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Top Albums and Singles of 2007

By: Music Staff

Thursday January 10, 2008

I know what you're thinking. Where's the countdown? A quick look over Static's staff's lists for 2007 and the realization that giving any single album or song a unanimous victory would be next to impossible.

It wasn't an easy decision to not do a countdown, but I want you to take a real close look at what the music writers and photographers of Static Multimedia listen to and what they feel ranks as the best of the year. There's a lot of diversity below. Some pop, a smattering of rap/hip-hop (it wasn't a very good year for the genre - lots of one-hit wonders and T-Pain), a fair amount of metal, a lot of indie-rock (shocker!) as well as country, world music, folk, dance, punk, soul, R&B and whatever the hell MIA is (really, I don't get the appeal). I haven't seen lists this diverse from our staff since joining the site five years ago.

Looking over the lists I'm struck by the sheer volume of music that is released and how very few of us seem to agree on what was best in 2007. It wasn't a particularly great year for the industry, but it had its moments.

Among my very favorites: Kanye West making 50 Cent look like a punk, Radiohead releasing In Rainbows digitally on their own (though the album is now available on conventional formats), Trent Reznor broke with Interscope the same label he sought for salvation in the early 90s when he was under TVT's control, Madonna broke with Warner Bros. in favor of Live Nation (a Clear Channel subsidiary for live shows), Meg White's anxiety scotched the entire tour for The White Stripes' Icky Thump and Pearl Jam was censored during AT&T's live broadcast of their Lollapalooza performance for their anti-Bush remarks.

And then there's Britney, bitch. Britney Spears is a daily soap opera for the celebrity obsessed and those that just like feeling superior to rich and famous people. The only way Britney's behavior could possibly seem normal is if Elvis were alive and at his craziest (shooting out TVs, taking copious amounts of any illegally prescribed narcotic he found lying on the shag carpeting). But there is something glorious in the complete unravelling of the world's biggest female pop star. Her life, once so mannered and controlled and completely devoid of reality is now a blistering circus, filled white-hot lights of reality and sadness played out for all the world to see. You can only keep someone's true nature secret for so long. After awhile, it's gotta come out to play. Don't ever change Britney. Just make sure to blow out on camera.

Static Multimedia's Staff's Picks for the Best Albums and Singles of 2007:

Adrien Begrand

Albums:

01. Alcest - Souvenirs d'un Autre Monde
02. Dillinger Escape Plan – Ire Works
03. Pig Destroyer - Phantom Limb
04. Baroness - The Red Album
05. MIA - Kala
06. Battles - Mirrored
07. Jesu – Conqueror
08. Patty Griffin - Children Running Through
09. Jens Lekman - Night Falls on Kortedala
10. Between the Buried and Me – Colors
11. LCD Soundsystem – Sound of Silver
12. Stars – In Our Bedroom After the War
13. High on Fire – Death is This Communion
14. Witchcraft – The Alchemist
15. Dungen – Tio Bitar
16. Plastiscines – LP1
17. Neurosis – Given to the Rising
18. Clutch – From Beale Street to Oblivion
19. Rush – Snakes and Arrows
20. Richard Hawley – Lady's Bridge
21. Caribou – Andorra
22. Om - Pilgrimage
23. Dalek – Abandoned Language
24. Caina – Mourner
25. Portal – Outre

Singles:

01. Los Campesinos! – "You! Me! Dancing!"
02. Battles – "Atlas"
03. Stars – "The Night Starts Here"
04. MIA – "Paper Planes"
05. Manic Street Preachers – "Your Love Alone is Not Enough"
06. Those Dancing Days – "Hitten"
07. Plastiscines – "Loser"
08. Roisin Murphy – "Overpowered"
09. LCD Soundsystem – "All My Friends"
10. Stars – "Take Me to the Riot"
11. MIA – "Boyz"
12. Girls Aloud – "Call the Shots"
13. Clutch – "Electric Worry"
14. Los Campesinos! – We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives"
15. Richard Hawley – "Tonight the Streets are Ours"
16. Sophie Ellis-Bextor – "Catch You"
17. Within Temptation – "The Howling"
18. Siobhan Donaghy – "So You Say"
19. Paramore – "Hallelujah"
20. Jens Lekman – "The Opposite of Hallelujah"
21. Nightwish – "Amaranth"
22. Jarvis Cocker – "Don't Let Him Waste Your Time"
23. After Forever – "Energize Me"
24. LCD Soundsystem – "Someone Great"
25. Girls Aloud – "Sexy No No No"

Donna Brown

Albums:

01. Burial - Untrue
02. Manic Street Preachers - Send Away the Tigers
03. Amy Winehouse - Back to Black
04. Von Sudenfed - Tromatic Reflexxions
05. Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare
06. Ted Leo/Pharmacists - Living with the Living
07.Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
08. Babyshambles - Shotter's Nation
09. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
10. Pissed Jeans - Hope for Men

Singles:

01 Manic Street Preachers - "Autumnsong"
02. Jamie T - "Sheila"
03. Klaxons - "Gravity's Rainbow" (Soulwax Mix)
04. Chemical Brothers feat. Tim Smith - "The Pills Won't Help You Now"
05. Burial - "Ghost Hardware"
06. Ted Leo - "The Unwanted Things"
07. Cupid - "Cupid Shuffle"
08. Amy Winehouse - "Tears Dry on Their Own"
09. Babyshambles - "Delivery"
10. LCD Soundsystem - "North American Scum"

Raymond Cummings

Albums:

01. Sightings - Through the Panama
02. The Dead C. - Future Artists
03. PJ Harvey - White Chalk
04. Carlos Giffoni - Arrogance
05. Kieran Hebden & Steve Reid - Tongues
06. Needlegun - The End of August at Hotel Ozone
07. Air Conditioning - Dead Rails
08. Odd Girl Out - Hurry Up and Wait
09. Nine Inch Nails - Year Zero
10. Jay-Z - American Gangster
11. Prodigy - Return of the Mac
12. Khate - Field Report
13. Kites - Hallucination Guillotine/Final Worship
14. Pain Jerk/Incapacitants - Live at No Fun Fest 2007
15. UGK - Underground Kings
16. Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam
17. The Fiery Furnaces - Widow City
18. Battles - Mirrored
19. WZT Hearts - Threads Rope Spell Making Your Bones
20. Fall Out Boy - Infinity On High
21. Heavy Winged - Enough Rope
22. The Twilight Sad - Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters
23. El-P - I'll Sleep When You're Dead
24. Blitzen Trapper - Wild Mountain Nation
25. Dinosaur Jr. - Beyond

Singles:

01. M.I.A.- "Bamboo Banga"
02. Radiohead- "15 Step"
03. Robin Thicke - "Lost Without U"
04. Blitzen Trapper - "Wild Mountain Nation"
05. Fall Out Boy - "Thriller"
06. Khate - "Riesling"
07. Deerhunter - "Cryptograms"
08. Magik Markers - "Axis Mundi"
09. Amy Winehouse - "Rehab"
10. The Smashing Pumpkins - "Tarantula"
11. Val Denham & Oli Novadnieks - "Judas Fish"
12. Prodigy - "Stop Fronting"
13. Panda Bear - "Carrots"
14. Jessica Rylan - "Extraordinary"
15. Shellac - "The End of Radio"
16. Shellac - "Spoke"
17. Bunny Rabbit - "Rio Grande"
18. Love of Diagrams - "What Was I Supposed to Do?"
19. Wooden Wand - "In a Bucket"
20. Colleen - "Sun Against My Eyes"
21. Lilly Allen - "LDN"
22. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - "Satan Said Dance"
23. Messages - "Glades"
24. MIMS - "This Is Why I'm Hot"
25. Aquarelle - "In Florence"

Brett Hickman

Albums:

01. Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
02. The Autumn Defense - The Autumn Defense
03. The Dazzling Strangers - 12 Women
04. Kanye West - Graduation
05. Rogue Wave - Asleep At Heaven's Gate
06. Division Day - Beartrap Island
07. The 1900s - Cold & Kind
08. Band Of Horses - Cease To Begin
09. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
10. Radiohead - In Rainbows
11. Bright Eyes - Cassadaga
12. The Polyphonic Spree - The Fragile Army
13. Shout Out Louds - Our Ill Wills
14. M83 - Digital Shades Vol. 1
15. Amy Winehouse - Back To Black
16. Sigur Ros - Hvarf/Heim
17. The Redwalls - The Redwalls
18. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Baby 81
19. Film School - Hideout
20. Kings Of Leon - Because of the Times
21. The Hives - The Black and White Album
22. The Frames – The Cost
23. Mobius Band - Heaven
24. Against Me! - New Wave
25. Art Brut - It's A Bit Complicated

Singles:

01. Against Me! – Thrash Unreal
02. Kanye West – Stronger
03. Silversun Pickups – Lazy Eye
04. Fergie – Big Girls Don't Cry
05. Amy Winehouse – Rehab
06. My Chemical Romance – Teenagers
07. Feist – 1, 2, 3, 4
08. Art Brut – Pump Up the Volume
09. Bright Eyes – If the Brakeman Turns My Way
10. Of Montreal – Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse
11. Peter, Bjorn & John – Object of My Affection
12. CRS – Us Placers
13. Kings of Leon – On Call
14. Rogue Wave – Lake Michigan
15. The 1900s – Acutiplantar Dude
16. Arcade Fire – Intervention
17. Wilco – What Light
18. New Pornographers – Myriad Harbor
19. Finger Eleven – Paralyzer
20. David Vandervelde – Nothin' No
21. Modest Mouse – Dashboard
22. The Smashing Pumpkins – Tarantula
23. Maroon 5 – Wake Up Call
24. Josh Ritter – Right Moves
25. Spoon – You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb

Jon Lundeen

Albums:

01. Battles - Mirrored
02. Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam
03. Kanye West - Graduation
04. Boris with Michio Kurihara - Rainbow
05. Radiohead - In Rainbows
06. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
07. The Twilight Sad - Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters
08. Earthless - Rhythms from a Cosmic Sky
09. Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
10. Bright Eyes - Cassadaga
11. Deerhunter - Cryptograms
12. Chromatics - Night Drive
13. Working For a Nuclear Free City - Businessmen & Ghosts
14. Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare
15. Panda Bear - Person Pitch
16. A Place To Bury Strangers - A Place To Bury Strangers
17. Electrelane - No Shouts No Calls
18. Dinosaur Jr. - Beyond
19. Pela - Anytown Graffiti
20. The Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
21. Justice - + (Cross)
22. Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
23. Okkervil River - The Stage Names
24. Caribou - Andorra
25. Bloc Party - A Weekend in the City

Singles:

01. Kanye West – "Stronger"
02. Los Campesinos – "You! Me! Dancing!"
03. Rihanna f. Jay-Z - "Umbrella"
04. The Shins - "Phantom Limb"
05. Avril Lavigne - "Girlfriend"
06. Battles - "Atlas"
07. LCD Soundsystem - "All My Friends"
08. Against Me! - "Thrash Unreal"
09. Justice - "D.A.N.C.E."
10. Animal Collective - "Fireworks"
11. Bright Eyes - "Four Winds"
12. The Twilight Sad - "And She Would Darken the Memory"
13. !!! - "Must Be The Moon"
14. Bloc Party - "I Still Remember"
15. Shit Robot - "Wrong Galaxy/Triumph"
16. Working For a Nuclear Free City - "Rocket"
17. Shout Out Louds - "Tonight I Have To Leave It"
18. The 1990s - "See You at the Lights"
19. My Chemical Romance - "Teenagers"
20. Miranda Lambert - "Gunpowder & Lead"
21. Fall Out Boy - "Thnks fr th Mmrs"
22. Of Montreal - "Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse"
23. Kanye West f. T-Pain - "Good Life"
24. Rich Boy f. Polow Da Don - "Throw Some D's"
25. Apples In Stereo - "Can You Feel It"

Evelyn Miska

Albums:

01. Hard Fi - Once Upon a Time In the West
02. Rilo Kiley - Under the Blacklight
03. Lily Allen - Alright, Still…
04. The White Stripes - Icky Thump
05. Amy Winehouse - Back to Black
06. Schoolyard Heroes - Abominations
07. Fall Out Boy - Infinity on High
08. Mando Diao - Ode to Ochrasy
09. Rufus Wainwright - Release the Stars
10. Aiden - Conviction
11. The Automatic Automatic - Not Accepted Anywhere
12. The Ataris - Welcome the Night
13. Bayside - The Walking Wounded
14. The Feeling - Twelve Stops and Home

Singles:

01. Lily Allen – "Smile"
02. Amy Winehouse - "Back to Black"
03. Amy Winehouse - "Rehab"
04. Fall Out Boy - "Thanks fr th Mmrs"
05. Rufus Wainwright - "Release the Stars"
06. Feist - "1, 2, 3, 4"
07. Rilo Kiley - "Breakin' Up"
08. The White Stripes - "Icky Thump"
09. Schoolyard Heroes - "Dude, Where's My Skin"
10. Hard-Fi - "Knights of Suburbia"
11. Hard-Fi - "Can't Get Along (Without You)"
12. The Automatic Automatic - "Monster"

Patrick Sinco

Albums

01. 1900s - Cold & Kind
02. Paul McCartney - Memory Almost Full
03. Kathy Diamond - Miss Diamond to You
04. Radiohead- In Rainbows
05. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
06. Bruce Springsteen - Magic
07. 1990s - Cookies
08. Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
09. The Sea and Cake – Everybody
10. Rush - Snakes and Arrows

Singles:

01. Art Brut - "Direct Hit"
02. Bruce Springsteen - "Radio Nowhere"
03. Rilo Kiley - "Close Call"
04. Battles - "Atlas"
05. Paul McCartney - "Ever Present Past"
06. The 1990s - "Arcade Precinct"
07. Lucky Soul - "Get Outta Town"
08. Mark Ronson - "Valerie"
09. Simian Mobile Disco - "I Believe"
10. Ruby Isle - "Teenage Riot"
11. Timbaland - "The Way I Are"
12. The Victorian English Gentlemen's Club - "La Mer"
13. M.I.A.- "Paper Planes"
14. Natasha Bedingfield - "(I Wanna Have Your) Babies"
16. New Young Pony Club - "Ice Cream"
17. M.I.A.- "Jimmy"
18. David Vandervelde - "Murder in Michigan"
19. Grinderman - "No Pussy Blues"
20. The 1900s - "Acutiplantar Dude"
21. The Kooks - "Ooh La"
22. Golden Bug - "St. Tropez"
23. Rilo Kiley - "Dreamworld"
24. White Stripes - "Icky Thump"
26. Dragonette - "I Get Around"

Melanie Taylor

Albums:

01. Acoustic Chicago -Various Artists
02. White Stripes - Icky Thump
03. Nine Inch Nails - Year Zero
04. Linkin Park - Minutes to Midnight
05. Radiohead - In Rainbows

Singles:

01. Plain White T's – "Hey There Delilah"
02. Scott Simons – "Umbrella"
03. Finger Eleven – "Paralyzer"
04. Against Me! – "Thrash Unreal"
05. Foo Fighters – "The Pretender"
06. Kanye West – "Stronger"
07. Avenged Sevenfold – "Critical Acclaim"
08. Nine Inch Nails – "Capital G"
09. Linkin Park – "No More Sorrow"




  
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