against Me!, NIN, McCartney, Linkin Park, Maroon 5, Smashing Pumpkins, Fall Out Boy, Dropkick Murphys, etc... Basically a list socially engineered for their demographic. Christgau, Fricke, Hoard and Sheffield list their personal favorites that would never be allowed onto herr Wenner's Masterlist. My favorite forced and contrived entry is Sheffield on The Liars - "These Berlin-based art-twat noise pervs sound like they're actually attempting to write catchy rock & roll songs - and listening to them try is even funnier than watching Manny Ramirez chase pop-ups." Nice Rob, wouldn't want to come off as too sincere. You like it as comedy, gotcha.

Rolling Stone 50 Britney Spears - Blackout 49 Dropkick Murphys - The Meanest of Times 48 Mavis Staples - We'll Never Turn Back 47 Band of Horses - Cease to Begin 46 Fall Out Boy - Infinity on High 45 Foo Fighters - Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace 44 Peter Bjorn and John - Writer's Block 43 Smashing Pumpkins - Zeitgeist 42 Wilco - Sky Blue Sky 41 of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? 40 Amy Winehouse - Back to Black 39 Dr. Dog - We All Belong 38 Imperial Teen - The Hair the TV the Baby & the Band 37 Down - Over the Under 36 Alicia Keys - As I Am 35 Feist - The Reminder 34 Chris Brown - Exclusive 33 Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Ray Price - Last of the Breed 32 Maroon 5 - It Won't Be Soon Before Long 31 Kings of Leon - Because of the Times 30 Youssou N'Dour - Rokku Mi Rokka 29 Mary J. Blige - Growing Pains 28 The Apples in Stereo - New Magnetic Wonder 27 Lil Wayne - Da Drought 3 26 Miranda Lambert - Crazy Ex-Girlfriend 25 Linkin Park - Minutes To Midnight 24 Robert Plant and Alison Krauss - Raising Sand 23 1990s - Cookies 22 Paul McCartney - Memory Almost Full 21 Nine Inch Nails - Year Zero 20 Melissa Etheridge - The Awakening 19 Devendra Banhart - Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon 18 Lucinda Williams - West 17 The White Stripes - Icky Thump 16 Les Savy Fav - Let's Stay Friends 15 Common - Finding Forever 14 Gogol Bordello - Super Taranta! 13 Lily Allen - Alright, Still 12 Bright Eyes - Cassadaga 11 John Fogerty - Revival 10 Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga 09 Against Me! - New Wave 08 Rilo Kiley - Under the Blacklight 07 LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver 06 Radiohead - In Rainbows 05 Kanye West - Graduation 04 Arcade Fire - Neon Bible 03 Jay-Z - American Gangster 02 Bruce Springsteen - Magic 01 M.I.A. - Kala

Pop Matters This has perhaps the largest number of unique entries of any list, at least until The Wire comes out. It's refreshing to see Kweli, Monch and El-P get attention rather than Lil Wayne and UGK. However most of the unusual choices inspire doubt rather than excitement that I've discovered something new. An exception might be Alcest - Souvenirs D'Un Autre Monde. I'll have to give The Good, the Bad & the Queen a relisten, however, as Reynolds also wrote an interesting take on it. I have to say I've been having much more fun absorbing his top ten than any other list so far (Moon Wiring Club, Focus Group, Sally Shapiro, Black Moth Super Rainbow).

01 Radiohead - In Rainbows 02 Miranda Lambert - Crazy Ex-Girlfriend 03 LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver 04 Kanye West - Graduation 05 Arcade Fire - Neon Bible 06 Lyle Lovett and His Large Band - It's Not Big, It's Large 07 The National - Boxer 08 Amy Winehouse - Back to Black 09 The Fratellis - Costello Music 10 M.I.A. - Kala 11 Mavis Staples - We'll Never Turn Back 12 Josh Ritter - The Historical Conquests 13 Mike Farris - Salvation in Lights 14 The Good, the Bad & the Queen 15 Ha Ha Tonka - Buckle in the Bible Belt 16 Talib Kweli - Ear Drum 17 The Avett Brothers - Emotionalism 18 Rahsaan Patterson - Wines and Spirits 19 Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga 20 Meshell Ndegeocello - The World Has Made Me the Man of My Dreams 21 Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destoyer? 22 Pharoahe Monch - Desire 23 Patty Griffin - Children Running Through 24 Dwight Yoakam - Dwight Sings Buck 25 SoCalled - Ghettoblaster 26 Feist - The Reminder 27 Bettye LaVette - The Scene of the Crime 28 Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala 29 Patrick Wolf - The Magic Position 30 The Field - From Here We Go Sublime 31 Shantel - Disko Partizani 32 Panda Bear - Person Pitch 33 Wilco - Sky Blue Sky 34 Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam 35 Caribou - Andorra 36 El-P - I'll Sleep When You're Dead 37 Terence Blanchard - A Tale of God's Will (A Requiem for Katrina) 38 Battles - Mirrored 39 Okkerfil River - The Stage Names 40 Columbiafrica - The Mystic Orchestra - Voodoo Love Inna Champeta Land 41 Lucky Soul - The Great Unwanted 42 Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha 43 Jay-Z - American Gangster 44 The New Pornographers - Challengers 45 The Shins - Wincing the Night Away 46 Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank 47 PJ Harvey - White Chalk 48 Alcest - Souvenirs D'Un Autre Monde 49 Manic Street Preachers - Send Away the Tigers 50 Blitzen Trapper - Wild Mountain Nation 51 The Pipettes - We Are the Pipettes 52 Liars 53 Ryan Adams - Easy Tiger 54 St. Vincent - Marry Me 55 New Young Pony Club - Fantastic Playroom 56 Blu & Exile - Below the Heavens 57 Iron & Wine - The Shepherd's Dog 58 Beirut - The Flying Club Cup 59 Eluvium - Copia 60 Gui Boratto - Chromophobia

Artrocker I mentioned the mag in a piece I wrote last year and they've kindly sent me issue ever since. In November it changed from a bi-weekly ("fortnightly") paper to a monthly glossy. A good 70% of the writing is godawful. I would have thought they'd have improved, since they've been publishing since 2001. Perhaps there's a high turnover of young writers who move on, perhaps to finish school. Their scope is narrow to a fault, but their focus is intentional. It's a sort of evangelical dedication to the UK scene of young emerging pop and rock bands. I agree that The Maccabees and Good Shoes put out great albums, and hopefully they'll get more exposure from this. The Editors album, however, was way better than Interpol's.

01. The Maccabees - Colour It In 02. Good Shoes - Think Before You Speak 03. Art Brut - It's A Bit Complicated 04. The Horrors - Strange House 05. Maximo Park - Our Earthly Pleasures 06. Shitdisco - Kingdom of Fear 07. Tiny Masters of Today - Bang Bang Boom Cake 08. Jakobinarina - The First Crusade 09. The Hives - The Black and White Album 10. Future of the Left - Curses 11. Liars 12. Acoustic Ladyland - Skinny Grin 13. Klaxons - Myths of the Near Future 14. Interpol - Our Love to Admire 15. The Violets - The Lost Pages 16. Mothers and the Addicts - Science Fiction Illustrated 17. Chow Chow - Colours and Lines 18. The Cribs - Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever 19. Untitled Musical Project 20. Bloc Party - A Weekend in the City

Best of the Rest Kubichek - Not Enoughnight Die! Die! Die! The Young Knives - Are Dead...And Some Poppy and the Jezebels - Follow Me Down Dirty Projectors - Rise Above Bearsuit - Oh:IO The Scare - Chivalry

The Wire : 2007 Rewind 50 Records Of The Year 01 Robert Wyatt - Comicopera (Domino) 02 Burial - Untrue (Hyperdub) 03 Panda Bear - Person Pitch (Paw Tracks) 04 OM - Pilgrimage (Southern Lord) 05 LCD Soundsystem - Sound Of Silver (DFA/EMI) 06 Von Südenfed - Tromatic Reflexxions (Domino) 07 Pram - The Moving Frontier (Domino) 08 MIA - Kala (XL) 09 Battles - Mirrored (Warp) 10 Ricardo Villalobos - Fabric 36 (Fabric) 11 Grinderman - Grinderman (Mute) 12 Kassin+2 - Futurismo (Luaka Bop) 13 Matthew Dear - Asa Breed (Ghostly) 14 Strategy - Future Rock (Kranky) 15 Laub - Deinetwegen (AGF Producktion) 16 Björk - Volta (One Little Indian) 17 Pole - Steingarten (~scape) 18 Harmonia - Live 1974 (Grönland) 19 John Butcher - The Geometry Of Sentiment (Emanem) 20 Akio Suzuki - K7 Box (ALM) 21 Deerhunter - Cryptograms (Kranky) 22 Lil' Wayne - Da Drought 3 (Mixtape) (No Label) 23 Peter Evans Quartet - Peter Evans Quartet (Firehouse 12) 24 James Blackshaw - The Cloud Of Unknowing (Tompkins Square) 25 Kemialliset Ystävät - Kemialliset Ystävät (Fonal) 26 Pandit Pran Nath - Raga Cycle (SRI Moonshine) 27 Flower-Corsano Duo - The Radiant Mirror (Textile) 28 Electrelane - No Shouts, No Calls (Too Pure) 29 Zeitkratzer & Lou Reed - Metal Machine Music (Asphodel) 30 Gudrun Gut - I Put A Record On (Monika Enterprise) 31 Marnie Stern - In Advance Of The Broken Arm (Kill Rock Stars) 32 Throbbing Gristle - Part Two: The Endless Not (Mute) 33 Rhys Chatham - The Crimson Grail (Table Of The Elements) 34 Radiohead - In Rainbows (www.inrainbows.com/XL) 35 The Focus Group - We Are All Pan's People (Ghost Box) 36 The Terminals - Last Days Of The Sun (Last Visible Dog) 37 Sightings - Through The Panama (Load) 38 Anthony Braxton - 9 Compositions Iridium 2006 (Firehouse 12) 39 Steve Jansen - Slope (Samadhisound) 40 Haswell & Hecker - Blackest Ever Black (Warner Classics) 41 Colleen - Les Ondes Silencieuses (Leaf) 42 Dial - 168K (Cede) 43 Wooden Shjips - Wooden Shjips (Holy Mountain) 44 fORCH - Spin Networks (PSI) 45 PJ Harvey - White Chalk (Island) 46 Hanne Hukkelberg - Rykestrasse 68 (Nettwerk) 47 Susan Howe & David Grubbs - Souls Of The Labadie Tract (Blue Chopsticks) 48 Lichens - Omns (Kranky) 49 Low - Drums And Guns (Sub Pop) 50 Frank Bretschneider - Rhythm (Raster-Norton)

Pitchfork I was hoping for some surprises from Pitchfork, but they were relatively predictable this year. I just recently got turned onto Sally Shapiro, so that's a good one. I am unfamiliar with Tough Alliance, Bon Iver, King Khan & the Shrines and James Blackshaw, and will check them out. I'm suprised at no Apparat, Matthew Dear, Chloe, or Modeselektor. I think they're all more engaging than The Field and Justice.

01: Panda Bear - Person Pitch 02: LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver 03: M.I.A. - Kala 04: Radiohead - In Rainbows 05: Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? 06: Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam 07: Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga 08: Battles - Mirrored 09: The Field - From Here We Go Sublime 10: Burial - Untrue 11: Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala 12: No Age - Weirdo Rippers 13: Jay-Z - American Gangster 14: Deerhunter - Cryptograms / Fluorescent Grey EP 15: Justice - † 16: Lil Wayne - Da Drought 3 17: The National - Boxer 18: Kanye West - Graduation 19: Feist - The Reminder 20: Liars - Liars 21: Dirty Projectors - Rise Above 22: Okkervil River - The Stage Names 23: Studio - Yearbook 1 24: Dan Deacon - Spiderman of the Rings 25: The Tough Alliance - A New Chance / New Waves EP 26: Various Artists - After Dark 27: Arcade Fire - Neon Bible 28: Dinosaur Jr. - Beyond 29: Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago 30: Caribou - Andorra 31: Deerhoof - Friend Opportunity 32: Sally Shapiro - Disco Romance 33: King Khan & the Shrines - What Is?! 34: James Blackshaw - The Cloud of Unknowing 35: Black Lips - Good Bad Not Evil 36: Iron and Wine - The Shepherd's Dog 37: Grizzly Bear - Friend EP 38: Wu-Tang Clan - 8 Diagrams 39: The White Stripes - Icky Thump 40: Beirut - The Flying Club Cup / Lon Gisland EP 41: Life Without Buildings - Live at the Annandale Hotel 42: Ghostface Killah - The Big Doe Rehab 43: Stars of the Lid - And Their Refinement of the Decline 44: Les Savy Fav - Let's Stay Friends 45: Ricardo Villalobos - Fabric 36 46: Marissa Nadler - Songs III: Bird on the Water 47: Yeasayer - All Hour Cymbals 48: Robert Wyatt - Comicopera 49: Dizzee Rascal - Maths + English 50: Tinariwen - Aman Iman: Water Is Life