I was worshiping at the altar of Robert Pollard/Guided by Voices for most of the year—even reading books about the GbV album “Bee Thousand” and the heavily GbV influenced, indie rock memoir, Perfect From Now On: How Indie Rock Saved My Life (by John Sellers)—but I did manage to work in other listening this year. So hear goes my Top Ten Favorite albums of the year (in no particular order)
Neon Bible, Arcade Fire
My Name is Buddy, Ry Cooder
Traffic and Weather, Fountains of Wayne
Live from Austin, TX, Guided by Voices
Kala, M.I.A.
Sweet Warrior, Richard Thompson
Icky Thump, The White Stripes
At My Age, Nick Lowe
Era Vulgaris, Queens of the Stone Age
Dislocation Blues, Chris Whitley and Jeff Lang
My Top Ten list would not be complete without more that ten, so on a different day my list might include:
The Story, Brandi Carlile
Scene of the Crime, Bettye Lavette (with The Drive-By Truckers)
Reunion Tour, The Weakerthans
Back to Black, Amy Winehouse
100 Days, 100 Nights, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings
Raising Sand, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
Dwight Sings Buck, Dwight Yoakam
Pinata, Mexican Institute of Sound
Time on Earth, Crowded House
In Rainbows, Radiohead
Lastly here’s the track listing on my “Wayne’s Favs 2007” complication cd. (Ironically, not all of the 20 albums in my Top 10 list are represented, this is fault of the outdated cd technology that would only let me squeeze in 80 or so minutes of music and the fact that my comp cd has favorite individual tracks from album that didn’t make the harsh standards that I apply in choosing my favorite 20 albums in my Top 10 list.):
“Failsafe” The New Pornographers
“Needle And Thread” Richard Thompson
“Turnin’ On The Screw” Queens Of The Stone Age
“Paper Planes” M.I.A.
“Black Mirror” The Arcade Fire
“All I Need” Radiohead
“Unforgiven” John Doe
“Two Hearts” Ryan Adams
“Late Morning Lullaby” Brandi Carlile
“A Better Man” Nick Lowe
“Silent House” Crowded House
“When I Paint My Masterpiece” Chris Whitley & Jeff Lang
“Push Comes to Shove” John Hammond
“Red Cat Till I Die” Ry Cooder
“Rag & Bone” The White Stripes
“Still Want To Be Your Baby (Take Me Like I Am)”Bettye Lavette & Drive-By Truckers
“Guitar” Prince
“Strapped for Cash” Fountains Of Wayne
“Let Your Loss Be Your Lesson” Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
“Tournament of Hearts” The Weakerthans
“Gold Star For Robot Boy” Guided By Voices
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Once again, quite the eclectic list, Wayne.
For what it’s worth, here are my 21 top albums of 2007:
21. The Stooges, “The Weirdness”
20. John Butler Trio, “Grand National”
19. Patti Smith “Twelve”
18. Brandi Carlisle, “The Story”
17. Bob Marley and the Wailers” Roots, Rock, Remix”
16. America, “Here and Now”
15. Joni Mitchell “Shine”
14. Amy Winehouse, “Back to Black”
13. Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Ray Price, “Last of the Breed”
12. The White Stripes, “Icky Thump”
11. Robert Plant and Alllison Krause, “Raising Sand”
10. John Mellencamp, “Freedom’s Road”
9.. Macy Gray, “Big”
8. The Pierces, “Thirteen Tales of Love and Revenge”
7.. Robben Ford “Truth”
6. Kenny Wayne Shepard, “10 Days Out”
5. Ian Hunter, “Shrunken Heads”
4. The Eagles, “Long Road Out of Eden”
3. Bruce Springsteen, “Magic”
2. Prince, “Planet Earth”
1. Stephen Marley, “Mind Control”
Once again, quite the eclectic list, Wayne.
For what it’s worth, here are my 21 top albums of 2007:
21. The Stooges, “The Weirdness”
20. John Butler Trio, “Grand National”
19. Patti Smith “Twelve”
18. Brandi Carlisle, “The Story”
17. Bob Marley and the Wailers” Roots, Rock, Remix”
16. America, “Here and Now”
15. Joni Mitchell “Shine”
14. Amy Winehouse, “Back to Black”
13. Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Ray Price, “Last of the Breed”
12. The White Stripes, “Icky Thump”
11. Robert Plant and Alllison Krause, “Raising Sand”
10. John Mellencamp, “Freedom’s Road”
9.. Macy Gray, “Big”
8. The Pierces, “Thirteen Tales of Love and Revenge”
7.. Robben Ford “Truth”
6. Kenny Wayne Shepard, “10 Days Out”
5. Ian Hunter, “Shrunken Heads”
4. The Eagles, “Long Road Out of Eden”
3. Bruce Springsteen, “Magic”
2. Prince, “Planet Earth”
1. Stephen Marley, “Mind Control”
i love the arcade fire album! you should check out “Le loup” (google them…you can listen to their album for free) “panda bear” and “yeahsayer.”
best,
philip
Hi Phillip, I’ll check out Le loup. I like Panda Bear too, and Animal Collective, just no space on my list…
Hey Wayne, you know most CD players will now play MP3’s on CD? Burn some MP3 on a CD and put in your car and see if it works. If so, then your list can grow to about 10X your current limit!
Have fun, and your list will be used!
John in Sunny Seattle.
John, I’ve burned lot’s of mp3s to cd and as a result rarely listen to the radio when in the car any more.
Hey we have that same “sunny” weather up here in Vancouver!
Happy new year!