# 50 Best Albums of 2007 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 20, 2007, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-best-albums-of-2007/427246 "2007-11-20T22:23:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cainxinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@cainxinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cainxinth)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2007, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-best-albums-of-2007/427246/1 "2007-11-20T22:23:00Z")
The end of the year is fast approaching and you know what that means… “best of” lists! God how I love them; both for reminding me of the year past and for the vigorous arguments they inspire. Anyway, here is my somewhat premature list of the 50 best albums of '07. 1. Kayne West - Graduation 2. Dan Deacon - Spiderman Of The Rings 3. Jay-Z - American Gangster 4. Mika - Life In Cartoon Motion 5. Justice - Cross 6. Unkle - War Stories 7. M.I.A. - Kala 8. Timbaland - Presents: Shock Value 9. Beirut - The Flying Club Cup 10. Rodrigo Y Gabriela - Rodrigo Y Gabriela 11. Radiohead - In Rainbows 12. Electrelane - No Shouts, No Calls 13. Busdriver - Roadkillovercoat 14. M83 - Digital Shades Vol. 1 15. Architecture In Helsinki - Places Like This 16. Sigur Ros - Hvarf/Heim 17. Beastie Boys - The Mix Up 18. Galactic - From The Corner To The Block 19. Alicia Keys - As I Am 20. Common - Finding Forever 21. Aesop Rock - None Shall Pass 22. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! - Some Loud Thunder 23. Lateef & Z-Trip - Ahead Of The Curve 24. A-Trak - Dirty South Dance 25. Nouvelle Vague - Bande A Part 26. T.I. - T.I. Vs T.I.P. 27. Mark Ronson - Version 28. Low - Drums And Guns 29. Prins Thomas - Cosmo Galactic Prism 30. Apparat – Walls 31. 50 Cent - Curtis 32. Air France - On Trade Winds 33. Mum - Go Go Smear The Poison Ivy 34. Klaxons - Myths Of The Near Future 35. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago 36. Okkervil River - The Stage Names 37. The New Pornographers – Challengers 38. 65daysofstatic - The Destruction Of Small Ideas 39. Muscles - Guns Babes Lemonade 40. Half Cousin - Iodine 41. Stars - In Our Bedroom After The War 42. Angels Of Light - We Are Him 43. Coconut Records - Nighttiming 44. The Go Find - Miami 45. Battles - Mirrored 46. Alog - Amateur 47. Tomboy - Serios 48. Miracle Fortress - Five Roses 49. Peder - And He Just Pointed To The Sky… 50. Rodion - Romantic Jet Dance ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2007, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-best-albums-of-2007/427246/2 "2007-11-20T22:28:28Z")
I haven’t heard almost 100 percent of the albums listed - but I would nominate _We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank_ by Modest Mouse. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2007, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-best-albums-of-2007/427246/3 "2007-11-20T22:48:01Z")
I appreciate anyone who can like such a diverse amount of genres that a majority of people, who mostly only listen to a handful, will never have heard songs by most of the artists on this list, let alone bought albums by them. (Count for myself: three. I’ve heard of thirteen of them though.) But I am also proud of myself for, despite having only bought four new albums this year (I mostly buy used CDs so do not usually purchase stuff the same year it’s made,) my favorite is in itself a fusion of genres: **No World for Tomorrow** by Coheed and Cambria. It does for Emo and Prog Rock what their **Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3** does for Nu-metal and Prog Rock, seamlessly fusing them into one epic whole. (Their other two offerings are straight up Emo and Prog Rock respectively, so they sure do have a diverse range.) ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2007, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-best-albums-of-2007/427246/4 "2007-11-20T22:55:08Z")
No mention of _Plantagenet Frost_ by Boofty’s Twilight Nunchuk? For shame. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2007, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-best-albums-of-2007/427246/5 "2007-11-20T23:02:13Z")
[QUOTE=jjimm] No mention of _Plantagenet Frost_ by Boofty’s Twilight Nunchuk? For shame. [/QUOTE] I prefer their earlier stuff, to be honest. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2007, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-best-albums-of-2007/427246/6 "2007-11-20T23:12:53Z")
[QUOTE=Struan] I prefer their earlier stuff, to be honest. [/QUOTE] Elitist. ---
**Author:** ![HoboStew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f17d59/32.png) [@HoboStew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoboStew)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2007, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-best-albums-of-2007/427246/7 "2007-11-20T23:45:18Z")
My favorites this year are in [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=444711) thread. ---
**Author:** ![ZebraShaSha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/eada6e/32.png) [@ZebraShaSha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZebraShaSha)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-best-albums-of-2007/427246/8 "2007-11-21T03:12:09Z")
[QUOTE=cainxinth] The end of the year is fast approaching and you know what that means… “best of” lists! God how I love them; both for reminding me of the year past and for the vigorous arguments they inspire. Anyway, here is my somewhat premature list of the 50 best albums of '07. 1. Kayne West - Graduation **2. Dan Deacon - Spiderman Of The Rings** 2. Jay-Z - American Gangster 3. Mika - Life In Cartoon Motion 4. Justice - Cross 5. Unkle - War Stories **7. M.I.A. - Kala** 6. Timbaland - Presents: Shock Value **9. Beirut - The Flying Club Cup** 7. Rodrigo Y Gabriela - Rodrigo Y Gabriela 8. Radiohead - In Rainbows 9. Electrelane - No Shouts, No Calls 10. Busdriver - Roadkillovercoat 11. M83 - Digital Shades Vol. 1 12. Architecture In Helsinki - Places Like This 13. Sigur Ros - Hvarf/Heim 14. Beastie Boys - The Mix Up 15. Galactic - From The Corner To The Block 16. Alicia Keys - As I Am 17. Common - Finding Forever 18. Aesop Rock - None Shall Pass 19. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! - Some Loud Thunder 20. Lateef & Z-Trip - Ahead Of The Curve 21. A-Trak - Dirty South Dance 22. Nouvelle Vague - Bande A Part 23. T.I. - T.I. Vs T.I.P. 24. Mark Ronson - Version 25. Low - Drums And Guns 26. Prins Thomas - Cosmo Galactic Prism 27. Apparat – Walls 28. 50 Cent - Curtis 29. Air France - On Trade Winds 30. Mum - Go Go Smear The Poison Ivy 31. Klaxons - Myths Of The Near Future 32. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago **36. Okkervil River - The Stage Names** 33. The New Pornographers – Challengers 34. 65daysofstatic - The Destruction Of Small Ideas **39. Muscles - Guns Babes Lemonade** 35. Half Cousin - Iodine 36. Stars - In Our Bedroom After The War 37. Angels Of Light - We Are Him 38. Coconut Records - Nighttiming 39. The Go Find - Miami **45. Battles - Mirrored** 40. Alog - Amateur 41. Tomboy - Serios \*\* 42. Miracle Fortress - Five Roses\*\* 43. Peder - And He Just Pointed To The Sky… 44. Rodion - Romantic Jet Dance [/QUOTE] Would probably make my list. I have heard over half of the other ones, but none of them really did it for me. For instance, I wouldn’t even consider Architecture in Helsinki to be anywhere near this list. You also have a more beat/electronic taste than I do, which would be none, so a lot of the ones you’ve listed I didn’t listen to for those reasons. I’m more into a random sampling of indie, but not indie pop, indie folk, or indie rock. I also don’t understand how Panda Bear isn’t on your list, unless you simply can’t get into Noah. Also, seems like you would be a fan of Burial, although that was released last week give or take. Oh, yea, and Health, do you like Health? Some other bands that I’d have to put in the running: Old Time Relijun, Sunset Rubdown, The Good Life, Taken By Trees, Jens Lekman, Rock Plaza Central, Menomena (best band I’ve ever seen, period.), Benjy Ferre, Bat for Lashes, Deerhunter, Coathangers, Black Lips (Atlanta bitches!), Juju B Solomon, Arboretum, Shout Out Louds, Iron and Wine (his new one is really, really good) etc etc. It’s really hard for me to think back to the beginning of the year and a lot of my favorite bands who released albums I mostly wasn’t happy with. CYHSY, Arcade Fire, Modest Mouse, etc. I also am hesitant to add a bunch of new stuff, because I haven’t had time to really explore them. Deadly Syndromes et al. Best surprise of the year would be Child Bite - Gold Thriller. It’s fucking awesome, but I don’t even think it touched the Blogsphere. Try it out: [http://www.myspace.com/childbite](http://www.myspace.com/childbite) . Also, Devendra’s Seahorse needs to be the song of the year, since it needs some recognition after being off a decent, but not great, album. (More of my musical tastes can be found here: [http://wereallallwevedone.blogspot.com/](http://wereallallwevedone.blogspot.com/) It’s about half of the albums I’ve reviewed since September, so not really representative of the year in all.) ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-best-albums-of-2007/427246/9 "2007-11-21T03:52:38Z")
I haven’t listened to 50 albums this year. Some that I’ve liked though include: [So Cow - These Truly Are End Times](http://www.iamsocow.com/index2.html) [Mumblin’ Deaf Ro’ - The Herring And The Brine](http://www.myspace.com/mumblindeafro) and [The Sick And Indigent Song Club - The Inisteoge Folly](http://www.myspace.com/sickandindigentsongclub) ---
**Author:** ![cainxinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@cainxinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cainxinth)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-best-albums-of-2007/427246/10 "2007-11-21T06:29:43Z")
[QUOTE=Ludovic] I appreciate anyone who can like such a diverse amount of genres that a majority of people, who mostly only listen to a handful, will never have heard songs by most of the artists on this list, let alone bought albums by them. (Count for myself: three. I’ve heard of thirteen of them though.) [/QUOTE] Thanks very much for noticing. Diversity is what my tastes are all about. I find that if you try almost anything long enough you can learn to appreciate it, and why wouldn’t you want a bigger pool of options. For years I thought I didn’t like rap, or country, or opera, or cowboy movies, or mushrooms, etc. until I gave them a fair shot. Now, I spend my weekends eating mushroom pizza and watching the western channel on mute with Pagliacci playing at full volume. I’m living the dream. 😉 [QUOTE=ZebraShaSha] I also don’t understand how Panda Bear isn’t on your list, unless you simply can’t get into Noah. Also, seems like you would be a fan of Burial, although that was released last week give or take. Oh, yea, and Health, do you like Health? [/QUOTE] I did like Panda Bear’s release this year, but it didn’t quite crack the top 50. I’m not a huge Animal Collective fan (even though I know they have a big following) so I might have been biased by that going in. I scanned the new Burial disc, but not enough to make an informed opinion. I also briefly sampled Health but I remember not loving it. I take it I should give them both another look? ---
**Author:** ![Mayo\_Speaks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mayo\_Speaks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mayo_Speaks)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-best-albums-of-2007/427246/11 "2007-11-21T07:03:41Z")
Jeez. I only have about 60 albums total. I’ve only bought one “new” album this year, which was “Magic” by Bruce Springsteen. It was pretty good. I also got “In Rainbows” from Radiohead for $0.00, and I hated it. So that’s my list: [ol][li]“Magic” by **Bruce Springsteen** [/li][li]“In Rainbows” by **Radiohead** [/li]“Hi!” by **Opalcat** [/ol] ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-best-albums-of-2007/427246/12 "2007-11-21T13:15:24Z")
_Graduation_ is the first Kanye album that wouldn’t crack my top two or three. I’m sure it would make the top 50, though. I’m nowhere near making a Top 50, but my favorites of the year included: Jens Lekman, _Night Falls Over Kortedala_ The National, _Boxer_ Okkervil River, _The Stage Names_ Iron and Wine, _The Shepherd’s Dog_ Radiohead, _In Rainbows_ Jason Isbell, _Sirens of the Ditch_ Four of my favorite albums that were released in the US this year were actually out last year (or earlier!) elsewhere and widely heard here by anyone who really cared: Lily Allen, _Alright, Still_ Peter Bjorn and John, _Writer’s Block_ Junior Senior, _Hey Hey My My Yo Yo_ The Pipettes, _We Are The Pipettes_ ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Lance_Murdoch)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-best-albums-of-2007/427246/13 "2007-11-21T15:36:49Z")
I would take The Fiery Furnaces’ Widow City as my favorite of 2007 thus far. This band is tough to get into, but quite worth it in my opinion. Next, 23 by Blonde Redhead and Let’s Stay Friends by Les Savy Fav. So I guess my top 50 (or 30 maybe since I didn’t get 50 albums this year) would be different than yours. I’m not much for hip-hop. ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-best-albums-of-2007/427246/14 "2007-11-21T16:59:01Z")
I know I’ll get laughed at, but the only album I’ve wanted to buy at ALL in 2007 was Libertad (Velvet Revolver). ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-best-albums-of-2007/427246/15 "2007-11-21T17:05:29Z")
I’ve only bought a few new albums this year, but enjoyed all of them: Bitter:Sweet - _The Mating Game_ (super-sexy loungey retro trip-hop) Lily Allen - _Alright, Still_ Rilo Kiley - _Under the Blacklight_ (and they were AWESOME live!) Amy Winehouse - _Back to Black_ New Pornographers - _Challengers_ ---
**Author:** ![NailBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecae2f/32.png) [@NailBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NailBunny)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-best-albums-of-2007/427246/16 "2007-11-21T17:16:37Z")
Gogol Bordello - _Super Taranta_ should really be on there. ---
**Author:** ![ZebraShaSha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/eada6e/32.png) [@ZebraShaSha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZebraShaSha)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2007, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-best-albums-of-2007/427246/17 "2007-11-22T02:50:14Z")
[QUOTE=cainxinth] … I did like Panda Bear’s release this year, but it didn’t quite crack the top 50. I’m not a huge Animal Collective fan (even though I know they have a big following) so I might have been biased by that going in. I scanned the new Burial disc, but not enough to make an informed opinion. I also briefly sampled Health but I remember not loving it. I take it I should give them both another look? [/QUOTE] I haven’t really listened to Burial much, but everyone seems to love it, therefore I threw it out there. Health I rather like, but I don’t even think it would make my top 50. Really, I noticed you are quite into modern stuff, although not exactly the stuff I’m into, so I was throwing random suggestions your way. Looking over your list again, I say you should try Y Society, Endless Mic, Median, Buck 65, Omega Watts, Tunng, No Age, Black Dice, Octopus Project.. see, I’m naturally compelled to offer recommendations. You probably have heard the bands, but wouldn’t put them in top 50 status. I would tend to agree. Except for Panda Bear. It’s one of those albums that worked for me, that I’ve listened to hundreds of times. I’ve never listened to an entire Animal Collective album, but I really love Person Pitch. The fact that it really is unique, that no other album has ever quite done what he did, especially considering it’s just sampling and endless homages to Beach Boys. Try it again if you get the chance. ---
**Author:** ![Rasa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rasa/32/3578_2.png) [@Rasa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rasa)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2007, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-best-albums-of-2007/427246/18 "2007-11-22T05:29:27Z")
I’ll add a few of mine! Hmm, it was a mini-album, but _Everyday I Said a Prayer For Kathy And Made A Once Inch Square_ by Wheat. _God Save the Clientele_ by The Clientele _White Chalk_ by PJ Harvey (coincidentally, the best live act I’ve ever seen was her recent one-woman show in NYC) I wish I could say _Beyond_ by Dinosaur Jr but… eep. ---
**Author:** ![stucco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@stucco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stucco)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2007, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-best-albums-of-2007/427246/19 "2007-11-22T06:42:37Z")
I’m with you on _Atlas_ by The Battles and _The Flying Club Cup_ by Beirut. Unfortunately, I don’t have enough time or money to figure out a top 50 (or even a top 10!) ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2007, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-best-albums-of-2007/427246/20 "2007-12-04T23:26:47Z")
I know everyone differs in their enjoyment of music but I find it amazing when people can produce 50 albums of a year that are their favourites. I doubt a year has ever gone buy where I’ve bought more than 2 dozen records some of which ended up being dudes or having scant longevity. Unless your job is to review albums I find it amazing that **cainxinth** in the OP and other people can listen to/enjoy/consume enough music that they have a favourite 50 albums. I don’t own an iPod but I do regularly listen to music in work but I don’t think even if I was given 50 albums that I’d have time nor inclination to sit down and listen to and enjoy every one of them in a year. I respect those who can though. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-best-albums-of-2007/427246.md?page=2)