2007's Best Albums

10) Kayne West - Graduation - Chi Town's favorite son (well, at least according to him) returned with his third and most complete album to date. Solid hooks, beats and lyrics mean that Mr. West will be wrapped in Louis V. and hatin' on presidents for many years to come.

9) Wilco - Sky Blue Sky - Easily Wilco's most grounded effort to date, Sky Blue Sky represents a more mature Jeff Tweedy. Gone are the frantic, out of control moments that littered Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost is Born, replaced with smooth, jazzy "dad-rock". Kinda fitting since Tweedy has slowed down his life and, in fact, is a dad.

8) Low - Drums and Guns - Drums and Guns is an album as intense, dark and cold as a January night in Low's native Minnesota (ed. note: I've never been north of Chicago, so I'm making that analogy based on hearsay alone). While Low may not be the easiest listen, the have succeeded in creating an album filled with interesting textures and a rewarding, underlying honesty.

7) Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Some Loud Thunder - CYHSY's follow up to their critically acclaimed self-title debut was predictably met with scorn from the same hipster dipshits that lauded the band less than two years before. While Some Loud Thunder may not be as infectious as its predecessor, it is more ambitious, more intimate and a much more complete idea. And if you still wanna boogie, well, it's got "Satan Said Dance" too.

6) Battles - Mirrored - On their debut album Battles proved that you don't need lyrics (at least recognizable ones) when you are in complete control of your compositions. Intense and transient, Mirrored is an album worth listening to (especially if you want to know what music will sound like after the robotic uprising of the mid '90s).

5) Arcade Fire - Neon Bible - Neon Bible was a disappointment. Frankly, after the Arcade Fire's epic debut anything would have been a disappointment. Coming to the conclusion that Neon Bible isn't Funeral is similar to the period after a real funeral; less emotional, less intense and more than a bit confusing. Neon Bible represents the Arcade Fire's uncertainty, growth and, yes, disappointment as a band. Oh yeah, the songs are still pretty good.

4) Bright Eyes - Cassadaga - I've probably written more in this space about Bright Eyes than any other musician and Cassadaga is the main reason why. While the lyrics and emotion are classic Conor, the arrangements are light years beyond anything Oberst and his bandmates had attempted before. A complete, well thought out and adventurous album.

3) New Pornographers - Challengers - Challengers is the album I was waiting for the New Pornos to make. On their fourth album, the Canuck superstars finally stopped assaulting their listeners with wide open rock songs, replacing power cords with restraint. Challengers explored more of the Pornos individual personalities, from Neko Case's soulful "Challengers" to Dan Bejar's playful "Myriad Harbour", without sounding like they simply sampled from each members catalog and really, that's all I ever asked for.

2) Radiohead - In Rainbows - Radiohead's 7th studio album proved to be completely typical. Typical Radiohead re-invention, typical freshness, typical political and social snear . The only thing unique about the record (besides the amazing songs) was the "fuck you" Radiohead sent to their old record label by releasing In Rainbows under the "pay what you want" tag. Then again, this is what we have typically come to expect from the best band of the last twenty years.

1) Peter Bjorn and John - Writer's Block - Writer's Block is really everything I look for in an album: driving/danceable beats, emotionally honest lyrics and, above all, well crafted songs. Plenty more could be written about Writer's Block (much of it can be found in the Bitchfork archives), but why read about it? Go listen and enjoy 2007's best album.