10. Strange Weirdos - Loudon Wainwright III

For the last several years, Loudon has had a popular resurgence thanks to Judd Apatow. It's interested cause he made his best albums in the seventies after appearing on M*A*S*H*. Since being welcomed into the Jew Crew's inner-circle with acting roles on Undeclared and Knocked Up, his musical output has once again hit a new peak. Strange Weirdos is the soundtrack to Knocked Up, even though more than half the songs don't appear in the film. What made Loudon's early albums so great was their mix of political commentary, his sharp wit and his anti-folk mentality. Truth is, he hasn't been this sharp since his mid-seventies masterpieces (1979's A Live One is a great introduction) and it's a welcome return to form.
BEST TRACKS: "Grey in L.A.", "Feel So Good", "Daughter"
DOWNLOAD: Loudon Wainwright III - "Daughter"

9. Wincing the Night Away - The Shins

The album leaked in October of 2006 and I'm still listening to it. And while The Shins haven't improved as a live act, this album is definitely an excellent step forward for them musically. Every song on this record is strong. It also keeps getting better, with the second side stronger than the first side.
BEST TRACKS: "A Comet Appears", "Girl Sailor", "Turn on Me"

8. The Reminder - Feist

Get past how overplayed "1234" has become and what you're left with is one of the best records by a female artist. It's an album that will one day be considered a classic on par with Joni Mitchell's Blue, Kate Bush's The Whole Story and Sinead O'Connor's I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got. It's a record that entices you with a warmth, but that is lyrically stinging and angry as all hell.
BEST TRACKS: "1234", "My Moon My Man", The Water"

7. We'll Never Turn Back - Mavis Staples

When I heard that Anti- Records (home to Tom Waits and Nick Cave) signed Mavis Staples I was pretty surprised. The legendary Stax superstar hasn't released anything worthy in years. Well, We'll Never Turn Back is fantastic. Ry Cooder produced this masterpiece that lets her saintly vocals shine to the heavens. The album standards and originals that deal with the civil rights movement, but while some of these tracks may be very old, it's amazing how much the album feels like it's talking about the aftermath of Katrina and the sad state of racism in America that still seems to exist. It's a powerful album. In fact, without even trying, Mavis has made her most spiritual album in decades.
BEST TRACKS: "My Own Eyes", "99 and 1/2", "Down in Mississippi"
DOWNLOAD: Mavis Staples - "99 and 1/2"

6. Boxer - The National

Alligator was a really good record, but Boxer is an excellent record. It's the type of album that you wish U2 would still make. The love/war metaphors keep bringing me back to Boy-era U2, with "Start A War" being the album's centerpiece. You can also feel a slight Springsteen influence hidden underneath some of the feedback. The more I listened to it and the most I soaked up Matt Berninger's lyrics, the more I fell in love with this album.
BEST TRACKS: "Fake Empire", "Start a War", "Apartment Story", "Slow Show"

5. Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? - Of Montreal

Hissing Fauna is the album that Elephant 6er Kevin Barnes has been threatening to make for years. It's by far Of Montreal's most accessible album and it's also their poppiest, but it's also their most creative. By toning down some of their eccentricities and lyrical pogoing, Barnes and company are able to actually shine in a way that they have never been able to before. While Beck's Sea Change is an album about that horrible period after breaking up in which you still think you love the person, Hissing Fauna is all about seeing the emotional scars that a relationship can leave on your body. Barnes paints such a vivid picture of this troubled world, but keeps it wrapped in a surreal sense of hope and optimism. Nothing they've ever done has matched the depth and beauty and sadness and heart that is Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
BEST TRACKS: "Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse", "Suffer for Fashion", "She's a Rejecter", "The Past Is a Grotesque Animal"
DOWNLOAD: Of Montreal - "Baby I'm A Star (Prince Cover)"

4. In Rainbows - Radiohead

Fucking A. Thom Yorke and his merry band of pranksters are the best band in the world. In Rainbows may not be the most insane or creative albums they've ever released, but it is on par with their best (Kid A, OK Computer, The Bends). While some fans have complained that they prefer the demo versions of "Nude" or "Arpeggi," the album versions of these songs are masterful. "House of Cards," a song full of metaphors about falling in love with your best friend and risking it all, is just heaven sent. "Jigsaw Falling into Place" and "Bodysnatchers" are blast and then you have an added second disc that is just as awesome as the first disc. I can go on and on, but you should know that this is worth every penny I paid for it.
BEST TRACKS: "House of Cards", "Reckoner", "Jigsaw Falling into Place", "All I Need", "4 Minute Warning"
DOWNLOAD: Radiohead - "Bangers & Mash"

3. The Con - Tegan and Sara

Tegan and Sara have made the musical equivalent to The Slums of Beverly Hills. It's a near-perfect coming of age album that is much more intelligent and complex than the first listening/viewing could get across. On the most basic level, the album is an ambitious step forward for the sisters. It's by far their most musically complex and adventurous album, but it's the lyrical themes and the pulsating hooks that make this album so stellar. "Floorplan" and "The Con" are two of the most powerful songs the pair have ever written. The beauty of the album is how perfect it works as a whole, from start to finish. Every song evolves into the other and it all works so perfect.
BEST TRACKS: "Nineteen", "The Con", "Floorplan", "Hop On A Plane"
DOWNLOAD: Tegan & Sara - "Back In Your Head (Morgan Page Remix)"

2. Sound of Silver - LCD Soundsystem

Production: Perfect. Beats: Killer. Grooves: Out of this world. Lyrics: Off the hook. Album: Beyond awesome. Live: Even more beyond awesome. No album made me lose my shit more this year than LCD's Sound of Silver. Having seen James Murphy and co numerous times of the years, I never expected him to drop such a fucking amazing album. All in all, the album delivers some of the best anthems of the year. Songs like "North American Scum", "Get Innocuous!" and the absolutely brilliant "All My Friends" are enough to make this album a near tie for my number one spot, but it gets so much extra love because this album has no filler. No filler. All killer.
BEST TRACKS: "North American Scum", "Get Innocuous!", "All My Friends", "Watch The Tapes", "Someone Great", "New York, I Love You but You're Bringing Me Down"
DOWNLOAD: LCD Soundsystem - "All My Friends (Harvey Remix)"

1. Neon Bible - Arcade Fire

Forget the Springsteen and U2 comparisons, in ten years no one will remember that people said those things because this record will be standing on its own as an absolute masterpiece. Every song on this album is an absolute classic. Every song compliments the next. Every song stays inside you and gets better and better with repeat listening. It's an album that not only feels important, it is important. It's music you want to share. It's music you want to keep private. It's music you want heal, to love, to listen, to feed off, and to have sex to. It's just brilliant and in ten years when this band is headlining arenas or broken up, it's an album that people will still consider absolutely perfect.
BEST TRACKS: "Windowsill", "The Well & The Lighthouse", "Keep The Car Running", "No Cars Go", "Intervention", "Ocean of Noise", "Neon Bible", "Black Mirror", "(Antichrist Television Blues)", "Black Wave / Bad Vibrations"
DOWNLOAD: Arcade Fire - "I'm So Bored With The USA -> Intervention (live)"

YEAR END LSITS | The 30 Most Disappointing Albums of 2007
YEAR END LISTS | PSNYC"s 11 Favorite Collections / Remix Albums / Live Packages of 2007
YEAR END LISTS | PSNYC's Lucky 13 Shows of 2007
YEAR END LISTS | PSNYC's Ten Favorite Comedy Albums of 2007
YEAR END LISTS | PSNYC's 97 Best Singles of 2007
YEAR END LISTS | Uncut's Best Albums & Singles, American Mod's List From 1977-1986