The Top Albums of 2007

While 2007 can't be classified as a true "turn-around" year for the music industry, it certainly outdistances last year's count-on-one-hand top releases.

No, you won't find the over-rated Kanye West or the over-the-hill Bruce Springsteen or the posthumously over-hyped Elliot Smith among the following releases.

Instead, this year's spate of must-have recordings serves as a sign of hope: perhaps the annual supply of force-fed pop fodder heaped on us by the labels might actually be dwindling. But I doubt it.

Kala

M.I.A.

Interscope Records

Maya Arulpragasam, the daughter of Sri Lankan refugees who records under the name M.I.A., followed up her magnificent 2005 debut (Arular) with Kala, a brash and exhausting journey through a myriad of jubilant beats and bustling rhythms.

Featuring a unique - although nearly indecipherable - singing style, M.I.A. soars above dancehall hooks and riveting samples (New Order meets Bollywood?). Tracks such as "Bamboo Banga" and "Paper Planes" (which calls on The Clash's "Straight to Hell" for inspiration) are as catchy as they are cerebral, and M.I.A. spends the bulk of this disc trumpeting issues that affect not only women of color, but also those of women in Third World countries.

Kala also features cameos from Timbaland and Afrikan Boy, and its end result leaves behind nearly everything you hear in American hip-hop.

Sweet Warrior

Richard Thompson

Shout Factory

I have to admit to a long-time fondness for Richard Thompson's work, including his stint with '60s hippie ensemble Fairport Convention. Having been hugely disappointed with his last few efforts; I approached Sweet Warrior with more than a trace of trepidation.

My unease, however, was erased a mere twenty seconds in when Thompson's careening guitar work torched the speakers of my sound system. In fact, Thompson's guitar work shines throughout Sweet Warrior, whether it's washing over a rocking "I'll Never Give It Up" or serving as an acoustic cradle for tracks such as "Take Care the Road You Choose." And "Dad's Gonna Kill Me" - a firsthand account of a terrified young soldier stationed in Baghdad - may be the most triumphant of all the musical statements on this effort.

With more than 30 releases to his credit, Thompson has long been a music critic darling (his 1982 release with wife Linda - Shoot Out the Lights - makes nearly every scribe's all-time album list). Don't be surprised if Sweet Warrior carves out its own best-of niche.

Raising Sand

Robert Plant & Alison Krause

Rounder Records

If, and only if, you check your expectations at the door, you may find Raising Sand one of the most hypnotically pleasing records of the year.

Throughout music history there has been a number of strange vocal pairings, but the improbable coupling of Robert Plant and Alison Krause ranks as one of the more astonishing.

Alison Krause fans that bought this album probably lamented the near-absence of her bluegrass underpinnings. Robert Plant enthusiasts more than likely bemoaned the nonexistent bluesy wails of his Led Zeppelin past. But for those who enjoy alluring arrangements and brilliant song interpretation, Raising Sand delivers with aplomb.

Credit must go to producer T-Bone Burnett who creates a rich, moody atmosphere that fits this pairing perfectly. Whether it's Krause gently whispering against the strains of a mournful fiddle or Plant's inspired crooning, Burnett's production allows for a tug-of-war of styles that complement each other in a tough yet vulnerable fashion.

Plant does pay slight homage to his former band with the folksy mysticism of Gene Clark's "Polly Come Home", and Krause salutes her Union Station roots on "Killing the Blues," but overall Raising Sand is indeed greater than the sum of its parts - expectations notwithstanding, of course.

Boxer

The National

Beggar's Banquet

Pianos, horns, and an increasing interest in background harmonies are the elements that separate The Nationals' latest release from those that preceded it.

Also left behind are the big, buoyant rock songs that permeated 2005's Alligator, replaced on Boxer by lush, brooding tunes that ride the emotional renderings of vocalist Matt Berninger.

They number only two, but the signature National rock sound is alive and kicking on both "Mistaken for Strangers" and "Apartment Story."

The balance of the recording traverses moods from mellow to mellower, but the quintet delivers the softer songs with a musical maturity that's more impressive than a wall of blistering guitars and bass-heavy rhythms.

"Brainy" and "Ada" are two of the more notable jewels among this album full of gems, and there's not a weak moment or wasted track to be found.

White Chalk

PJ Harvey

Island

After spinning through this 34-minute offering from Polly Jean Harvey, two things come to mind: I paid how much for a half hour of music, and, what happened to the guitars?

In spite of its six-string shortage (although you will find a prominent banjo line in the title track), PJ Harvey has unleashed a piano-based exploration of the human psyche that is as powerful as it is chilling.

While her voice may be an acquired taste (the falsetto that rises above "Dear Darkness" can, at times, be a bit off-putting), the structure of Harvey's songs is as palatable as anything she's ever composed - even if the subject matter borders on the pained and perverse.

From the evocative "Silence" to the starkness of "Grow Grow Grow", these melodies will haunt and move you long after the wailing of the last track ("The Mountain") fades.

Lyrically, PJ tackles subjects such as abortion and mortality, but she does so in such a mesmerizing and metaphorical fashion you can't help but return for repeated listens.

In Rainbows

Radiohead

Self-Released

Radiohead is, arguably, the most original band making records today. Yes, there are (and have been) subtle influences sprinkled throughout each of their seven recordings, but these guys possess a sound that is distinctly their own.

In Rainbows saw its original release in an optional-pay download format, and the brilliance of that piece of marketing was only eclipsed by the music it contained.

I dare you to find another song released this year with the rhythmic drive of "Bodysnatchers" or another rock ballad that rises above cliché with the tenacity of "House of Cards".

Drum brushes, woodblocks and even finger cymbals find their way into this Picasso-like musical pastiche (there's actually a finger cymbal solo on the tune "Reckoner"), and Radiohead even makes the synthesizer sound hip again on the delightful "All I Need".

If there's a better band making records on either side of the Atlantic I've yet to hear them.

Desire

Pharoahe Monch

SRC

Yes, Virginia, hip-hop lives. Not in the diluted, Fergie-licious, Kanye "Why Don't I Win Awards' fashion, but bursting with danceable beats and fused with gospel, rock, jazz and soul - all courtesy of Pharoahe Monch.

Monch, a former member of Organized Konfusion, dropped an album that reminds the listener as to why they loved hip-hop to begin with. Desire weaves complex lyrical runs through stunning dance floor savvy that's both gripping and infectious.

Monch blazes through a reworking of Public Enemy's "Welcome to the Terrordome" and brings Gnarls Barkley on board for a rousing "Body Baby". And how can you not be enthralled with "Hold On", a lyrical exploration of race and gender in a duet with Erykah Badu?

Monch also takes a not-too-subtle shot at the music industry - "Slave to a Label, But I Own My Masters". Desire will not only make you dance, it'll make you think. And there's not a more lethal combination in hip-hop today.

Neon Bible

Arcade Fire

Merge Records

Maybe it's the simplicity of their Canadian background that's responsible for the eclectic majesty of Arcade Fire. Perhaps it's the infectious melodies that lurk behind huge production frills like pipe organs and chiming cellos. Regardless, Neon Bible brings with it a sound that greater than the whole of the Great White North.

The disc's showpiece, a flaming version of the teen anthem "No Cars Go", defines the feel of Neon Bible. Ripe with driving drums and bolstered by strings, brass and soaring, choir-like vocals, this ramped-up version of a song that first appeared as a maudlin rocker on their eponymous 2003 EP shows the kind of growth that sustain young bands for decades.

If the melodies don't pull you in, the huge wall of sound will. From the Gothic leanings of "Intervention" to the mounting dread of "Black Wave/Bad Vibrations", Neon Bible evokes influences that run from Velvet Underground to Echo and the Bunnymen.

Thankfully, big production budgets and overblown studio pomp never once detract from the powerful melodies Arcade Fire churns out.

Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga

Spoon

Merge Records

Chalk one up for the indie genre. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga is chock full of smart, straight-up rock songs - tunes that stay with you long after the ears have devoured them.

Vocalist Britt Daniel uses his rough, barroom vocals to ultimate advantage, whether rising above a blazing barrelhouse piano or pumping up the funk base of "Finer Feelings." The funk really comes to the foreground on "Don't You Evah" and "Eddie's Ragga" offers interesting production play as heavy reverb rises and falls.

Spoon has always written grown-up, thoughtful rock songs, but it seems as if the band is undergoing maturation in the studio as well. Where past outings have leaned toward dark and sparse, songs such as "The Underdog" and "You've Got Yr Cherry Bomb" are bright, bouncy and driven with just enough input from the horn section.

It was beginning to look like 2002's Kill the Moonlight was going to be the high-water mark for this Austin-based ensemble. It looks as if Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga has set the new standard for future releases.

Back to Black

Amy Winehouse

Republic

If you have yet to experience the enormous talents of Amy Winehouse, don't let paparazzi images of her troubled past year keep you from adding this disc to your collection.

Dripping with modern soul, yet highly influenced by '60s Motown legends such as The Supremes, nearly every track on Back in Black is nothing short of brilliant.

The opening cut, "Rehab", is framed with gospel tinges, and Winehouse testifies from the soul pulpit in a style that would make even Billie Holiday crack a smile.

Throughout this musical tour de force, Winehouse's vocals expand and contract within the arrangements. From the funky "You Know I'm No Good" to the pensive "Addicted", this relative newcomer is as mature and smoldering as any female soul legend.

Back in Black isn't just the best album of 2007; it may very well be the best album of the last 10 years.