Let's Do It: SD's 10 Best Albums of '07

10. Alicia Keys, As I Am: This isn’t the masterpiece she’ll one day deliver. But the R&B star continues to take her prodigious skills to soul-kissed extremes.

9. Kanye West, Graduation: School’s out, suckas. And despite the vainglorious tantrums, 'Ye is nothing less than hip-hop’s envelope-pushing valedictorian. (That's right, Stephanie Hayes. I said "vainglorious." You got a problem with that?)

8. Rihanna, Good Girl Gone Bad: This year’s "Off the Wall." A smart, crazy-fun dance disc. Best gams in the biz, too...um, if you're into that sort of thing.

7. Rufus Wainwright, Release the Stars: I’m not sure which is bigger: my crush on Keys or Wainwright, whose lazy-river malaise is a thoroughly unique pop instrument.

6. Lily Allen, Alright, Still...: The Brit brat and MySpace pixie blends ska and Piccadilly pop to make a snotty charmer. When Lily smiles, watch your back.

5. Mark Ronson, Version: Producer of the year, Ronson is the throwback guy who made stars out of Allen and Winehouse. Here he calls on his pals to flirt over funky horns, hip-hop beats and L.A.-cool soundscapes.

4. Amy Winehouse, Back to Black: She looks like Dorothy’s house just dropped on her head. But before witchy Winehouse skidded out on drugs, the neo-girl-grouper earned those honors as breakout artist of ’07.

3. Miranda Lambert, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend: Save your sugar and spice: This proudly psychotic outlaw is all parts gunpowder and lead. Looks like a pinup, bites like a pitbull.

2. Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Raising Sand: Buy your ticket and hop aboard this Southern Gothic tunnel of love. A lesson in chemistry that mixes twang, voodoo and 1,000 haunted, hopeful hearts.

1. M.I.A., Kala: Daughter of a freedom fighter, mother of invention: When Maya Arulpragasam was banned from the U.S.A., the hip-hop rebel scavenged exotic sounds and beats from the rest of the world. "Don’t order me about," she barks at men trying to control her. "I'm an outlaw from the badland." You go, girl.

Comments

[Marissa]

I'm proud to say I started downloading Lily Allen's tunes long before she became a household name. I found her while searching myspace music. "Everything's just wonderful" is my default ringtone.
I'm unfamiliar with #3 and Numero Uno. With that being said, I will trust in you, my music guru, and check 'em out.

[Sean Daly]

I can see you digging M.I.A. -- she's hyper and confident like you, although her "found sounds" hip-hop style might be jarring at first.

Miranda Lambert is a no-brainer. She's a real in-your-face type of cowgirl, so you'll definitely love her.

[Marissa]

I just listened to the samples of M.I.A. I'm curious, do you do the African Anteater Dance from "Can't Buy Me Love" when you're listening to that on your iPod? It's a must dance, gyrate sort of theme...with the living room curtains drawn, of course. I'd pretend I was hip (and take lots of Advil aftewards).

[Sean Daly]

Oh, Marissa, and I had such hope for you...

[Marissa]

What do you mean? I'm saying I like it.

[Marissa]

Sean, don't give up hope. I don't dance like Elaine on Seinfeld, but certain parts of my body cause me distress when moving about in a funky fashion. :) You know ::wink::

[Mike]

Glaring Omissions:
1) LCD Soundsystem 'Sound of Silver'
2) Caribou 'Andorra'
3) Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings '100 Days, 100 Nights' ( and it fits quite nicely into your women of '07 theme)
4) Iron & Wine 'The Sheperd's Dog'
5) Radiohead 'In Rainbows'
6) Yesterday's New Quintet/Madlib 'Yesterday's Universe'

Just sayin'.

[steve]

Isn't that Amy Winehouse album technically a 2006 release?

[Sean Daly]

Well done, Mike. That's exactly what these lists are for.

HOWEVA, if we're talking "glaring omissions," I totally blanked on BRMC's "Baby 81." Killer album.

[Sean Daly]

Winehouse dropped stateside in '07. And in my jingoistic eyes, that's the only thing that matters. USA! USA!

[Sean Daly]

Hey, if anybody sees Jeff in Cuba, tell him I totally rocked INXS & Jimmy Barnes' "Good Times" last night. I played it 5 times in a row. Helluva song. Thanks, Jeff in Cuba.

[Marissa]

I think I saw him heading over to Stuck in the 80s ... he was mumbling something about watching National Lampoon's Vacation for the first time

[Sean Daly]

Go track him down for me, would ya, Marissa? I'll buy you a burrito.

[Marissa]

lol a burrito? May I have extra guacamole on that?

[John Hays]

Wow, I'm SO out of the loop. I listen to my iPod and my own playlists way too much, because I recognize maybe five names on here!

Just in keeping up with at least a bit of music news, I'm surprised you didn't mention Daughtry, since he seems to be winning all the top honors.

[Mike]

A glaring omission from my own "Glaring Omissions" list:

Hypnotic Brass Ensemble's self-titled. Simply mesmerizing, tightly-knit grooves.

And as far as hip-hop beat-tape style albums are concerned, Thes One's 'Lifestyle Marketing and Oh No's 'Dr. No's Oxperiment' are both stellar.

I need to give that Mark Ronson another listen.

[Bassnote]

I can honestly say that I don't listen to any of these artists, with the exception of Robert Plant & Alison Krauss.

[Sean Daly]

And yet I still love ya, Bassnote!

[GlennS.]

I listened to the Lily Allen album again for the first time in a couple of months this week. I still enjoy it, though maybe just a wee bit less than when I first bought it. I just wonder if it skirts a wee bit too close to novelty to have a lasting impact. I guess time will tell.

[Sean Daly]

"Alfie" is novelty for sure...but for me, the rest is altogether club-bratty and genuine. My list is basically the albums I listened to the most when I WASN'T working. Lily never left my car (or the FF's car, for that matter). I just had a coworker rip me about Springsteen. Great album, but I didn't come back to it enough.

[Sean Daly]

Daughtry was released in the U.S. on November 21, 2006.

(That said, I don't think he made last year's list, either.)

[Al]

The only one I would be interested in on this list is Robert Plant's album, because Alison Krauss has one heck of a voice.

I guess I'm officially getting old.

Darn kids with their music!

*Shakes Cane*

Keep it DOWN!

[Idol 4ever]

Where's Carrie Underwood?

[Jeff in Cuba]

I'm around, I'm just trying to give the taxpayers a little something for their money (Communism never takes a day off, you know), so I haven't been able to hit the blog.

I'm glad you're rocking "Good Times". There were a couple of other songs on the "Lost Boys" soundtrack that I used to listen to, but I've since forgotten what they were. I may have to revisit that disc.

I'll be heading over to the vinyl vault at the radio station later to see if I can dig up "Working Class Man". I've already carved out a place for it on next Wednesday's show.

And by the way, I eat breakfast 300 yards from 4,000 Cuban soldiers who are trained to kill me, but the thought of Marissa out looking for me makes me nervous.

[sparky]

What no Cinder Road - Superhuman? You plug the album and then when it comes to winning the end of the year Daly Award, you forget it like a week old Maple Doughnut.

Sorry I missed the call in show.

And hope that the FF and Lulu and yourself have a Merry Christmas!

[Jeff in Cuba]

More on topic, I think 25 years from now, when you'll be spending more money on Depends than on concert tickets, and Lulu is a Pop Music critic, she and her contemporaries will look back at 2007 and say that the album that had the greatest impact on the course of popular music was (drum roll)...

"In Rainbows" Radiohead.

It's not that the other candidates aren't great, but to my mind there's more to "Best" than just popularity.

[Sean Daly]

Christmas would be even merrier, Sparky, if you could send me a dozen Maple Donuts. I drove by one on my way to H'burg and almost jumped the median to get there.

[Sean Daly]

As for Radiohead, I find it rather amusing that every year they made my list, I caught sh-- for it. And now that they're NOT on there...

Like I said, these are basically the albums I listened to more than the others. Is the Radiohead album culturally "important" (which we agree is a totally different list)? Sure. Fine. In fact the VV's Pazz & Jop poll will no doubt show that at No. 1.

But I'd be lying if I said I listened to "In Rainbows" more than a few times. Aesthetically speaking, I enjoyed Thom Yorke's solo album a lot more.

[Sean Daly]

Carrie Underwood? New to the blog, are you?

[Jeff in Cuba]

So I found "Working Class Man" on an old Armed Forces Radio Service record, and fired up the turntable to give it a listen (one of these days we should discuss the lost art of properly playing vinyl albums).

Anyway, I was caught a little off-guard by the low-key opening stanza, and had to check to see if I had put the needle on the right track (one of these days we should discuss the lost art of reading an album label as it is spinning 33 1/3 times each minute.)

But when Jimmy dropped the hammer on the chorus, I was hooked. The greater GTMO community doesn't know it yet, but they're about to start hearing (and loving) that song.

Thanks for the tip.

[Sean Daly]

I had "Working Class Man" on one of those highly futuristic "clear" tapes. (Oooh, you can see the insides.) They used to smell like odd plastic fruit.

I LOVE the idea of Jimmy rockin' GTMO. That song oughta play huge down there. Lemme know how it goes.

[Jeff in Cuba]

Since you turned me on to the "Australian Springsteen", let me turn you on to the "Scottish Springsteen": Ricky Ross, lead singer of Deacon Blue.

Deacon Blue wasn't so much a band as it was a venue for highlighting Ricky's prodigious talents. "When The World Knows Your Name" is my favorite DB album; check out "Wages Day" or the seasonly appropriate "Queen of the New Year", and let me know what you think.

[Guy]

Australian Springsteen? Scottish Springsteen?

Where's the American Springsteen?

[Sean Daly]

Honorable mention, baby. I'm actually seeing several lists where the Boss isn't mentioned at all. Now that's really messed up.

[Marissa]

JEFF! Why in the world would I make any man nervous? Especially you! You're armed and dangerous. I'm as playful as a pussycat wired on catnip.

[sparky]

I heard the Boss' new album and was not that impressed. I think he is sounding more and more like Dylan with each passing album and the world only needs one Dylan.

[Bassnote]

Sean & Jeff, It's funny you mention Jimmy Barnes because i just recently picked up some of his stuff (the self titled album, and Freight Train Heart). I always loved his snarling vocal style. You should add 'Driving Wheels' and 'Too Much Ain't Enough Love' to the playlist Jeff. Spears would like him because he did a lot of work with Jonathan Cain and Neal Schon of Journey.

[denvermatt]

a nod from me goes out to Jimmy Eat World - Chase This Light with perhaps the most perfect pop song this year....
'Here it Goes'